Great Days in the Big Easy

There is so much to do in New Orleans! We have had some great adventures including planned events like a streetcar ride through the Garden District to Audubon Park and unplanned events like a rompin' puddle stomp through the rain around the Riverwalk. We're becoming regulars on the Canal St. Ferry from Algiers. We've shopped, explored, eaten well, and cruised along the Mississippi on a steamboat. The jazz band on the boat sang Happy Birthday to Amanda tonight.

This morning, we toured the 9th Ward. The Lower 9th Ward is profoundly surprising. Large areas are cleared of the housing that used to be there. Very few existing homes are occupied. Many buildings still bear the mark of the recovery workers who inspected and cleared the area in the the days and weeks following Katrina. We have heard some stunning storm stories from folks we've met along the way.

Mostly, we have enjoyed each other, cherished this sacred time working and living together in service to God. As Cole and Brandon led our devotional time tonight, they described how the friendships made here change us. Each laugh, each helping hand, seeing people's different reactions to situations, even each temperamental outburst resolved, transform us as people. In this group, we can "remove the veil," the masks that we sometimes where, and always find love for the truth of who we are.

For all of this, we are most grateful to God.