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.