On the Road Again!

You might think that interns would stay close to home, preaching and teaching mostly in their internship congregation. But we seem to spend large portions of our time on the road. It felt like we had just gotten home from the Carolinas, but we were on the road again this weekend. We had an invitation from a classmate to visit her congregation and give a presentation on what LDR is doing on the Gulf coast. So, last Friday, we packed up the Cruiser and set out for Texas!

We made a stop in Slidell, Louisiana to visit the LDR site at Peace Lutheran. There is an amazing transformation taking place there – repairs to the flood damage in the church building, renovations and additions to house and feed about 90 volunteers at a time who come to work in the area. Pastor Barb and her congregation are doing great things – with the help of volunteers from all over the country.

We then drove through New Orleans for the first time since Katrina. Even from the interstate, the devastation was appalling. Block after block of stores, homes, and apartment buildings stand empty – with gaping holes in the roof or all the windows broken out. The parking lots are empty, the buildings dark and abandoned. Words fail me, but pictures wouldn’t do it justice, either.

As we drove through, a couple was being interviewed on the radio to talk about their experiences – their escape from New Orleans before Katrina, the months spent living with family in Baton Rouge, their return to New Orleans, the additional months spend trying to decide if their home could be repaired. Fortunately, their story has a happy ending. They had insurance and were able to locate a building contractor who could do the work for the amount the insurance company was willing to pay. Now they have just moved back into their home. Unfortunately, those stories are far too rare.

Thanks to Vicar Christi, Pastor Steve, and the wonderful people of St. Mark’s in Cuero, Texas, we had a great experience on the rest of our trip. We preached at both the Saturday evening and Sunday morning worship services, spent the Sunday school hour talking with the youth and adults about our internship experience at LDR, and following a potluck lunch, gave our congregational preparedness presentation.

Monday morning found us back on the road, heading east for Alabama. It was a long drive in the rain, but we stayed in front of the sleet and freezing rain that some areas were experiencing, so we arrived home safely and right on schedule – and ready for a good night’s sleep! After a morning off to catch up on laundry and chores, we were back to work, with a funeral to attend this afternoon and an LDR presentation tonight at a nearby congregation.