Wow, too much blog about... every day could fill up at least a couple of pages, but here goes I'll keep it brief.
This last week our daughter Mary turned 4 and I (Bob) turned 38. Mary's really enjoyed her presents from the grandparents, thx! Our first family newsletter went out last week as well (a bit of an effort and cheesy excuse for not keeping up on the blog).
We are driving up to see Emily's brother Robbie and his family in South Bend, IN from May 17 thru May 25 with Em's folks Tom and Marilyn flying in from San Diego and other brother Jeff driving in from Boston. We are all looking forward to seeing family again, the kids excited to play with cousins Annabeth and baby Sammy, and Em and I excited to hear Robbie and Lindsey preaching at their new church where they are co-pastors. I am looking forward to hanging out with the boys ontop of Robbie's house for a few days weather permitting while we reroof his house.
Mary has been taking ballet dance lessons and James is in soccertots, and both just finished there first experience with Awana at Trinity Church. Both still go with dad once a week to the job sites (a bit less than before) and the homeowners, staff and volunteers always enjoy seeing them. Emily hosted a great barbeque this last Saturday, with most of the staff and families of crisis response coming over to our place for some grillin' and chillin'... we learned how to do some real Louisiana style ribs.
It has been amazing to see how God has sent teams of volunteer from all around the country (to date 11,853 volunteers from 41 states through this ministry) with enthusiasm to jump right in and help out the people of New Orleans. The individual teams I have seen, be it mostly college kids, middle schoolers with parents in tow, families or retirees, have been extremely well suited not only to do the tasks at hand but also touch the lives of those they are serving. I am constantly in awe. The teams have lately been landscaping, drywalling / texturing / painting, tiling, plumbing, roofing, framing, hanging windows / doors, etc. Personally, I have not only picked up a few skills from the volunteers, but also been priveledged to see them share the gospel and Christ's love to others. It has also been an incredible blessing for me and my family to meet some really cool folks from all over our great country, get to know them and get a flavor for what life is like for them back home.
During the time the middle schoolers were painting Miss Johnson's house, one of her nephews (about my age) stopped by and really gave an inspirational talk to the kids explaining how he had gone off to college out of state but came back to New Orleans because that was where his family was at and that growing up in that neighborhood there was a real sense of community. He spoke of how it takes a "village to raise a child" and how he wanted his own kids to experience that. He also spoke of the accountability and responsbilities of being a part of a community and how extended families were knit throughout the neighborhood and looked out for one another (especially during the storm) and how family get togethers would be huge memorable affairs. It was quite an experience, and really lifted up the volunteers and made me feel proud to be a part of the effort to bring back New Orleans.
On Fridays, the sister church down in the inner city (Castlerock Church) puts on an event called "Super Friday" where the volunteers, after working on individuals houses from Mon-Thurs, shift gears and go out into the community and block by block pick up debris off the streets while interacting with folks they meet. As a family, we ran one of the hot dog trucks a few weeks back, driving around New Orleans with a bbq in the back of the pickup, cooking up and handing out hot dogs and drinks to the volunteer crews and people in the city we'd run in to (lot's of fun).
Well it's getting late and I can probably think of about twenty more things to write about (the incredible volunteer teams, staffers, homeowners, folks at Trinity and Castlerock Church, our great accordion teacher in Slidell, going out on the town and seeing a local band, replacing a homeless guy's bike we ran over with the hot dog truck, going to Barataria Bay National Park and seeing a really cool swamp, etc.) but my brain is now shutting down... good night y'all.
This last week our daughter Mary turned 4 and I (Bob) turned 38. Mary's really enjoyed her presents from the grandparents, thx! Our first family newsletter went out last week as well (a bit of an effort and cheesy excuse for not keeping up on the blog).
We are driving up to see Emily's brother Robbie and his family in South Bend, IN from May 17 thru May 25 with Em's folks Tom and Marilyn flying in from San Diego and other brother Jeff driving in from Boston. We are all looking forward to seeing family again, the kids excited to play with cousins Annabeth and baby Sammy, and Em and I excited to hear Robbie and Lindsey preaching at their new church where they are co-pastors. I am looking forward to hanging out with the boys ontop of Robbie's house for a few days weather permitting while we reroof his house.
Mary has been taking ballet dance lessons and James is in soccertots, and both just finished there first experience with Awana at Trinity Church. Both still go with dad once a week to the job sites (a bit less than before) and the homeowners, staff and volunteers always enjoy seeing them. Emily hosted a great barbeque this last Saturday, with most of the staff and families of crisis response coming over to our place for some grillin' and chillin'... we learned how to do some real Louisiana style ribs.
It has been amazing to see how God has sent teams of volunteer from all around the country (to date 11,853 volunteers from 41 states through this ministry) with enthusiasm to jump right in and help out the people of New Orleans. The individual teams I have seen, be it mostly college kids, middle schoolers with parents in tow, families or retirees, have been extremely well suited not only to do the tasks at hand but also touch the lives of those they are serving. I am constantly in awe. The teams have lately been landscaping, drywalling / texturing / painting, tiling, plumbing, roofing, framing, hanging windows / doors, etc. Personally, I have not only picked up a few skills from the volunteers, but also been priveledged to see them share the gospel and Christ's love to others. It has also been an incredible blessing for me and my family to meet some really cool folks from all over our great country, get to know them and get a flavor for what life is like for them back home.
During the time the middle schoolers were painting Miss Johnson's house, one of her nephews (about my age) stopped by and really gave an inspirational talk to the kids explaining how he had gone off to college out of state but came back to New Orleans because that was where his family was at and that growing up in that neighborhood there was a real sense of community. He spoke of how it takes a "village to raise a child" and how he wanted his own kids to experience that. He also spoke of the accountability and responsbilities of being a part of a community and how extended families were knit throughout the neighborhood and looked out for one another (especially during the storm) and how family get togethers would be huge memorable affairs. It was quite an experience, and really lifted up the volunteers and made me feel proud to be a part of the effort to bring back New Orleans.
On Fridays, the sister church down in the inner city (Castlerock Church) puts on an event called "Super Friday" where the volunteers, after working on individuals houses from Mon-Thurs, shift gears and go out into the community and block by block pick up debris off the streets while interacting with folks they meet. As a family, we ran one of the hot dog trucks a few weeks back, driving around New Orleans with a bbq in the back of the pickup, cooking up and handing out hot dogs and drinks to the volunteer crews and people in the city we'd run in to (lot's of fun).
Well it's getting late and I can probably think of about twenty more things to write about (the incredible volunteer teams, staffers, homeowners, folks at Trinity and Castlerock Church, our great accordion teacher in Slidell, going out on the town and seeing a local band, replacing a homeless guy's bike we ran over with the hot dog truck, going to Barataria Bay National Park and seeing a really cool swamp, etc.) but my brain is now shutting down... good night y'all.
