Last night our group went to worship with the folks from Edgewater. They are truly ministering to their community. They cook out hamburgers and hotdogs for anyone who comes. There were a lot of New Orleans Seminary students, faculty and some locals. Kevin Lee had a great message. We enjoyed getting to see them in action. Following the service we drove over to the 9th Ward. As we drove over the bridge the devestation was unimaginable. We are here almost 9 months later and it still looks horrible. We saw numbers on the homes that indicated deaths. I went to the Ukraine 6 years ago and I felt like I was in a place even worse. Today we began taping and mudding the drywall. I have actually gotten pretty good. Donnie Rae Kendrick our chairman of Deacons taught me well. Edgewater is trying to get part of their facility done so they can make it a community center. Tomorrow is our last day and as much as I look forward to getting home to my wife, kids and church, I feel like part of my heart is here. Jason, Kevin and Dr. Ray have been great to us. I admire what they are doing. They are being the hands of feet of Jesus in their part of New Orleans. We had fun when we left Edgewater by rolling Jason Sampler's FEMA trailer! (that's TP for you northerners) We went to the Riverwalk tonight and I'm glad to see their is a family area in downtown NO. We had an intersting experience on Bourbon Street the other night and we left immediately. Riverwalk is much nicer. We saw an SBC group from Oklahoma at the Cafe Massaro. I also saw a former church member from Peachtree Corners who is finishing his degree @ NOBTS. What a small world. I am sorry for what happened to Wade Burleson this week. I'm concerned about the SBC Convention in Greensboro next month. But all of this seems sort of meaningless when you see people who have nothing. We have met so many people who literally lost everything they had. If you have any influence over your church missions--I urge you to send them to the Gulf Coast. I have a friend on staff @ 1st Gulfport and I know the need is great in Mississippi. I was living in Mobile when Katrina hit last fall. But I can't imagine anything worse than what I have seen in New Orleans.