New Orleans 2007

...And we are back. Whew, what a week! After a week of Cloroxing, priming, painting, praying, evangelism, and leading-- my communication is slightly jumbled and I think I may take the rest of the day off.;)
Thank you for praying for me and for the students that went to New Orleans. This was one of the smoothest trips I've been on and we encountered many people open to the gospel. I know that was the grace of God through your prayers. Most of the week our team worked with a quirky, elderly woman who has been living in a FIMA trailer since Katrina. She has two homes which have both remained in a constant state of reconstruction since the hurricane. Hopefully, she will soon be able to move into one of those houses. Ann was a professor at Auburn University, had run for governor in '95, and was a world traveler... She sat with us and told us stories from her life and was sure to show us spots we missed in our repairs! Though she repeatedly told us that she could work for a day and do the work it took 9 20-somethings to do in 3 days, we think she appreciated us being there. She definitely loved having people to talk with and care for her.

At night, when we were out and about, God set-up some pretty unique encounters with people. I'll tell you about one that was the most impactful to me. Tuesday afternoon, our team was doing their quite times out on Jackson Square. I was reading my Bible and had John Owens' book- Mortification of Sin and J.I. Packer's book- Knowing God, spread out on the lawn. A guy in his twenties strolled up to me...Our conversation went something like this:
Corie: Hi. My wife and I were over there and I thought you were pretty. So she told me to come over and talk to you.
Me: (slightly weirded out) Uhh... Hi, OK. I'm Becca. What's your name? Are you from New Orleans?
...He proceeded to introduce himself and tell me that he and his pregnant wife live out of a truck and do construction for her father. Matt, the other staffer, quickly joined us, met Corie, and we invited he and his wife to come to dinner with our team . A few minutes later his wife walked up and dove down to where I was sitting, directly in front of my Bible and books. She looked at John Owens' book and said:
Sylvia (using a drawn out hippie voice): Mortification of sin. Whoa, that's intense. What does that mean? What are you reading? Job? Is that how you say it?
Me: Haha, yeah that's how you say it. I'm reading a book about sin because of sin in my life. Do you know what sin is?
Sylvia: No, what is it?
... As I was talking, Matt began his own conversation with Corie. Both conversations immediately landed in the gospel. What grace is found in the sovereignty of God! After 45 minutes of getting to know them and explaining the gospel from several different angles, we were late to meet our team for dinner. The couple came with us and stayed with our team for the rest of the night. There was no moment of lightening strike or time that they said "we want to follow Jesus", but they both carefully weighed our words and the message of Christ. Please pray for our friends, first that they would come to know and follow Christ and secondly for provision-- of health, Sylvia has many health problems and pregnancy is very dangerous for her-- and of housing and consistent employment. Very few times have I felt such a deep connection or love for a stranger, indeed that was the Spirit. Please pray for them.



Soon to come is a short video Matt put together so you can get a litle taste of our week. Enjoy! Thanks again for your support!
Love you all!

Spring Break

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." (Romans 12)

In 6 days, 24 hours, and 9 minutes, 8 students, 1 wda staffer, and I will be pulling out of Athens-- trekking to New Orleans, Louisiana, to build homes for families yet still displaced by Hurricane Katrina. This is UGA's Spring Break... a time when most students bask in the sun at the beach, catch up on sleep stolen from studying and partying, visit friends and family, or get a head start on their studying as to pave a way for a breezy spring. But this small group will choose not to look to their own interests, but look to the interest of others. We have spent a lot of time talking about genuine service, recently, at the journey. I pray that this week would be used to further our students understanding and application of Christlike humility and service.

Last week, we studied the life of Gideon together on Tuesday. Matt, a staffer, ended his talk with this comment by Cundall: "The final chapter of Gideon's life appears as a distinct anticlimax to the heroic actions of the earlier section... The man who had given such a magnificent lead to his fllowers, now sets a deplorable example of self-indulgence, in which he, his family, and the whole nation were involved... Perhaps it is easier to honor God in some courageous action in the limelight of a time of national emergency than it is to honor Him consistently in the ordinary, everyday life, which requires a different kind of courage."

This is my prayer-- that our students would have this kind of courage-- to honor God consistently in the ordinary, everyday life. Pray with me that we would all cease to see service as situational or circumstantial and know it as our character-- after that of our God-- being a humble servant to all men. Our trip is March 12-16... I will update throughout the week and tell you of what God has done. Be expectant and full of faith, for I know he has planned good works for us in an eternity past!

I am grateful for your heart to serve me through your prayer and encouragement!
How can I serve you?