Our Last "Normal" Day!

Today was REALLY hot and humid. Like y’all who have not been down here to Nawlins would not believe! The day started with the church van getting two flat tires. We heard a wonderful testimony by Mandia “Dingo” Gordon. Then it was time for VBS. But soon after it started to poured rain again. However it didn’t interfere with Marissa’s team that was playing basketball with some teens at a local park. The b-ball court is covered, but it still flooded and the blue team’s shoes were SOAKED.
We were actually able to do the challenge circle today, because the rain came earlier in the day. The kids were great, despite the heat. We are all forming some pretty cool bonds with the kids down here. It is so amazing to see how full of joy and life they are, despite their poverty.
Well, it is time for us to go to bed now, so goodnight y’all!

Praises and Prayer:
Praise the Lord for more rain! Also praise Him for the great things He is doing down here through Urban Impact Ministries, in addition to using us. Please continue to pray for our strength through our last day with the kids, and for help saying these hard goodbyes. You may not believe it, but we have formed some really unique bonds with these kids. Thank you for your prayers thus far! Love to you all!

We started with two flat tires
Before we even left the Yellow shire (house)
It was raining and pouring
But it didn’t stop us from soaringWe can’t wait to get tell our story to inspire

Wednesday Rain And Shine!

Okay, time for some honesty…we are actually writing this to you on Thursday!!! Oh no! So yesterday was pretty hot. We did VBS here again, and it was really amped up. And Marissa actually managed to have some fun dancing with the kids (dance is the sport of the week!). Karen taught the kids about David and Goliath in Bible class, and Andrew went with the blue team on a prayer walk. All of us high schoolers here are divided into five teams based on color: red (Marissa’s team), orange (Karen’s team), yellow, blue (Andrew’s team), and white. The prayer walk is something each team does once a week, where we drive and walk to different parts of the city and pray for the neighborhoods, churches, and schools in those areas and in all of New Orleans.
Good news and bad news: first, praise the Lord for the rain we had!!!! The bad news…we didn’t get to do the challenge circle with the kids because it was WET!! L
Anyway, we have been having a blast down here in the hot N.O. We tried to go on a trolley ride, but we juuuust missed it and then found out that it only came every hour…so we went to Wendy’s and Gary treated us to Frosties. (Thank you, Gary!!!)

Praises and Prayer:Praise God for the rain!! Please continue to pray for our endurance with the kids.

Sunny & Hot, It Was A Great Day!

We write this after a blistering hot day. It sound like we sent you some of the hot weather as well. Our group is working great and staying upbeat. As Pastor Dave said, “This team is fantastic, they are all working hard and chipping in without being asked” We also have had a blast working with the teams from MN, MI and CO, everyone is working very hard. The kids learned about Jehovah Nissi (Lord is my banner) and along with the story of David and Goliath at day camp. One of the funnier parts of the day was watching Pastor Dave and Tami learn some new dance moves in the sports class. Once camp ended we had a quick break and then dinner and to the sites. The Challenge Circle (Awana Circle modified for the urban environment) went very well and the kids were really into it. To end the night we launched water balloons into the group of kids for some wet refreshment.

Praises and Prayer:
Praise God for keeping the all the teams healthy and effective. Pray for the team as they hit the middle of the week and need to continue to have strength and energy. Prayer for each team member to continue to rely on God’s strength and draw closer to Him each day.

Today we enjoyed 110 degree weather
While we ran outside it felt a lot better
We hung out with kids until the sun went down
We ended with cheers that made a loud sound

We almost fell asleep writing this letter.

Putting Our Training Into Action!- Monday, June 22

What a day it has been. We finally got to put all the things we were trained to do into action. Our group also had time in the morning for devotions and group time where Sarah challenged us to “make the most of every opportunity.” We then had the privilege of listen to the testimony of Tyrone Christ of the Castle Rock Church youth pastor. He reminded us that he is a product of the Challenge Circle. Our team was split up into 5 different groups for day camp, prayer walk and basketball outreach. The temperature was 94 degrees, but we heard that it was about the same back home. Our group worked great in all areas. Day camp was pretty chaotic today, but they tell us that Monday’s are the hardest. We had a brief break and then off to dinner and then to the Melph and Calliope housing projects to do the Challenge Circle. We were “hyped” and had a blast playing and teaching them about Jesus.

Praises and Prayer:
We praise God for everyone working well together and everyone surviving the extreme heat. Prayer: It is suppose to reach nearly 100 degrees for the next couple of days, so please pray for all the teams to stay healthy and hydrated. Continue to pray for opportunities to share Christ with Jesus.

Monday’s Limerick

We started our work at day camp
When we were done me were rather damp
As the day got hotter
We were told to drink lots of water

At 10 PM were told to turn off the lamp

The Missing Limerick

Sunday’s Limerick

All day in the hot sun we trained
Our bodies of water were drained
Got our heads into gear
Learned new things for to cheer
In the evening, new knowledge we gained.

That's The Way We Roll (Theme of the Week)

First of all we’d like to say Happy Father’s day to all you dads reading this! We started the day by waking up at 7:30 and heading over to Castle Rock Church for breakfast. We had a history of Castle Rock and another tour of the city. After that we went to Shakespeare Park and ate lunch. We then trained for the challenge circle, which we will do with the kids tomorrow afternoon. After that we had talks about poverty and why it is important to befriend and be around poor people. Then we discussed racial reconciliation and the unity it is important to have as the body of Christ. Later in the afternoon we trained for the day camp we will do with the kids tomorrow. Right after that we set up and ate dinner. Then we had a concert of prayer with a worship time. We ended up each getting a shirt after an amazing dance off.

Praises and Prayer: We praise the Lord that we had an amazing first day full of team bonding. Praise for the arrivals of McKenzie & Andrew as well as the rest of the Bostrom clan and Gary Weldon. Please keep praying for the hearts of the kids we will be witnessing to; that they will be opened and we will be able to show them God’s love through our example.

Our Day Old Limerick:

We started with devos, and then
Hopped into the van once again
We got here all right,
Learned new cheers all the night,

Fell asleep with our friends Dave and Jen

-The amazingly humble blog team (thank Bekah for the limerick)

We Have Arrived In Nawlins!

The day started with another rousing awakening in a hotel room. We ate, had devotions, packed and left at eight o’ clock. We only went through two states today and ended in New Orleans at around three. After we were welcomed in and given a tour of the house and then our trusty dusty youth pastor took us on a tour of our ministry area in the central (inner) city. We had supper at Popeye’s. We learned some cheers and chants during orientation at the Castle Rock Church. We finished up the orientation and then some of us helped set up for breakfast for the next day as well as make lunch for our team. Our day ended with three-minute showers and blogging.

Praises and Prayer: We praise God that we finally got to New Orleans in one piece and realized that the thing following us through eight states was just the trailer. We are also thankful for the great teams down here and the ease of moving in.

Please pray for continued team bonding and relationships between the teams; also for witnessing to the kids this week. Pray for Andrew & McKenzie who fly in to New Orleans and Tami Bostrom and Sons, and Gary Weldon who will arrive by train on Sunday.

We are sorry for the lack of poem tonight but we don’t have time. We shall write two tomorrow

-Your fantastical blog team (Karen and Marissa, still no Andrew, who finally arrives tomorrow!)

On the Road Again...

We woke up this morning and had a complimentary continental breakfast and sung Happy Birthday to Sarah. Once we got into the van we swapped stories about our night... there was a sleepwalker (for real). While we traveled through six states and journeyed over the Mississippi several times, we played games like Mad Libs and telephone. We would start out with a sentence like, "One day a dog went for a walk, then he crossed the road and tripped over a rock. He was mad, so he kicked a cow," and ended with "A frog tripped and kicked a cow to New Orleans." This was one of the things that entertained us during the twelve hour drive. Unfortunately, after four hours of this, we were bored. To our delight, we finally arrived at our hotel at around nine o' clock and went swimming. We will later retire to our rooms for the night.

Praise and Prayer:
Praise God for answering our prayers today for our safe travel and good health. Pray for our 400 mile trip to New Orleans tomorrow, as well as the arrivals of the other teams. Pray for continued good health with the very hot and humid weather. We sincerely appreciate your prayers!

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:24

We woke up and packed the van
And from the bad weather we ran
To make our way across six states
At Cici's pizza to clean our plates
And will now go to sleep (if we can)
-by your superior blog team! (minus Andrew plus Ashley.... again)

Welcome to the State of Museums (We only saw about ten signs on the way...)

The day started with the transportation team (Matt, Koley, and Jake) packing up the van. Next, family and friends prayed for our safe travels and about spreading the love of God in New Orleans. We left the church at 3:15 and started our almost 300 mile trek. In the van, we started off by playing a riveting game of pictionary telephone, and moved on to an energetic game of Mad Libs. We started to get weary of traveling after we got into Iowa. About three hours after hunger set in, we went to Fazoli's for supper. Finally about 9:30 we got to our Holiday Inn and settled in for the night, thus ending our day.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! Please continue to pray for our safe travel, health, and patience on the way.

We are so blessed to have an opportunity like this.
God bless!

"The journey of 1245 miles begins with the start of the engine"
(Kinda) Chinese Proverb

The 2nd annual poem begins...

We got to church and prayed
And in the van games we played
We drove all day
And what can we say?
Six hours in the van we stayed.

-your amazing blog team (minus Andrew for today, plus Ashley)

Jeffrey's Thoughts

I have never gone on a missions trip before and I have no idea what it will be like for me. However it is in God's hands, therefore whether I impact everyone around me or no one around me God is in control. I have been praying that God will help me grow closer to him in this experience. I hope I will be used for God's glory in both good and bad situations. But on top of all this uncertainty I am super excited for my trip down to New Orleans.

Please pray for me and my team.

Karen's Thoughts!

I'm so excited to be going back to New Orleans this year! We have been getting prepared to go to New Orleans by having three training sessions which explained what we would be doing in New Orleans, what it's like down there, and some other things too.

One thing that's excited about this team is it's not just the people we normally hang out with so it's going to be fun to get to know everybody on the team, which we'll have plenty of time doing on the 1,245 mile road trip on the way there.

Thank you for all the prayer and support. Please keep praying for our team as we go to New Orleans to spread God's love!

2009 Stats

New Orleans Team Fast Facts
Team Number: 10 Team Members: 17 Returning Members: 7
Transportation: 1– 15 passenger van & 5 x 8 trailer
Round Trip Miles: 2650 Gallons of Fuel Used: 189

Schedule:
Mornings- Praise & Worship/ Bible Study/ Prayer
Afternoon- Day camp/Work Projects and Evening Preparation
Evenings- Challenge Circle (Inner–City AWANA),
Evening Recreation (Housing Projects) & Relationship Building