Good morning New Orleans

Good morning! Well, let's say morning . . . The clock on my computer says 7:15 a.m. but I know it's really only 6:16 and no coffee to be found!

As we drove into New Orleans yesterday it became quite evident why Passport is here. The devestation is still pretty profound. Although it has been 3 years since Katrina, many buildings show lots of damage and many businesses are still boarded up.

We were the first group to arrive at camp and quickly began getting settled and then the thunder and the rain began. It rained and rained and rained. The apartment complext we are on campus has a real old world of brick and iron and not such good drains. As we ran through about 3 inches of water (it's still raining) to get to the bus, we quickly realized while the showers we had taken were well needed, if we had just waited, it would have happened naturally.

Most of the mission work this week will take place in two areas - one is working with teams to paint school buildings inside that have not been updated since Katrina. The other work is landscaping, or more accurately stated - cutting down tall grass. Many lots and yards have not had their grass cut and brush cleared in quite a while, so the government has decided to cut it for the homeowners and charge them $500 to do it (ludicrous, I know!!!). So, we will be trying to clear as much as we can to help these homeowners who have barely been able to rebuild or clean-up, save money.

It is exciting to know that we are hear in New Orleans as part of God's continued story of love and sacrifice.