Hey,
I can't believe we're already on day four of our trip. Time is flying by so fast. You wouldn't believe the day we've had today.
Our missions group is split in half. In my group, we went to a woman's house (her name is Liz, short for Jermaine), to paint the exterior of her house. It was blue when we got there, and when we left it was brown-green. The houses on this street were so run down, some still having X's from the search and rescue squads that went through them 6 years ago.
Today was about a hundred degrees outside. We spent from 8 AM until about 1:30 PM painting in the hot sun, with the majority of us wearing blue zinc on our face. The woman next door to where we were working was gracious and let us rest under her shaded porch. She witnessed the flooding and saw dead bodies float by as she stayed in her home, waiting for the rescue squad to allow her to bring her dogs with her.
Anyway, after a long day of work, we ran out of paint, then got more paint, then almost everyone was worn out. A thunderstorm rolled in and we were forced inside as lightning started to flash. The temperature must have dropped twenty degrees or so. Suddenly and surprisingly, it started to hail. Marble sized hail.
I wish I knew a meteorologist, because nothing about this made much sense. It was wonderful and refreshing and hopefully pictures will be up soon of Tanner running and jumping through ankle deep puddles through the hail.
New Orleans is a beautiful city. Just yesterday we were at Bunny Friends Park, on Desire Street in the 9th Ward. After returning home Chad informed us that the place we were working at was the 2nd most dangerous place in the United States. If you had been there with us, I doubt you would believe it. The people in the community all around the park were thanking us and offering to help throughout the day.
God is so powerful. And it just goes to show how love overcomes all fear.
Right now, the Heat and the Mavs are in their 4th? game and it's 61-63 (Dallas in lead) in the third quarter.
Just in case you read this Trav, I have changed my mind and started to hope the Heat will win. I bet you guys were pretty happy when they won the last game.
We do have some fun at the end of the day, watching
Good luck, Heat.
Thank you to all who have been praying for us as we've been working. Please continue to pray for strength for our team and for us to have grateful hearts throughout the week.
I miss you all so much at home.
I miss you Mom, and Travis, and all my other buddies who I haven't been able to talk to in awhile.
Thank you so much for all your support.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Mission New Orleans: Monday
Romans 5.3-5 says: "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Hello Missed Family and Friends!
Our adventure to New Orleans is well on its way, and the memories of liar's dice, signs, and demolition are already being made. Saturday our 12 hour ride started our journey, and when we arrived at Annunciation church we were pleasantly surprised with how nice our accommodations are-air conditioning and hot showers! Sunday we enjoyed the service at Redeemer Presbyterian, and the lively worship with an oboe was such a positive way to introduce us to the city. The pastor spoke about perservereing in times of despair, something that was particularly notable to me because one of our students read the verse above before the service, and I think it is an appropriate theme to the city of New Orleans. After the service we explored the French Quarter and the lively streets,with a notable part of the evening being the cajun food we enjoyed. The city is obviously full of excitement and bustling with activity, but it also has a brokenness and pain to it that is noticeable when walking down the streets. We ended the night with some fresh hot benets.
This morning we started working at the job sites; one group went to home of one of the locals to do some demolition and the other to a local park to clean up and beautify the park. The home was owned by a couple who have not had a home since the hurricane happened, and theirs was one of the 350+ of the people who's application for help from the government was lost. Not knowing how to read, this family was trapped without a place to live and gave up on ever being able to reclaim their property. Somehow they were able to get in contact with Redeemer church, who has rebuilt over 500 homes since Katrina. They told us that before the home was theirs, it had been a brothel. It was wonderful to see how God could use our team to redeem such a broken and destroyed place. The house was so devastated and nonlivable- and it has remained untouched since the storm. Our team has already got a great start at hammering the dry wall out and emptying the debris. The entire time that we were there the couple was working along side us, continually thanking us for our help. Our kids worked so hard and got a great start, despite the heat.
The other team went to the "Bunny Friend Park." Yes, this name sounds intimidating and dangerous! But fear not! It is only a name passed down to a park which was dedicated to the beloved son of a wealthy family. Upon our arrival here we were ushered into a group of volunteers gathering for an opening ceremony. An older gentleman introduced simply as "Coach" took the mic and the short span of our attention. He shared with the group that the very park we were beautifying was the park he grew up playing baseball in! In 1966!! Working side by side with a historical member of the community was really a treat! Throughout the day we toiled at a variety of tasks including (but not limited to): building benches and picnic tables, planting trees, painting a basketball court, constructing a gazebo, and painting signs for Bunny Friend Park. A few people who lived in the area came out and helped us too. There were two children helping paint the basketball court. Even though they were tired and sweaty, after we finished, they stuck around and hung out with us as we sat in the shade. The little boy, Tyrell, was so happy with what he had done-- he was flaunting his bag full of leftover sandwiches (that they had given away for breakfast and lunch) hanging off of the handlebar of his bike when he told me, "I helped EVERYONE at least a little today!" It was amazing to see that even the kids in the community were excited about what we did at the park.
Hello Missed Family and Friends!
Our adventure to New Orleans is well on its way, and the memories of liar's dice, signs, and demolition are already being made. Saturday our 12 hour ride started our journey, and when we arrived at Annunciation church we were pleasantly surprised with how nice our accommodations are-air conditioning and hot showers! Sunday we enjoyed the service at Redeemer Presbyterian, and the lively worship with an oboe was such a positive way to introduce us to the city. The pastor spoke about perservereing in times of despair, something that was particularly notable to me because one of our students read the verse above before the service, and I think it is an appropriate theme to the city of New Orleans. After the service we explored the French Quarter and the lively streets,with a notable part of the evening being the cajun food we enjoyed. The city is obviously full of excitement and bustling with activity, but it also has a brokenness and pain to it that is noticeable when walking down the streets. We ended the night with some fresh hot benets.
This morning we started working at the job sites; one group went to home of one of the locals to do some demolition and the other to a local park to clean up and beautify the park. The home was owned by a couple who have not had a home since the hurricane happened, and theirs was one of the 350+ of the people who's application for help from the government was lost. Not knowing how to read, this family was trapped without a place to live and gave up on ever being able to reclaim their property. Somehow they were able to get in contact with Redeemer church, who has rebuilt over 500 homes since Katrina. They told us that before the home was theirs, it had been a brothel. It was wonderful to see how God could use our team to redeem such a broken and destroyed place. The house was so devastated and nonlivable- and it has remained untouched since the storm. Our team has already got a great start at hammering the dry wall out and emptying the debris. The entire time that we were there the couple was working along side us, continually thanking us for our help. Our kids worked so hard and got a great start, despite the heat.
The other team went to the "Bunny Friend Park." Yes, this name sounds intimidating and dangerous! But fear not! It is only a name passed down to a park which was dedicated to the beloved son of a wealthy family. Upon our arrival here we were ushered into a group of volunteers gathering for an opening ceremony. An older gentleman introduced simply as "Coach" took the mic and the short span of our attention. He shared with the group that the very park we were beautifying was the park he grew up playing baseball in! In 1966!! Working side by side with a historical member of the community was really a treat! Throughout the day we toiled at a variety of tasks including (but not limited to): building benches and picnic tables, planting trees, painting a basketball court, constructing a gazebo, and painting signs for Bunny Friend Park. A few people who lived in the area came out and helped us too. There were two children helping paint the basketball court. Even though they were tired and sweaty, after we finished, they stuck around and hung out with us as we sat in the shade. The little boy, Tyrell, was so happy with what he had done-- he was flaunting his bag full of leftover sandwiches (that they had given away for breakfast and lunch) hanging off of the handlebar of his bike when he told me, "I helped EVERYONE at least a little today!" It was amazing to see that even the kids in the community were excited about what we did at the park.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)