"... and love people 'til ya' drop!"
Friday, October 19.2007
Following devotions today (a discussion of the Good Samaritan), and a short “de-briefing” session with one of the crisis response leaders (reminding us to take what we‘ve learned home), our teams headed over to the Quad to begin what is known here as “Super Friday.”
At 9 a.m. we met, blocked off a portion of the street, sang, cheered, and prayed at the “rally,” and then divided into groups to mow, trim, rake, and pick up garbage in the community surrounding the Quad. Each group consisted of about eight people, and was given about eight blocks of a nearby street to tackle. Again we were encouraged to reach out to people, and to invite them to join us for hot dogs from the hot dog truck (a pick-up with a grill in the back, driving along the streets playing music and distributing lunch and cold drinks to workers and “guests” at noon). We were approached by many local residents, asking about our work, thanking us for being there, volunteering to help if we’d come to their street, telling us their Katrina stories, and, of course, enjoying the food. It seems as though today’s hotdogs were a bit tastier than most.
This afternoon was scheduled for free time, and was spent either driving through the lower 9th Ward, going to the French Market, visiting the World War II Museum, resting, taking a walk or a doing combination of activities. The Hershey, PA, team left after the rally (and farewells to these women were difficult), so the afternoon and evening were with just our own team. Tonight has been a flurry of sharing beignets, signing t-shirts, and packing to head back home in the morning.
One of the first things Pastor John shared with us when we arrived was to “Love God with all ya’ got, and love people ‘til ya’ drop.” We’re working on it.
 Larry's crew on garbage detail
 |
New Orleans Mission 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
New Testament Reading Guide