Late Night Update...

It is 12:32 am and I should be asleep! Bedtime in NOLA is 11pm, and at least I am in my bunk, but I couldn't go to bed without writing about tonight.

First, let me just say I am sorry for being the main author of this blog. We prefer to have students write it, but this year there just has not been time! We are busy busy busy all day every day. We get up at 6am to get ready for the work day. We have devos (personal guided devotion times) at 6:30am. Breakfast is at 7, along with lunch making and anything else we need to get done before heading out the door around 7:45am for the work site. We are on site from about 8:30-4:30. We get back promptly at 5:30 to eat dinner in our disgusting dirty clothes (you really cannot believe how filthy we are by the end of the work day.) Then its showers, followed by worship from 8-9:30/10 and an hour of free time/getting ready for bed. See! Very little time to blog. But the great thing about it is that we are getting so much done on the sites and so many great things are happening in our students' hearts as well!

Today I had to take junior Clara Kerrone to the ER because she has a sprained ankle. Clara is a trooper. She did not want to stop working to be taken care of (her injury did not occur on the work site) but we made her go. When we were talking for a moment before she headed off to X-Ray she told me that she was "going back to work. And I am working tomorrow, I don't care what they say! I want to work!" I smiled and said, "We'll see what the doctors say." Later, after she had her new splint and crutches as we were walking/hobbling to the car, she spotted a man in a wheelchair who was a double amputee feeding pigeons. She turned to me and said, "What do I have to complain about! He is so happy and his injury is much worse than mine. I don't need to feel sorry for myself." Then she hopped in the van and insisted on returning to work. On crutches. That is what happens here. Students rise to the occasion and then some. Of course we got the all clear from the doctors first and are keeping a careful eye on Clara, but she can't wait to work on our last day tomorrow.

This evening when we gathered for worship it was obvious that the Lord was going to do great things. Branden Hendrix talked about the trouble with sin in our lives and about the grace of the Lord. It was just so great. I can't even tell you how great! So many of the kids dedicated or rededicated their hearts to Christ tonight. I will admit that I shed more than one tear seeing and hearing about the way that God is moving in the lives of our teens. Two students told me earlier today that they don't want to leave New Orleans. They are just going to move here. And that was after spending the hottest day we have had, with a heat index of 109 degrees, doing manual labor in a house with no power or air conditioning.

What a week! Tomorrow is our last day on sites and the students are ready to kick some tail! They will work so hard to get as much done as possible and they will return with full hearts at the end of the day knowing that they have made a huge difference in someone's life. Please pray for continued safety on the work sites, for a strong finish and for the fresh commitments these students made to the Lord! Parents, thank you for letting us have this time with your kids! Each one of them is wonderful and I feel very blessed to know them.

Until tomorrow,
Hannah

Leader's POV

**Written on June 29 - internet connection failed when we tried to post! Thanks for your patience!**

Writing to you this evening are 5 of the 10 leaders. It's 11pm and we are TIRED. We love your kids, but by the end of the day each one of us falls gratefully into bed ready for 7 hours of slumber before spending another day with your perfect holy children.

Branden Hendrix, trip speaker, has this to tell you:
"I am excited to see God at work through devotionals, worship, talks and small groups. But more than anything I am excited to hear about kids opening up their lives to Christ and looking at what they need to change when they get home to continue having a strong relationship with God. God is definitely moving here."

John Dilworth says, "I am amazed and impressed at the skill level and dedication of the students. I am also really enjoying the small group discussions we are having and how much the kids are opening up."

Stacy Geyer adds, "I am amazed at how much pride the kids take in doing a really good job. And they do a really good job! The kids really care about wanting it to look just right. It's cool! And of course there has to be laughter in the house... so it’s a good thing I am there!"

Kenneth Hubbell, intern extraordinaire, wants you to know this:
"I am thrilled about the genuine relationships made with each other and I am hopeful that these relationships will carry on into the next year, providing a strong foundation of faith and perseverance for the future."

These leaders are reporting the truth to you! Students are really growing in their faith and working hard at the sites! They are tired every night and fall into bed, usually. It has been a wonderful week so far. I am so glad that we decided to come to NOLA one more time. I can't wait for you to hear about it from your kiddos on Saturday, and I cannot wait to go back to the site in the morning! Peace to all of you back home,
Hannah

Keanu's Bathroom Adventure

Junior Keanu Rivera writing this blog entry.

On a New Orleans work site we are required to accomplish and perfect many jobs, but none are quite as tasking and physically demanding as dry-walling. Today myself, Morgan McAlpine, Roslyn Martin, and Maddie Theiss took on this tedious task and began an adventure which will go down as possibly the most daring feat of NOLA mission work ever: installing dry wall on a bathroom ceiling.

To begin our job we first had to cut out our pieces of drywall with razor thin precision. After crafting this amazing piece of drywall we went to place it on the ceiling, a job that was left for only me and Madi to do because the rest of our group were on one of a seemingly infinite amount of poop breaks. While fitting the drywall to the ceiling we quickly realized that we had no where near the strength to accomplish this task without our team members. We realized this when our arms gave out and the large piece of drywall came tumbling down and hit me on the head (causing me to go into, what I believe, was a momentary coma). I soon recovered and the rest of my group arrived, all satisfied with the poops they had just taken, and we went to once more fasten the drywall to the ceiling. After positioning the drywall perfectly and grinding it down to make it a perfect fit, we finally felt that victory was in our grasp... Little did we know we would have one more twist in our path.

We had forgotten to cut out holes for the air duct and light fixture, defeated we trumped back to the drawing board and put our minds together to carefully construct our ceiling. Finally, with help from the circle cutting master Kirin Foster, we had it! Our work group crowded around to watch this piece of artwork be fitted. Slowly the drywall rose through the air and fit snuggly into place. Cheers erupted from our spectators as we laughed and cried with pure joy. We were heroes, champions, victorious winners. This glory lasted only momentarily however, as we realized we had only done one piece of a bathroom ceiling's dry-walling and we still had several to go...

Thank goodness we get to go back tomorrow for more dry-walling!

Day One is In the Books! On to Day Two!

Sorry for taking so long to update the blog. What can I say? NOLA time flies like crazy! It is weird to think that we have been here for almost two days and that we are heading to our work sites for the second work day in just a few minutes. There is so much to tell. There are so many great stories waiting for you. But right now we are about to head out. There is not enough time to tell the stories. That will happen tonight, I promise! We will post at least one story written by a student, but for now, we have to fill our water bottles with ice, hydrate, and head out! I will leave you with just a few pictures of the first two days. More tonight! We covet your prayers and miss you all back home!
Peace, Hannah

On the plane, ready to be in NOLA! Spencer, Kate, and Sierra


Kenny and Jacob at orientation


Trista and Kirin on the work site! It's hot!


Courtney and Tyler Porter install a tricky piece of drywall with a local neighbor who wanted to help the cool big kids for the day.

Getting There...

We leave in two and half weeks. Oh man. Here we go again. One last time in the Big Easy.

Every year as I prepare for this trip, I can feel my excitement growing over the months. First I am excited to start planning with the adult team. Next we start our team meetings and that is a big excitement. Then... the fundraising begins. That is one of the hardest parts of the trip for sure, but with each event that passes and with each students' total rising, my excitement grows. When the intern begins (this year its Kenny), I know that we are just weeks away and I am at an almost fever pitch with my excitement. I cannot wait for June 26. That day needs to be here.

And in two and half weeks it will be!

NOLA here we come!