New Orleans Mission Trip Day: 3

On our second full day we had tremendous opportunities to help serve the First Pilgrim Day Camp in the upper Ninth Ward. We started by cleaning the kitchen after breakfast. The kids swept the floors, wiped down tables and gathered up all trash. After breakfast we moved old furniture out of the classrooms and moved them to the dumpsters near the street. Once we had all the furniture out there many of the residents began to go through everything to get what they could use. As they began to go through everything, this gave us an opportunity to assist them so we could share the Gospel with them.

The first two Aaron Griffin and I were able to help were two prostitutes. One was an African-American lady named Bob. The second, her "girlfriend", was named Philia -- I think. She had a pink and blue looking barbed-wire tattoo across her face. We loaded furniture onto my truck and drove the furniture ten blocks to their house. Once we unloaded it on the sidewalk, I gave them each a tract and began stumbling through witnessing to them. I really flubbed it up being so nervous. We got in the truck and left. Feeling dejected, I stopped the truck, jumped out and went back to them. I told them that I had been nervous trying to tell them about Jesus and I wanted to be more clear that Christ can transform any life. They thanked me, and Bob said that her life was messed up, and thanked us for sharing.

Afterwards, we walked through the neighborhood and left tracts in various locations, as well as handing them to all the people we met. One thing that struck me is how receptive people are to taking them. The people of New Orleans are extremely friendly from our team's observation. Even with the two prostitutes, when we talked about Jesus, the one, Philia, let me know real quick that she didn't believe in Jesus "like that" but told that me that she was all about community and appreciated what we were doing. Unfortunately, for her, appreciating Christ doesn't save anyone, but with her open heart to what we were presenting her perhaps she will allow the Holy Spirit to penetrate her heart and open her eyes that Satan has blinded.

I pray for our two friends and hope they will read the tract and come to know Christ. Keep praying for us, and for all the others working all throughout the world to advance God's kingdom. They are on the field constantly while we are weekend warriors, of sorts. They need our prayer support.