We’re in one of our 3 mini vans on our way back from Bop’s, having gone out to put a frozen custard end to a long day. James was chatting it up with the worker there, shooting some footage of the secret world of frozen custard.
After our orientation, a lunch at a new place, and a visit to the Biloxi Katrina memorial….
We reunited with Ken and Dawn, our hosts from New Life Disaster Relief, the team will all be staying within the church building this year. Ken, with a shaven face and a not-shaven head, is still full of life, jokes and wit. Dawn is doing well and stands by his side, rolling her eyes and being the softer side of the caring duo.
Tonight for dinner, their daughter led us in saying grace, with her amen followed immediately with “Blessers and Cooks eat first.” We enjoyed our fried chicken dinner, and were able to meet two other women from a church in northern Mississippi that are staying in the same facility as us. They joined us for our devotional time of song, teaching and prayer. It’s nice to share a bond of faith with people we’ve never met. They’ve been coming down here for three years, the two of them representing their church of 50. Lorin’s devotional tonight encouraged us to use our words wisely, seeking to bless and encourage, and to take risks in doing so.
Overall, the recovery down here is moving ahead. Slowly, but still moving ahead. Homes are being built and rebuilt, people are moving into the homes, but still, the economy is difficult out here, and the BP oil spill still has made its mark on this recovering region.
Tomorrow will be our first real day of work, where we plan on meeting with Brad and hopefully Paul too. We continue to meet people, leading with our hearts even more than our thoughts.
Sorry folks, hopefully our pal Gary will take a look at these pics and videos and do something nice with them, but we’ve been up for about 48 hours straight…. and need some sleep.
James and Art are taking amazing video and pics! Oh! for the Alumni…. There is some footage of the new and improved Yanqui Stadium. If you need to remember what it (and we) looked like 6 years ago, go back and look at the archives in the blog and photo albums!