Hello, Old friends!
It's been an incredibly long time since I was able to write. Here is a newsletter that I just wrote for RefugeNOLA. More to come soon. And pictures!
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is In Her, and our land, Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. Isaiah 62:1-4
Hours before the Saints won the division championship game, sealing their spot in the Superbowl, I was able to participate in my first Second Line. (For those of you who don’t know, a “Second Line is a tradition in brass band parades. The "main line" is the main section of the parade, or the members of the actual club with the parading permit; those who follow the band just to enjoy the music are called the "second line."—Thank you Wikipedia!)
The experience left Michael, Dan and I with a newfound love for this city. All of the elements of New Orleans culture combined into one migrating city block—dancing, brass bands, gold and black, and apparently, Heineken beer. For me, being there FINALLY gave me a glimpse of my capacity to love this city. Prior to this experience, I had a hard time really finding anything good about this city that was worth fighting for, aside from a very non-personal conviction to be here. But something struck a chord deep within me while I marveled at the smells of bbq’ed chicken, saw the incredible dancing, and watched grown men climb up stop lights on one of the busiest streets in the city. I felt like the Grinch when his heart grows 3 sizes too big. Where else would one ever find this kind of celebration (for something that hadn’t even happened yet…)
I knew that this was not something to be taken lightly. After 8 months of living in this foreignness, I finally felt a draw to the city I am living in now. I finally felt the desire to fight for it and not just nonchalantly care for it. I had been praying for this desire for months, and now it stared me in the face.
destruction and devastation. In what other city do people dance in the street and celebrate for any given reason. No where in the world is like New Orleans in this respect—and the way that Scripture describes what our heaven on earth will be like is very similar to the way people celebrate here; it will just be without all of the bad.
My heart explodes with excitement to see God work in this city. My joy is overwhelming when I see one of my kindergarteners truly grasp a concept at school that makes them proud of their ability to learn, despite a failing school system that tells them that they will never amount to anything. My happiness is indescribable when I see Michael take a couple of kids fishing, which leads to their uncle coming by to talk to us one day, opening up other opportunities in the neighborhood to have an impact.
This life that we live is not our own. And this City that we want to see built on our Earth is within reach. We are hopeful and we know that day is coming when He will return and we will all be second lining in the street.
