New Orleans - Day 5

As time has allowed on this trip, I have scouted different sites to prepare for our KidzDays in the Parish camp (like KidzDays in the Glade at home) that we will do this summer in St. Bernard Parish. Today, that work allowed me to cross paths with a new friend: Mike.

Mike works for the Recreation Department in St. Bernard, and I found out a lot about him in a short amount of time. He is a single parent of five children. He loves St. Bernard Parish. And he is still not back in his home more than five years after the storm. In fact, his home has been in its current state for the past two years. After a site visit to his house, I believe that we are going to be able to help Mike when we come back in July. It was such a joy to be able to pray with him (along with Cydney Greenwood and Bryant Bural).

We spent just a few short minutes popping into this guy's life, but I'm hoping the impact we can have on him will be longer lasting. I'm hoping that we will be able to finish up some work on his home and help get him back in there. I'm hoping that we will model the love of Christ as we minister to Mike in His Name. I'm hoping that God will be made more known and gain further renown as a result of our work on Mike's home. I'm hoping that we make a Kingdom-sized impact in Mike's life and that God lines up plenty more "Mike's" with whom we can share His love.

For those of you counting down the time till your little angels come back home...we've made it past the hump day. Your students have two full days of work left before heading back to middle TN this Saturday. See you soon!

New Orleans - Day 4

Kelley and I have a little routine with Carver...once he gets in bed - that becomes our time to do all the little things we need to get done but can't while he is awake. This typically means she gets to craft and I get to do techy stuff. Well - that's what happens on these trips. Once all the students get in bed - that's when we can get to all the little things we need to get done....like writing these posts. And make no mistake - getting these guys to bed is just as difficult as getting Little C to lie down!

Our day didn't really end up like we had planned for it to. We had a little issue with one of our bus tires (being repaired tomorrow). Some of our students had some unexpected issues back home (you've probably seen these on our prayer chain). And we had a few more injuries today: Josh Mathis got a bee sting while chasing down a runaway basketball. Devon got a little nosebleed....most likely from ingesting a little too much drywall dust while sanding. And Bryan Agee picked a fight with a chain link fence during a game of ultimate frisbee...Fence: 1, Bryan: 0.

Mix all this up with a little teenage drama and we've had a pretty eventful day. BUT - here are some other happenings. The bus is going to be repaired by a mobile service that will come to us to do the work! AND it's a rental - no charge to us. Jordan Russ got some pretty devastating news today from back home, but it gave me a chance to see what an amazingly mature young lady she is. I got to watch Alicia Kurth drop everything to go comfort a friend in need of some extra TLC. And not even knowing that I was going to purchase a new Cafe Du Monde coffee mug on this trip - Frederick Ross gave me one and thanked me for taking him on this trip.

We got to play with some cool students at our elementary schools. We got to do some work on a playground in a part of New Orleans that we had not worked in before. I got to meet a mission team from Texas who prayed for me and our group before we parted ways. I got to pray with some students going through some rough times at home or with their friends.

Yeah - this day didn't end up at all like we had planned. It was much better....filled with more opportunities to minister and watch ministry happen through your students.

It was a good day.

New Orleans - Day 3

GREAT first day at the schools! We increased our teams by one student for every school team and it has proven to be very helpful. Tonight at share time we heard great reports from all five of these teams.

At Chalmette we've got two new programs in the pilot stage - art and music. Teachers have been asking us to implement something in these areas for a while now. Day one showed us that this concept has a lot of promise. It's a completely different setting than the recreation we do (since it's in the classroom), and gives us a different type of interaction with students and teachers. After seeing it in action the first day, I think we have something we can work toward to make this a regular element of our work with the schools.

Our construction teams were busy to day as well - they were able to get in an entire workday today and made some huge strides. Today is when you typically get a pretty good idea about who is a worker, who is a leader, who is a follower, and who seems to be here just to consume some of the New Orleans air. Ummmm.....I'll just leave it at that. :-)

For parents reading this post - let me just say that I (and all my adult leaders) LOVE your students! We love the lazy ones and the hard working ones. We love the troublemakers and the peacemakers. We love the doubters and the seekers. I covet the time I get to spend with your students on these week long trips because I get to know them in a way that "normal" church life does not permit.

And as a parent, I don't take lightly what it means for you to trust us with them for so long and so far away from home. Thank you for placing them in our care and letting us do life with them in this intense and exhausting environment. It really helps us get a better look at who they are, and let me tell you - I see something special.

New Orleans - Day 2

What a great day we had today in worship with our friends and family
at FABC. We've worked so much with these guys and ladies that they
feel like family. It's very special for us to be able to worship with
them...by far the major highlight of our Sunday.

Today our work crews started their first jobs while our school teams
got in one more day of training on new games. Tomorrow will be the
first full work and school day.

We also got to see Thomas Strong today...Tommy and Shirleys son. We
are so grateful for his ministry here at Metairie Baptist Church and
for the wonderful hospitality of their congregation.

Just a few minor injuries today:
Evan Cox was using a staple gun and put a staple through his glove.
Unfortunately his hand was in it at the time. He's fine...we assured
him that was not a 'first' on our NOLA trips.

Casey Webb took a tennis ball to the eyeball. That wouldn't be so bad
except it was thrown by former NAIA World Series pitcher Robert Post.
He's okay, though...just had to sit down for a few minutes.

Not too bad at all...really looking forward to watching this group develop.

Sent from my iPhone#

New Orleans - Day 1

I felt great this morning when we rolled out of G'ville at 7:15 AM. This is the largest group we have taken to New Orleans, and by far the earliest we have ever pulled away from the church. Unfortunately, we ran into a few hiccups along the way today. Between some minor mechanical issues with one of our buses (I now know what DEF is!) and the worst traffic we have ever experienced in New Orleans (including the time just after the storm) - we didn't get to the church until about 9:00 PM.

We've just finished all of our team assignments (draft style), room assignments, and have gotten lunches ready to go for tomorrow. With the time change, wake-up time is about 3 and a half hours from now.

After 12 hours of driving, multiple problems along the way, and wound-up students I'm battling to settle down (they are as keyed up and wide-eyed as I am right now) - I still feel GREAT! I've watched God's provision in even some of the smallest things we've tackled today. We'll have extra rest time tomorrow to compensate for the rough schedule today.

Don't forget you can worship with us live tomorrow...ehhhhh - today - by logging on to http://www.franklinabc.com. We will be attending the 7:30 AM service.

FAMILY PLUS Update - March 10

We've spent this week getting our group ready to go to New Orleans. Last night Dave Shelley stopped by to lead our students in some new games we'll be using in the schools in St. Bernard Parish next week. We were able to get a refresher course on some old games and put some new ones in our game bag.

This coming Sunday most of our high school students will be attending church at Franklin Avenue Baptist in New Orleans. You can worship with us live on Sunday by logging on to http://www.franklinabc.com. We will be attending the 7:30 AM service. It should be interesting as we will have driven all day on Saturday and the time changes on Sunday morning...I'm getting sleepy just thinking about it!

For students attending The Glade Church on Sunday morning, Scott Weeks will be leading that group in the District at the regular time.

My challenge for you this week would be to find ways to ask your students what they plan to GIVE to the people of New Orleans while we are serving down there. I would also ask them what they hope God might SHOW them while they are serving in His Name.

On a personal note, I would ask you to remember Tommy and Shirley Strong in prayer. This is the first trip in 8 years or so that they have not accompanied me on a mission trip to prepare our food. Tommy has been dealing with some health issues and is physically unable to make this trip. His heart and spirit, however, are already on the bus heading to New Orleans. Pray for his healing and that God would restore his body.

Please let me know if there is something I can pray about for you or your family.

High School New Orleans Missions

This is the final week of prep before heading down to New Orleans for our high school mission trip. We've got 106 people heading down to serve in Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard Parishes. Please be praying for our students and leaders as we continue to minister to our dear friends still dealing with Katrina - six years after the storm.