This past week I had the privilege of helping lead a group of fifty people from Oklahoma on a short term missions trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. The entire experience was such a blessing.
I have been desiring to visit the Big Easy for almost fifteen years; ever since I started Culinary School. The culture, food, and rich history have beckoned me for so long now. When I was approached to help lead the trip, I jumped at the opportunity.
So it was such a blessing to be able to fulfill my desire to visit this amazing city. However, it was even more of a blessing to witness the transformations I saw in the adults and youth that came from Oklahoma.
Many of them came with a desire to have their eyes opened to the diverse ethnicities and more so the poverty still rampant in this city.
Hurricane Katrina happened over ten years ago and the city is far from being fully recovered. People lost their homes and couldn’t afford to get them back up to code. Homes sit in disarray and many are being overtaken by nature. Many people were left with no choice but homelessness.
One group got to see first hand what that situation looked like in the Lower Ninth Ward; handing out sack lunches and praying for the homeless.
My group got the opportunity to help in a suburb of N.O. We had the opportunity to enter a public school and assist the teachers in the classroom. We blessed them with extra hands and hearts to help teach and love the children.
In the afternoons we went into the community of Avondale helping collect canned food for the church and fixing up the local community center for the spring season. We got to help prepare the baseball field for this years games. They said it was the best the field has ever looked.
I got to see my crew invest their time and love into each person they came into contact with. They blessed and encouraged me with how well they treated the diverse people in the neighborhood we served in.
I may have wanted to go on this trip partly because I was excited to go to New Orleans, but I needed this opportunity too. I needed to be able to love in leadership. I needed to be encouraged in my skills that God has given me. I needed to see others giving freely of themselves to those in need. I needed to see how truly blessed I am.
I am blessed.
