Models? Lagniappe staff? You choose....

 

beans and rice

The first time my Dad told me & Bill (my brother) about his mission trip to Brazil, one of the things he said was that he after eating rice & beans every day for three months, he didn't want to ever eat them again. Lesson I drew from that story? Rice + beans = bad. Well, the most awesome thing anyone's done for me this week is when Eric & Tom picked all the meat out of a bowl of rice & beans for me so that I could have an actual dinner. Pretty much awesome. They'll probably have me eating burgers by August. :P

What else??.... hmm--I came up with a name for my new puppy, when I get her/him: Moffat Bailey Brown (thanks, Moffat Man! :) ); some more support money came in (incredible... so much thanks); my Mom came to visit for a few days (meaning I'll have been to the airport 4 times this week!); and I may or may not have infected the scrape (that I got from chasing Haley) with bacteria from the sewer water I fell in repeatedly while pulling roofing to the curb with James and then Tom.

This week's still got 4 days left, so we'll see how that goes. :)

All of the vain things I cherish most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

What a hard, cold, miserable return: Seems that it is far easier for us (sinful beings) to bicker and argue with one another than it is to stop for just a moment in the heat of a battle and love one another. We all struggle with different things and yet we don't have the vision to see past that. Why do we expend so much time and energy swatting at these flies with sledgehammers? Why are our hearts and minds so instantly engaged and our emotions surging with great vigor in our defense? The answer is simple. These issues are not minor or insignificant. We defend that which we deem of great value. We think it is our life we are saving. We believe something much larger will be lost if we do not use every means to rescue it. Our name, our reputation, our honor, our glory. "If I don't point out that I've been misunderstood, misquoted, or falsely accused, then others won't know I'm right. And if I don't point out my rightness, nobody will. I will be scorned and condemned in the eyes of others. Man fails all the time: man fails to admit, man fails to do right, man fails. We need to throw our pride out the window and pursue that one perfect Love (that being Christ our Lord) above ourselves, above others, and it all that we do - Pursue Him for He will never let you down, He will never leave, and He will never fail.

Hi Mom.

shrimp boat, anyone?

Some of us 'terns (and Jordan) got a chance to relax and take a break from work and ride on a shrimp boat on Saturday (thanks Tim!). 'Twas glorious. Beautiful day- shrimp boat- warm water- afternoon off site- dolphin and jellyfish spottings- time to get to know the other 'terns...what could be better?

If i have to go to the hospital one more time this week...

this was my first official week as an intern here. by "first official" i mean my first week to be here and co-lead a team with fellow intern Remi (aka Eric). fortunately we did not have to take any of our crew to the hospital... however... i have become close friends with the doctors and nurses at the Hancock Medical Center. on thursday morning Tom awoke with an upset stomach... more than likely from the water that he was given the day before at the Orleans Parish Prison (he had been arrested for "wreckless driving" by a New Orleans officer... Tom, I'll let you explain that one...) after returning to the main facility from working offsite later in the afternoon, i noticed Tom was sitting on the steps of the bathroom. his upset stomach had gave evidence from both ends since around 10am. my parents and sister had just driven down that morning for a stint of volunteer work. after receiving very strick instruction from my mother i took Tom to the emergency room. Tom, being the unbelievably positive person that he is, was still cracking jokes. while wrapped in blackets in his freezing E.R. room looked at me and whispered, "i see dead people." he ended up staying two nights there at the hospital, injected with 5000 CC's of saline, phenegren, and too many other medications to name. Fortunately he his back and ready to go!
once wasn't enough... my sister called me around 12:30am last night to tell me that she had fallen at our friends Andy and Cami's house and had was sure that she had broken her leg. clumsiness runs in the family... thanks Mom. after having her xrays, the doctor told her that the inside back bone in her left ankle was broken... apparently a very "unusual" break... again a family trait.
fortunately everyone else is alive and well for now. hopefully we will all continue to be. so... to those of you here or on their way: let me know if you need to go to the hospital... i'm on a first name basis with the staff.

Zoom Zoom

It is about 11:47 on Friday morning - I just finished work and I am about to pack my car.
I will see you all very soon! :)

You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it....

Alright, so I'm not Emily. Sorry if that causes any disappointment, but being absent minded as I am, I already forgot my password to this whole blogging business and I (Austin) am using Emily's account. Recently we seem to have been saying "goodbye" a little more than I expected to. Zech left a few days ago, and this morning Emily Mark - Eric's "special friend" left and both are sorely missed here! I wonder if Emily took the low-skilled route home.....

On a different note, last weekend we were treated to a shrimp boil curtosey of Tim and Tommy Kid. They brought some 200lbs of shrimp and some crabs to Lagniappe and cooked them here along with everything else that a shrimp boil entails. Now, being from Texas and from a family that doesn't eat alot of seafood, I was not aware of shrimp boil etiquette (is there such a thing?) and this was my first true shrimp boil experience. Its a little embarassing to say, but I didn't even know how to peel shrimp, so Eric quickly stepped up to the plate and gave me a shrimp peeling lesson. Everyone was elbow deep in shrimp and smiling from ear to ear at the treat! I'm sure it was a welcom break for Eric and Alicia who normally cook for us! A few of us spent a lazy Sunday afternoon talking and peeling pounds and pounds of shrimp so it wouldn't go bad. I had no idea how entertaining it could be to just sit around talking, laughing, and peeling. Since this weekend, we have been having various forms of shrimp - gumbo, creole etc. which has also been stellar.

That is just some of the news from the Bay so far but there is always more to come....

Genesis 1: chaos to order

Last night as Jean was nailing up the map of Bay Saint Louis to the wall, he looked around and noted, "today is our Genesis 1 day: from chaos to order". On Sunday our main building was in a state of disarray. But by dinner on Monday the building had been transformed into an awesomely organized space. Now we not only have a well planned out eating area, but also a green intern office and a living room (complete with coffee tables, candles, and a van seat plywood footstool!) Ryn worked with Jean, a team 'o volunteers, and a few 'terns, to organize our mass of chaos. It was an all day job.

As we were moving all the kitchen appliances, food, and tables from one end of the building to the other, it was easy to get overwhelmed with the details of how the space was going to be used and where everything was going to go. Ryn finally took a step back from the kitchen area and looked at what we had done. She said to me "Ya know, when you take a step back, it looks pretty good!" I stepped back to where Ryn was standing and everything seemed to be in its place. It made sense. It looked good.

I think it's easy to slip into the mindset of being overwhelmed with the details in our own lives. When we step back and think that the creator of the universe is in charge of the chaos of our lives, it makes sense that things come together like they did yesterday. We underestimate what God can do, so we're suprised when He does something big among us. We really shouldn't be suprised. God is capable and willing to do more than we can imagine, and He has great plans for our lives and for Lagniappe Church.

"No one is good enough to save himself. Awake my soul tonight to boast nothing else"-D.Webb

Ugh!

=
Such a long dull drive - I hope everyone is well!
Lord willing I will be driving back very soon! - I miss everyone!

Being a tern is hard...

I guess life is hard, but it's so obvious down here. I am blind to what's really going on around me. God has chosen to use me (and I know I'm too broken to even know how broken I really am) to take part in the restoration of the Gulf coast. He has sovereignly arranged for me to spend my summer bleeding, sweating, and crying for the advancement of His kingdom, but that's not how I see it. I curse the cuts, the heat, and the pain. I stand in the shower after a long day thinking about how many hours I've put in, and how much I should be getting paid. I crave recognition for what I'm doing.

How does He use people like me to work such wonders as bringing hope to the hopeless and salvation to sinners?

Praise God.

Some Sweet Pics...

Just to catch anyone up on some of the things going on here at Lagniappe...

Our kitchen is almost finished. There is caution tape everywhere, however it doesn't really do any good. No one is any more cautious than normal.

The groups we have here this week are incredible. The group in the second picture started working within an hour of their arrival. They arrived, ate dinner, put away their luggage and then got to work on the intern bunk house. THANK YOU SEVEN RIVERS YOUTH!

Note to self: Don't take pictures of electricians at a fuse box. The flash scares them. (Immediately after this picture was taken, we almost had to rush them to the hospital due to cardiac arrest caused by the flash from my camera).

Eric and Dave "Chinstrap" have been spending some quality time caulking the freezer for our new kitchen this week. Eric and Dave, you both rock. Thanks for caulking like pros ALL day.

This Sunday's service at Lagniappe had the highest attendance ever. It was amazing to have all of the other volunteers worshipping with us.

God is meeting all of our needs like crazy. He never ceases to show us that he is capable and will do more than we could ever ask or imagine. We recieved an incredible donation of all of the wood that we could carry away yesterday. After one conversation in the coffee shop across the street (our only semi-private, calm location to talk and get some serious work done), the Lord brought us an incredible gift and put us into contact with some very generous individuals.

Pray. Pray that we will continually look to Christ and be satisfied in the justification that he brought to us. Pray that we will be patient with each other, patient with volunteers, and patient in waiting for the Lord to reveal his awesome will.

We look forward to seeing you SOON, Ryn and Haley! And we look forward to telling you guys about our trip to THIRD BASE!!!!!!!! :)

thoughts from home

So I’ve officially listened to your (plural you… this would be where ‘ya’ll’ would be useful, I guess?) message dozens of times. Sometimes because I had to before I could get to my other saved messages, but mostly because it's incredible & awesome & listening to it makes me happy :) . I think that now I can pick out whose voice is whose. :)

Anyways, I’ve started packing, & have quickly realized that space is extremely limited; that, combined with the sad truth that I have essentially no money, I did what I do for my family at Christmas—come up with a list of all the things I would get them if I could. :)

Emily—something to block the sun & ward off the bugs but that isn’t sticky & doesn’t contain the word ‘fantasy’

Eric—James coming back to work…ohnowait, that’s right, he is—end of this month—true story

Haley—floundering equipment…or whatever it is someone needs to catch flounder … also, a sign saying “No, This Is Not My Natural Hair Color, & Yes, I Like It This Way” that you can use to save time—I might have an old one laying around somewhere you can have :P

Jordan—toothpaste…unless you’ve already got some… then… the Arsenic & Old Lace dvd—not for any particular reason, only that I just saw it, & it’s only the most hilarious movie ever

Kim—tickets to Guster…or a Snow Patrol shirt

Tom—your guitar; and music for Be Thou My Vision, unless you can play it without music

Zech—water that is not Aquafina and does not taste like feet

And for all the other interns who I haven’t met yet—Twister…that’s right. :) Only, this one I can actually make happen. If I can figure out between now & Sunday how to make about 4 pairs of socks & a few t-shirts condense themselves to make room.

Also, last thing: my new Top Five Favorite Songs EVER (Today) list—
5. I Will Follow, U2
4. Everything's Not Lost, Coldplay
3. Diamonds on the Inside, Ben Harper
2. Portions for Foxes, Rilo Kiley
1. Open Your Eyes, Snow Patrol

.... I cannot emphasize enough how much Open Your Eyes is the best song of ALL TIME. ohman. it will revolutionize your life. :)

Missing you, Charles, & Slim & Ace being Charles,
Ryn

** hopefully can edit later with pictures of where i've been living... internet access, not so much though

Well, my days at Lagniappe are beginning to wind down. My experiences here have been quite incredible. I have made a few new friends and met some very nice families – overall I am sad to be leaving. It seems that the good times are just beginning and now I have to leave!!! What a bummer :( It is always hard starting something and then having to quickly end it. Maybe it is simply the not know what is ahead that is difficult. But I suppose it teaches us to trust in the Lord.

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

(Psalm 27:14)

I also love this photo, it looks like the statue has an afro of some soft!

You know you're a lagniappe intern if... (the extended edition)

5) washing your hands before you eat is no longer important... sorry mom
4) you get Conjacked at least once a day
3) you have figured out how to rig the pull chain showers to stay on all the time
2) showering no longer actually cleans you... rather it gives a placebo effect of being clean
1) sunburn becomes abtract art.... also know as sunart

Provision

I'm sitting here alone at about 12:50 blogging on the interns blog. For all of ya'll that check this blog and all ya'll that are part of this blog I don't know if you truly know the true picture of our interns. They are full of energy and without them this place would not run nor be near as much fun. They run themselves into the ground each day serving and enjoying each other and allowing me to be a part of that but still this is not the true picture of what God has provided to Lagniappe through our "interns". As I write this Kim is yelling at me to get to bed and I will get there, but this is important. I suspect that all of our interns expected to come down here to work and that is evident, because they do. They were all either on a roof, caulking a freezer, or sorting tools until dark. But still I haven't gotten to the true blessing what God has provided. God has provided children of His who truly desire to follow Him and grow in Him together. I left the property to go see Andy as the interns we talking about needing a Bible study and needing to pray. We have not been able or have not stepped up to the plate to feed them as we would like to and yet, they pray together, they share their needs and pray together, they love each other and support each other, and love on us and get us through the day. They demonstrate what the body of Christ should be. They pick up the slack for each other, hold each other where they need to be, and seek God and to serve Him together. I thank the Lord so much for this blessing and pray that we can help them to grow in the Lord and be a part of what they themselves have already began. This ministry and myself are so blessed. Keep praying for them and us, God is so good.