A group from Hopwood, along with five other area churches, recently returned from our weeklong service trip to New Orleans. While it has been over two years since the devastating hurricane Katrina hit the gulf cost, its presence nevertheless remains among the dilapidated neighborhoods as well as the broken spirits of the natives. Even now, two years later, the population of the city is only one third of what it used to be. Many of the houses in the poorer districts were bulldozed over because the owners were unable to gut the house of all their belongings that had been soaked through with mold and mildew. Many of the houses that were not leveled are still only standing as a skeleton in neighborhoods that are cluttered with trash and overgrown weeds.
But while there is a remnant of Katrina’s presence in the broken city of New Orleans, this only serves to highlight the presence of Christ that continues to blow week in and week out like a steady breath of fresh air. Crossroads Mission is one of many mission organizations that orchestrates weeklong service trips for churches. Not only are there numerous Christian mission organizations devoted to nurturing the presence of Christ in New Orleans, but there are also still churches who have persevered through these hardships and have found ways to make known that even in the midst of overwhelming disaster, God is nevertheless present.
We could report back with a detailed list of what we did from roofing to flooring, from painting to cleaning, but those are only secondary reasons as to why we were there. We were there to be the presence of Christ. We might have helped finished Ms. Mary’s home, but our hope is that she would know that there is a God who cares for her because we where there under that name. And as Ms. Mary kissed every one of the Hopwood group on the check when we arrived to her house and when we left, I could not help but to think that Christ was kissing us through this old Cajun woman.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
