THE KIDS ARRIVE!!

Hey everyone! I thought I'd take a moment to share with you all a rundown of the past week. Tomorrow will roll in week 3 for me here in New Orleans. Last week was our first week of camp, so we had our first 4 groups arrive and sent them out on the town to clean up the city and share God's love. Everyone had a great time!! I will report on a fraction of what was done this past week by telling some of what my group was involved in. And then keep in mind that there were other groups doing other things like construction, setting up for VBS for next week, and working in a children's home.

I was assigned with part of the First Baptist Church of Prattville group. They were our largest group with 50. Prattville split into 3 groups. My group's main assignment was to Hope Haven--a Catholic institution for "troubled teens/kids". All of the children living there have some type of psychiatric diagnosis. All of them are in state custody where parental rights have been terminated due to physical, emotional or sexual abuse. They have social problems, difficulty with relationships on all levels, and don't know what is appropriate behavior for most situations. They do not have mature coping skills. For example, if someone makes them mad, they may process the situation as having 3--and only 3--solutions. 1) run away 2) kill the other person 3) kill themselves. Currently Hope Haven houses 55 children ages 11-17. The average age is 14-15 with more girls than boys. Children as young as 5 and as old as the day before their 17th birthday can stay there. There are 6 dorms total--3 for guys and 3 for girls. They participate in daily group therapy sessions and each dorm has a masters' level therapist on staff. They go to school when in session and have recreational activities throughout the week. Kids stay as short as 2-4 months and as long as 3 years. Hope Haven is the highest restraint residence facility with 3 levels based on each child's profile. There are basically three circumstances in which a child would leave. 1) they step down to a less restrictive facility. 2) they are admitted into a psychiatric hospital. 3) they leave successfully... but unfortunately, the success is temporary as they are unable to maintain normal behavior/lifestyles and end up coming back. There is not a high success rate. These are definitely the highest need kids in the area, where the majority have little hope of having a "normal" life and they know it--which probably attributes to their behavioral problems if it leads them to an "I don't care, what's it matter anyways?" attitude. To sum up their behavior in one word, these kids are extreme. They don't have good family models and don't have independent living skills. One of the directors describes her work there as a humbling experience saying that her problems pale in comparison to the problems these kids face everyday: "These kids profess Christ. They are fabulous little believers despite all that has happened to them."

During the week, Prattville led the groups in Bible studies and crafts. Many were attentive and receptive. We had a block party where the Prattville group (also a youth choir) sang some songs. In the middle of one song, a fist fight broke out among two of the Hope Haven girls. It took 4 adults for each girl to restrain them, which consisted of basically SITTING on each of them for about 15 minutes. To me, the place just had a veil of sadness. I was blessed by one girl inparticular named Karla. After the story of Daniel and the lions' den, she restated every detail of the story. I was filled with hope and excitement over Karla because all I'd heard previously were negative and hopeless comments about these kids. And yet Karla had goals, determination and faith. I was happy to come alongside her and encourage her to keep those goals, to pray for strength to accomplish them, and to keep the faith that God can move mountains in and through her life.

We were not allowed to take pictures there, but the campus is filled with beautiful Italianate architecture. Catholic charities support this home, and apparently they support it well based on the beauty of those buildings!! It was awesome that we were able to go in there and share the Gospel with those children. Many of the staff were sitting around while we shared with the children, so I do pray that seeds were planted and that the message of truth was heard that FAITH in Christ and not WORKS gets you into Heaven.

Pics below: My first casuality... my big toe. I stubbed it really bad the first week carrying part of the stage. I went to the nurse to get it cleaned out. It's healing finally, but it looks pretty bad. Man that hurt!!!!

Small sampling of the beautiful campus of Hope Haven.

St. Louis Cathedral is the oldest continuously active Catholic church in the United States. General Andrew Jackson placed his sword on the St. Louis altar after his victory against the British in the Mississippi River in 1815.

"Me & Jenny" Self-explanatory... my best bud... my partner in crime :) I love this girl and I'm so glad she's working with me this summer.

"Crab" This was taken today. We were invited to go eat at a family's house that the band knew from a previous visit here. I almost feel guilty eating from these people who have lost nearly everything. But they are Christians who wanted to give back to others who are giving their time and service for the Lord's work. I guess that's how it is with God's work... it's a circle of life and hope that gives and comes back around. We had the New Orleans traditional red beans and rice. And that was followed by a lesson in crab eating. I'd never eaten crab starting from a full crab with eyes and everything. That was interesting. Pretty tasty though! I snapped this shot so you could have proof! We had shrimp the same way... I tried not to look at their eyes as I pulled them apart...