Day 7 - December 19, 2005

We just arrived at the airport and have misplaced Kyle (aka Daddy) and Brent ( aka awk. dog). If you did not already catch the hint, we not only had an incredible time of expirencing God but also had sooo much fun together. I came on this trip not wanting to have many expectations. Everyone around me kept saying how it would be so great and i guess i didn't want to jinx the trip , but the truth is God has blessed me above and beyond ANYTHING i could have every imagined. One of the most rewarding outcomes of this trip has been the incredible friendships that have been created. Less than two weeks ago, I didn't know many people on this trip and if I did know them those freindships have grown sooo much stronger. Thank you God, these people are great! We cuddled together, we sang together with no limitations or hesitation because we were so comfortable, and the hugs were endless.

~Danielle

Day 7 - December 19, 2005

Chillin’ at the airport.
This week has been one of the most amazing times of my life. God has definitely opened my eyes to so many things and taught me how to be more like him. One of the most important things I have been learning is how to live a Christ-like life. We so often forget that we are here on God’s earth to do His will, and the easiest way to do His will is to follow the example of Christ. One of the easiest ways to mirror the life of Christ is to act with humility and a joyful heart. This week we have been studying Philippians, one of my favorite books in the Bible (check out 2:5-11, and 4:4, my all time faves!). Anyway, God just really reminded me how important it is to live with JOY and HUMILITY while living as examples of Christ.

Another thing that God really taught me through my experiences on this trip is different ways to experience His love. One of the fallibilities of being human is ignorance, and I have been very ignorant of the many various ways to experience the love of Christ. On this trip we were privileged to meet so many different people, all from various walks of life. Some were weird, some were ugly, but most were cool. Hearing the stories that these people had to tell just opened my eyes to the different ways God loves all of us. We are truly His children and he will always meet us where we are at and fill ALL of our needs. God is so awesome and loves us all so much, and all we have to do is be willing to listen to Him and OBEY with HUMILITY and JOY.
Peace out brotha

~Cait

Day 6 - December 18 2005

These last few days have been so incredibely amazing! There are a bunch of new groups in from ohio, north Carolina, and Missouri, they’re kinda clueless, but we can help them out, since we’ve become experts on the running of this camp. These last few days have been great for the bonding of our group and our bonding with the staff here. Ricky one of the cooks is coming to visit us, sean is planning on moving to bend and Kevin, oh, Kevin, he’s become our tenth member, we would like to take him home with us, but I don’t think that is going to happen. Every night we have a chill out bonding time and the last few have been so great. The night before last we had a dance party and last night we had a massage chain and cuddle/chat time. Its not all been fun and games though, cleaning out the after school facilities was definitely a hard thing to do for a lot of the team. Not just because of the three month old chicken in the fridge, but all the kids art work and books that was completely destroyed and had to be tossed out onto the curb side with the rest of the trash. But overall I can say I would not trade a single second of this week for anything in the world and I just thank god for giving me this amazing opportunity, because it truly unbelievable!

~Heather

Day 6 – December 18, 2005

The camp has a sound system but only has three CD’s, Kenny G Christmas, WOW Christmas Worship, and John Mayer. We were getting a little tired of the selection so I busted out my iPod a few nights ago. I listened to Shawn MacDonald and everyone got hooked. The cook here at the camp had been listening to the CD for three days straight now. We go to bed and wake up to Shawny Mac every day and it’s great. The music had definitely impacted some of the people here at this camp. Ok well back to Saturday we got a very nice break that we all desperately needed. We worked half a day around the camp sorting clothes, organizing the camp store, and tying tracts onto candy canes. We drove down to the French quarter and surprisingly it is the most untouched part of New Orleans that I have seen. It is a very beautiful place and somewhere that I would like to come back and visit. We wandered around and went into a lot of shops. The most incredible place we went into was an Old Catholic church. The inside was covered with amazing murals. We then got to eat out for the first time this week and it was amazing. We were the only ones in this restaurant at 5 o’clock on a Saturday evening. We went to an authentic Cajun restaurant and everyone had a mixture of creole, gumbo, and jambalaya but of course I had to stick with some BBQ ribs and they were delicious. After I scarfed them down along with some onion rings, French fries, and artichoke dip we had dessert. Of course I went with the chocolate dish called chocolate suicide and man was it suicide. We then called it a night and while I was in the bathroom the rest of the group thought that it would be hilarious to leave without me. Not only did my group leave me stranded but also the waitress locked me in the restaurant because she had thought everyone had left. Everyone got a good laugh out of that one. Overall the day was amazing. Our group has really bonded together and we have all been very humbled by everything that we have been part of down here. It’s difficulty to feel like we have made any kind of difference in a week but I truly believe that we have made a small impact. In him,

~Kyle

Day 5 – December 17, 2005

This is my first entry and so much has happened so far. The trip has been amazing so far. It is really humbling in so many ways. When we walked down to the lower 9 you could just see houses that had been demolished by the hurricane. All that was left in some areas was the foundations of the houses. It truly is humbling when you think about the things that you are struggling with and how great these people’s struggles are in comparison. I can only wonder how they must feel to lose not houses but homes. This trip has been one where I am learning so much and what it means to have the heart of a servant and to everything with joy. I have been trying to focus on living my life one day at a time and making the most out of the day. You truly never know what tomorrow could hold but God will take care of things. Even in the midst of tragedy God is always present and taking care of things. God is good in so many ways and the more you focus on him and putting him first the better life will be. I have been working on serving him first and have truly been blessed by the people around me. This place will never be the same, but God is here and he is working in people’s lives and I know his Will will prevail. The work has been hard so far but I know that all this is for a reason and it is the least that I can do.

~Brent

Day 5 - December 17 2005

Well, I can honestly say that each day of this trip keeps getting better and better. Today we cleaned up a community center with another group from Tulane University. We all inhaled mold and nasty smells for four solid hours. It was awesome. Tonight before our group devotional, three men are trying to find work in New Orleans, came and sat with us during our bible study. One of the guys opened up quite a bit about his personal relationship with the Lord. It was so incredible to hear a fresh new voice talk about the power and love of Jesus. The devotional was amazing and seemed to have impacted us all. We then ended the evening with a glorious dance party among the group. In the end, this was a wonderful day.

~Jamie

Day 4 - December 16, 2005

wow. what a paradox to what we have been experiencing this week. currently we are hanging out in rue de la course, a cafe in a part of the city that was not as badly affected as the areas we have been seeing. today has been amazingly trying. we went to a school to partner with students from tulane university to help clean out a community center that offered educational after school programs for kids. i was very overwhelmed all day. we got there i had no idea where to start/ the whole bottom floor was destroyed. we were doing work in the kitchen and it was very disgusting. i have never smelled anything as horrible in my life. a couple of refridgerators were on the floor and had gross water and food and juices seeping out of them. in the process of removing them one leaked all over and tony and i worked to clean it up and get rid of the stench. at first it was unbarable and i invisioned myself vomiting in my mask as i was gagging from the stench. thankfully it didn't happen. while i was sweeping gross water and three month old fridge juices, i prayed that i wouldn't puke, and started sinking worship songs to distract myself. it worked. god closed my nose to the stench and gave me a joyful heart as i sloshed around in the grossness. it was amazing and humbling and a great reminder that i am here on this earth to do the lords work, and that a humble heart is what living a christlike life is all about.

cait

Day 4 - December 16, 2005

Hi! Dannielle here. One of the biggest things God has been teaching me on this trip so far is our need for total dependence upon Him. I have never been in place or worked within a group where that is more apparent. Within the tent where we work, everyday we are able to see God provide for the camp and provide food and clothing for the people currently working and living within New Orleans. Without God's provision, there is no way that many of the people who enjoy free dinner and lunch everyday and obtain necessities from the free store, which operates next door, would be able to survive without God working in the mist of this situation through this ministry. The other day, when we visited the ninth ward, the part of the city hit the hardest, the need for reliance upon God was so visible. Looking at the remains of these houses it seems as if the focus of our lives is to "be successful" and our proof of living successfully is by the house we own, the car we drive, the relationships we have, but in a moment they can all be taken away. Our possessions with which we related ourselves too much can disappear, but the great thing is that no matter what God will never leave us or forsake us. How awesome is that! If we depend upon Him we will never have anything to worry about as our future is secure in Christ. So... as you think about all of us keep prayin', keep prayin' that we will experience Christ everyday even more and praise Him for all that He has done and especially pray for the people of Louisiana. God Bless!

~Dannielle

Day 3 - December 15, 2005

Reading through Philippians through this trip, has brought new meaning to many of the words stated in here. The whole book seems to be a letter to people like us serving Christ in a foreign and difficult place. Specifically, today we read through Chapter 1:15-30. Paul says in a very familiar verse “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” I feel so short of this calling. To live a totally God centered life is such a huge calling. Paul also highlights in verse 29 that we are also called to suffer with Christ. This calling is not isolated to one-week missions projects, but should be a daily act of picking up your cross to follow him. Again, inadequacy overwhelms me. But the beautiful thing about Christ is that he can use me anyway. He will also continue to work on my heart and life to be molded into one more like himself. There is something so encouraging about that.

~Tony

Day 2 - December 14, 2005

Well, to describe this trip after only two days, I can honestly say that it is something that can’t be described. The flight to New Orleans was so much fun, but very tiring as well. I feel like after only a couple of days I’ve known the other people in my group for years. Today, I got to see with my own eye the extraordinary power of God. It was hard walking along roads of total ruin and destruction. I saw a sign that was left in a piece of earth in an area where a home used to lay. The sign said, “We now having nothing except our lives and our dignity.” It hit me hard when I saw this sign and knowing that there are so many people in this city who have lost absolutely everything. A concept that I don’t believe anyone here or anyone who reads this entry can possibly conceive. God is good.

-Jamie

Day 2 - December 14, 2005

This trip is definitely a once in a life time sort of thing. Getting down here and actually being able to meet and talk with the people who were affected by this, rather than just watching it on the news, is an amazing experience. The people who work here at the good news in bad places site are in one word: incredible. They are so diverse in every aspect, yet have come together to form there own sort of family unit. To be able to see all of these people and see how god is working through and within all of them is truly an amazing thing. All I can say about this trip so far is that I feel so greatful to be here and to be apart of this.

Heather

Day 2 - December 14, 2005

It was an early wake-up call at 6:45 am (4:45 west coast time :¬) but I was very excited that today we were going to work on a house. Not knowing what to expect at all, except seeing some destruction on the drive over, I was in disarray driving through the neighborhoods. The destruction was unreal along with large mounds of everyone’s furniture and clothing littering the streets to be thrown away. Today we worked on a local pastors house to try and clear out his first floor so that he and his family could possibly move back into the second floor. It was very difficult knowing that we were tearing apart a family’s home and that so many other people were in the same situation. Our team accomplished a lot, taking all of the dry wall out of the first floor and clearing out all of the moldy furnisher. The most shocking part of today came right after we finished working on the house and went to the neighborhood where the levy broke. The area looked as bad as you could possibly imagine. You wouldn’t have been able to tell if a bomb had gone off or not. The housed closest to the levy were completely flattened. Cars were flipped upside and relocated on top houses or in large trees. Even a barge had been brought onto the land. I still haven’t had much time to really think about what I saw today but the destruction was incredible. So many people have been affected by this hurricane and I hope that our group being down here will make a difference. In him,

~Kyle

Day 1 - December 13, 2005

What to say? Well, we had a pretty good flight, a nice long layover in Dallas, which had a beautiful sunrise. We then got here to New Orleans, and found beautiful 70-degree weather sunshine, and a lot of destruction. We got out of the van at the work site. Got a brief tour of camp, and started working, we didn’t stop working until after dinner. But I liked it, and I think everybody else did too. I am sure that God is going to something amazing in our time down here. With best regards,

~Kellen

Departure...

How do you prepare yourself to see devastation? We have all seen the news clips and photographs splattered throughout different media outlets…but how do you prepare to see it face to face? I am only 2 hours away from this dilemma, and am unsure if there is really anything I can do. Prayer seems to be the only comfort I can turn to. I know scripture says in weakness He is strong…but to truly rely on this strength is far harder to do than to type it. The goal of this trip is to serve the needy of New Orleans, and allow the Lord to change the hearts of all the team members. But what will that change yield? I can only hope to have a better understanding of the Lord’s love. May I experience it more completely. May I be able to proctor it more genuinely.

Logistically: I just phoned Kyle who is with the other 8 of the team flying on a separate trip departing from Portland. I will arrive in New Orleans via San Francisco through Chicago about 2 hours before them, and secure the rental car, and meet up with our hosts from Campus Crusade. So far smooth sailing.

I just got into New Orleans...awaiting the team...they should be here in less than 30 minutes.

~Tony (I am going to try to have the whole team make postings, so each will put their name at the end...)