Tomorrow I head for New Orleans, where I'll spend a week gutting houses, helping with a VBS, hanging out with locals, and who knows what else. It's great to have the opportunity to be used this way. I really don't know what the city is going to look like at this point -- unfortunately I never got to see the pre-hurricane city. God has certainly used this situation to mobilize the faith and goodness of a lot of people, and to develop new ties between people. My Abilene church (Southern Hills) has formed a two year partnership agreement with the Carrolton Avenue church in New Orleans, which will result in a lot of financial assistance, labor teams (which is what I'm doing), and spiritual encouragement. Apparently it was one of the few churches to continue to meet after the storm, even though the building was flooded and everything destroyed.

I'll be back next Friday night, Lord willing, with stories and photos. Stay tuned.