New New Orleans

Katie and I returned from our week of building a house in New Orleans yesterday. An amazing trip with members of Katie's church. I'd never had a hand in building a house from the foundation before and if that in itself were all I did than the week would have been fantastic. We did much more though. We ate Po'Boys and drank Dixie beer. We toured the devastation wrought by the Katrina floods. We all hung out at Domlise's near the Garden District. We threw our own Mardi Gras party. We walked Rue Burbon. We listened to WWOZ, the voice of New Orleans. We visited Cafe Du Monde at midnight. Best of all, we all shared an incredible time together and grew much closer because of it.

Katie tells me that one of the reasons she decided to go into ministry was because of the amazing mission trips she took with her church as a teenager. I went on similar trips with my school, and have come to believe that everyone at one time or another should goon a trip with strangers who over the course of the trip become friends.

That and GO AND VOLUNTEER IN NEW ORLEANS. There's still a TON of work to do.

See more pictures from our trip here.