If you are reading this it is divine intervention and the Lord knows I need your prayers. This week is shaping up to be a stressful one as the other two members of my development team are out of the office. This morning has been a race to be three people and accomplish the unimaginable. We've had computer malfunctions, space issues and phone call after phone call. Please pray for a calm in the midst of the storm and for the time and resources to accomplish all that needs to be done. Pray also that I don't lose sight of the goal of it all which is to glorify God in all things. Thank you!

I received a call from my mom this afternoon after she had been to volunteer at one of the shelters in Cedar Rapids. After sitting for 45 minutes waiting for something to do, she found herself helping an older couple clear things out of their home.

Helping gut a house and helping a homeowner determine what can be saved and what must be thrown away is something that can never fully be put into words. It is a powerful and deeply moving experience to realize just how futile our race to accumulate worldly possessions truly is when at any moment anything could come in and take that all away.

I am so proud of my mom (and I know you're reading this!) for getting in there and getting dirty. What an opportunity to show a servant's heart! I pray many of you who read this will take the time to get involved as disaster has struck so close to home.

Please pray for our ministry as we determine our response to this tragedy. We will likely be bringing a team to Cedar Rapids to help in the near future. I'll keep updates posted here if you'd like to be part of helping.

Praise God that so far there have not been any deaths reported from all the flooding in Iowa. Please pray for guidance as I am trying to coordinate a potential trip to the state to be a volunteer. I'll post more information as it becomes available.

God's Been Good To Me

Well I can't believe I'm sittin' here today
Picking on my banjo with a big smile on my face
Writin' new words to an old school melody
Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me

Oh the sun is shinin' on down in New Orleans
And right now where I'm right where I wanna be
I've never felt so loved, so peaceful and so free
Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me

'Cause he put me smack dab in the middle of Paradise
In the heart of the city where my dreams have come alive
And everything I have, and everything I see
Is just another reminder that God's been good to me

This golden road's been long
And sometimes I've lost my way
I've been down some darkened detours
Leanin' heavy on my faith
But where the devil had me chained
Lord your love done set me free
Hallelujah! God's been good to me


As I was driving back to Iowa I put in one of my favorite CDs, Keith Urban, and I heard the song above. I have heard this song at least a hundred times before and it was this time that I really listened to the lyrics and realized just how true it was. I drive over the horizon in either direction and into view comes the skyline and I feel like I'm in paradise. I go to the projects where our teams play with kids (above) and I feel like I'm in paradise. Not that there aren't many problems here or many hardships. It's more like, paradise in that I know this is exactly where God wants me. I see those kids and their innocence as they choose a color of sidewalk chalk and I think about all of the possibilities for their lives. I think about how the ministry I am a part of, how God can shape their futures to be full of hope and life.

And yes, the road to get here has been long and at times it has been dark. A life of faith is never easy, but every step along the way, both good and bad, has led me to where I am today. And where it seemed like the devil had me chained "the Lord done set me free!" Never before could I look at life and truly agree with these lyrics, but now, with only a little tweaking on my part, they are almost perfect and I listen to this song as an amazing reminder that God has been good to me.

Well, John has been here and gone and a full and busy summer is on deck. It was great to have John here and it was especially good to have someone to make the long trip home with me. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot. His wit never ceases to amaze me and as I said before, we have so many hysterical quotes that came out of that trip and his time here.

We arrived Tuesday night and settled in. John slept on a cot in the "living room" of my trailer and it actually worked out pretty well.



Wednesday and Thursday he worked on one of our job sites with a few of the guys from EFCA Crisis Response. Perhaps he wasn't busy all day :) but I am sure he saw what hard work rebuilding this city can be. It was tremendously hot both days, although they keep telling me that it isn't hot yet. I can only imagine!

Thursday afternoon we took a tour of the city and I showed him the lower ninth ward where one of the levees broke, we drove through part of Gentilly to see gutted homes and some reconstruction and made our way up to Lake Ponchartrain and back past two of the largest cemeteries in town.



Friday John hung out with me and, because we didn't have teams in the city or on the northshore, he watched cartoons online while I did some work and then we made a trip to the printers and had lunch at a two story McDonalds that may be the sole reason John would love to come back to the city!

Friday night we went out to eat at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in the French Quarter and John was "disappointed" that Jimmy Buffett was not actually there. We got a good laugh out of that one. Then we did a little touring and walked along the river. It is very full due to much of the rain so many of your are experiencing up north but it was a great night for a walk. After that we headed to Creole Creamery, arguably one of the best ice cream shops in town. Then we headed off for a walk at Audubon Park where we acquired plenty of funny videos of John chasing wildlife. :)



Saturday morning was an early one as we wanted to be at the airport in plenty of time because John had never flown before. But we found that without checked luggage it was a breeze through check in and he made it through security, onto the plane and off to Kansas City safely.

Our first high school team has arrived for the summer and they are in full swing. It is definitely going to be a different atmosphere from the last eight months, but I am learning to make adjustments. I still keep thinking that one of these days I am going to walk into the Yellow House and Ms. Jeri will be cooking away, John and Emily will be on their computers at the table and Daniel will be supervising it all. Making the transition is hard but I know that God has much in store for this new step in this journey of service.

I'M FINALLY HOME!

After traveling more than 2,400 miles across six states in the course of a week and a half I have finally returned to New Orleans in one piece and I couldn't be happier to be back!

I left at 5:45 a.m. Friday, May 23 and drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Iowa and arrived at my parents house about 10:15 p.m. As you can see from the photos, I stopped at a few Starbucks on the way. Now, there are a few of you out there (you know who you are!) who said it couldn't be done. That was just fuel for the fire. :) I love to drive and I love a challenge so this was right up my alley. It really wasn't as bad as it could have been. The Lord blessed me with sunshine for all but a 15 minute downpour and my car behaved wonderfully.

Leaving the Yellow House was hard as I knew everything would be different when I returned, and it is, but the adventure was also a great one. I planned to stop a few more places than I actually did and see a few more things, but after I got started I realized I just wanted to get to my destination. I stopped briefly in Jackson, Mississippi for my morning coffee and again in Memphis, Tennessee for lunch. I planned to go downtown Memphis to get my official Starbucks Memphis mug but realized I left my map in the trunk. I take pride in my sense of direction so I ventured into town without it and don't you know I parked my car and looked up and there was Starbucks not half a block away! Amazing! I was so proud of myself.

My final major stop was St. Louis, Missouri for dinner. That was a quick trip to Panera (one of at least 7 during my trip because we don't have them here.) and back on the road. I was doing well until southern Iowa. By that time I had been at it for 14 hours and I was so ready to be out of the car! Given the chance to do it again (which I likely won't) I would have started earlier so I could have finished the trip with a bit of light.

But, when all was said and done, even with paying as much as $3.85 a gallon, it was still cheaper than any plane ticket I found. God is good.

Andrew's high school graduation was Sunday, May 25 and his party was the day before. It was a great time to be with family and spend time with many supporters and friends. It was also fun to see so many old pictures of the boys and myself and spend time talking about memories.

After Marion I headed off to Des Moines to catch up with former coworkers, friends and people around Waukee. It was fun to see the changes and drive around looking at what was my whole world for two years. It's hard to imagine it sometimes now. As I drove past my old apartment it was strange to think it belonged to someone else and it was strange to know there was so much about the town that I now don't know because I spent so much time knowing everything that was going on.

I wish I had taken more pictures to put here of my many meetings with people, but we shared a lot of laughs and had a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who was such a blessing. I attended a retreat with many friends from my former Sunday school class and it was great to take some time so far away from the rush of traffic and schedules. I do miss quiet drives into the country and one night had the joy of driving home after a rainstorm and listening to the quiet roll of distant thunder.

Even so, it was hard not to miss what I now call home. Even with the heat that they tell me is not so bad today (it’s a heat index of 96) and the increasingly cramped life in a camper, I love it. I couldn't wait to return and every mile seemed longer than the last as John and I traveled home yesterday. It was so much better to travel with someone else. We laughed a lot and have a whole list of quotes that are likely not funny to anyone else, but they kept us busy and on our toes. Even though we tried to hurry, it was still a 16.5 hour trip and we are exhausted today. John is being a trooper out in the heat working with some EFCA staff guys and I am catching up on several projects.

Thank you to all who shared good times, homes, beds, food, time, prayers and financial support as I was back. I continue to ask for prayer as we head into a season of work with youth groups from across the nation. Prayer requests, as always, will be listed to the left side of my blog.

And if you are reading this, thank you for making it all the way through this short novel!