I was privileged enough to join an AIM Ladies Trip to New Orleans from the 18th– 21st of January. This was my 4th trip to the city since Hurricane Katrina, and though it’s good to see the progress made with rebuilding, it remains devastating to see how much work still remains, and to meet so many people still affected by the hurricane.
Whilst in it’s planning stages, this trip had about 15 ladies signed up, but as the day of departure arrived, it had dwindled to a mere 6 women. Satan did his best to thwart the trip entirely, and we left Gainesville amid an ice-storm early that Thursday morning.
Up front, I will admit that I wished I was one of the ladies who’d managed to wrangle her way out of the trip, and felt annoyed that I’d had to cram my nursing shifts into the beginning of the week. I felt resentful that I was going to be missing my weekend with Athol and Christie, especially since our busy schedules seem to rob us of family time together. Nevertheless, Athol persevered, drove slowly on cold and icy streets, loaded me, my overnight bag and sleeping bag into the AIM van, and then merrily waved us on our way.
The weather changed over from freezing rain to a steady misty drizzle as we headed south, so the trip down took us a good 9 1/2 hours. Thursday evening we were treated with a delicious chicken chowder soup, made by Elizabeth, our host and set-up person for the weekend. We then made our sleeping arrangements—snorers in one room and non-snorers in the other, padded our hard cots with as many blankets as we could find, and fell into bed exhausted.
We were up bright and early Friday morning for personal devotions, and then came together for group devotions after breakfast. After making and packing our lunches, we headed for “The Dwelling Place”, run by Mark Drouin and his Inner City Ministries. While a line of people gathered outside, we prepared the shed for food distribution, and laid out some tracts, Christian reading materials, and devotional books. While some of our group worked in the shed, Karen and I helped people sign in, and helped some first-timers fill out their application forms. Others milled around and spoke with some of the locals, allowing them time to share their stories, and any prayer requests/needs. Even though it was freezing cold, we had a good turnout of people, and we thoroughly enjoyed this time of ministry.
We ate lunch in the van, and after a time of prayer and sharing, headed for the Lower 9th Ward, the area which sustained the worst damage following Hurricane Katrina. Most of the homes destroyed have been bulldozed, and empty streets now wind through where lives were lived, and children played. A few damaged homes remain, where the owners have refused to allow the bulldozers in, but they stand as they did immediately following the hurricane. After touring the area, and praying for those who’d lived there, we headed for the French Quarter, where we enjoyed a time of fellowship over late afternoon coffee and bignettes at the famous Café du Monde. After dinner, we had an evening debrief, and a time of sharing. By this time, I was feeling terribly guilty about my attitude to the whole trip, and shared exactly how I was feeling. I was more honest than I expected to be, and shared how I’d felt intimidated by the thought that I’d be “shown-up” by being thrown together with a group of Godly and spiritual women. I was very touched when everyone came and stood around me, praying for me, and my spiritual walk. It was an incredible evening, and we fell into bed exhausted, yet again.
We were up even earlier Saturday morning, and again had personal devotions, breakfast, then group devotions.
Next, we headed to the Vierre Carre Baptist church in the heart of the French Quarter. Here, some of us helped prepare the hot meal to be served, others sorted clothes, and others made goodie bags filled with hygiene and personal care items. Once the doors were opened, the small room downstairs was filled to overflowing, as mostly homeless people rushed in to get out of the bitter cold outside. No longer feeling so intimidated by the thought of sharing with people, I milled around and met some interesting people, with fascinating, and heartbreaking stories.
The one which stands out most in my mind was Mike, who allowed me to take his picture, so that I could continue praying for him once I got home. Mike was a heroin addict for over 15 years, and has been clean since Sept 2006. He first came to the Vierre Carre church in September, and has been coming every week since. Each week, he is one of many, who get a shower, clean clothes, and a hot meal. Following the hot meal, those who stay for the worship and church service get a goodie bag filled with a sandwich, chips, socks, and personal hygiene items. Mike comes from a Christian family, who live in California, and he hasn’t seen or heard from them in over 7 years. He now works part-time with race-horses on a farm just outside the city. He has left heroin, but is now struggling with alcohol addiction. I was able to use the analogy of a race-horse heading for the finish line, and told him to think of the church, its pastor, and God’s Word as his “blinkers” allowing him to focus on the finish line, where his family stood praying for him to come home. He seemed to like that thought, and I was able to pray for him, and encourage him.
After serving over 250 hot meals, and enjoying the worship part of the church service, we slipped out and headed for the inner city, filled with housing projects and a lot of gang-related violence. We met with a woman who runs “Grime and Roses”, a ministry aimed at cleaning up and beautifying the streets of the inner city. We spent the afternoon picking up trash from the streets and vacant lots, and then gathered for a memorial service honoring a 19 year old who’d been killed in the area a few weeks before. Following the service, we planted a rose in his memory. The rose would normally be planted at the actual murder site, but since this was on a concrete sidewalk, we were able to plant the rose in one of the local gardens. The lady who volunteered her garden was a lovely Christian lady, and a mighty prayer warrior for the neighborhood. Someone from the BBC World News was there for the rose planting, and we were featured in the Monday edition of the BBC World News report, which was really neat.
While we were cleaning the streets, we heard sirens nearby, and found out afterwards that 2 people had been murdered 2 blocks away. We are grateful for God’s protection while we were there.
In conclusion, the trip was an incredible blessing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it after straightening up my attitude and allowing God to work through me. This was my first solo trip (i.e. without Athol), and it made me realize just how much I would love to be more involved with the trips he leads, and with his work at AIM. We are now praying about how we can make this happen—or rather how God can make this work …
Family Prayer Requests :
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New financial supporters and prayer partners
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Wisdom for Athol as he directs the setup for 240 mission trips for over 6000 people.
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Protection as we travel to inner city areas of Denver, New Orleans, DC, Philadelphia, in the next few weeks
New Orleans
Prayer Requests:
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Continued salvation for the people of N.O.
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Workers to rebuild the churches
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Decrease in inner-city crime
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Quick financial relief those wishing to stay and rebuild
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Physical & mental health of our ministry leaders and partners
