NOLA: One Month Anniversary!

A typical rain shower in Louisiana

 Hey, y'all! Guess what? I've been here in Louisiana for a whole month! :) While I haven't processed everything that has happened this month, I can tell you that it has been an amazing experience and that I have been challenged in new ways. It's been great. 

This week has been jam packed with learning opportunities and plenty of room for relying upon God. We have a small team from Strasburg, PA here this week. I find myself enjoying the smaller team size, as it allows me to interact more easily with the whole team. When we gather in the warehouse conference room for breakfast, it feels like one big family gathering to start the day together. 

Each day this week was so unique in the tasks and events that it held. Monday was a full office day. I am learning that if someone isn't doing those little supporting jobs, like paperwork and spreadsheets, then everyone else's job is that much harder. I love seeing how I can serve everyone on staff by helping out around the warehouse/office/church. 

On Tuesday I met the ESL students. This month there is an English as a Second Language (ESL) class being held at Trinity Church (Reach Global's partner in the New Orleans area). There are 6 students; 4 from Haiti, 1 from Chile, and one from Brazil. It got to help them with their English. It was a true test of my knowledge of the English language! It's amazing how difficult it is to explain a phrase or a word to someone who doesn't have a full understanding of the language. But I found the challenge fun! The conversations at lunch were incredible. There was the beauty of sharing faith and encouragement in broken sentences. They are amazing people; I look forward to knowing them better over the summer.

Jessica on the roof

I finally got to work on the jobsite with the team! Thursday's are typically my worksite day (from here on out). I rode into the city with the team to Mr. Joe's house. We are currently repairing his roof. It had been partially redone a few years ago, and then left to sit. Since it wasn't properly finished, water got under the tar paper and rotted the wood along the edge of the roof. Now we have to pull back the tar paper and replace the rotted sections. Once all the rotted wood has been replaced, we can put the shingles on it. Part of our team worked on shingling, and Ryan, Jessica, and I worked on locating and replacing the rotted wood. I loved being up on the roof all day, and we were blessed with cloud cover in the morning. After lunch though, the sun came out and it was difficult to keep moving in the sticky heat. 

Thursday was a challenging day, but one of those days where you feel like everything is in Someone else's control and you are just along for the ride. First, I overslept. Thus, I didn't have a quiet time. But even so, I felt entirely sustained throughout the day. That night all the interns got to go to the Fuel House of Prayer. Overall the experience was interesting, but God clearly used the time to grab my attention and work through something He has been pressing on my heart. 

In my devotion for yesterday Oswald Chambers (I'm reading My Utmost for His Highest) focused on Luke 14: 

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost... So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."

~Luke 14:26-28, 33

He said: 

"If the closest relationships of life clash with the claims of Jesus Christ, he says it must be instant obedience to Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person, our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a difference between devotion to a Person and devotion to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause; He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a disciple is to be a devoted love-slave of the Lord Jesus."

~Oswald Chambers 

These words challenged me all day and I was able to really focus on them, and what Jesus was trying to say through them, Thursday evening. He reminded me again, my life is not my own. I have been holding on to my "claim" to home, family, friends, and all things familiar. In reality, these things belong to God. He has given them as blessings, but the moment I hold on to them as "mine", they cease to be blessings and become hindrances to intimacy with God. Thank you, Jesus, for opening my eyes once again to this and not leaving me in the state I was in.  

This week was full and long, but incredibly good. I have learned so much! Including, but not limited to, how to teach some English, how to use the various office implements, how to be flexible while guarding my time with the Lord, how to use a circular saw, why OSB has black lines on it, the difference between cutting and ripping a board, how to NOT fall off a roof, and (once again) trusting in God is the greatest adventure one can have. :) 

Until next time...

Happy 4th of July!!