meanderings of a restless wanderer

Day 3

I’m going to try to make this a little shorter than the previous 2 days because, quite frankly, it’s late and I’m tired.

Today went really well. VBS was good this morning. Our team heard a couple of stories that really helped give us a glimpse of what life is like for these kids. One child, Calin, lost his mom just 4 weeks ago. He’s 7 years old. We’ve all noticed him being very clingy and affectionate with us, but now we know why. Please pray for him.

Karina was feeling well enough to come with us today, so she was able to be there for the VBS. However, by the time VBS was over she was starting to get that worn out day-after-the-flu feeling. Since I had to get a tetanus shot anyway, we dropped the other 3 girls off at the house, went to get my shot (we went every direction except the right one to get to the clinic, by the way), then headed over to the BBC office to see if they needed any help. We weren’t there for more than 10 minutes when I got a call from Arthur (the Volunteer coordinator working with the other 3 girls) saying that, (1) Heather stepped on a nail, so you know the clinic you just went to? Yea, she needs to go now…and (2) The dumpster still had not shown up at the house and we can’t do anymore work until all the stuff we’ve already knocked out can come out of the house. So that was the end of house gutting for day 2.

It worked out really well, though, because we were able to come back to BBC and play with the kids for a while before heading back home a little early to shower and take a quick tour of the Garden District before Kati, Paul, the Petersons and the Homs joined us for some of Ray’s famous Shrimp Pasta.

After dinner, we all sat around the living room and heard Paul’s “Katrina story”. Not only did Paul grow up and live in Gentilly (a neighborhood demolished by the floods), but he was in college at the time at Tulane University, so his story has some different elements to it. We also got to hear the story of how he met his fiance shortly after returning from the storm. For a group of girls, that was a great addition!

At 9, we broke for a few minutes so our team could officially do a short debrief so everyone was free to go to bed. Jessie’s been having a lot of problems sleeping this week. She’s very literally exhausted and needs to sleep more than anything else right now. We prayed over her and her bed and we haven’t seen her roaming in or out of the room yet, so my (our) hope is that God is showing himself faithful to our request.

A few of us took a quick trip out to Morning Call in Metairie for Beignets, then I took a liberty as the leader and driver of the car and swung by my adopted Mama’s house to wake her up (as I usually end up doing when I come to town) and say hello. I can’t come to this town and not at least see her for 5 minutes.

Now everyone is sleeping but me and I’m very quickly heading in that direction. Thank you to those who are reading these (very long) updates and keeping us in prayer. The team is really starting to function like a team and I’m really proud of us. I look forward to seeing what God does in the next few days in the girls and in the people around us. Keep praying!

Until tomorrow…

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…

Oh how quickly time flies when you’re taking care of a baby. It’s Thursday night, and I am nowhere near ready for this weekend. Today, for the first time in a long time I felt overwhelmed…when you are the primary care giver you don’t exactly have the time you need, to do everything you need to do. Thankfully, I am a quick learner in re prioritizing. This Weekend is going to be awesome, and I have gotten to spend a ton of quality time with Bella. Of course that does not mean I am not ready for Leanne to be home…less than 24 hours…WOO HOO!

A big thanks to Stephanie Corns for watching Bella this afternoon while we did some filming for the Ministry Appreciation Dinner. Speaking of dinner Bella and I shared a special dinner for two from McDonalds…chicken nuggets and apple dippers…yum! My daughter is now asleep and the Lost season finale begins in an hour…so what am I going to be doing the next hour you might ask…I’m not sure - this is the first bit of alone time I’ve had…I might eat some apple pie.

Later.

Bella is asleep…and I want to pass out…at 7:45pm.  Seriously, I don’t know how single parents do it…and I have an easy baby!

I worked from home today - so in the midst of feeding, playing, and changing I was able to get some of my work done…of course I will be up the next 6 hours finishing what I did not get done.  On the flip side of everything though…I had a lot of fun.  I never get to spend the entire day with Bella so it is good father daughter time.

Thankfully, although Leanne is away on her retreat I have Jenny…who is my mom stand in.  What’s a mom stand in?  Well she is the one I have been calling evetytime I have a question…and I got lots a questions. Thank You Jenny!

No boo boos today, just a lot of snot, and a whole bunch of laughter.

Until next time…

Here I am. Preparing for what I am sure will be an interesting week. Leanne is gone on a week long retreat…and I am all alone with the baby…being Mr. Mom

Mr. Mom

So, I’ve never been the sole provider before. I’m pretty sure I can handle it…I hope. The great thing is, is that Bella is uber easy however, I am still kind of freaked out about being single dad for a week. I’m not sure how to balance the work and baby thing on my own…especially in a week when I am preparing for a sermon ths coming Sunday and a wedding I will be performing. So I might just stay home and forgo the social activities that I would normally partake in and prepare for Sunday…and watch 30 Rock.

30 Rock

I am not a big fan of Alec Baldwin…in fact he kind of annoys me, which has caused me to not even attempt to watch 30 Rock. Well after months of hounding from Tanya I gave in and watched an episode…thanks to HULU I have now watched the entire second season…in 3 days. Seriously, it’s genius! Since Leanne is gone and since I will not be partaking in social activities Tanya is letting me borrow season 1 so I can watch it in the evenings after Bella goes to sleep, but to protect my brain from too much TV I will also be reading my new book…A Voyage Long and Strange.

A Voyage Long and Strange

I do so enjoy a good book…truth be told I’m kind of a book whore…I’ll read just about anything. Between business books, apologetic books, missional Church books, and the Walt Disney Biography I have found some time to brush up on my History Books. My newest is entitled “A Voyage Long and Strange”. To read a synopsis click here. I’m actually quite looking forward to it and hoping to gain a few new bits of info to store away in my noggin…but truth be told we shouldn’t just exercise our noggins but our bodies as well which leads me to Weight Watchers.

Weight Watchers

Leanne and I have been discussing making some serious life changes and setting good goals for ourselves. So this week I start Weight Watchers. I kind of would like to live a long productive life so I’m not so much into the continual self sabotage that we Americans do to ourselves. I can’t do it alone…the Big guy upstairs is going to have to help me…of course you can too. I open myself up to you my friends…you have permission to ask me how’s it going…heck you can even ask me how many points I have used in the day.

Moving forward…

This week will be interesting, but I have no doubt it will be great…it’s the continual process of moving forward…I don’t do so well being stagnant so I trust God to continue to lead me on.

Until next time…

to me!

Well, yesterday was my 29th birthday, and let me tell ya’, it was a pretty good one.

The day began with me getting up way to early to drive to Chino so I could take my Commissioned Pastors test for the Reformed Church in America.  Let’s just say starting your birthday off with a three hour oral exam is not my idea of an awesome birthday gift.  Truth be told, I did enjoy the studying and learning…it was like I was in college again.

After completing said test I headed to the Brea Mall to use my William Sonoma gift card.  If you know me, but at all, you know I love to cook..and you also know that I love that store.  With my purchases in hand I made my way back to the car to make the drive home…of course I had to treat myself to a birthday lunch from Chick fil-A.

After arriving at home all I wanted to do was to take a nap, sadly it was too frickin hot I could not sleep,  instead I watch Ghostbusters 2…yup that’s right…don’t mock me, you know you love it.

My wife had told me we had plans with The Garrisons for dinner so at 7 we took Bella to my mom’s where…SURPRISE…a birthday party was at hand…and not just any surprise party but a “Lost” themed Surprise party, complete with tropical decor and plenty of Dharma food to go around.

I was actually very surprised that my wife pulled off a party with out me finding out.   Of course it helps that she actually decided the day before to do it…and thankfully for me most of my friends didn’t have plans…I’m not sure what that says about all of us.

I have to give a big thanks to my wife for throwing me a party, especially themed to something I love…and she hates.  Also, huge thanks go to Travis and Carrie for helping get everything ready all day Saturday, Angelo for being the tech superhero, Tanya for being Lost inspiration, and of course everyone that was able to make it on such short notice.

As with any fun event I have some awards to give out…so without further adieu…

Best Look a Like to a Lost Character - Jon Gaw as John Locke

Most creative Lost costume - Jen Davies as Smokey

Multiple personality - Liana Dickson as Kate, Rousseau, or Alex (She looked liked all of them)

The too much Lost knowledge award - Tanya Jones and Rachel Samarin

Funniest (inappropriate) birthday card - Mike and Beth Hutton

Funniest (non-inappropriate) birthday card - Darren and Jenny Platt

Best song played - Big Poppa

Well, there you have it my 29th birthday in a nutshell.  If you didn’t know it was my birthday or you couldn’t make it to the party I hold no grudges…that being said I like Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, and Ikea

As soon as I get some pictures I will post.

April 15th is not only tax day, it just so happens that it is also my Wifey’s birthday. She turned 28 this year, and for her 28th birthday I went big…bigger then I can afford…but hey, she’s worth it! And although my love for Macs has in fact increased it pairs in comparison to the love I have for my wife. That being said why not combine the two loves. So I did it…I got my wife a new Computer. Which makes us - officially a Mac exclusive home. (cue angels singing)

So tomorrow when my wife wakes up she will be greeted to this new beautiful piece of technology and a special love note from me. I would share it with you…but it is a bit saucy Happy birthday Leanne!