day 4 wrap

We had another good and busy day....

We were up and going by 6:30 this morning. We didn't get a work detail until around 8:30....these things are standard on a mission trip. We were back down at the Brantley Homeless Shelter moving things out and getting them over to the two Baptist Mission buildings. It's hard work....and they have tons of stuff. We moved lots of different things and filled up a U-Haul twice! We shuttled the group back and forth from the Brantley Center to Rachel Sims twice. All in all, it was a busy morning!

We did our last afternoon of Kid's Club and had a great turnout. We saw some new faces and got to love on kids a lot. It's amazing how these children have attached themselves to our students in such a short time. Equally amazing is how our students seem to have had their hearts pricked for children in need. I pray that God would use this opportunity to serve him as fork in the road for some students, and adults too, for that matter, to answer the call to ministry....more specifically, to missions. When you see the type of work that goes on at a place like this, it should stir the heart of the Christ-follower. Simply put, this is amazing work....and what makes it amazing is the fact that we're living the Great Commandment and fulfilling the Great Commission.

Tonight will be a night that will be filled with conversations about what God has done this week. It's very gratifying to see God working in our people....maybe we need to be shaken from time to time. I feel like I can say that we have been opened up to a new reality with our experiences here.

day 3 afternoon wrap

I'm really getting the impression that our work here is sticking with our group-both students and adults. Evidenced by their attitudes and comments, God is working in the hearts of our team members. It's amazing that we can drive three short hours and get to a place that is so remotely different from what we're used to. Ironically, this same sort of lifestyle exists very close to home for us.

I can say this for sure: God has stretched each person on this mission...emotionally and spiritually. we have come to a place that has a reputation for being dangerous and sinful....a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah of sorts....but I see the hearts of our people being softened to the actual faces that comprise New Orleans. At the end of the day, these are people who Jesus died for and who are completely worthy of our attention and love. We have Hope and it's our responsibility to take that to
all nations, to quote various scriptures. I pray that God will use this to spark a passion to carry Christ to others who need hope.

Here's our afternoon wrap from two student's perspective...

For our afternoon Kid's Club, we had to go to another park. The park across the street was never unlocked by the police. We went a few streets over to a smaller park and did our Kid's Club. We played basketball and football with them and also blew bubbles, colored, and played with them on the playground. The kids trusted us more today than yesterday because they didn't think we were coming back for another day. When we came back today, they were excited and ran up to us when we showed up! Brother Cory taught the gospel with salvation bracelets. One kid remembered what Papa Don taught yesterday. It was amazing that they remembered because it seems like some of them weren't listening. Today's Kid's Club really was great.....we also challenged them to bring as many of their friends as possible tomorrow for our last day. One kid said he was going to bring 10 friends because that's how many he has! We walked some of the kids home and went and bought icebergs for a snack (frozen Kool-Aid).

We went out to Bubba Gump's restaurant tonight. Some of us got light-up glasses with slushies called Lemon-Ups. We told the waitress that it was Sam's birthday. They brought him a sundae and sang a weird song to him. I think he was embarrassed. We all wore our mission trip t-shirts....one lady said she liked our shirts.

Kylie Thompson and Hannah Tuttle

day 3 morning

We woke up at 7 this morning and had a "fend for yourself" breakfast. We had an awesome first time experience for this trip: prayer walking. We broke up into teams of 4 and combed the park and the neighborhood praying for God to stir in this area and in our afternoon ministries. It was an awesome time of prayer and our people definitely saw the significance.

We then bussed down to the Brantley Center and began cleaning out the entire six-story building! The Brantley Center housed the homeless-men, women, and children-and had a drug rehab program. They are having to relocate to another area. Let me tell you....I'm not sure I've ever seen so much stuff in my life. You name it, they had it....and in bulk! We were able to form a human chain and move boxes of bibles, clothing, shoes, and other items all the way from the fourth floor down to the ground floor.

On tap for this afternoon.....Kid's Club from 3 to 5. Our team will then go our for dinner in New Orleans to unwind a little. I'm proud to be the leader for this group. They have really pushed these two days.....it seems like we've gotten more than two days worth of work! Be sure to look later on tonight for more afternoon updates and a blog from Hannah and Kylie....

day 2 afternoon wrap

During the afternoon we headed to the park across the street from the mission. When we first arrived there were not many children, but after we began the activities there was an explosion of children! There were football games, basketball games, jump rope and coloring. After a couple of hours, there was a craft time that allowed the children to mold their own clay pots to signify that Jesus is the potter and we are the clay. Don Moss led a Bible study where he preformed a rope trick as an example that God sees us all equally despite how we see ourselves and others. The work was exhausting but fun, and we got to know several children who we hope to have impacted in a positive way. We look forward to another day of tiring but rewarding work tomorrow! Eric Cheek and T-Claude Dardar

Check out some pictures from our afternoon at Rachel Sims Baptist Mission.

day 2-morning

We have been very busy this morning. We got up at 6 am to a great pancake breakfast cooked by Skeeter. Everyone was pretty energetic considering we were operating a little sleep. We were outside working by 7:30.

We had teams of people working in storage rooms, fixing weak spots in the floor, mowing grass, cleaning the park that we use for afternoon programs, and painting over graffiti. Needless to say, we have finished many tasks and the place is looking good!


We did have some wonderful encounters with awesome lawn equipment. There was one mower with no place to put the gas.....that's because it was an ELECTRIC MOWER! How crazy is that? We also had a mower that was missing a sparkplug. We also had a demon-possessed leaf blower that wouldn't cooperate.....that's because someone mixed the gas for the blower with standard motor oil! We changed the fuel and it worked fine.


It's been a day of firsts.....we painted over graffiti, cleaned a courtyard, and Allina made her first ever attempt at cutting grass! We'll post more this evening with pictures of the children's ministries we're doing in an hour.

Cory

day 1 wrap

Today was consumed with meetings and instructions about the rest of the week. Tomorrow we hit the ground running.....at a dead sprint! Read today's wrap from Erica Koop's perspective...


8:00 - Time to Go

After a picture and a prayer, we set off on our incredible journey.

1:30 - Arrived at our Destination

We used our muscles to pack all of the things we brought. The two suitcase rule when out the window, but what did we expect with 9 girlies. We weren’t moving in but the community sure did think so.

2:30 - Debriefing

Linda came in to tell us the rules, and boy were they helpful. We learned that if the kids tell us the toilets are in the back yard, “Don’t believe them.” That was only the beginning. Linda had jokes and we laughed a lot. But then we got to the good stuff. We were able to talk about the people we would be serving and how much we will be able to impact their lives. Just from the time we had our meeting me could tell what type of impact this mission will have.

Sometime after 2:30 - Stuff

There will be many opportunities to share Christ on this trip and we are ready to go. We will be working with backyard bible clubs with the kiddies in the neighborhood. The kids are excited and ready to tell the Good News of Christ.

This week we will be Flexible, Planters, Teachers, Builders, Harvesters, and Painters.

Blessings!

Erica Koop

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more updates!

one week and counting...

We are now inside one week of leaving for the Irish Channel. There are several ways you can pray for our team...

• cooperative weather
• receptive hearts
• for much work to be accomplished
• for the directors of the mission
• for a sense of urgency for missions in God's church

Please lift these things to God as we prepare to leave in seven short days!

Be sure to check back for pictures and updates.

Welcome!

welcome to the irish channel mission blog. we are a group of christ-followers who are going to new orleans to serve the residents of the irish channel community. there will be daily blogs, testimonials, and pictures to document our mission. check back for updates the week of march 25.