Where He leads...: I am still alive and well in New Orleans! :)

I am still alive and well in New Orleans! :)

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I hope each of you had a blessed Thanksgiving and had opportunity to spend time with those you love. I certainly had a great time visiting my family and friends in East TN--and even had a chance to see some of you! Thank you for your continued support and prayer even my updates are few and far between!

To catch you up and highlight a couple ministry opportunities I've had...

I'm still working as the Site Coordinator for MissionLab. Since we don't have a lot of groups coming during the winter months, most of my time is spent getting organized and ready for a busy Spring and Summer.

In early November, I had the opportunity to volunteer with Global Maritime Ministries. One of the main focuses of Global Maritime is as an outreach to seaman and cruise ship crew members. For examples, on a typical cruise ship, there could be 900 crew members--the majority of whom are from other countries. Global Maritime has a wonderful facility for hanging out, making phone calls, using the internet, and even facilitates airport and Walmart runs. I had fun playing foosball with a guy from Peru and then visited with a few guys from India. One guy was the ship's pastry chef. He is married and serves as the primary breadwinner for his family of five--his wife, siblings, and aging parents. He's apart from his family for 9 months at a time. He's a Buddhist, and was open to religious discussions. He spoke of the beauty of his country and city, and how it is a melting pot of multiple ethnicities and religions--and how neighbors are truly neighbors, despite their different views and backgrounds.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I volunteers at a Thanksgiving banquet for the homeless at the New Orleans Mission. Instead of having a buffet style serving line, we set places (with menus!) for each individual. All were served turkey but they had a choice of various side dishes and desserts. Many commented that the meal made them feel special, as was the intention. They felt valued as servers took their orders and waited on them. It was a great experience, and they are certainly a group of people to be remembered and prayed for during the holidays... especially as the cold winter months approach. I'm sure many of them have precious memories of the holiday season... now their lives have taken them to a much different place...

In the coming months I will be reestablishing relationships with ministries and organizations around the New Orleans area so that we can partner with them as our new wave of volunteers come to the city. If you've got a group from your church or ministry that would be interested in serving with the above mentioned (or other) ministries in New Orleans, contact me so I can send you more information. I'd certainly love to see you! More importantly, I believe God has special tasks for each of us that lie outside our hometown and/or our comfort zones. Maybe He has something for you to do in New Orleans.