Day 8: Homeward Bound

We left at 5:30 AM.

As a rule of thumb, some of us feel it is not right to wake up before the sun does. But wake up we did, to Ms. Julie's peaches & cream oatmeal waiting on us downstairs one last time. We loaded into the vans and crossed the causeway while the morning light sneaked over the horizon and Baton Rouge glimmered in the distance.

We noticed that, and some other pretty stuff. Then we fell asleep.

Most of the day was like that. Wake up, have a snack, talk a little, sleep. Wake up, get out at a rest stop, grab more snacks, go back to sleep. Wake up, "Who needs to pee again?!," get out at another rest stop...

you get the picture. We're driving from the southern tip of Louisiana all the way back to south central Illinois. Nothing too exciting happened. (Well, we hit Missouri and it got cold again and asked ourselves WHY we wanted to leave the warmth...but that's beside the point.)

We ate lunch at a McDonald's in Mississippi and began our debriefing. Each of us shared a story or perspective of our trip and reflected on what God taught us throughout. We learned patience, faith, trust, and how to hope in the face of adversity. We noticed the great hospitality of our neighbors in the inner city. We concluded that we felt love in New Orleans, and that even though our experience seemed backward (from finishing a house to gutting it), in some way we still made forward progress. Our week was not wasted in any sense of the word--we finished the works we were called to do. We built a few relationships while we were at it. We bonded as a team and as friends.

We trust that God will see our good work through to completion: in ourselves, Willie Brown, the Urban Impact staff, New Orleans, and Greenville as we return.

We pray that in the rest of our lives we would continue in the faithful service we learned and took part in this week, that we would continue to be diligent and intentional in building for God's kingdom, and love others across borders of class, race, nationality, and comfort.

As for the next team to go: Tally Ho! We're with you, and we rejoice in thankful praise as your team forms and prepares over the next months.

Hope & Blessings,

Marh '09 Team