If you talked to me, got an e-mail from me, or read my blog any time during the first half of 2007, you know that the search for YouthWorks housing in New Orleans largely consumed my work and my prayers during that time. Many of you joined me in those prayers, and for that I am grateful. Now, as my summer has come to a close and I've been reconnecting with people I haven't talked to in more than two months, the question has been asked several times: "What ever happened in New Orleans?" I answer that question here now, so that you will have the opportunity to join me in praising and thanking God for His faithfulness and provision, and in hopes that your own faith will be bolstered as mine has been.
After more phone calls, e-mails, and meetings than I could count (I can safely say that more than one hundred contacts were made in the process of looking for housing), we accepted an invitation from a small Evangelical Presbyterian church in Covington, Louisiana, which is on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We knew that this church would not be large enough to house all of our participants and staff, so were incredibly blessed to find a Lutheran church and school willing to house half of our groups, our staff, and our meals. I found myself amazed that God would provide not only one church, but two, and that these churches would not open their doors grudgingly, but with great joy and thanksgiving - even telling us that YouthWorks was an answer to their prayers! When we needed to leave the Lutheran church for a week while they ran VBS, the nearby Baptist church opened its doors to our groups. My staff joked about going from having no where to lay their heads to having three different churches where they and their groups could do so.
At Faith Presbyterian, Holy Trinity Lutheran and First Baptist (even though our stay there was short), my staff team found more than just a place to stay and do their work. They found friends and encouragers, people willing to do their laundry, bake them cookies, invite them into their homes. It didn't take long to realize what a warm, welcoming place Covington was. It also didn't take long to discover that this, too, was a place of brokenness and need. A police officer was killed during our first week in town. On the way to the cemetery for his funeral, another officer was killed when a tree fell on his car. This shook the small community deeply. As the summer went on, our staff learned of struggles in the church congregations they were quickly coming to love; perhaps the biggest blow was learning that one of our dearest friends in Covington had been diagnosed with leukemia. It is a strange thing to come to care about a place and its people so quickly, but it is indeed a privilege to be able to stand alongside these people and lift them up in prayer during their time of need. It was a gift, too, to be able to befriend communities on both sides of the lake.
Every day, staff and participants would pile into their vehicles, pay a $3 toll, and cross the 24-mile bridge over the lake. During the 45-minute drive into New Orleans and back, there was time for group bonding, reflection on the day, naps, and the chance to see a few beautiful sunsets. The drive was certainly not ideal, but more often than not the time on the road proved fruitful, and it also gave us a chance to remind our participants that doing ministry in New Orleans these days rarely happens in the most ideal, easy, or convenient way.
Across the lake, our staff and participants came to love a very broken city. Though we initially thought that most of our groups would not get the chance to do demolition work (as most organizations require skilled laborers now), by the end of the summer almost every participant who came through New Orleans had the opportunity to wield a crowbar and sledgehammer for a couple of days. A Kids Club that started with five kids the first week ended up with 40 for the last week of the summer. Our groups spent each Tuesday night touring the Lakeview district of New Orleans, hearing stories from a few of our friends who had been hit hard by Katrina, and imagining what it would be like if their families and neighbors lost everything.
Another unexpected blessing and provision this summer was the New Orleans Mission. Since we would be spending many evenings in New Orleans before going back to Covington, we needed a place for our groups to shower after their workday was done. I called the Mission three days before our first groups arrived in town. The director willingly opened his showers for us. I was concerned at first - how would our groups feel about taking their showers at a homeless shelter? Would they be uncomfortable, scared? My fears were alleviated almost immediately on the first day our groups showered there: the guys who live and work there greeted them warmly, pulling out snacks and bottles of Gatorade from a large stockpile of donations. The next day, the snacks and chilled drinks were ready and waiting upon our arrival, and the guys welcomed us like old friends. As the days went on, this continued, and our staff got to know the guys at the Mission well. Imagine my joy when I talked to one of my staff a couple of weeks later and heard, "It rained last night, so we had our cookout at the Mission instead of the park. It was awesome!" A place that I had been hesitant to even use as a shower facility had become a home-away-from home for our groups.
So, you ask "What ever happened in New Orleans"? To put it briefly: God provided. He didn't provide as quickly as I had wanted. He didn't provide the convenience I had wanted. He didn't make things as easy as I had wanted. None of that matters, though. God provided, and when God provides, He gives what is best, and there is no doubt in my mind that He provided the best for us in New Orleans (and beyond) this summer.
Thank you to those of you who prayed for that provision. Few things in my life have been prayed for so much and by so many; know that your prayers were not in vain. I trust that you will join me in praising God for all that He has done, and I hope and pray that His gracious faithfulness in this situation will be a reminder to you of His constant faithfulness - even in the face of our unbelief.
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen! Ephesians 3:20-21
For those of you who would like to join me on a walk down memory lane, please see the following links for my New Orleans story:
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