NOLA Day 5

It’s been another safe day. Our roaming team (Dirty Bunnies) didn’t get to return to their work site in the 9th Ward… due to violence in the area (please pray for that region). But spent the morning prayer walking. It was especially nice to get to visit one last time with our new friends at Cafe Reconcile. The Day Care team really went above and beyond. Not only did they finish their two rooms of painting. But also installed 6 sets of blinds, several door knobs, and a few other projects. Maddie’s Little Angels Day Care is looking great.

This evening, we talked about the next step: what do we do now? There’s some fear among the group that we’ll lose some the excitement or passion that we’ve uncovered this week. But the real challenge is to stay in love with God. As we return we’re thinking of the people we need to serve, to share love with. We’re thinking of the people we hope to know as disciples of Jesus. It’s our goal to serve our way into a real Jesus movement in Greenville/Winterville/Farmville.

NOLA Day 4

Missed posting again last night. We had some great bonding time, though. Took a driving tour of the 9th Ward, then went to Bayou Segnette State

At the 9th Ward Memorial

Park to chuck marshmallows at alligators (we only successfully got one little guy to eat one, though some of us saw a huge one who would have no part of our marshmallows), and explored a lot of various varieties of ice cream at Creole Creamery.

As far as the work day, our Day Care team is nearing completion of their two rooms. They’ve done a great job.

Our roaming team (renamed the Dirty Bunnies), got to see the Statue Walk at City Park… and pull weeds throughout. And cleared an overgrown lot in a different neighborhood in the afternoon. We’re thankful we were not at our usual site yesterday, because some gunshots were heard a couple blocks away. Needless to say, we won’t be going back there today.

Everybody’s doing great. We’re thankful to have maintained safety and health throughout this trip. We’re set for wrapping up our Day Care project and doing some more prayer walking today.

Grace and peace!

Taking a break at the day care

NOLA Day 3

Sorry to have missed posting last night. A weird schedule and late night thunderstorm limited our access to the internet. So today we’re lacking our student impressions for the moment. But here’s a look at how Wednesday went:

• Our “Roaming” team started the day by joining the staff at Cafe Reconcile for breakfast. They’re a presence-based ministry that mentors at-risk youth and teaches job skills. We ate with them, and joined their discussion about what it means to be a success. Check out reconcileneworleans.com to learn more about them–it’s an awesome ministry.
• Meanwhile, the Maddies Day Care team headed back to Maddies. They’re cooking on the painting projects. They sometimes have a little trouble keeping their paint on the walls and off of each other. But they’re mostly keeping things clean and being very productive. They’re job descriptions keep growing as they’ve expanded from scraping and painting one room, to painting and scraping two rooms, to painting and scraping two rooms and doing various maintenance projects around the facility.
• After breakfast, the roaming team spent some time prayer walking the neighborhood around Cafe Reconcile–the area they’d be in Monday. They spoke with some of the friends they’d made Monday, and felt that even their limited presence was somehow making a difference in that community. With some extra time, they picked up some popsicles and visited the folks over at Maddies.
• The afternoon found the roaming team back at the lot in the 9th Ward. It’s been rough going. We’ve had a lot of bug bites, some hornet stings, a lot of scrapes, and poured a ton of sweat into that swamp. The team is a little relieved that Thursday has us working elsewhere. We enjoy our work and see what the benefit is… but could use a little break from it.
• Last night the entire team went to the French Quarter… and had beignets at Cafe Du Monde! We got to see what many of the students called “the real New Orleans” in the architecture and people of the French Quarter.
• Last night’s team de-brief time got pretty emotional. Folks are feeling God moving… and some are just feeling strained. The students are tremendous at ministering to one another. But please pray that we’re able to be patient in witnessing God’s presence and that peace rules in our little team.

NOLA Day 2

Oh, it’s hot here in New Orleans. Even when the sun isn’t out, it’s hot. But our guys and gals are giving a great effort. It’s been tremendously moving to see a bunch of teenagers who were complete strangers a few days ago gel into a tight-working team and form friendships. Tonight, we talked about the church not so much being an event or a place… but a group of people united in mission. We’re really seeing that in action this week.

Our teams are working so well together that they’re ahead of schedule on the projects. The group working at the Day Care has been given a second room to strip down and repaint. They’re chugging. The roaming group spent today at the empty lot in the 9th Ward. It’s great to see some real progress in clearing the lot.

Some impressions from today:

NOLA Day 1

We’re here! We’ve settled into our temporary homes in hot, hot New Orleans and have started work. We’ve been spit into two work teams. One team is working at a re-habbing a local day care center–scraping, sanding, and eventually repainting walls. The other team is “roaming”–they spent this morning exploring a neighborhood near the Superdome, praying as they went. They got to meet a lot of colorful people. In the afternoon, they went to the 9th Ward and began clearing out some empty lots.

Some impressions from the day:

NOLA 2011

It’s just 4 days until we leave!

We’re looking for prayer partners… would you consider being a prayer partner for one of our team members?

Being a prayer partner involves praying daily—at 10am eastern time—for the team member you’ve signed up to support. Pray for his/her safety… that s/he feels God’s presence throughout the day… and that s/he works to build God’s kingdom through his/her efforts.

 

You can sign up through this link: http://www.uevent.com/registration?code=VCUFCNKA34

 

Thank you so much!

NOLA Missions Meeting

Tomorrow night: November 3, 7pm.

We have our initial info meeting for the New Orleans trip (June 19-25).

Current 8th through 12th graders and parents encouraged to attend.

Inspiration for NOLA

Forgot I compiled this video… a little inspiration for next year’s missions trips… featuring last summer’s missions trips…

Announcing: New Orleans 2011

Next summer we’re heading to New Orleans!  June 19-25 we be taking a trip for all current 8th through 12th graders. We’ll be working with Mission Lab in New Orleans assisting in reconstruction projects.

Our first informational meeting (for students and parents) will be November 3 at 7pm.

Here’s a look at what Mission Lab has done in New Orleans in the past:

We’re Here

Update from Ryan:

We don’t have internet access, but we are doing great.  We’re building a Korean Methodist church.  Sweating like crazy, but everyone is healthy and working hard!