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.

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

• 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.

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:

Today was long and full of obstacles. However, God has provided us with the strength and faith to get through the day. We have shown the people of New Orleans that God loves them, that as a church we are here to share the Gospel and love of Christ. ~Hanna

Today was a difficult day, but God was what helped me make it through. That, and water… One moment when I saw God today was while we were all working. I glanced to our group and the other group one we met yesterday, all getting along as though we’ve been together for years instead of hours. We were like a system everyone knew what had to be done so they did it… Only by God’s wishes could something like that be so successful. ~Hannah

Today I learned the church is not a place, it’s a thing–a living thing. We can’t expect people to come together and gather there themselves, we need to go out and “make disciples”. ~Ian

Today working in the daycare it really hit how much of a team we are. We came into MissionLab some of us not knowing each other, and to see us now is something that makes me smile. Yesterday and today were great. God shines through each of us as we work on scraping paint or sanding. I’m thankful for this experience. ~Chelsea

So alert, happy, and ready to serve!

 

Bringing things down in the lower 9th.

Some impressions from the day:

Day 1–2 showers, 8 ant bites, and a dozen scratches later, I can finally call an end to this exciting day. Tearing out the trees and brush

Getting warmed up in the morning

while cleaning off a lot was harder than it looked. Tarzan would have a blast out there. I met a lot of new people who opened right up. Through them, I saw a glimpse of God. They acted just the way Jesus would have acted had he been out there. ~Rachel

I think I felt God’s presence when we were all standing out on the curb in 100-degree heat standing in a circle holding hands and praying for one homeless man. It was a powerful moment knowing that cars were driving by giving us weird looks but we didn’t care. We just felt like all of the city just went away for a moment and we were all with God. ~Conor

God has blessed me for bringing me here on this trip to experience the love and spirit of Jesus. He gave me a chance to feel like it’s not just about me, it’s about helping not just your friends, but people who are in poverty. So far my journey has been successful and I hope for the rest of the week that God will be with us all the way and that we just spread the Word of God. ~Shannon

Clearing a lot in the 9th Ward

Today was our first official day of working so I started out a little nervous. However, when my group and I arrived at Maddies’ Little Angels Day Care a little girl named Kara immediately attached to me. After we talked for a while she asked me to sing to her. This one question made all my worried disappear. At home I am always singing and it’s what i do to comfort myself. So Kara and I sang together and I feel this is how God let me know not to worry and that every thing will be alright. ~Liza

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!

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

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

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 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!