FBC Missions

Coming to New Orleans we knew we would be serving people and fixing houses, but we weren’t sure we would be able to have the opportunity to meet those people. To our pleasant surprise, we have had the opportunity to meet most of the people we have been serving. The other day we took apart a trailer that belonged to a middle-aged woman with a few children. Yesterday, we took apart another trailer and while talking to the owner of the residence we discovered the trailer we took apart before was the daughter of that woman and she had twenty two grand children. This is just one connection among a couple that has shown a truly personal connection to the people we are serving.

Another woman we served was an older widow who seemed to have done everything. As we were going through the rubble and pulling things out of the trash that we thought she had wanted (pictures, dishes, jewelery, artwork,etc.) and everything seemed to have a story behind it. She had a picture of Elvis and shared a story about how she knew him before he was famous. After going through all of Dottie’s belongings we feel like we know a lot about her life and how she lived. It’s been a very special experience to learn about the families we have served. We feel as if we know them on a personal level opposed to a project based relationship.

You would think that most people would worry about losing all of their most expensive materials such as their televisions and dvd players, but their most concerned with their small things that have reminded them of their lives before. A lot of the people we have served have lost their wedding rings, pictures of grand children, wedding presents, family photo albums, and many other sentimental possessions.

The most beneficial experience from this southern adventure has been hands down, the grateful reaction from the owners of the homes. The people we serve are very gracious, loving, and thankful for our service. The compassion they show has not only made our work rewarding, but has also open doors for ministry.

Until next time,

Tony Williams and Andrew Robb

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 17th, 2006 at 1:37 pm and is filed under New Orleans 2006. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.