new orleans, louisiana

we've been here two full days now. we're up early in the morning and do two work sessions, before and after lunch. our team has been at a site that used to be a church. the building is gone and we've been scraping up the leftover tile under the hot louisiana sun. today, we changed it up with some yard work for one of the neighbors in the area. the former church ground is going to be an area of food distribution. previously, celebration church had been distributing food from their own church site, but now, they want to move their ministry into the communities - going directly to the people, rather than having the people come to them. we've been working with another group from texas. we are weak sauce in comparison - soft city folk, if you will.

it has been a different experience to actually be here and first-hand witness the devastation left in the aftermath of katrina. many parts of the city have a "ghost-town" feel to it - abandoned and empty. for a few pictures, check out the exodus xanga. being in new orleans has been really interesting. there are parts of the city that remind me of portland/beaverton. we toured the old neighborhood of one of the guys on our team and it totally looked like the suburbs of beaverton, around the bethany/saltzman area. the area around the mississippi reminded me of the waterfront, along the willamette. even driving, with all the water and bridges - portland appeared everywhere. trippy. i just expected it all to look so dramatically different, the way LA does in comparison to the northwest. ah well.

tomorrow, we may have the chance to gut a house and wear crazy masks to protect against mold and other particles so that another family can start the rebuilding process. speaking of which, this morning, we had a very short time of devotions, and we shared isaiah 40:1-5:

1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD [a] ;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God. [b]

4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.

5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

it is a passage of hope after the destruction of jerusalem. at the time, the people had hope to rebuild the city and some recognized the hope to come (of Jesus), while others missed it entirely. here in new orleans, we've seen that some have already started the process of rebuilding and are hopeful in putting their lives back together, but we are praying and hoping for so much more - for their hope to be found in Jesus.

let all things point to Jesus.