Mission Trip to New Orleans

I just returned from a mission trip to New Orleans last night....exhausted yet refreshed. Fourteen from our church treked our way to Celebration Church in Metairie, Louisiana to help them with hurricane relief and to gut houses.
We arrived on Saturday, March 18 around 7 p.m. to find that there was nothing opened to eat because everything closes around 6 p.m. We ended up eating at the local Chevron station....yummy....but the cool thing was about 10 p.m. when someone came in with tons of Popeyes Chicken to eat.....what a God thing! Check out www.celebrationchurch.org for more info. on their relief efforts...they are doing a great thing.
Sunday morning we woke up at 6:30 a.m. and we went to the early church service at 8 a.m. We were out of church by 9:30 a.m.!!! That was way cool, so we went to Wal-Mart and then took a tour of New Orleans. That afternoon we went and gutted out a guys house...his name was Anthony. The floodwaters were about 7 feet high, so we took out sheetrock which was moldy.
We met so many people from so many states...Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, California, Washington, Arizona, Kansas. There were about 240 at the peak of the week helping out in the relief center and gutting houses.
The people of New Orleans were so appreciative of our efforts. People who didn't even know we were helping would come up to us and just thank us for helping their city....I guess we really stood out ! :)
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we went out and gutted houses. One house we went to still had all of the moldy furniture it and so we had to remove it. The food from September was still in the fridge and the fridge accidentally opened and it royally stunk....I've never smelled anything as horrible as what was in that fridge.
Wednesday afternoon we took the afternoon off to go down to Bourbon Street. There was an eerie feeling all through the afternoon....it is a wicked place...I'm sure it is even worse at night.
Thursday we were at the relief center and I believe for our students was the highlight of the week. We had some students in the clothing tent and some in the food tent. Some were friendly shoppers who helped people go through and pick out food. During this time, they had an opportunity to hear stories of the hurricane and how people have coped with them. As I walked a lady out to put her groceries in her car, she just started crying. She had been through a lot since the Hurricane and needed someone to talk to. Two of our students led someone to Christ.....that is what it is all about!
I'm hoping we can get a mens group to go down in the fall to help out. It will take years for New Orleans to be restored! Could you pray for the people of New Orleans?
It is amazing how God uses things like mission trips to put things in perspective. Honestly, I didn't want to go even though I was leading it. I didn't want to be gone from my family again, but God used this great opportunity to minister to me and he usually does. This mission trip reminded me of the hope that I have in Christ and regardless of the circumstances, He will always be my refuge........throughout this trip, I reflected on the Psalms and Davids trials and how he continually took refuge in God......isn't He amazing?

A Blog From Another Blog

This is an excerpt from my brother's pastors blog....thought it was interesting....

Worship and a Hairy Leg
I got a large postcard from a church with a picture of some guy's hairy leg sticking out of a blanket with the caption: "Sleepyheads, rejoice." The flipside has a bunch of information with the last paragraph saying:
"So if you're not a morning person, or if you simply need to spend Sunday mornings at work, resting, or traveling, come join us for worship on Saturdays. (But remember, we're still open on Sundays too.)"

Now, I'm not as strict on Sabbath-keeping as some of my friends, but this is ridiculous if you believe the church is anything more than a vendor of religious goods and services.
Speaking of which, another paragraph says:
"Come early, hang out and meet people before the service at the Hillside Cafe over Starbuck'sTM coffee and refreshments."

It's kind of tough when you're more thoughtful about your coffee choice than the Fourth Commandment.

But it's the largest paragraph that is the most revealing:
"Experience the same relaxed, casual atmosphere, dynamic worship, and relevant teaching that you'll find in our Sunday services, as well as the same small groups and other ministry offerings for all ages on Saturday night! Plus, you'll find the same secure children's facilities, comfortable seating, easy parking and speedy on-off access from I-35."

Let's review some of these adjectives: relaxed, casual, dynamic, relevant, secure, comfortable, easy, and speedy. Seems like "denying yourself and taking up your cross" just got a swift kick into the coffee lounge.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. -Hebrews 12:28-29