Oh boy! I never
knew how good I had it. On Sunday we went to Ozanam Inn and fed the homeless.
Before this, I had not thought about the people. I had always viewed it as a
mere political issue and nothing more. There I realized that God cared about
them just as much as he cared about me and that I should care about them just
as much as I care for myself. This changed my whole week and probably my life. It
allowed me to see people as equal no matter what. Their financial status,
political party, or race. That made it much easier to serve other people
because it was not about status.
God sure does know what He is doing. Recently,
in my life I was telling God “no”. I came up with reasons to do things my own
way but my life was going downhill. I finally realized I hated where I was at
and told God I wouldn’t say no to Him anymore. Then, He told me to go on this missions
trip. Part of me was super on board but mostly I thought, “God, maybe I spoke
too soon on saying no to You.” I would have to miss work and a full week of
school. I would have to drive all alone to New Orleans. These negative thoughts
popped in my head repeatedly. God’s plan worked well for me, my professors gave
me their blessings and I had extra babysitting jobs. When I finally got to New
Orleans, I was filled with joy. The happiest I will ever be is when I am saying
yes to God’s plan and no to my plan. I asked God to guide me because I still
wasn’t sure why I was here. “Be patient, you will know” kept popping up in my
head. Surely enough, it would happen. God called me here to love on kids and a
young man with no permanent residence name Sime. Earl, Ethan, Elijah, and many
more children have a very different life from the majority of kids I work with
year round. They needed some extra loving and attention so that’s what I gave
them. Ethan spent pleanty of time playing with (ripping) my hair. It hurt but
God didn’t want me to stop him so I didn’t. Elijah, who turned two years old on
Wednesday, loved a game of tickle tag. The smile and laughter coming from him
was more joyful than any of the two year olds in my class from back in
Springfield. Where there is God there is joy and love. God was with the team
and children this week.
Doing homeless
missions was the scariest thing to me. I kept thinking that was someone else’s
calling. No, I was wrong. My five minutes with Sime was why God wanted me in
NOLA. I walked past him and God was like sit down and I was like, “sorry, didn’t
catch that.” Two minutes go by and Ericka and I sit down with him. I share with
him a piece of my recent testimony that I had never shared with anyone before
but God told me to tell Sime. When I was saying no to God, I had no joy in my life
and I didn’t want to be here any longer. He told me he had been feeling that
same way (now I’m not feeling this way to clarify for a few months). We prayed
and a part of what I said was something like, “I would like for Sime to make
the choice to accept You as his savior so he can be my brother in Heaven”, then
Sime smiled really big and thanked me. I knew I came to talk to him.
New Lessons Call My
Name Every Day
Sometimes I don’t
answer because I don’t have time to learn that day because I have too much to
do on my list. BUT God keeps knocking and when I answer, I find the end result
leaves me loving my Jesus more. That’s what mission does for me, it teaches me
and it humbles me. It puts me out of my comfort and shows me how to keep living
for Jesus when I walk through my home door.
Sunday night we
served dinner. We were told it was for the homeless and I kept thinking about
how easy it was to identify them as “homeless” and that’s not how Jesus would
see them. He’d see them the way He sees me, someone He loves so that’s how I want
to see them. When they walk through the line they are people like me. That
could be me if I had different circumstances or had made a few different
choices.
Since that was at
the beginning of the week, it shaped my time for the rest. It helped me sit
down and talk to new people like I’ve known them for years from Wilma at New
Orleans Mission, to Kelly at kids club.
I’ve come back to
the church simply praying that Jesus would send more people to love like Jesus
for Wilma, Kelly, and all of the others that I’ve met. It makes me want to be
that answer to others’ prayers for the people at home and the people I come
across.
This reminds me
that even though I have a plane ticket to Illinois tomorrow, I can pray for the
kids I met. I can still make a difference because Jesus is still working here.
God is on the move and I wanna be apart of it.
If missions hasn’t
called your name yet, I encourage you to double check. I’d be a different
Alaina if I hadn’t said yes to the new lessons Jesus wanted to teach me and I learn
a lot because I have Jesus as my teacher.
I won’t say that I
was forced to join this mission team – I just had no real good reason to say no
when encouraged by my son, Logan (who was already “all in”) to come along plus
my wife’s (Darla’s) strong desire to see me break from our routine to go off on
mission to help people/ministries near and dear to our family.
So, on the very
first morning here in New Orleans while lying in my bed (actually, a mattress
on a hard tile floor in a church Sunday school classroom) during morning prayer
time, I prayed… “Lord, You got me here; now, what will You have me do?” Well,
as it turns out, that was a dangerous prayer… Not twenty minutes later, I was
standing in the kitchen in front of the stove when bacon grease started on
fire! Others on the team said that my mere presence (being a fire
inspector/fire fighter) and lack of panic brought a sense of calm to what truly
was a potentially serious situation!
Later that same
day, as we finished up serving dinner to some homeless men and women, I looked
over to see a NOLA F.D. ladder truck out on the street in front of the mission
home and thought… “Wow, that’s pretty cool – I should take a picture of that!”
However, we looked over to the area where people had been eating and saw the
four fire fighters standing over/caring for an unconscious man. Logan said to
me, “Dad, you should go over and help” but it really didn’t appear they needed
any assistance. So, I said, “they don’t need MY help.” Then. For some reason, I
started walking towards the situation not really knowing why… Then I saw the
reason, a young lady was standing back watching the FD/EMS personnel intently
from about 15-20 feet away. Turns out, she was the man’s girlfriend. I could
comfort her, get patient history to relay to EMS, and even pray with her as
they loaded the man into the ambulance.
Be careful what
you pray for… God is always listening.
I used to think I
was in control of my life, but that is not true. Becoming a Christian was a
process for me. It did not happen overnight. I now know that in was never in
control of my life, God was. It was hard for me to trust people which made it
harder to trust God. God continued to soften my heart, and eventually accepted
Christ into my life. God was always faithful and loving. God knew exactly what I
needed and always provided.
Before this trip,
I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect from this trip. I had a
relationship with God before the trip, but I knew God was going to push me to
deepen my faith on the NOLA trip, and that scared me. But, God is all knowing
and He knew exactly how to push me in ways to deepen my faith and trust in Him.
Something that
really struck me on this trip was the kids. The children that we played with
had never really experienced love or care. While holding a two-year-old named
Elijah who was sleeping in my arms. I realized this might be the only time he
would feel safe and loved. What is so different about these kids is that they
are surrounded by violence. It is normal for them to see a gun fight, have someone
they know shot, etc. This is normal to them. Gun violence is an everyday occurrence
for them. I was extremely happy that we (our team) got to laugh, talk, and
experience God with the precious children of New Orleans.
Another powerful
thing on this trip that impacted me was hearing Trachelle’s testimony on what
life was like for her before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Her story is
so sad and so touching. I couldn’t imagine going through things she went
through. But, despite all of the hardships, Trachelle trusted God and loved
God. This inspires me to lean on God more when things get hard. If Trachelle
could go through extremely difficult situations and still trust God, so can I.
God is powerful,
all knowing, faithful, and loving. He looks out for us and always has the best
intentions for us. I challenge people to lean on God and let him guide your
life.
A lot of people
claimed that mission trips change lives. They were right and here’s how this
trip changed mine.
At first, I was
very hesitant to come on this trip. Being a newly made Christian, I didn’t know
what to expect. But let me tell you this: It was one of the best experiences of
my life and it changed me for the better.
Sunday afternoon
after going to church in the morning, Wes took us to the Lower Ninth Ward to
see the levee. Being born in 2000, I don’t really remember Katrina as much as
everybody else. I knew that Katrina happened, but I didn’t know the extent of
how bad it was. After Wes and Trachelle told us stories about what had happened
there, we were given time to be alone with God to hear what He had to say after
that experience. What I heard from God were three words: “Help them heal”. From
that moment through this whole trip, I believed that my goal this mission was
to help the people of New Orleans heal. Tuesday evening, as we were done
ministering to the children, I had a talk with a woman named Camila. I listened
to her story about how her sister recently had passed. After listening to her
story, everything she described is hoe I felt about my brother. From the thoughts to the feelings our stories
were almost exactly the same. I believe that God led me to her. I believe that
God was showing me that I was not alone. I believe that He was telling me “show
her how I healed you”. I proceeded to tell her my story and how God had healed
me. She then asked me, “how do you keep going?” I just told her, “Pray, help
others, and God will help you.” I then gave her my bracelet which read “Love as
Jesus”.
I believe that
God led me on this mission to not only help heal others, but to also heal
myself. This experience humbled my soul and made me grateful for all the things
in my life. It made me appreciate all the little things in life, and made me
ten times more willing to help people than I did before. A verse I found today
that perfectly captured this whole mission is Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust;
He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped
His people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same
diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.”
God is amazing
and the trip to New Orleans has helped me grow closer to God and see different
aspects of Him.
One of the
devotionals I read in New Orleans was about trusting God with the future (2
Corinthians 5:1-9). I am an excessive worrier and this passage helped calm me
and realize God knows everything, thus I should give my worries to Him.
Helping Hy and
Libba was a wonderful experience. They are both servants and they serve in the
following ways: providing food, encouraging others, and taking people into
their home. Seeing the servant’s hearts in Hy and Libba helped me see how
Christians are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Seeing the need
in New Orleans through visiting and serving at homeless shelters helped me see
God’s love for everyone. Also, I was encouraged by seeing other people serve at
these ministries.
The group walked
around the French Quarter asking people if they needed to be prayed for. I was
encouraged by this experience because non-believers were willing to be prayed
for. Furthermore, the prayer impacted these people’s lives demonstrating God’s
power.
The trip to New
Orleans has expanded my view on God’s control, love, and power.
I used to think I
knew best, boy was I wrong. I grew up going to church but never truly committed
to loving God until my senior year of high school. I knew God and believed in
Him until life got hard when I was about 13. I had bipolar and OCD and went
through some hard times. So, I fell away from the Lord. Throughout high school,
I still went to church because I had to but I didn’t believe. My brother and me
hated each other and there was so much unforgiveness in my heart for him I couldn’t
talk to him.
Skip forward to
the senior high winter retreat. I didn’t know why I went but my friends were
going so I went along. One night as I was listening to the sermon on
forgiveness it just hit me like a log of bricks. You have to forgive Colin, it’s
the only way to release yourself from this anger. After I forgave him and
recommitted my life to Jesus that night, the anger went away and I was filled
with such overwhelming joy I started crying. That joy was from the Lord
celebrating my return to Him.
God’s love
changed my life. My life isn’t without heartache and struggle. The Lord never
promised that but He did promise this: John 16:33 I have told you these things
so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble – but take
heart! I have overcome the world! A personal relationship with Jesus changed my
life and if you let Him, He will do the same to yours.
On this mission
trip, I saw Jesus Christ as the leader and saw His presence through several
events.
Most visible to
me was the presence of Jesus at the Rescue Center where men and women were
interested in learning more about Jesus and some gave several strong testimonies
of how Jesus changed their lives. For example, Conrad said that he was hit
twice by cars while on his bike, was on drugs for 35 years, and broke his legs.
He is now off drugs due to Jesus and living his life day by day.
This missions
trip strengthened my belief in how God works through small things to better His
kingdom.
I have gone on
one missions trip before New Orleans in Romania in 2014 and what a difference
it was to me in doing each one.
New Orleans
opened my eyes to all different types of individuals who need help from all of
life’s situations such as drug and alcohol abuses, homelessness, divorces, kids
without parents, kids who need love, and people of all ages who need to know
Jesus.
Our team arrived Saturday
night in New Orleans and we hit the ground running! We had rental car issues
that we realized was God’s plan – the first rental car had a broken seatbelt
and the second rental car wasn’t in the spot it was supposed to be in! The
third car was in the spot and was a larger car than we expected. It seated 8
people and not 7! With the extra spot, we were able to take extra kids and
adults to Hy and Libba’s. It was all in God’s plan and not ours.
I have walked by
faith in doing what God wants me to do on this trip and have been blessed
beyond what I ever thought. I was able to help repaint a railing and porch for
Miss Lucille with my husband Carl. We have never worked on a home improvement
project together before this. We talked with Miss Lucille, get to know her
better, and pray for her foot to heal.
I thoroughly had
a sense of God working in the lives of our missions trip, me, and the people I connected
with. Earl was a 9 year old boy and he and I had the opportunity to play the
card game War. He really liked playing the game and asked me to bring the cards
when I came to Hy and Libba’s. I also saw my daughter (Ericka) connect with a
girl (Taejah). The girl was asking for Ericka when she didn’t see Ericka on the
second day.
I helped feed
homeless men and it opened my eyes to see how many people do not have a warm
place to stay at night or meals to eat.
For the first
time in my life, I got up in front of 100 people and spoke from the Book of
John – John 8:28-19:16 – Jesus before Pilate. I was not nervous or shaky. God
gave me the boldness and peace to deliver the Word and that Pilate missed the
opportunity to accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.
Through the power
of Jesus, He have me His strength, energy, peace, and boldness to do His work
this week for His kingdom. All for Jesus!
Does it ever get
old?
No. NOLA never
gets old for me. This is my fifth year here and if there is to be a sixth,
count me in!
Why? Well – because I meet God here. Yes, I
meet Him daily at home, but when I come to NOLA, it’s like a booster shot for
my faith walk. I get removed from the responsibilities of home, and am able to
hear and see more clearly. I get to interact with the most diverse, open people
group anywhere, and I get to think more missionally. “Love God, love others” –
that’s what it’s all about. I get to serve with hard-working, loving teens, and
my hope for the future is restored. I get to help and encourage life-long missionaries
(Hy and Libba). They are truly the finest people I’ve ever known. I also get to
be silly with little kids who are happy, really happy, to play duck-duck-goose.
So… yeah. I kinda
come to NOLA for me. It fills me up and recharges me for the future. Kinda
selfish in a way, but that’s the truth. I give some love and get back so much
more.
You should come
with me next time. J
I used to be
afraid of many things, but with God, my fear can be overcome.
This year was my second
trip to New Orleans and fourth missions trip total. Each trip, I learn
something new about God and myself. Fear is a big thing in my life. I can be a
shy and timid person at first so talking to people I don’t know can be scary
for me.
On Monday night,
we played with some kids at Hy and Libba’s house. Last time I was in New
Orleans playing with kids, there were a lot of kids and many people playing
many games that I could easily jump in on. This time, there were two siblings
(Taejah and Tomaj) sitting in chairs when I went outside. Someone nominated me
to play monkey in the middle with them. I was nervous because I can never tell
how hard to try when playing games with kids (I can be a competitive person)
but they were having fun. If someone hadn’t said “Ericka will play with you
guys!” to Taejah and Tomaj, I wouldn’t have gotten to know them better and
shine God’s light to them.
After the
devotion time, I saw Taejah standing alone so I went over and talked to her. I
asked her about the devotions and she said that she believed in Jesus. I was so
happy! The next day, I felt sick and was lying in a bed at Hy and Libba’s
house. I started to feel a bit better and was considering going outside to play
with kids but then my mom came into the room and said a girl was looking for
me. That girl was Taejah. God’s timing is perfect. That gave me so much energy.
I ate dinner with Taejah and Tomaj. Taejah didn’t leave my side after that and
we talked a lot. If someone hadn’t nominated me to play with them, Taejah might
not have felt as comfortable with someone as me. Taejah was pretty quiet and
shy but opened up when I talked to her. All my fears of the kids not liking me
went away when Taejah asked for me on Tuesday, which helped me play and connect
with other kids as well. We played duck-duck-goose with other kids and all of
them had a great time. It was great to show God’s love to the kids.
I also played the
violin at the Mission Center New Orleans. I have stage fright. Before the
chapel service, I was sitting by a homeless man who at first seemed
intimidating to me but then he started a conversation with me about music and
we connected through that. While I was playing an approximately six minute song,
I was frozen in place only moving my arms to play the violin. I was afraid of
messing up. Near the end, I looked up and I saw people singing and enjoying the
music. It was awesome to see people praising God and reminded me that even if I
messed up, it would be ok because I was playing for God and He appreciated it.
When I trusted in
God, He took away my fears and I could fully lean on Him to let Him move
through me.
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