meanderings of a restless wanderer

Seriously, this is rad!

Check it out, and you can take a look at some others by going to this web site.

Day 2

Today was our first full day with VBS in the morning and house gutting in the afternoon. After pouring so much time, effort and worry into our VBS preparations, they paid off! Everything went GREAT! The kids were very rambunctious, but still willing and excited to learn and be involved with us. It was difficult to manage some of the kids tempers and energy, but after talking with the Camp Director, it’s easy to understand why the kids struggle with aggression. The psychologists they work with have said time and time again that aggressive outbursts are a normal result of what these kids have experienced as a result of Katrina.

It breaks my heart to think about what the kids have been through. Not only with the hurricane itself, but the resulting turmoil in the lives of their families…the divorces, the arguments, the losses, etc. It’s easy to have patience with them when you think about how hard life can be these days in the Big Easy.

After VBS, we got to hang out a little bit while the kids ate lunch before changing and heading over to our house-gutting assignment. The house we are gutting is just around the corner from the BBC office and belongs to a woman named Frane. She stopped by while we were working today and was very excited to meet us…as we were her. Our work today was pretty easy. All we had to do was knock out dry wall and tear down door frames. Jeny and Jessie got to go up in the attic and kick down the ceiling (how fun is that? If only I were a foot shorter). Heather used her height to her advantage and knocked out the higher bits of dry wall. I ripped apart a closet (that, by the way, was covered with furry yellow moldy growth) and bathroom and some of the aforementioned door frames.

After all that, we headed home for some showers and red beans (a traditional New Orleans Monday dinner) with the Petersons and Kati Sheperdson. Kati was able to tell the girls about the volunteer work she does with the homeless people in the city as well as her “Katrina story”. And then we headed out to the French Quarter so the girls could see a few sites. We saw Bourbon Street (only a couple blocks), Royal Street, Jackson Square, St Louis Cathedral and a few other things before debriefing the day at Cafe Du Monde and praying over the city from the Riverfront. There were also a few choice encounters with street performers and restaurant husslers (that’s what I call the people who stand outside with menus trying to get people to come in).

Now we are safe and sound back at the Petersons getting ready for bed. Pray for us as we wake up tomorrow for another full day with the kids and the house. Pray we have opportunities to talk more with our home owner as well as the few neighbors that are around. Pray that we can impact these kids lives in any small or large ways God would have for us. Pray that tomorrow evening is another enjoyable time for us to talk, get to know each other more and encourage one another and the people who will be with us.

More tomorrow…

My wife is currently leading a group of girls on a mission trip in our beloved New Orleans. As I am hoping many people are praying for them I also wanted to be able to post Leanne’s blog here so everyone could now how it’s going. Enjoy.

Day 1

Today was our team’s first full day in New Orleans, and boy was it a FULL day! We started the morning with some devotions and then headed off to Franklin Avenue Baptist Church. For those of you who are not familiar with FABC, it is a staple of New Orleans. There are thousands of people who attended this church before the storm…most from the parts of the city hit the hardest by Katrina. When Katrina hit, many parishors went to Houston. So many so that Franklin Avenue was meeting in Houston and now has basically planted a church in the Houston area. The Lead Pastor was actually in Houston this morning. We heard “The Bishop”. And for those of you who’ve been to a black Southern Baptist church, you KNOW-ah we went to CHURCH-a THIS-ahh MORNIN’!

It was good. You can check out their website and see a videocast of the service every week. I think Heather might actually leave Revolution to watch the FABC broadcast. :o) Not really.

After coming back to the house to change, we headed out to lunch. We had some amazing Po’ Boys. The girls even liked the alligator sausage. mmmmmmm

And then it was time for “the tour”. It’s hard for me to imagine what this is like for someone who’s never been here before. I’ve been doing the same tour since October 2005, and even though it’s almost 3 years later, it’s amazing that the sights can still create deafening silence, awe and sadness in those seeing for the first time. New Orleans is coming back. But she’s coming back slowly.

When the tour was over, a few of us stayed at the house to relax for a little while while 2 of us headed out with Janet to Sam’s club and to pick up our rental van (which is like a Mazda Miata compared to the Giant White BBC Beast we’ve been driving since last night) and then a final stop at Wal-Mart for some VBS supplies. Once we got back home, Jessie (with some help from our hosts) cooked up some wonderful Spaghetti and salad, we ate and then did some planning for tomorrow.

We are so tired and the week hasn’t really even begun yet! Tomorrow is the first day of our 4-day VBS as well as our first taste of gutting a house. We are all excited, but praying we are energetic enough to give it our all. Karina had a fever of 102 earlier, but it looks like God is answering our prayers and it’s down to 99 as of an hour ago! Praise God!

As for me, I’m just along for the ride. I don’t know what God has in store for this week. I certainly didn’t expect my own emotions to be all out of whack just by being here, so I have to really let God have control of everything or I’ll just fall apart like I usually do when I get overwhelmed.

So when you think about us, pray for us. Pray for the kids we’ll meet tomorrow. Pray for the people whose house we are working on. Pray for us to have soft hearts and humble, teachable spirits. Pray that we grow to love one another and enjoy one another as teammates. Pray that we stay healthy and well-rested. Pray that God gives us joy abundantly. And pray that God is glorified through our short stay here in New Orleans.

Until later…

Alright, so I am at a mall today waiting for my wife and sister in law to be done shopping at H&M. There I am minding my own business munching on an Auntie Anne’s Pretzel and sipping on some lemonade - when all of a suddenly this blond lady walks up to me, smiles and says…”is your name Topher?”

What the heck…how do people know who I am out here?! I said yes with a look on my face of what I am sure was - are you going to kill me…and she said I have heard so much about you. Innocently I said…ummm from who? I work with your mother in law, she said.

OHHHHHHHHHH! Apparently my mom in law talks about me a lot has lots of pictures of us up at the hospital she works at. Kind of freaked me out though…I’m not going to lie.

I don’t really know how to explain it….but it’s kind of cool. Check it out.

OK! So, I haven’t done a serious post in a long time…it’s not because I don’t want to, it’s more because my thoughts are not organized enough with all that has happened. I am currently working on a post entitled thoughts on authenticity but until that time I have this one. Today at lunch we were discussing great live performances so below you will find some of my favorites. I chose on originality, creativity, and sheer enjoyment. You don’t have to agree with me…but I bet you will. Feel free to add your own.

In no particular order here are my favorites…

Michael Jackson - Billy Jean - It’s not the original but still, no description needed!

U2 and Green Day - The Saints are Coming - Sentimental for me, but also incredible.

NYSYNC - BYE BYE BYE - Don’t mock me! I apologize for the beginning of the video but if you wade through it and watch the BYE BYE BYE portion you will understand why I think it is one of the best…I hope. It’s just the middle part.

Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Castello, Dave Grohl, and Steve Van Zandt - The Clash Tribute - If you don’t know who The Clash are…then know that I am sad for you.

Guns N Roses and Elton John - November Rain - When of the best/odd combinations in a live performance…ever.

Beyonce - Ring the Alarm - Say what you want, this performance is sick…specifically beginning at 2:29

Coldplay - The Scientist - Granted this is one of my favorite songs, but the simplicity of this performance is beautiful.

U2 - Super Bowl - Sure U2 is on here twice…there’s a reason…they rock! And this performance is not only frickin awesome but it’s also moving…in fact if you don’t get chills…check your pulse.

The number of mosquito bites I have on my body. I’m going crazy! It’s like having chicken pocks all over again just without the sympathy.

Just say no to west nile…

Well, since we are now a Mac household I have been playing around with all things Mac - like iLife 08…more specifically iWeb.

iWeb allows you to create your own website…sort of. Since Leanne had some Sensaria party and the baby was in bed by 7:30 I decided to make a family web site. It is still a work in progress but it does have some photo albums up and some other basic things going. If you get a chance - check it out.