THE HAWS PERSPECTIVE
Ok so basically I just spent like a half an hour writing all about or trip and somehow it just all disappeared. Anyway I'll try this again. Our trip to New Orleans was a good trip but can definitely be considered a "gong show" trip. Some gongish highlights included: Having a drunk rugby coach come visit us in our van on the ferry, delayed flights and a massive thunderstorm going from Seattle to New Orleans , the airline losing Ally's bag, Amanda losing Phil at every possible chance while driving around New Orleans, and of course being stuck in New Orleans Airport for 8.5 hours and then missing our flight from Atlanta to Seattle and having to stay overnight.
New Orleans was a challenging place to be not really because of the devastation I saw in areas such as the 9th ward, I was expecting to see these kinds of things and had already seen many pictures, more so a combination of lack of tiredness, I know people got on my nerves and I'm fairly sure I got on others, and the fact that we really not prepared for the work that needed to be done. We did our best but organization was limited.
As for work it was definitely not as hard as may have been stated in earlier blogs. Of the 8 days we were in New Orleans we worked 4 Tuesday through Friday, Our work days were also fairly short from around 10:30-12:00 and then from 12:30-3:00 or 3:30. It was tough work but not long.
The thing that impacted me the most was the interaction we were able to have with those of New Orleans. A little 4 year old girl named Diamond, a fellow worker from Ohio Laura, and of course the ever awesome group coordinator Moe, who according to Downey has a Kirk-like humour.
I really don't consider this trip to have been a "missions" trip, it was more of a helping the body of Christ trip as most the people we worked with were believers who could probably teach us a thing or two about faith.
One last cool thing I enjoyed was a trip to a black church just outside the city. The congregation was very open and welcoming. I truly loved the intensity and passion in the music. The organ was pure sweetness.
I'm sure I forgot many fine details but I think there will be plenty of time to tell you all about it when we all come back.
God bless the rest of you (my Mongolia boys especially), peace out and I hope to see and hear from you all soon -ANDREW
New Orleans was a challenging place to be not really because of the devastation I saw in areas such as the 9th ward, I was expecting to see these kinds of things and had already seen many pictures, more so a combination of lack of tiredness, I know people got on my nerves and I'm fairly sure I got on others, and the fact that we really not prepared for the work that needed to be done. We did our best but organization was limited.
As for work it was definitely not as hard as may have been stated in earlier blogs. Of the 8 days we were in New Orleans we worked 4 Tuesday through Friday, Our work days were also fairly short from around 10:30-12:00 and then from 12:30-3:00 or 3:30. It was tough work but not long.
The thing that impacted me the most was the interaction we were able to have with those of New Orleans. A little 4 year old girl named Diamond, a fellow worker from Ohio Laura, and of course the ever awesome group coordinator Moe, who according to Downey has a Kirk-like humour.
I really don't consider this trip to have been a "missions" trip, it was more of a helping the body of Christ trip as most the people we worked with were believers who could probably teach us a thing or two about faith.
One last cool thing I enjoyed was a trip to a black church just outside the city. The congregation was very open and welcoming. I truly loved the intensity and passion in the music. The organ was pure sweetness.
I'm sure I forgot many fine details but I think there will be plenty of time to tell you all about it when we all come back.
God bless the rest of you (my Mongolia boys especially), peace out and I hope to see and hear from you all soon -ANDREW
posted by andrew at 3/22/2006 12:08:00 a.m.
6 Comments:
"I really don't consider this trip to have been a "missions" trip it was more of a helping the body of christ trip as most the people we worked with were believers who could probably teach us a thing or two about faith."
Is helping out not missions? I can't speak for those people in New Orleans, but I do wonder why you don't classify your trip as missions. Just because you guys didn't specifically minister or evangelize to people doesn't make it not a mission. I think that it's still a missions to pour your heart into other Christians. I think it's the 'Christian/church' view that if we don't specifically evangelize or convert non-Christians it's not a missions trip. So I urge you to look past the stereotype that we place missions and re-evaluate your trip in the sense that who knows, maybe those Christians you worked with saw Christ in you guys in a different way. But this is my view on things, Andrew your free to think whatever you want, it's good to hear you guys are back safely...
Mike
Nope yoiu're wrong missions is evangelism in a foreign or at least different context the day to day interaction.
first off, everytime you do any sort of missions or service you will learn more than you teach. every time i do a lesson at youth, i learn so much more than my youth do.
and you guys are both right. there is a distinction between specifically going somewhere and preaching the gospel and helping other christians. they are both needed, and they can both be considered missions, it all depends on how you define the word. and according to andrew's definition, the new orleans trip may not have been. but it could have also been missions according to mike's.
it is also true that you may never know the impact you had. the man whose direct impact changed me the most as a young 13-year-old who was going down the wrong path did not know it for years.
im glad to read about your guys' trip and i hope you've all been stretched and have grown lots from it.
I wanna see yall sun burns!... stupid sask...
Just so you know andrew we may have been "preaching to the Choir" when we were working with the families but fo sure we made an impression on the ther people who where volunteering with AIM (adventures in missions)i know for dang sure that some of those volunteers who where by themselves where not christians.
And don't forget the drunk rugby coach :)
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