Tripling up

Thursday the 22nd
As opposed to the rest of the week, Thursday was hot instead of hot and muggy. With the forecast saying it was suppose to rain all week, we were not sure what to expect. However when we did get rain, it was not enough to shut down any of the activities with the kids; making this the first year in a while that the team has experienced no rain delays. As the week neared its close we were getting a little tired, but we still were having fun with the kids and the other teams.


Friday the 23rd
final day in New Orleans and our final day with the kids. We started the day by heading to the French Quarter followed by a stroll through the River Walk. We ate lunch in the River Walk food court. After that we went back to the Church to have a fun Friday with the kids. An inflatable water slide, a bounce house, and a movie were the fun activities of the day. After we got a little wet (or a lot) we said our goodbyes to the kids we had gotten close to. Soon after that we left to have one last hour with the kids at the different projects it was sad, but at the same time amazing to see the impact we could have on a few kids after only knowing them for four days. Dinner was served by the interns as a thank you for giving our time to be with these kids. Next was the Say So. Say So is a time where all the teams gather together and share what God has done this week and then worship Him. After that we said goodbye to the other teams and thanked the interns. To finish our time in New Orleans we took the trolley to Cold Stone Creamery for a treat. Then we hit the sack.


Saturday the 24th
We woke up early and said any final goodbyes and hit the road early. As we drove the 650 miles we had time to reflect on our amazing week. We will miss the kids, the friends we made on the other teams, and the challenge circle. However we all defiantly took various things away from this trip. Tonight we shared as a group our highlights which was an awesome experience.Then we challenged each other to live out what we had just experienced and bring it to our communities.

Prayer requests: That Dave would stay awake and alert, we would have a safe final leg of the journey, and that we would impact our community as we come back to our daily lives

Poem Thing!!!

Rays of light
Each child was
Beyond the grave
Eternally saved
Lovin' people with all we got
lovin' Jesus til we drop
End though we have to part
New Orleans stays within our hearts
Dearly we remember thee
with love, affection, and glee

Thank you for the love and support

Doubling Up!

Sorry about the delay in getting another report out to you. We have been a bit busy and just got back to the Yellow House later than expected.
Tuesday was a very hot day (108 heat index)! We had groups out playing basketball, mowing vacant house lots and other running a day camp that included (Bible Time, Recreation and Crafts). Our team is feeling pretty good today, many didn't feel very good Monday, but it appears we have all adjusted, thanks for your prayers. We followed our afternoon activities with another night at the Melph and Callio housing projects and the amped-up version of Awana. There was a nice breeze that allowed things to feel much coller than earlier, along with no rain (all answers to prayer). We concluded a great day with a wonderful time at the Creole Creamery, it was very good.

Wednesday. . .flew right by. Teams rotated to different responsibilities and activities and didn't have to brave the heat, it was only 101 heat index. No really that feels a lot better. Everyone is still felling pretty good, I think we all are sleeping pretty good. Tonight we concluded with a Talent Show where our group performed the Everything Drama.

Pray for a good rest, also that the Lord would work on our hearts to draw us even closer to Him. That He would give us opportunities to share the gospel with children, youth and children.

See ya tomorrow!

A Beautiful Sight

The day started with a nice breakfast. We then moved on to group devos, followed by tye-dying some shirts wich was fun. Had a quick message from pastor John, ate lunch, then moved on to the fun part; Day camp started. It was so amazing to watch a group of local kids play and interact with us, who they had never met. The day went by so fast, just playing with the kids. After the kids left day camp we had a quick bite then got ready to go to the two housing projects. We got there and the kids just started hanging on us and playing with us. We ran the challenge circle and had a blast doing it! It was so cool (not in temprature) to see the kids screaming the cheers involving Jesus loud enough that the parents in the area heard. God is so good.

Prayer needs.
Please continue to pray for Andrews ankle.
Also pray for Madeline as she is feeling a little under the weather.

Poem!

Today was only monday.
But it sure was a fun day.
We played with balloons and got wet.
Now for the rest of the week we are set.
With the kids we did play,
but at the end of the day
the kids let us be
and have some swet tea.

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood!

We started the day with breakfast at 8. Just as we began our group devotions, it started to pour rain. We took a tour of the city, which was led by our very own Eric Baumgartner. Our training continued with a session in child evangelism. Then it was a sack lunch and division into teams to encounter the the flooded field to practice the Challenge Circle. At the end 7 of the team participated in the God created slip and slide in the middle of the field. We did more training in the areas of poverty, racial reconcilation, and day camp. We then had a great night at the concert of prayer to prepare our hearts and minds for the week. Then Dave drove us to the French Quarter to enjoy some Beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

Prayer Requests: Pray that God would open hearts of the children at Day camp as well as continued healing for Andrew's ankle and Zach's headaches. Pray for energy and strength as we now brave the oppresive heat and humidity.

Poem:
Today after raining
We started training
And it was very draining
Good times we did share
And ended with a concert of prayer

Now In New Orleans- Saturday, July 17

Today we arrived in good old New Orleans and we are very happy to be here. We were reunited with Karen and Esther who flew down due to an orchestra concert. Once we were semi settled into the yellow house we met the interns and learned the house rules. After that we had about an hour to explore the city and then we had dinner at Popeye's where "everyday is Mardi Gras". Then we moved onto Castle Rock Church where we learned the cheers and chants and all the general rules. Now we are here. Stay tuned for our next update!!



Prayer requests:

Please pray for Andrew's ankle and for safety tomorrow as we learn the Challenge circle outside in the heat.



Poem!

Today we started in the van
This week will truly increase our tan
after setting us free
we took a picture under a tree
and decided to explore the city
After going to our rooms to unpack
we noticed the Superdome had been painted black.

Check out some pictures at this link:

Today we made it to our second stop in Southaven Mississippi. We had a day of fellowship in the 12 hour van ride. Which was fun to say least. We drove through a 30 minute storm in Tennessee later in the day. Obviously we made it here safely otherwise we wouldn't be able to update this blog :) The devotional team has been doing a great job teaching and helping us get deeper in The Word. Tomorrow we have another fairly long (7 hour) drive ahead of us, so keep on praying. Look for our next update tomorrow evening. New Orleans Team signing out.

If you would like to veiw photos here is the link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10851&id=128884133819857&saved#!/album.php?aid=10851&id=128884133819857

We made it safely to our hotel in Ceader Rapids Iowa. Please keep us in your prayers as we will be driving 12 hours. We will have a more detailed update tomorrow.

Taylor's thoughts on the upcoming trip

Well I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to go to New Orleans; blessed financially and spiritually. I have never gone on a mission trip out of state before so that is increasingly exciting. I am so excited to be Jesus’s hands and feet to serve these kids with all I have. I feel God will change me and show me an environment completely different from what I know. This will as well be life-changing. I can honestly say I have never seen true poverty. So this will definitely be a different experience. I am ecstatic and ready to be on the full armor of God.

Esther's thoughts on upcoming trip

This will be my third year going down to New Orleans with the youth group and I am so excited! I'm excited to see how God will work through me and also to see how He will work in my heart. It's been amazing going to N.O. to play with the kids and show them God's love. Even though they live very different life styles then we do, they are so eager for us to come and play with them like any other kids would be. I also love how even though we are down there serving, they give us devotions and quiet time to do them to help us grow closer to God while we're down there. Every year I come away changed. I know God will be working in my heart this year and I will come away changed having grown closer to God.

Please be praying for: The team that we will be filled with God's love so that the kids can see His love through us.

The kids in N.O. that God will be working in their hearts.

James 4:2 says "You do not have, because you do not ask"
If we don't have prayer support here, then what we do down there won't amount to much more than a fun trip. So please be praying!

New Orleans Team 2010

This year we will be going down with a team of 15 again, and with 12 out of the 15 having been down there before, this is a quite experienced team. The team is getting ready to head out, we will be gone July 15-25. Please keep us in your prayers as we head into this life changing experience.