NOLA Tuesday

10:44pm- Today was wonderful! I loved working on the community garden. This group rocks at team work. And everyone is so encouraging. I loved how everyone said thank you when i came over to pick up their piles they'd raked even though it was expected of me. I also got to jump in trash bags full of brush to make them more compact so we could fill them fuller. It was so much fun! I just love my senior girls and sophomore boys in my van. And my sophomore girls in my A team. And all the other high schoolers i work with during the day and eat meals with.

We had chili dogs for lunch, got snow cones (I got half peach half icecream flavor! So good!), then had 2 hours of free time/shower time. Then we ate dinner with new birth church and joined them in their vbs. It was humbling becausewe weren't   leading the vbs, we were being taught. It was for all ages so they had a teacher prepared for adults and that's where we went. It felt uncomfortable to be taught in a vbs setting, it was different than a church service. It was great to get to interact with the community though! I met a few kids whose names I want to remember, so here they are: Elvin, Precious, dewayne, mack, and William. I hope I will be more bold in sharing my faith with the kids tomorrow. I also meed energy and a positive attitude because work mornings are long and after a few days, I start to run out of the my own strength. I need the Lord to intervene in my heart so that I am a blessing to others and not a hindrance. Hoping the Lord uses me despite me.

My word was uplift. My goal was to not complain, and to also speak encouraging and positive things. Today was a success because I caught myself before saying something negative and my word stayed my focus all day and I could see it making a difference. Tomorrow my word will probably be endurance, but uplift is gonna be there too cause it was a useful and much needed reminder to make the words that come out of my mouth pleasant and uplifting.

I'm pumped to work more on the garden tomorrow and go back to vbs tomorrow night! 

Pray that the things our group is seeing and learning this week would have long term effects in their thinking and actions back home.