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Mission
Trip
New Orleans, July 2007
New Orleans
“Do I really want to go?”
That was the question which harassed me throughout
the month leading up to our travels to New Orleans. My work at seminary
at the end of June made it obvious that there were major changes (edits)
necessary for the first four chapters of my thesis. That is true, even
as I write these words on September 5th. Confirmation camp was a most wonderful
week, but it often leaves me exhausted. That was no different this year.
Bonny suggested I fly down to New Orleans and back to Syracuse so that I
gain some time and find some rest. It was a nice offer, but the deeper question
was “do I really want to go?”
As you know, I went, because I committed to go. You
know me and obligations. I told Bonny I’d be there; I made that commitment
to the youth. Bonny and her team hit all kinds of last minute snafus which
made us question whether we should even embark on this adventure. When
the vans left the church parking lot following prayer, we knew that there
would be no turning back. Thank goodness and thank God!
I was impressed with the ways in which we traveled
together. We (Rachel, Melinda, Nina, Devon and myself) had great conversations
in the van. We were not held captive to i-pods or cell phones. We had deep
conversations about our devotional passages each day.
The hospitality offered to us by our hosts in Virginia,
St. Anne’s Church, was magnificent. What a blessing they were! We worshipped
and bunked down with another group from Syracuse, which included my good
friend Mark Lawson’s wife and youngest son.
Travel went well, although I must admit I did not enjoy
the 24-mile drive over Lake Pontchartrain. I was a basket case when we
got to the other side. We were finally in New Orleans. I have a few stories
to share which will help answer my initial question, “do I really want to
go?”.
I had read and heard about governmental gaffe and boondoggle
regularly over the past two years. I went wondering why we didn’t simply
bulldoze everything into the sea. I questioned whether experts had really
done everything to protect the city in the future. I knew that the murder
rate was astronomical. New Orleans was below sea level. Why rebuild? Some
of these questions have yet to be answered to my satisfaction.
However, I have three simple reasons why I am most
thankful that I went to New Orleans and why I will go again.
First - the people of Lutheran Disaster Response. I
was deeply moved by their strength, character, perseverance, compassion
and stick-to-itiveness. What had been accomplished by this agency as well
as by the many other faith-based organizations was mind-blowing. Each day
began and ended with prayer. There was encouragement and support. It was
very special for me as a Lutheran pastor to see our church (the ELCA &
LCMS) work so well together. It was a joy to be a part of that.
Second, it was obvious from the start that this entire
endeavor was not about us. You will read and hear some wonderful testimonies
of how people touched people through this process. We were privileged
to walk through and work upon peoples’ homes, many of which had been totally
devastated by Katrina. I implore you to ask any one of our participants
about how this connection touched their lives. The other piece of this adventure
is how our lives were changed. I have heard and seen that in conversations
with both youth and adults. It is most clear in the number of people saying
that they want to go back to New Orleans for our mission trip next summer.
There is something about mission trips which invites people to understand
the blessings of community and hospitality in a more profound way then
they ever would in their own backyard. Blessings given and received.
Third, I was touched by the travel of all kinds of
groups into New Orleans. As I was awaiting the repair of a flat tire,
a woman pulled in with a vanload of youth. She, too, had a flat. They and
two other vans had driven all the way from Seattle. On the trip down and
back home we passed or were passed by vans from any number of stated filled
with people, pulling trailers, obviously heading to or departing from New
Orleans. To see this commitment, by people of our nation to one another
more than made up for all of the political blunders that we have witnessed
in the past two years.
I thank God that I went. Your prayers of support were
vital to the completion of this trip. I could go on and on about how proud
I was of our youth during the entire trip. I could tell some other stories
which we will simply keep quiet. I do want to thank the countless people
who made this a blessed trip. I especially want to thank Bonny McCabe who
took a decades-old dream of mine and made it a reality a few years ago
when we embarked on our first mission trip. Each one has been an adventure
and a joy!
God continues to do great things in our midst. I invite
you to find ways in which you can participate in God’s mission; that is
living out of God’s love, grace and mercy for the sake of the world.
- Pastor Paul
If you were part of the Mission Trip and have a
story you'd like to share,
please e-mail Bonny McCabe.
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