On the Road

Yesterday (Friday) was our last full day in New Orleans. It was hot (although every day this week has been hot with temperatures in the mid-90s, feeling around 100 with humidity) but the students worked very hard despite the heat! We finished as much as possible at our worksites and then had an evening of sharing highlights of the week with the entire crossroads group. 

Unfortunately, we also discovered a broken van window when getting ready to leave one of the worksites on Friday. Thankfully, nothing was stolen out of the van! The cause of the broken window remains a mystery but we did have to wait several hours for the police to come and file a report. A huge thank you to the students who volunteered to stay behind and wait at the site - your patience there was a testament to God's work in your lives!

Today we left Camp Hope early and spent all day driving. Everyone was thankful to arrive at our hotel for tonight and many enjoyed swimming in the pool. We plan to arrive home mid-afternoon tomorrow (Sunday) and will keep you posted on a more specific time during our drive.

Thank you for all of your prayers this week!

The "before" picture of 55 yards of mulch to spread.

The "after" picture!

Thursday

Today was another hot, sunny day! We have been working on 2 different houses all week, so some of our group went to those worksites and the rest went to a charter school to spread mulch around their playground. We came back to Camp Hope a little early to pack up the vans for our outreach night at St. Roch Park from 5-7 p.m. Lots of people from the neighborhood showed up for games, free hot dogs and chips, and face painting for the kids! The students served with smiles on their faces and did a great job. We enjoyed a trip afterwards to get sno-balls, a local favorite.... it is similar to tropical sno but we can get them stuffed with ice cream inside... Yum!

Tomorrow is our last full day in New Orleans- the week has flown by! Please pray that we could get as much done as possible, for safety and health, and for the people and the ministry of Crossroads to continue to be blessed after we leave here. 

Wednesday

On Wednesday we all pitched in again for camp chores and then left for the neighborhood of St. Roch, a few miles down the road from Camp Hope. We passed out flyers to people outside, inviting them to our outreach night at St. Roch Park on Thursday night. After lunch was our free day to do some sightseeing around the city. First, we went on a swamp tour and saw lots of gators! Then, we drove to the French Quarter and walked along the river, ate dinner at Polly's Crazy Lobster, visited some tourist shops, and enjoyed beignets at Cafe du Monde (the best ones around). It was a great night enjoyed by all!

Tuesday night!

After a full day of work Tuesday, we were able to enjoy some time together at "City Park." The park was absolutely beautiful and we were able to play wiffel ball, walk around the park, play some football, and enjoy some New Orleans beignets at a Cafe! We finished our time up at the park by singing some worship songs together.  Overall it was a great day in New Orleans! Please keep praying for willing spirits and servant hearts as we get further into the week and we get more worn down! Thanks for your prayers!

Tuesday!

Monday!

After breakfast today, we were placed on kitchen duty. Some of our team cleaned up from breakfast while others cleaned the bathrooms and showers. When we finished, we loaded up in the vans and headed to our work sites where we split our group in two. One group worked at one house and the other half went to another place. The students worked really hard today. We were all proud of them!  

Tonight we have dinner and a worship/devotional time together. Please continue to pray for us, specifically that our attitudes would show a willingness to serve no matter what the circumstances! Pray that we will be willing to be stretched beyond our comfort zone in order to grow into the people of God He desires us to be!  Overall it was a great day and we are looking forward to the rest of the week!