Every once in a while my boss at The King's Academy asks me to write an article for the local paper about my trips and experiences. I thought I'd share with you my latest draft...

After spending 8 weeks working at a summer camp in New Orleans, I've returned to East Tennessee with some amazing memories. It was a challenging summer of demolition, construction, Vacation Bible Schools, serious yard cleanup efforts, and beyond. But as I reflect on the many things I experienced, perhaps the most treasured moments were found in the lessons I learned from others.

The first comes from my own boss, Linda Jackson. Linda and her husband Bob were missionaries in Africa for 10 years. They moved back to New Orleans one month before Hurricane Katrina. Like most New Orleanians, they tried to weather through the storm only to find themselves trapped by the flood and literally had to swim from their house to the seminary campus. Not only are they managing the ministry, but during their downtime they are rebuilding their home with their own four hands. After living as missionaries in Africa and now through the trials of life in New Orleans, Linda taught me about sacrifice and faith. From her experiences she shared with us, "I don't think we ever sacrifice as Christians until we are willing to say that we are going to step out in obedience to the unknown. It only becomes a sacrifice when we say, 'You know, I'm going to step out in faith and I don't know what the future is going to hold.' And everyone thinks that being in the will of the Father means that everything's going to be great. I disagree with that. I think being in the will of the Father means that you are just going to have peace when the storms arise. It's not how you shine Jesus when everything is okay that matters, it's how you shine Jesus when everything is not okay."

The last lesson came from Robert "Commander" Clavier, a retiree from the New Orleans Sheriffs Department. Sleeping in a trailer outside his house, Commander spends each day not just rebuilding his own home, but trying to help his entire neighborhood get back up and running. If you drive down Verbena Street, you would see this as no easy task. Many homeowners have not returned since the storm. Yards have grown into jungles of weeds and debris with giant trees that have fallen on sheds and cars. Commander showed us what we could do to help, but it was his own initiative that left an impression on me above any of the work that we did. He could choose to concentrate solely on his own home and family, and yet he is going above and beyond to take care of everyone else even before himself. He even blessed us with delicious treats such as smoothies, red beans and rice, and stuffed bell peppers. And in all he does, he points up to Jesus and is thankful for his life in Christ. I wonder how many of us can even list three of our neighbors by name? I think its time for each of us to be the Commander of our own neighborhood and like Mrs. Jackson told us, "Shine Jesus like never before."
In less than 24 hours I will be home again in Maryville, TN after an amazing 8 weeks here in New Orleans. I will attempt to make some closing remarks at the end of this update, but first Ill briefly share some highlights of the past two weeks.

Week 7 was spent serving with Radnor Baptist Church from Nashville, TN. I had the privilege of spending the second-half of each day again at the daycare at Valence Street Baptist Church, while the mornings were spent cleaning up yards in a neighborhood near the seminary. Cleaning up yards in New Orleans post-Katrina is nothing like the weeding Ive done around the house in Maryville. There are sheds that have to be cleared out and knocked down, trees and bushes that must be uprooted, grass that must be weed-eated before you even think about mowing, and even cars that must be somehow moved to the street. It is HARD work!! I absolutely loved it for one because I enjoy seeing progress when I am working, and we were able to go from a complete jungle and junkyard to a clean-cut yard. But most importantly, we were serving a community of people who can use all the help they can get. One piece of trash we can remove from their yard is one less thing of many they must do on their own.

The greatest blessing during this week was our time spent with Commander, the retiree from the Sheriffs department. You talk about a servant this man has a heart of pure gold. He is always helping somebody. And he helped us to help an entire block of homes. And although were content to wait for our Heavenly reward, I must say that He provided us with some awesome instant rewards to fill our tummies! From stuff bell peppers to red beans and rice to the most amazing smoothies that have ever hit your mouth. He was an angel to us after each tough morning. Its people like that who really make life so much brighter. Absolutely unforgettable servanthood. I would be content to accomplish half of what he has done for other people in my own lifetime. But he would ask for me to strive to reach even more.

This week I worked with Westside Baptist Church from Simpsonville, SC. They were a rowdy crowd, just what I like!! :) We worked the first half of the week on a gutted house removing any remaining sheetrock, demolishing a bathroom, tearing down the ceiling, cleaning up the mess we made, and cleaning up the yard. Lots of sweat and muscles went into it. Thursday we went to the house that I was at during Week 4. This was the house that previously had not been touched since the National Guard searched it in September. The guys tore down the ceiling; the girls removed the nails from the wooden beams. And I had a yard crew that uprooted, I kid you not, at least 15 either large bushes or small trees that had been covered in some thick, tough, and stinky ivy. It took us at least 4 hours in the hot Louisiana sun. I loved every single minute of it. My supernatural motivation made what was seemingly impossible become a realistic task. With my motivation came the energy to fulfill the task. God equipped us in a mighty way that day. Nick, one of the guys, told me of him going to get water, sitting on the cooler, and praying that God would give him the strength and energy to pull up the rest of those trees. He came back with a fire in his eyes and single-handedly pulled a couple out of the ground with hardly any problem. First thing he did was praise God for the strength from that answered prayer. And that is what its all aboutyes were serving others, but we desire most of all to bring the praise and glory back to God.

So as I return to Tennessee, Im taking more back with me than I have the time to describe here. But its been amazing and Ive experienced God like never before. Ill end with a lesson I learned through a devotional I read on July 9th. Ive been praying about where God is leading me after New Orleans. God lifted that burden as I was reading through my devotional for that Sunday. So where is God leading me? He is leading me to HIMSELF! Not Africa or China, not New Orleans, not The Kings Academybut first and foremost, Priority One, most importantlyto HIMSELF! Oswald Chambers writes, You have no business to find out where God is leading, the only thing God will explain to you is Himself. Now just because a well-trust mortal man utters these words does not mean they are Gospel-truth. So I reflected for a moment on that statement. As I did, I felt something deep within myself rising up to release a burden that Ive had to know where God wants me after this summer. Once again the Holy Spirit desires to refine and purify my faith to strip away the impurities of unnecessary burdens that I have placed on my own life. God has sent me on an amazing ride this past year and a half, and I now believe that all of it was His plan and purpose for my life to be drawn closer to Him in a way I never have been before. The resultI will know Him. And by knowing Him and keeping my eyes fixed on Him, He will grant me His vision for the ways in which He desires to proclaim His glory, love and grace to all nations. SO as I return home and begin making decisions for my next assignment, I will change my prayers from asking God where He wants me to go to God, reveal yourself to me. And by His revelation of Himself in and to my life, I will know Him, I will see where He is at work and I will be ready to get up each day and join Him.
I just wanted to post a quick update of the past week. With the 4th of July and all, everything seemed a bit different. It went by quickly, but all of the groups accomplished a tremendous amount in terms of ministry projects. We had groups refinishing wood flooring in a public school, cleaning up yards, gutting homes, organizing Vacation Bible Schools, and witnessing on the streets. I worked with Parkwood Baptist Church from Jacksonville, FL. They were a lively crew and blessed my heart with their enthusiasm, spunk, and incredible work ethic. It's always great to work alongside people who know how to have a good time and laugh, and yet have no problem settling down to get the job done while still making hardwork seem fun!

We started out the week working at Hope Haven. I was there the first week in June. It was the home for young people with behavioral problems. It was great to see some of the friends I'd made there. They all remembered me and were excited to visit with me once again. I came away this week with some new penpals. So I hope God continues to bless my relationship with those special girls. It's been a rainy week and on Wednesday we were sent to work on cleaning up around a house of a retired local Sherriff who himself is constantly pouring his life into helping others. Eventually we were all soaked to the bone as we hauled out junk to the dump pile in the street. I can mark that day down as the first day I've been cold while outside in New Orleans! Thursday we did a similar job of clearing out around some homes. Much like the gutting out I did last week, it was pretty gross and stinky digging through things that had just been sitting around to rot and mold since last August. The boys disconnect and hauled a hot tub from the back yard to the front. We also dug up and broke down several dead trees and bushes. That was a challenge, yet an incredible release of aggression or whatever you want to call it!

This summer has just been amazing. How awesome it is to get to serve God in so many different ways!! And He's filled me with a joy through all of it! Through putting babies to sleep, to talking to a teen about her intense life, to digging up roots, scraping paint off ceilings, tearing down walls, and building relationships with AIDS patients. The list could go on and on. What an amazing experience. But more than an experience, I want to take away from this summer that the greatest experience of all was seeing God at work through everything here and drawing closer to Him amidst it all.

As always, when I get to the end of the week and reflect on all that happened, Im reminded of how different each week is from the ones before. That is one of the sweetest blessings of this summer getting to see God work in so many different ways and places and getting to meet and work alongside youth and leaders from churches from all over the U.S.

This week I was assigned to the Bethlehem Baptist Church group from Ocilla, GA. They were some down-home country folk and I loved it! Im talking Wranglers, belt buckles, cowboy boots, and girls who hunt, fish and drink the Vienna sausage juice straight from the can! One of the guys from the group accepted Christ at the beginning of the week, so that was a wonderful praise!

Once again, my group teamed up with the Bethel Mens Ministry. We split up between two houses that had both been purchased as homes for the men to live in after they graduate from the 90-day rehabilitation program. At the first house, we treated and scrubbed off the mold of a previously gutted home. We also began putting up and painting the exterior siding. The second house was our greatest challenge. This residence had not been touched since it was searched by the National Guard 10 months ago. Neighbors had begun filing complaints because the smell was traveling beyond its own yard. I was excited to get to work on gutting this home, but I quickly questioned my excitement upon entering it and being confronted with the most pungent odor Ive ever encountered! We spent the first day moving furniture, soiled carpet, rotten food, and sour clothing out to a pile by the road. Eventually we got the green light for ripping out the sheetrock. I can honestly say that was some of the most fun Ive ever had! We were punching, kicking, pulling and sledge hammering our way through those walls. I made quite a name for myself going at those walls like I did! :) We also straightened up the yard and began uprooting the dead trees and bushes.

During our last day of the week we worked at a local daycare. I have never seen so many babies and toddlers in one place at one time. There were easily 50 kids there and the majority of them were under 3 or 4 years old. There were not enough hands to hold them. Many were falling asleep in uncomfortable positions in their highchairs or with their heads resting on a table. I wanted to rock every one of them to sleep. But I never found one rocking chair. My heart is telling me I should find a way to supply them with rocking chairs. So I will have to pray and see what God wants to do with that idea. Theres no way to know the stories behind all of these children, but I can imagine that their parents are working like never before to try to build back up what Katrina destroyed. But it still breaks my heart to see so many children getting such limited attention. It takes me back to my time at the orphanage in Mexico. Looking into the eyes of children in need makes my heart want to explode as I desire so much for them to get the love they deserve at such a tender and innocent age.

Our weekend was great. We got rested up for the groups that are arriving today. There was a campus cookout last night and the attendees included everyone from seminary students, to workers and volunteers like myself, to the men from Bethel, to the Mexican construction workers. We had a great time of unique fellowship followed by an intense game of soccer. I probably enjoyed it more than anyone because I could almost taste the dirt fields of Mexico as I looked around and got to speak Spanish with the Mexican workers.
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