Well, it's official, I've now been in New Orleans for a whole year. As I've though about this fact the last several days it's almost hard to believe. I'd like to say that it seems like just yesterday that I was moving into the camper, but really, it seems like I've been here forever. Every time I drive through town and know the routes to take to avoid traffic or find just the right place to park I feel like I've been always lived here.

A lot of things have changed in the past year, but one thing has remained the same: I absolutely love it here.

I still love the culture and atmosphere in the neighborhood. Sure, now that I live in the thick of it some of the "atmosphere" keeps me awake at night, but I wouldn't change it. I love seeing people hanging out on their porch and talking in the streets. It's such a difference from everything I've ever experienced, but it seems like that's how it should be, neighbors interacting with each other.

I love the music and the huge live oaks. I love seeing the skyline and the Superdome when I walk out my door in the morning and I love that it's 70 degrees in December. I love living in a city that is stangely quiet on the Sunday afternoon of a home game during football season. I love learning about a different form of government and a different ecosystem. I don't so much love hurricane evacuations but I love being in a place where I can help my neighbors get out.

As I look forward to the upcoming year I am so excited to see how God is going to work. I know it will be in ways I can't even imagine.

I stopped by the office Saturday afternoon to check my e-mail and found that someone had broken in. I called Tre, our worship pastor, because I knew he lives close. We checked out the building together and at first saw not much more than the broken window and blood stains on light switches as whoever it was had apparently gone from office to office.

Tre worked on boarding up the window and I left. It was later that afternoon that we found out Sandy's laptop had been stolen. As Tre looked more we found the laptop we use for church gone as well. I woke up in the middle of the night and remembered that I hadn't seen Laura's laptop in our office and it was taken along with two of our point and shoot digital cameras.

This morning we found the person also took a large jar of money (about $50) from Tyrone's desk from his candy sales and other youth fundraisers.

It's an eerie feeling to walk into what I consider "my" office to know someone who wasn't invited and doesn't belong had been there taking things. There was definitely a period of fear that I've never had while being here as I thought about it all.

I am not sure yet what our insurance will cover, or if we have reached the deductible, but I know that God will provide. Please join me in praying for a convicted heart of whoever it was that broke in and that God's justice would be served.

Praise the Lord! I just took my car to a muffler place recommended by one of the Christian mechanics I found through some former UIM staff and asked them to replace the strap on my muffler because the whole thing was rattling. After having several guys in the shop look at it the guy came back in and told me the hanger would be $18, but the catalytic converter was also rattling. Being as that I have now been told this is a problem twice, I decided to go ahead and have it replaced. The good news is, it is only going to cost me $300, that's $900 less than Midas! So praise the Lord that I've been setting aside money for such a time as this and that I won't have to accrue any debt to have it fixed! Thanks for praying!

So, the saga of my car problems continues. Actually, I'm not sure how much of it is a problem and how much of it is mechanics trying to make money. See I have this problem....I don't trust mechanics. Walking into an auto body place is the one time in life I truly hate being a woman. One of these days I'm just going to take a couple classes so I don't feel so inadequate and unprepared.

Granted, my dad has taught me a ton (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!) and has at least given me a fighting chance with a lot of things related to my car. Although I should have made an effort to be around when he was doing all those things to my car so that I would have a better understanding.

I was told by Midas a week ago that I needed a new muffler strap and a new catalytic converter and that was going to cost me approximately $1,200. Are you kidding me?! Forget that. I'd rather get a new car. So I've done some checking and investigating, as has my dad, and neither of us are so sure that's the problem. The muffler strap is certainly loose and I just found out that I can have that fixed for about $25. That's in my price range! So, I'm going to start there and see if that makes a difference. Then we'll see about the rest of it. Right now my car doesn't display any of the symptoms of a broken or clogged converter and apparently it isn't something you can check on a diagnostics machine. Therefore, we're going to wait and see what happens when the strap is replaced.

HELLO! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get on here and send an update. We are finally home. Our return trip began at 9:45 a.m. on Friday and was much shorter than our evacuation, about 5 hours shorter, and the traffic wasn't nearly as bad. Perhaps we took the long way, but we headed south on I-65 to Montgomery, Alabama and then on to Mobile, Alabama where we joined I-10 westbound and made the final stretch home. This is where we ran into most of the traffic, especially as we entered Mississippi. Once we were into the city traffic began to move just fine, and actually seemed pretty light.

As we drove into the neighborhood I saw that the sign on our new land which we worked so hard to install was facedown on the ground, but other than that, there were just a few branches and piles of leaves and general debris here and there. I didn't make it out to survey most of the city until Saturday and even then the most damage I saw was downed trees, none of which seemed to have caused much structural damage.

I know the parishes to our west were hit much harder and some are just getting power back on today. Our church has already talked about a trip west to help those folks and TouchGlobal Crisis Response, our partnering ministry, has already had people on the ground there for a few days.

In New Orleans grocery stores, Wal-Mart and other businesses are now almost all reopened. Shelves are being restocked and gas tanks filled. I know we delayed our return a few days just to allow some of the necessities (gas and food) to get here first.

All in all, I'd say this was a good experience. Not one I'd like to repeat anytime soon, but good.

I now know what it is like to drive away from my home not knowing if there will be anything left when I return. I know what it's like to practice patience as I travel with a caravan of coworkers and church family through stop and go traffic. I know what it's like to be registered as an "evacuee" and offered a bag of free toiletries. I know what it's like to sleep on a gym floor with all my coworkers and what it's like to wake up in the same situation. I know what it's like to be grateful for a hot meal and a hot shower. I know what it's like to walk past the television to see a swirling mass in the gulf and watch water lap the sides of a levee while wondering what will happen. I know what it's like to be delivered from the storm. I know what it's like to breathe a sigh of joyful relief as the storm passes and good reports pour from my city. I know what it's like to long for home so much I can't stand it and I know what it's like to ride back into town and gaze again on the skyline of the place I love to find it only a little bruised and battered. I know what it's like to be part of a group of pepole who are resilient and determined. I know what it's like to trust God for everything, knowing the future is so uncertain. And I know without a doubt that he will remain faithful even in the worst of storms.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fail. God will help her at break of day...Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." - Psalm 46:1-5, 10-11

Our return to New Orleans is tentatively scheduled for Friday. Some of our families have already headed elsewhere and then back and some will be leaving tomorrow to get back for work. We are not in a huge hurry as gas and food are scarce right now. We have decided to let the masses return so that it doesn't take us as long to get back as it did to get out.

We're now almost finished with day two in Birmingham and I think I echo everyone's sentiments when I say I want to go home. Yesterday was a pretty good day and everyone was generally upbeat, myself included. Today I woke up and got the day started well, but about 10:30 it really start to hit and I really started to miss home. Now I love to travel and I love to see new places, but this isn't like most trips. I don't have that travel mentality.

I may try to get out and see a few things in town tomorrow. For the most part it is just hard to sit around with nothing much to do. It allows far too much time to miss where you're from and gives time to wonder when you'll get to go back. Speaking of which, we are tentatively headed back Saturday but we are still awaiting word from the city.

It's time like this when I continue to realize that New Orleans is where I am supposed to be. No matter where I go in the country I am always still called home, this time more than most. I just want to get back to my city, my neighborhood and my life.

But I know that God has bigger plans. I know He is using this time for something. Maybe it's to teach me patience or reliance on Him. Maybe it's to help me identify with those in our ministry who were so affected by Katrina. I don't really know. But what I do know is that this is a whole bunch of free time with very few distractions to keep me from spending time at His feet and hearing what He has to say before I head back into the routine of ministry in New Orleans.

You figure things have got to be bad when the close Wal-Mart since they don't even close that on Christmas these days. It was eerie to drive through the city on Saturday and find things all boarded up or at least closed. My friend Emily was down from Nashville on vacation and little did she know that would turn into an evacuation. We saw as much as we could before things began to shut down.


We had planned to do at least a little shopping on Magazine Street, but things closed down pretty early on this one.

I have to give a huge thanks to the City of New Orleans for getting things right this time. The system was efficient, effective and very clear to residents. Pick up points were scattered throughout the city and people were then taken to the Amtrak terminal and sent out of town on busses or by train. Shelters were already set up to receive them on the other end.

Saturday night we had a "freezer party" at the Gerhardt's. That pretty much means, we're about to lose power and we shouldn't leave anything in our fridge or freezer so bring it all over and we'll cook it up and eat it. We had everything from shrimp and frozen pizza to chicken and vegetables. I know there were a ton of leftovers, but at least we tried!


We also spent time Saturday night praying for the evacuation, the city, and those who would stay behind to protect it. We have a police officer in our church who was just sworn in this past week. He has a wife and two small kids and prayer for that family was a tear-jerker. So far we have heard no bad reports from him and continue to pray for his safety.


Sunday morning was the most beautiful sunrise and you'd never know that there was a hurricane less than a day away. God provided this beautiful reminder of himself in a time that was so very uncertain.

Just follow the blue "hurricane evacuation route" signs. How many times I have looked at those signs and thought nothing of it! That will never be the case again.

The state began contraflow at 4 a.m. Sunday in partnership with Mississippi and Alabama. This is the first time ever that the southeast and southwest have had contraflow instated at the same time. It was crazy to see all lanes headed out, but it was so good to see just how many had heeded the warning to leave the city.

Close to dinnertime one of the vehicles in our caravan blew a tire. Other than that, we had a long but very smooth trip to Birmingham, Alabama where Mountain View Community Church has been so gracious to take us in and make us feel at home.

This has truly been an example of the body of Christ. We arrived weary and crabby last night and were treated to such wonderful service. We each have a bed and linens. They had every toiletry anyone could possibly need, gift bags for the kids, and welcome notes and Bible verses posted on the walls. We are sleeping in their gym and they have locker rooms where we are able to shower. I have decided that I much prefer to be on the giving end of disaster relief, but I am grateful for the opportunity to experience both sides. This has been a faith-stretching experience for sure and one I will not soon forget.

As we continue to monitor the weather and levees in New Orleans we are trying to make the most of our time here by continuing to share the love of Christ with those we are in contact with. About 64 evacuated with us and some have now moved on to other places to be with family or deal with work situations. We are still unsure about when we will be able to return home.

Please pray that we would be on guard against the attacks the devil is sure to throw our way. Pray that we are able to keep clear heads about news reports, doubts and anxiety. Pray that God would be our rock and our fortress in all the distress and uncertainty of the days to come. Thank you!