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.