March Madness

I think March Madness is a perfect summation of what has happened in my YAV world in the past couple of weeks. On top of my Kentucky Wildcats being 36-0, just four games away from perfection and my bracket being totally busted (darn you UAB), my past couple of weeks have indeed been mad. Over the past few months I have put forth a lot of effort into starting what is currently called the Lakeview Mission Project (I want to make it LAMP, but can't think of a word that starts with "A" that works well. Comment with an idea, thanks). This is a week-long mission experience that is hosted at Lakeview Presbyterian and organized by yours truly. This week I had the PSA from Clemson, SC while they were on their spring break. Having the MSPC college group as my guinea pigs in December made the past week go spectacularly smooth.

While I couldn't join them for all the work of the week, I did as much as I could. Here's a brief summary of the work week:

Tuesday - Wetlands education and church painting at Grand Bayou Village
The group visited a Native American community just an hour outside of New Orleans. They got to see what "life on the bayou" is like and painted the stairs for their community's church.

Wednesday - Community Garden & Global Maritime Ministries
JW Johnson community garden is an urban garden in Pigeon Town, a neighborhood in New Orleans. The group built new garden beds, painted, and weeded. Global Maritime Ministries is a port ministry for seamen offering trips to Walmart, a space to talk with families through free internet and Skype after being at sea for up to months at a time, free hygiene products, and a fellowship that is unparalleled. 

Thursday - MidCity Ministries
The Carrollton Avenue Church of  Church (my other YAV worksite) had two rooms painted, did more yard work that you can imagine, and the group stayed for tutoring with MidCity kids.

Friday - Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity builds houses in low-income neighborhoods. Clemson PSA helped build decks for air conditioning units and laid the floor!

Along with the worksites, they got New Orlean's style dinners served to them a few nights, and a day to explore the city. I'm really excited to see where the Lakeview Mission Project goes and if you're interested in sending a group down, send an email to Lpcnomission@gmail.com

Two weeks ago, winter storm Thor hit the northern half of the US. The morning after, Katherine and I took a trip to Louisville, KY to visit LPTS. A drive that was supposed to take ~11 hours took 17. The roads were great up until Nashville. Oh Nashville. If you want me to like you, clear your roads of snow. Everywhere else was well prepared (even Alabama). But we made it safely. The seminary's campus was beautiful, even with a foot of snow on the ground. I sat in on a class, toured potential housing, learned about financial aid, and even sat with the President of LPTS at lunch one day. It made me more excited to get there in August than I've ever been before.That Sunday I got to come home and worship with MSPC! I love you all and can't wait to be in that neck of the woods for the upcoming years. You guys rock.

Saturday night the YAV's hosted their annual fundraiser. We had an open house to show the new place to supporters of the program. There was a blind-silent auction, which yielded a great amount of donations for the program. It was quite fun to host people for a night and to see the support the Presbytery of South Louisiana has for its YAVs. I'm very grateful.

Other notes:
-Charlie Shelton was in New Orleans for his spring break! I got to see him for a night, and watch UNC basketball. It was great to catch up with an old friend.
-Emily Warren spent a week in New Orleans with Project Homecoming. I saw her. She's cool I guess.
-CityPutt, the city's putt putt course, was a highlight of my week a few weeks back. It was really fun and surprisingly educational with holes designated to New Orleans history.
-Raising Cane's is still my favorite fast food.
-It's crawfish season. Eating crawfish takes a while, as you have to break off the tail, then peel the skin. Regardless, they're good eatin' and not too expensive.
-The YAVs got the heaviest copier in existence donated. Please don't ask me to help move your copier. It will probably be too heavy and I might hurt my back. I've had my fill of moving copiers for a while.
-It's spring! The weather is showing it too, with most days in the 70s I can't get enough of being outside.
 
It's been so busy I can't even watch the TV show I'm trying to follow. Thank you all for your support in this year. Have a wonderful day!

-John