Wonder Voyage 2010 Summer Blog

Our week in NOLA with the team from Heavenly Rest drew to a close with some real New Orleans culture.  We began with alligators and ended with Creole Cuisine.  In the middle we explored the colorful sights, sounds, and smells of the French Quarter.  As we gathered for our final discussion time, the students reflected upon the moments of the week that took their breaths away, and the moments they will remember and cherish like picture postcards.

This has been an amazing week with an amazing group of young people.  They displayed grace upon grace.  They worked with energy and excellence.  They treated one another with compassion and kindness.  They showed respect and love for their adult leaders.  They served the people of the city with open hearts and open minds.  They immersed themselves in the culture of this unique and special place.  They ‘got lost’ in all there is to see and do and experience in the city, and in the midst of all of it they ‘found’ that they are a true community, a tribe that can have an enormous positive impact on not just one another, but on the world at large.  May God continue to bless and keep them as they grow in wisdom and stature.

Just driving into New Orleans was so different than what I pictured. The water damage to the city is so much worse than I could ever dream. The long van ride was well worth the wait to see the area of the city we are staying in now. If only I could draw. Every house is different from all the others. It’s truly artistic; the colors more vibrant with every block and the architecture varying from house to house. Driving into the neighborhood made me think about how thankful I am to live where I live and not have to worry about certain natural disasters. After we got settled in at the house, we took a neighborhood walk down to a coffee shop. When we came back we had fried chicken for dinner and everyone decided to crash afterwards. A 12 hour car ride doesn’t make anyone feel exactly “rested”. The day felt longer now that I have been up for 25 hours.

The next morning we headed out to the lower 9^th Ward (to a street appropriately named Flood Street) in the van with our guide. We got out of the van and walked about a block to look at all the houses that got affected by the flooding and the hurricane.  It amazed me the buildings that were still intact, how the brick would be barely on or hanging off. It was scary, but at the same time enticing. I wanted to explore; look around inside the buildings and peek in the houses that were abandoned. Our guide started talking to us about how he saw this neighborhood and immediately thought that this was reality. People’s lives got taken from them, but maybe that is to show us that in Heaven there will never be a natural disaster that takes everything away from us or destroys our life. Heaven will be perfect and everything that happens until then is for us to come to the realization that life on earth is imperfect.He prayed for us and something he said stuck out to me and a couple others. He said, “God, ruin us of the ordinary.” It made me think a lot about how true those words are and how that can affect the way you live your life. The group then went to St. Phillips church. We had lunch and immediately started painting various parts of the church and pressure washing the outside. The girls and I had to paint the boys’ bathroom. Boys are so different from girls. And that includes cleanliness. When we all finished I felt a sense of accomplishment. We had dinner at the church also. The women there made us Gumbo and Jambalaya. It was absolutely delicious and different than what I’m used to. We came back to the house and are relaxing until we go out at dark. I’m not sure what we will be doing, but it sounds like an adventure. I can’t wait for the week to progress and to see what God has in store for all of us here. I am trying to open my eyes to the path God wants me to take and follow with His footsteps guiding mine.

Our all girl crew from St James Episcopal Church in Del Rio Texas left New Orleans on Saturday after all week of hard work, lots of exploration and loads of smiles.  All week long this group demonstrated an attitude of grace, hope, and a willingness to do whatever was asked.  Wherever they showed up to work, the first comment heard was, “it’s only girls?”  At the end of every day, what they heard was, “Wow, these girls were amazing!”The harder they worked, the harder the people around them worked.  The more they laughed, the more the people around them laughed.  The more they demonstrated love and grace, the more it was demonstrated back to them. 

The energy of the week was contagious.  From double rainbows, to sno-balls, to brightly colored hair ribbons, from the encouraging words of a Vietnam vet named Pete to the inspirational songs of a missionary named John, the week was full of glimpses of the face of God.As the 9th Ward Warriors return to West Texas, they return changed; and the city of New Orleans has changed as well. Along with their contagious attitude, their presence has become part of the story of the new New Orleans.

So how do you make a difference in a culture where almost 80% of the women are single moms and the men are either dead, jailed, or drugged? Then add a major hurricane, levies that collapse and a 40 feet wall of water blasting through the neighborhood.  It is easy to get discouraged.

Yesterday we discussed being enslaved to stereotypes and today we were encouraged to step out.  It is hard, but there is a ray of hope in the Lower 9th Ward here in New Orleans.  All Souls Episcopal Church has made an impact in the community.  Deborah, one of the parishioners, said All Souls was the only Church that came back the the lower 9th not just to help, but to stay.  Lonell Wright, the priest at the church, spoke to our group; he reiterated that teenage pregnancies, drugs, guns, no dads, and overloaded moms make for a difficult group of people to reach.  He encouraged our team to thank their parents for all they do, not to be tempted by persuasive arguments from the opposite sex, and to focus on their studies.  These are the things that All Souls is encouraging the young people of the Lower 9th to do as well.

Surely this week has made a difference in me.  My heart has been affected so much that I question my stereotypes and I desire to step out of my comfort zone.  It makes me realize that the Lord can use the same pattern in my culture – loving and serving – one person at a time.

Eyes for Others by Vanessa Tompkins

“Why are we stopping at Walmart?” the girls asked.  “I have no idea I am just following Molly” I say.  We stop and with the heavens dumping buckets Molly scrambles into our car completely soaked holding a rock.  They are all staring at her hoping that she held the answer as to why we were sitting all smelly, tired and hungry in the parking lot.  She began to tell a story about Stone Soup.  Knowing why we were sitting in the parking lot I was waiting for the end of the story to see the girls reaction.  Ultimately they were going to be planning, shopping, preparing and cleaning up after dinner.  Molly gives them their instructions and to my pleasant surprise the sleepy girls come to life and all of a sudden have this renewed sense of energy and purpose.  We drop them off and wait for their return.

“Put others in front of yourself this week”.  We heard these words last night before we went to bed.  Well of course that is what the leaders say on mission trips and if you are lucky the youth will wake up the next day and remember to put those new set of glasses on before they walk out the door.  Our girls, all of our girls had remembered to put on those glasses.  They worked their butts off digging a ditch.  Did any of them know what they were doing??? No, but they jumped in willing and ready to help.  They not only put “the people” we were helping in front of themselves, but they put each other ahead of themselves.  Volunteering to take over when someone got tired, figuring out how everyone could be involved and all the while overflowing with sweat and a sense of empowerment that they were making a difference.

As the youth returned from their adventures in Walmart they walked proudly and were anxious to finish their activity at home.  We haven’t eaten dinner yet…but they are working on it.  I know it will be made with love, amazement and pride.  I also know that those girls rose to the challenge.  They kept their new glasses on all day and I don’t see them taking them off any time soon.  They are truly living today and I know this week what Jesus asks us to do….to put others before yourself.