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
Positive Actions for 2007
2007 has arrived, and here are twelve, of many, possibilities for making it a great year. As you try them, let me know how it went. I would be very interested in hearing your stories! You can let me know by e-mail, phone, or at church.
- Memorize six verses from the Bible.
- Add five people to your regular prayer list.
- Identify two ways you can help each member of your family, and do them.
- Identify one way you can add to the ministry of your church and do it.
- Search for one new area you can serve your community and do it.
- Identify and act on a way to encourage your child’s/grandchild’s teacher.
- Identify six people to whom you can send a thank you note, and send them.
- Develop a new hobby, or continue one you may have neglected.
- Read a book outside your normal reading material or topic.
- Take a day, or two, off with no agenda other than to relax and re-generate.
- Spend more time listening, and less time talking.
- Be kind and positive, especially to those who ‘bug’ you most.
Praying for a great 2007!
Pastor Mitch
Friday – Home Again!
Friday-HOME AGAIN!!!
Hey everyone, it’s Autumn again today. WE’RE HOME!!! We were up bright and early this morning. We left at 6:06 (only 6 minutes late!) We drove for a couple hours before stopping at a Burger King for some breakfast. Then, we drove some more and stopped at McDonalds outside of Memphis for lunch. After driving some more, we had a nice picnic dinner in Mammoth Springs, AR by a river. We rolled into the church parking lot at about 8:30. The drive was fairly easy, and I’m thankful for all of our great drivers. I think that most of us took at least a short nap, so that was nice. God has been very good to our group this week. We couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more hospitable family. The hard work and sweat were well worth watching Robin, Karen, and Louis’s (Karen’s dad) faces when they saw everything that had been done. Your prayers made the difference this week. It was God who brought us together with this wonderful family and God who protected us while we worked. We were truly blessed. Once again, thank you for all your prayers, and be sure to continue to pray for Robin and Karen and all of the people in New Orleans. Recovering from this will be no small task. Most of the people feel like they have been forgotten, since there’s hardly anymore news coverage about New Orleans. So be sure and remember them in your prayers, because that makes a huge difference. Everyone we encountered this week in New Orleans was incredibly appreciative of our group being there. They didn’t care that we weren’t working on their house, they were just glad that we came. I could talk all night, but I’m tired, so I’m going to sign off. God is good!!!
Autumn and the New Orleans mission team
Thursday
Hello everybody! This is Autumn updating today, in for my dad. We finished up the house today! The entire house, save one bathroom, is gutted!! We also cleared out the back yard, which had a fallen tree and some overgrowth, and three sheds. It was very hard work and I can’t believe that the week is over. Today, I was looking at the house and yard and felt very proud of our group and all we have accomplished. The feeling I got looking at the work we have done is too great for me to put in words (and for those of you who know me, you know this is rare!) Also, I was so blessed by Robin and Karen and their generosity. They have been absolutely amazing. Please be sure to remember them in your prayers and they continue to recover. Right now, we’re showering and relaxing before heading out for supper. Tomorrow morning, we’re leaving bright and early and heading back home. I have had an amazing week, but look forward to being back in my own bed!! Thank you for all your prayers and support for our team this week!! I think that our group has represented Center Baptist Church very well.
Autumn and the gang in New Orleans
Wednesday
Well, it is hard to believe we only have one more day of work, but as it is on every trip, the week goes by fast and then we have to go home.
Today started the same. We headed to our home around 7:30, and started to dig in. We have all but completed one side, and the other will be done tomorrow. We had a huge pile of debris in the front yard and a private contractor came by to clean it up. The up side was that we now have room to pile what is left, but the down side is that while they were working, we could not take any trash out of the home. We did make a lot of progress and Karen, the owner, made some shrimp salad for lunch from the left over shrimp. That is just one more example of Robin and Karen’s hospitatality.
We had planned on taking some time off this afternoon to give the group a break, and to show them some of the fun areas of New Orleans. We went to the French Quarter and walked around Jackson Square, and then drove to the Garden District, the Warehouse District, and a few more areas of local interest. We have had a great tour of the city and everyone on the trip now has a much greater knowledge and appreciation for New Orleans.
Tomorrow, we will finish our project, take our tools back to Celebration Church, and then start thinking about heading home. Just for information sake, we are wanting to head out about 6:00 AM on Friday. The trip down took about fourteen hours, so we are hoping to get home around 8:00PM. These times are not set in stone, so when we get closer I will have the youth call for their rides.
Everyone one is still doing well and feeling good, so continue your prayers and we will see you in a few days.
Mitch and the gang from New Orleans
One more thing: I am very proud of our group and honored to be with them this week in New Orleans. I could not be more proud!
Center Baptist Church
5124 N. Farm Road 43
Ash Grove, MO 65604
Office (417)-751-3490
Pastor Mitch Fisher
