As Kathy Faber walked into the towering Astrodome in Houston, the baseball stadium seemed overwhelmingly large as the endless rows of seats stood empty.

Within hours the American Red Cross Mid-Michigan Chapter employee knew that the venue would overflow with desperate survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

That's why the Lansing resident had to put her life on hold as a Lansing resident to aid the thousands of evacuees left homeless.

To chronicle the experience, Faber decided to keep a journal and she said she seemed to use up the pages as fast as the stadium filled with people.

The small, colorful plastic bound notebook now has short phrases scribbled across the white pages that might seem unreadable to others, but to Faber they help tell the story of her two week experience in Texas.

Still Faber, 45, seems to remember vivid details from her trip even without her journal, which still overflows with loose pieces of paper.

The first days brought endless hours of work

Faber's first day in Houston was spent mostly preparing for the busloads of evacuees that were on their way to the Astrodome. Faber remembers the intense day as if she was "in a time warp."

Part of the day, she walked around the Astrodome, the former home of the Houston Astros, and looked at the large domed stadium which was layered with different sections and levels. The main circular floor was where most of the evacuees were to stay on cots, Faber said.

"We walked around and did a little tour so we could get acclimated with the facility," Faber said. "It was so big, it was amazing."

As evacuees piled in, the northwest corner had a baby area set up on the floor with baby food and diapers.

"I had a baby in my arms for two hours, it was the sweetest little thing," Faber said. "So here I was holding a baby while handing out diapers and supplies."

Faber worked a 12-hour shift on that first day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. While it was tiring, she said it was rewarding.

"We were sitting up in the stands looking down, feeling overwhelmed. It felt like you can't do enough," Faber said. "But I looked around and saw kids laughing and playing, adults laughing.

"We had fed all these people, given them showers, given them beds. Babies were fed and had diapers. We did a damn good job. Instead of feeling overwhelmed it made us feel good."

By the end of that day, Faber said there were about 2,000 to 3,000 evacuees on the Astrodome floor. Nearly 24 hours later, the facility was packed with about 13,000 to 15,000 evacuees mostly traveling from New Orleans. They were sleeping on cots on the floor so close together that the floor was barely visible from a distance, she said.

"Let me tell you, it was the craziest day," Faber said.

She worked 12 hours the next day, too, and only sat for two, five-minute breaks. The hard cement floor left Faber's legs aching.

Toward the end of her shift, Faber went outside the Astrodome to help a woman in labor. The woman was seven months pregnant but seemed to be panicking and hyperventilating.

"I got down on the floor with her with my cheek by hers," Faber said. "Then the ambulance came and I don't know what happened to her."

This experience of seeing a woman pushed into labor early from the grief she felt after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina made Faber think about how lucky she was to be able to help people in such a horrible situation. She said this experience was one of the most memorable in her two weeks in Houston.

"It put things into perspective for me, being down on my knees with this woman," Faber said.

Everyday was emotionally draining for Faber as she saw people that had to deal with losing everything, even family and pets, she said. Part of her job as a volunteer was to comfort and listen to them, which was not always easy.

"On the first day, I made it to 10:30 without crying," Faber said. "On the second day, I only made it to the afternoon."

The middle days remained busy, but became blurry memories

After the second day Faber became the shelter manager, which meant she did more organizational work. She was in charge of staffing and making sure things were operational, including answering all the tough questions.

Once she started the job, the days remained busy, making them become a blur in her memory. But the people she interacted with became the highlights of her journal.

One day, she started talking to an older, overweight woman who was bound to a wheelchair during her entire stay since the cots were too small. Faber was unsure of her disability and grew fond of the woman, making an effort to visit with her each day.

"She had a wonderful outlook," Faber said. "She had her child and grandchildren with her. She was grateful to be alive.

"So many people lost everything but they were grateful for their life and families, and that there was a tomorrow. So many days when I am exhausted, I just think of her."

After losing everything, most were overcome with worries including possibly running out of money, having to deal with the loss of their own homes while still searching for lost family members - so finding any sense of familiarity was comforting. One day while Faber was talking to a woman, a little girl came running up shouting the woman's name. The woman was the girl's teacher from her school back home.

"They had so much torn away and this was a piece of normalcy," Faber said.

There were many stories of separated families, some of which she said were reunited and some that weren't. Comforting those people became a main part of her job, she said. "I can't tell you how many people I ended up hugging," Faber said.

Fellow volunteers came from all walks of life

Along with the experiences of the evacuees that Faber learned from, she also gained a great deal of respect for the other volunteers.

One was a man from Texas who would constantly be asking how he could help, and he quickly got the jobs done. He kept coming back and was so eager to help that Faber asked him what he did for a living. It turned out he was the executive director of an architecture firm in Houston.

"There were so many volunteers from so many different walks of life," Faber said.

The volunteers also came from all over the country and Canada, Faber said. They were broken up into teams of six people, and included in Faber's group was a man and a woman from California, one man from Flint and two people from Faber's American Red Cross Mid-Michigan Chapter.

The man from California was a retired structural engineer who was also a bicyclist.

The massive recovery mission has changed how Faber thinks

The experiences of these people are something Faber said has changed her own perspective on life. She said she feels almost like she is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, or when someone goes through a traumatic event and has a hard time adjusting back to normal life.

By working as the emergency food and shelter coordinator for the American Red Cross, Faber has worked with many different kinds of people, especially the homeless.

She feels like her job and her education prepared her for the massive volunteer operation in Houston.

"I met a man who was in Vietnam and he said going (to Houston) for him was like a whole year in Vietnam," Faber said.

For Faber, it was hard to come home because it was such a special and unique experience that she had a hard time explaining to others.

"I missed my family and friends, but it is hard because people haven't experienced what you have."

Faber's enthusiasm for her job at the American Red Cross has been "re-ignited" since her return to Lansing, Mid-Michigan chapter spokeswoman Sarah Clevenger said.

"Since she has returned she has been excited to talk to groups and individuals about her experiences, which is great because everyone benefits," Clevenger said.

This experience is something she soon will be able to share first-hand with her 19-year-old son, Ryan Faber.

He will be going to Biloxi, Miss. with AmeriCorps which is like the Peace Corps but within the United States, he said.

Hearing of his mom's experiences made him "more excited to get down there," he said.

Ryan Faber said he will be doing family services, which means he will be working with families to work out their money issues and inform them of other services that are available.

"He will have a great experience, but the mom in me says, 'oh my god,'" Faber said.

But even with the motherly fear she has for her son, she knows it will be good for him, even if it is hard.

"It was an emotional experience," Faber said. "I am 45 so there are hormones involved. But being 45 and with hormones didn't matter, men cried too."