This will probably be the first of a few posts and hopefully I will get some pics up here from the trip. Now that the trip is winding down I've found a moment of free time to write a little about the trip and what God has been doing.
This is my fifth trip over here to the Katrina damaged city of Bay St. Louis (and surrounding areas) of Mississippi. My first trip was only a few months after Katrina hit and I've never been the same since. I've never seen so much destruction and devestation and yet somehow seen God working in the middle of it.
So much life has returned here, although a year and a half later there is still so much work to be done. The people and their stories are amazing. We met a family on this trip that literally rode the storm out with each other and their dogs tied to a tree with Christmas lights they found in their attic. It's humbling to see their living conditions of being stuck in a tiny trailer for all this time. But it is exciting to be working for them to get them back in their homes.
God was definitely here this trip. He always is, but I was able to see Him work in really powerful ways through our students all the while teaching them about what it means to "walk as Jesus walked" (1 John 2:6).
I love coming here but it is always hard for me to leave. I think I leave some of my heart behind because of the relationships we are able to build and the work we have been able to accomplish. I'm always challenged everytime I come over about how tightly I can cling to my material possesions. That needs to change. Not that stuff is evil, but the desires behind having stuff can be. Helping people throw away everything they owned and tearing apart all that they have left in a house really helps keep things in perspective. I'm reminded of that "only one life will soon be past... only what's done for Christ will last!"
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