Center Baptist Church Christ is the center of all we do. Col 1:18

Day Four

Hello, everybody! It’s Autumn again, I think I’m going to be doing the rest of the updates, my dad says I’m better doing stuff late at night than he is.

Today was our second day of work on Robin and Karen’s house. On the outside of the house, we scraped paint, then scraped some more, and then after that, we scraped. We also put primer on. We are almost done with the primer. Tomorrow, we’ll finish priming and start painting. The group has decided that our painting experience has REALLY made us appreciate vinyl siding! On the inside, they opened the kitchen, put up a header, made a hallway, added two closets, built a platform for the water heater, and hung sheetrock. So our group has been very busy and everyone has worked really hard.

After we got done working, we came back to the hotel and swam a little, then got cleaned up for dinner. We left the hotel going to a “surprise” destination and ended up at a little diner called Lee’s New Orleans Styler Hamburgers. They had all sorts of sandwiches, fries, and onion rings. It was a fun dinner.

Well, I had better finish up, we have another early morning tomorrow! For all concerned parties, everybody is safe and healthy. Also, I’m so proud of everyone in our group. They are all working hard and representing Christ and Center Baptist very well. Please continue to pray!!

Autumn and the New Orleans Mission Team

P.S. Don’t forget to look at the pictures!!

Day Three: Mission Trip Update

Hello everyone, it’s Autumn in tonight for my dad. And no, it’s not because he’s injured, or sick, or anything else. He was just being nice!

Anyway, today was our first day of work. We left the hotel at 8:00, drove through rush hour traffic to Robin and Karen’s, and got right to work. Our first major project was scraping the paint off the outside of the house so we could prime and paint it. We finished scraping right around lunch time, then after we ate, we started priming. We are probably about halfway done. Also today, some of the guys got a start on hanging sheet rock. We also got a nice mid-afternoon treat, Robin had a guy with a snow cone trailer come to the house and he got us all snow cones. It was a nice, cool treat on a hot, sticky day!

An update on some of the people and sights from last year’s trip: The lady across the street is still living there. And she’s still as spunky as ever! Also, there are several more people living on Robin and Karen’s street. It is so nice to see people starting to come back to their homes!! Metarie (the town where we are staying) is also more lively this year. A lot more of the businesses are open and it seems like there is just more activity in the city in general.

Well, I think that about wraps it up for today! We’re all doing good, everybody is safe and healthy. Tomorrow, we should finish priming and will probably start painting. Please continue to pray for us!!

Autumn and the New Orleans Missionaries

Photos

Day Two: Information, some sites, and getting everyone here

Today we started with breakfast, moved on to a time of devotional about Sunday School time. We studied Philippians chapter four where Paul was thanking the church for sending help. Paul, a great missionary, doing exactly what God called him to do, needed the help of a rather small church. The lesson for us is that people who are victims, from something like an Ice Storm or Flood, do not ask to be a victim. Being a victim of a disaster can happen to anyone, and God will raise up people to help. We at Center have been both the victim and the ones sent. What a great testimony of God’s grace.

After devotional we went to the house, talked to Robin, and assessed the need. There is most definately a weeks worth of work! We then wanted to tour some of the damage in Mississippi, so we traveled east. It was again, humbling to see the extent of the damage and the amount of work left. We did indulge a bit, by stopping at a local beach and putting our feet in the Gulf. The water was a bit murky, but it was fun.

There was a orientation meeting at 7:00 PM and we met four of the other groups. They are representing Arkansas, North Carolina, Maryland, and Missouri.

We ordered out for pizza, had a short meeting to get ready for tomorrow and headed for bed.

The best part of the day is that the Rohlman van, carrying eight of our missionaries, made it in. It is great to have the entire group here, and we are all ready to roll.

One last thing: For all of the parents, grandparents, and interested people, everyone is healthy and doing great. They are all exceptional and representing Center and Christ wonderfully.

Keep us in your prayers!

Mitch and the Missionaries from Center Baptist Church

Day One in New Orleans

Safe and sound in our hotel. The trip down went great with no problems. There was not too much traffic and we only had rain around Vicksburg. We left the church about 7:30 and landed about 9:00 pm.

Today, Sunday, will be day of discovery, infomation gathering, planning, and a meeting with the rest of the Youth on Mission people. We will visit our work site to get a feel for what we need to do.

Again, I want to thank Center for allowing us to represent you in New Orleans again. We are looking forward to having a great week, hoping to represent you, Center, and Christ as we help build a home.

For all the parents, grandparents, and interested people, everyone is safe, healthy and doing great.

We also have one more van coming down today. Please pray for a safe and uneventful trip for the Rohlman van.

Thanks again for letting us come and keep us in your prayers.

Mitch and the Center Baptist missionaries in New Orleans