Great week off!

As many of you know, we had this last week off to regroup and refresh before the spring rush. I'm happy to report that the week was pretty refreshing. Amy and I just hung out most of the week. We had no specific plans set and just went into each day not sure what we were going to do.

We had some friends over for the Super Bowl on Sunday, Monday we worked on a table for our deck out back. We had the chairs already and had got a table off "free-cycle". It's a yahoo group where people from certain areas post offers and requests for items. The key is that everything is free for the taking.

Fat Tuesday we went to a parade on St. Charles St. In the city. The weather was beautiful. Amy and I and a couple of friends were there for the last half of the parade, but even that was about three hours long. We were exhausted and a little sunburned after that, so we went home and relaxed the rest of the day.

Wednesday we caught a movie and that night we went to a friends house for a fish fry. He had caught some catfish and red fish from Lake Pontchartrain and fried it up for us. We finished out the night with some Apples to Apples. Great game. You should play sometime!

Thursday and the first part of Friday was all about the last two seasons of Alias. Good show. Funny story. I thought season 4 was the last season, but when we got to the end of the season... huge cliffhanger. I went out to the video store immediately and got the 5th season.

We finished Alias late morning Friday. We then went on a bit of a journey. We just drove around to some places we'd never been before on the north shore. (We found what must be the only hilly roads in Southern LA). It was a lot of fun.

Saturday we picked someone up from the airport and did some yard/thrift store shopping. We got a couple of good deals. Let me tell you... good thrift stores around here are hard to find.

Today we went to church and did some grocery shopping. We're set to go for the next few weeks. On our way home, we saw a bunch of cars parked along the side of the road approaching our house. We asked someone what was going on and learned of another Mardi Gras parade. This one was for our furry friends, though. It was called Mardi Paws. We took Rusty down to the lake front, but quickly realized he wasn't ready for such a big crowd. We went back home and went for a quick bike ride instead. Good times.

Speaking for myself, I'm ready to get back to work. It's been good to have some time off, but I'm really looking forward to having teams here and doing some work.

At the risk of having this post be really long, I'd like to share something with you all. I got an email from a friend back home tonight. She asked some good questions and I'd like to share my response with you. Nothing real profound, but I had to stop and think, especially about the first question. Not that I wouldn't be able to find hard parts of being here, but rather the hardest. The most rewarding question was cool, too. Hadn't really put that into words yet.Amy may share her response to these questions in a future post as well. Check it out.

It sounds like you're doing well down there...what is the hardest part for you? And the most rewarding? Are you missing the Chicagoland area? And how is the job?

Hardest part: When you are a missionary in a “developed” nation, as opposed to a “third-world” country, there are several challenges. Imagine being a true missionary where you live. We live in a pretty affluent part of the area, while nearly 30% of the people in N.O. live in poverty. It’s also tough because, as you know, America is becoming less and less of a God-centered nation. America is the third largest English- speaking mission field. People have either heard it all before and don’t want to hear any more, or they’re already “Christians”.

Most rewarding: People’s lives being changed, including our own. We see on a day-by-day, minute-by-minute basis how God provides. He provides the right people for the right jobs at the right time every time. He provides everything we need for our ministry. It’s really cool to see God answering prayers (sometimes before we pray!)

Missing Chicago: Parts of it. Definitely the people. Not the weather… especially now. It’s in the 70’s here. Who wouldn’t want that? Strange, but I miss the drivers. In Chicago, everyone drives fast and crazy. And that's fine because you can expect it. In the rural parts, everyone drives slow and obeys the laws. And that's fine because you can expect it. Here, you don't know what to expect. Some drive fast, some drive slow. Some fast then change to slow and vice versa. You never really know what anyone’s going to do. Mostly because they don’t use turn signals very often and when they do it's either too early, or too late! I also miss knowing my way around. I’m getting there, but the roads don’t make much sense. Check out a detailed map of N.O. when you get a chance. You’ll see what I mean.

The Job: Well, it’s been rough, but good. I’ve been learning a lot about the construction tasks we do here. It’s coming along. I get through most of the problems that come up, but it’s nice to know I’ve got a great manager available to help me if I need it.

Sorry for the long post. It's been a great week and I really wanted to share that with you all. (notice I didn't say "y'all" there?) Please continue to pray for our ministry here in New Orleans. We have a busy couple of weeks ahead. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Phil