We are heading back for another round of building homes, loving on kids, and sweating our butts off! So it's been a year since the last round of GO New Orleans, and if you lurk around on FB, I'm sure you saw lots of pictures from the trip. If not, I've included a few! It was an amazing season of building relationships and building homes.
It's humbling to reflect on the beauty of the path of this trip. When Katrina hit in August 2005, over 200,000 homes were destroyed and 288,000 folks were left homeless by the storm. Crossroads felt called to help the folks in New Orleans. In a relief effort they sent $250,000 to help out in a time of crisis. In 2008, a good friend of mine, Johnmark Oudersluys, had a vision to take volunteers down and serve in the city by building houses and loving on kids. He, along with Crossroads, knew that in order for it to be sustainable, they needed to find a partner church....so they started looking. Pastor Fred Luter of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church (FABC) has a heart for his city so big, that you could see it in Cincinnati! He was running after the same things that we run after here in Cincinnati...loving people, serving those in need, learning from these folks, and fighting for their freedom. Who better to partner with?
The first trip, in 2008, was still very much a relief effort. FABC was not back in full capacity, the church is located in the 9th Ward which was hit HARD by Katrina. They didn't have space to do a Vacation Bible School and they didn't have the volunteers to run it as many of their congregation hadn't returned after the storm. First Baptist of New Orleans (FBNO) offered up space for us to put on a Vacation Bible School for the kids of the FABC community. Pastor Luter said that this was the first time, that he could remember, where a white church (FBNO) and a black church (FABC) in New Orleans had come together. How incredible that something so beautiful could come out of such devastation? That first year was a big one! Not only did we love on a bunch of kiddos, but we sent a crew to build with Habitat for Humanity. Which, if you've been to New Orleans in July, you know that IT IS HOT! Your sweat, sweats!
In 2009, we went back to New Orleans...yes, in July (I promise we aren't crazy!). FABC was rebuilt and they had just opened their Family Life Center, which is a huge addtion and a space for us to put on Vacation Bible School (VBS) in their space. Not only were they back in their church, but their volunteer capacity had grown tremendously and they came ready to serve at VBS! That year, VBS started out at about 70 kids and by the end of the week it had grown to over 130 kids...good news travels fast!!! Think about that for a second, 130 kids grades K-12, off the streets and learning about God. Amazing! Our Habitat crew worked projects from insulation (itchy!), concrete, roofing, siding, painting, and much much more! Still sweating their butts off! We also added our Photo Team that year. What a gift to be able to give folks family portraits to help restore what they had lost in the storm.
Last year, we had even more kids show up for VBS, more FABC volunteers to help out. Our Habitat crew had the priveledge of getting to know many of the neighbors in the neighborhood we were working. A Habitat homeowner, Yaja, was working alongside our crew both weeks we were there. (Little tidbit on Habitat for Humanity - they make their homeowners serve 350 hours of sweat equity on their house, or someone else's, before they are able to close on their house). The second week we were there, we were able to celebrate Yaja's 350th sweat hour with her! And, how crazy is this? She stayed and continued to work...talk about dedication! The photo team expanded their project to shooting families at FABC, families of folks who worked at the hotel we stayed in, shooting the kids at The Roots of Music (Google it...it's a program worth getting behind!), and a ton more! We also added a Vision Team, working with OneSight, we were able to screen over 1000 kids for free glasses. It was an amazing trip!
So, this year we are going back! We spent some time earlier this month, with FABC, in a great conversation around our partnership and the direction that we wanted to head together. As you have read, the needs are changing because people are returning! This is GREAT NEWS! It is our hope that we work ourselves out of a job!!! This year, FABC volunteers will, not only be working with us at VBS this year, but also on the Habitat for Humanity sites AND Photo Team. It's so exciting to watch the path of this partnership growing and changing each year, and to have the opportunity to serve alongside the FABC community on all of our projects!
So, once again, I've bombarded you with a ton of information about New Orleans. In years past, I've explained why I am feeling called to GO! This time around, I wanted to give you the opportunity to see how your support and efforts are changing the lives of the folks in NOLA. There is growth, there is change, there are exciting things happening in that city. I hope this note has stirred something in you that motivates you to GO be the church! It doesn't have to be in New Orleans, it can be in your own hometown. Just look around and I'm sure you will see a way to serve someone in need - maybe a neighbor in your neighborhood needs something repaired, maybe a friend or family member could use a hand with something or a home cooked meal. Maybe there is an area of town where you could take some hot food or cold drinks. Who knows what it could be! I do know that if a Hurricane hit in your hometown...you would want to do something about it!
If you are interested in supporting me on this trip there are a couple of ways to get involved. One is through prayer. Last year, my sister was my prayer partner on the trip. Not only did she pray for me every day but, she and a few of my really good friends also sent cards with me to open each morning before we went to the work sites. It was amazing how much courage and strength those words gave me each day. All of this encouragement helped me to be the best that I could be on this trip!
Another way that you can support this trip is through donating money (which, of course, is tax deductible). Since I am the volunteer lead for this trip, I get to be in New Orleans for 2 weeks again this year, which means that I will be donating $1,700 to New Orleans. It's important to note that this trip is a volunteer paid trip. Crossroads doesn't pick up a dime for this trip it comes through money donated by people like you and me. The money donated goes to supplies and materials to support the projects listed above, as well as our room and board and a few donations to great programs like Habitat for Humanity, our friends at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, and The Roots of Music.
How to DONATE:
If you are interested in making a donation to such a GREAT cause please visit www.crossroads.net/goneworleans and you will see the word DONATE on the right hand side of the page. Type in my name and it will take you to my donation page, this is a secure site so you don't have to worry. Another option is that you can mail a check to 3500 Madison Road Cincinnati, OH 45209. If you choose to send a check, please make sure to mark it as GO New Orleans and put my name somewhere on it so that the folks at Crossroads get it to the correct account. I know that times are hard right now and our economy is in the toilet...so please know that your prayers and words of encouragement are just as important to me. I don't have expectations around financial commitments, I am just giving the option.
Thanks for taking the time to read through all of this. I hope you are willing to support my trip in any way that you are comfortable. If you want more information about what we are doing in New Orleans, please don't hesitate to call, email, or FB me! If you are interested in getting involved in this trip next year, let me know and we'll get you signed up! AND...most importantly, if you ever want to meet Judd and I at Crossroads on Saturday night or Sunday morning...I promise...you will never be the same!
