Currently I’m sitting on the floor of the New Orleans airport waiting for my flight to Atlanta… delayed due to thunderstorms. For any of you who don’t already know—I’m Israel bound!! I was telling my friend Christie how disappointed I was not to have time to write an update before I left for Israel. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to share some of the events from the past few weeks, but more importantly, I know I will have a much more peaceful sendoff knowing that my friends and family are praying with me throughout this special trip.

I have been very busy since my last update. We’ve had over a dozen mission groups pass through these last few weeks. I’ve dealt with everything from overflowing toilets, to helping serve meals in the cafeteria, to cancelled ministry sites, and more. Even amidst the busyness, I try to stop and remind myself—not only to breathe—but to consider the blessing it is to be a part of such a great ministry here in this city. Although I miss getting out and “doing the grunt work” myself, I love seeing these students—who have given up their Spring Break—ministering throughout the city in so many ways.

In other news, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was in town to film their season finale. I had an incredible opportunity to pitch in—serving meals to volunteers and workers, and I even got to work inside the house for a bit. It was very exciting to be a part of something so “big”. By that I simply mean that it’s a show that is familiar to millions of viewers. It brings me to tears nearly every time I watch it—if not every time. I love “happy ever after” stories. Stories where people are coming through for other people. My friend Sarah and I had huge smiles on our faces as we were yelling “MOVE THAT BUS”! (And just so you know, that part of the show—in reality—lasts so much longer than the couple minutes they show on TV. We were yelling “MOVE THAT BUS” til we were blue in the face… about two hours before the homeowners even arrived.) Throughout that week, though… weaving my time with Extreme Makeover with my time at my “real” job… the realization was continually reinforced that every day I have here in the city is “big”. Every day lives are impacted by Christians here in New Orleans (either local or otherwise) who are pouring their hearts and energy into rebuilding lives and bringing the hope of Christ to everyone they encounter. The story that God has written and continues to write is the most extreme one there is! There is no greater “makeover” a person can receive than that of a new life in Christ.

A cool (and not so cool) thing happened last week… While taking a break from serving meals at Extreme Makeover to go work inside the house, I hid my camera (my nice, digital SLR-Christmas-gift-from-my-dad camera) between some boxes and when I came back, it was gone! Considering the fact that it never showed back up, I can say with confidence that it was stolen. I shed a bucket full of tears, filed a police report, but knew in my heart I probably would never see it again. As I was sitting behind the catering line, bawling my eyes out—frustrated with myself and with the situation considering where I was at—a gentleman came up and asked, with hesitation, why I was crying. I explained to him what happened. This nice man, who turned out to be a council member of Westwego, carefully took down my name and information. He promised that he would make it a personal priority to try to help me in whatever way that he could. The next evening he found me so that I could file a police report and introduced me to one of the producers, Diana. She was also very friendly and sincerely concerned about the situation. Mr. Shaddinger had already told her about my upcoming trip to Israel and how sad I would be to be without my camera for such a trip of a lifetime. Long story short… Thursday after the reveal—Mr. Shaddinger found me and gave me a sweet card without about 30 signatures from individuals who had actually donated to buy me a new camera! As I drove home that evening, I was praising God for my brand new Canon riding along with me in the passenger seat. GOD IS GOOD!!!

So our plane has arrived. We will board shortly to Atlanta, followed by an 11-12 hour flight to Tel Aviv. I cannot WAIT to share this next adventure with you! Please do pray for safe travels for myself and the 48 others who are taking this trip with me. I’m praying specifically that my eyes, mind, and heart will be opened to all I will experience and all God has for me in Israel.