NOLA 2- We depart

I know I usually send an email a week or so ahead of time saying we are getting ready to go to the Gulf to work on rebuilding from the damage from Hurricane Katrina.  This time, it snuck up on me and here we are.  

So tonight, we are in Cedar Falls, Iowa, at the Lutheran Campus Ministry Center.  For those of you who haven following our trips since the beginning, you may be saying, "wait, it's only Friday.  They shouldn't be leaving until morning."  (For those of you brand new to these emails, welcome and you don't know we are doing anything different anyway, except that now I just told you.)  We had our Commissioning service tonight at Salem UMC.  Pastor Gregg Swope gave a great, inspiring message.  "The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me."  (See Isaiah 61)  Then we had communion and we got in the vans and left.  We went as far as Cedar Falls, IA.  Tomorrow, we go to Memphis, and that should put us into New Orleans (Slidell) earlier in the day on Sunday.  

There are 20 of us on this team.  

Rod Sc. (me)

Barbara S. (her 6th trip)

Howard N. (6th)

Erin C. (5th)

Lewis W. (5th)

Corrine M. (5th)

Bob N. (4th)  Bob will be hooking up with us in St. Louis.  He is from Indianapolis. 

Rod St. (3rd)

Ginger St. (3rd.)

Darold S. (3rd)

Ali St. (2nd)

Carolyn W. (2nd)

Kathy B. (2nd)

Matt S. (2nd)

Roma B. (2nd) -- Roma will be flying to meet us in New Orleans.  She is from Michigan.  

Jeff S. (2nd)

Jake S. (1st)

Mari F. (1st)

Paul A. (1st)

Jill H. (1st)-  Jill will be coming with Roma from Michigan.  

Susan L. and Darlene L. are our home base team mates in Minnesota and Michigan respectively.  

I have been told that our first projects will be vinyl siding and soffit, some drywall, and some plywood on some porches.  Louisiana Disaster Recovery is very organized.  They seem to be doing everything they can to make this as easy as possible for us.  

It is good to be on the road again, serving people.  We are going to be coming at this with eyes wide open, empowered by the Spirit of the sovereign God, to offer hope, relief, and love.  

We are grateful for the people that have supported us.  We are grateful to be called to be involved in this ministry.  

I think after today, I will just post on the blog, and send a link to the blog.  I have blind copied everyone so that you don't have to look at all the names.  (There are 197 of you, plus the team!)  After today, I will try to get pictures up every day.  

Things to remember today:

Gregg Swope:  The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon you!  Be Crazy for God!  

Being ON THE ROAD!

The HUGE bucket of chocolate chip cookies Ali brought.

The hospitality of the Lutheran Campus Ministry Center for housing us.  

Prayer requests:  

Safety in travel

Our hearts being prepared to see the things God would have us see

And to understand what we are seeing.  

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey