This morning I had my first taste of cooking for 45 people. Let's just say I've never made that much oatmeal! So, yes, we did have some leftovers, but when your cook has pneumonia, what are you gonna do? Our teams are being very flexible this week as we did a little praise and worship before breakfast because getting up at 5:30 wasn't early enough to prepare the oatmeal. Apparently it takes almost half and hour to bring 40 cups of water to a boil! But in the end everyone ate and they are now off to their work sites. I am glad to have a minute to breathe and think there may be a nap scheduled for this afternoon!

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them--the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD." - Psalm 146:5-10

Yesterday several friends and I went to the Angola Prison Rodeo at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. When originally asked if I wanted to go I was hesitant, mostly because of the activity not the fact that it was at a prison. But I agreed when I found out a decent sized group was going. As yesterday approached, however, I had begun to lose interest. I was tired and I thought it would be better to sleep most of the day.

Even so, we piled in the van at 10:30 a.m. and headed off on a two hour drive to the northwest. As we drove out of Baton Rouge it became very rural, very quickly. Finding a suitable bathroom stop was a challenge. As we approached the prison we were handed a sheet of rules just outside the main gate. No food, beverages, alcohol, cell phones or cameras were allowed inside the rodeo grounds. It told us to lock our cars probably seven times in about four different ways.

As we headed down the long, tree-lined driveway I could see part of the prison off to the right and more of it behind the rodeo grounds to the left. Even though we had traveled through fairly dense woods, the prison sits out in a large open space with many gulleys. Razor wire was everywhere and often present not once but two or three times on any given fence.

Angola has a history of being one of America's bloodiest prisons and is a maximum security facility. We left our purses in the car and I felt very awkward without the keys and cell phone I have on my person at all times. As we entered we realized that without our cell phones none of us had any idea what time it was. After a quick bathroom stop we headed in to find our seats and the show started shortly thereafter.

All the inmates participating wore black and white striped shirts that said, "Angola Prison Rodeo" on the back. There were a few special acts that were not prisoners, but by and large all the participants were inmates. There were a variety of events such as bull riding, buddy pick up, flip the calf and others. It was a great show and perfect weather and I'm so glad I went.

Following the show we went outside to see the hobby craft the prisoners were selling. Some of them were allowed to sit in their booth with their items and others had their things displayed on one side of a fence while they were on the other. All money went through prison security.

As we walked around I found myself being very cautious, generally avoiding eye contact and not getting too close to the fence.

As we sat in traffic for a long while on the way home I began to reflect on the day. I began to think about what it must be like to enter prison knowing you will never be free again and not knowing what might lay ahead. I also began to think of my actions after the show. I find it pretty easy to love and care for the poor, orphans, widows and the oppressed, but prisoners? Why do I have such a hard time with that when I am looking them in the face? Is it because they have done something to "deserve" the life they now live? Is it because they are more dangerous? Is it because I can't at all relate?

I'm still thinking this one through, but God calls us to love them just the same as everyone else. I pray that he will soften my heart in this area and teach me how to love as only he can love.

Spring is more than officially here in New Orleans! Saturday afternoon it was a beautiful 72 degrees and Colleen, Jeri, Daniel and I headed northwest to a strawberry farm we found on the internet. This weekend is the famous Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival and the farm was only about 10 minutes from Ponchatoula. According to the website, this festival is second only to Mardi Gras in size. Traffic backed up on both directions on the interstate was good confirmation of that!

We headed west of town and down a small country road was the farm. I remember going to the Berry Patch south of Nevada, Iowa with my mom when I was young. Mostly I remember the big, hot fields but I also remember the little store they had. From my memories, it was pretty clear where you were supposed to go when you got there. This place wasn't so much that way. As you go down the driveway it is at first hard to tell where you are supposed to go, but we figured it out.


The lady told us that she had just received a call that their strawberries had won grand champion at the festival, so we knew we were in the right place! Walking out into the field, it didn't seem like there were that many berries, but kneel down and move some leaves and they were everywhere! We each purchased a gallon bucket and went to town. I have never seen strawberries like this before. They were almost iridescent in color and sparkled about as much as my nail polish. It was hard to walk away when my bucket was full.

The whole way home all we could smell was strawberries and we certainly ate plenty last night. Ms. Jeri made a salad with strawberries and cheesecake with strawberry drizzle and I made a smoothie. I put them on my Special K this morning and will be eating them pretty much every day for the next several days. They will be in season until the middle of May, and I have a feeling we may end up back there before then.

This past week has been a whirlwind of adventure through the marvels of modern aviation. I left New Orleans last Thursday evening on a flight that had been delayed due to mechanical problems. When we arrived in St. Louis it was 7:30 and my connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 7:35. Right. So I calmly walked to the gate to find, as I suspected, that the flight was gone and that there were no more flights to Iowa that night. Because it was their error, they would pay to put me in a hotel. However, I was determined not to spend the night in St. Louis.

We went to look for a hotel voucher and could not find one so we had to go to the next gate. And don't ya know that had a flight going to Des Moines that had been delayed! So at 7:45 I received a ticket for that flight and had to go clear down to baggage claim to find my bag. After standing in line, explaining my story and waiting for the guy to go look for my bag, it is now 8:25. I explained my story to the woman behind the counter and told her to send my bag to Cedar Rapids. I had to catch my flight. As I ran out the door, there was the man with my bag. I hurried up to ticketing, rechecked my bag and made it through security by 8:40. Now I am not one to run through an airport, especially with a heavy computer bag, so I hurried as fast as possible, sweating all the way and made it to the gate with about six minutes to spare. Whew. However, I didn't expect my bag to arrive until Friday, which would have meant another trip to Des Moines.

But, by the grace of God, as I arrived at baggage claim, there was my bag! Yay! My dad arrived about 10:30 and we arrived back in Cedar Rapids about 1 a.m. Although it was a long night, and certainly not the way we planned, it was good to be home and I had some great one-on-one time with my dad in the process.

Friday night I was able to meet with some supporters and family friends and share a little more of the vision of Urban Impact and my part in that. Saturday night I met with most of the Cedar Hills Evangelical Free Church missions team for a few hours and shared our vision with them as well. They are looking to bring a team down in the fall and I am very excited about that possibility.
Sunday morning I was able to speak to people between services as well as during the adult Sunday school hour. After listening to Pastor John share the vision with teams every Monday night for the last six months, I felt very well prepared for my presentation and I felt very comfortable in front of a group. Even a few years ago I don't know if you could have given me enough motivation to get up and speak, but now it seems to come almost like second nature. That is a blessing and a total God thing.

My mom's friend from school also came to hear my presentation with her family. Their children, Noah and Avery, are beautiful and Noah was full of stories and laughs. It was so neat to see my brothers interact with him and realize that they are becoming young men.

Monday my mom and I had some free time to go shopping and hang out and Monday afternoon we stopped by my dad's new job to say good-bye. As we were arriving I received a phone call from an unknown number and when I listened to the message I found out my flight had been canceled but I was rescheduled for another flight on Tuesday. I was glad to have the extra time with family and decided not to be frustrated by the delay. My flight left on time Tuesday morning but I was again delayed in St. Louis. We didn't end up leaving until almost two hours later than planned and I began to be concerned as I was supposed to be overseeing the tutoring that happens at church at 5:30. I arrived and Sandy picked me up just after 5 and I made it to tutoring only 10 minutes late.

All in all, even with all the delays and changes, it was a great trip and I now feel more confident about sharing what God is doing in New Orleans in ways other than writing.

Hello friends! I'm sure you think I have dropped off the face of the planet, well, the good news is that I haven't! Although tonight I feel like I have traveled all over the planet. I have been in Iowa the past several days for a missions conference at Cedar Hills Evangelical Free Church and have been meeting with friends and supporters. I am completely exhausted tonight after spending most of the day traveling home, but I wanted to let you know I have not forgotten my blog and will get some photos and stories up tomorrow regarding my recent trip!