We stretched our boundaries for Workcamp this year, traveling much farther than we usually do in order to lend a hand in the name of Jesus among the people of New Orleans. What we saw and experienced will not soon be forgotten, and it was an honor to be serving where the need is so great, and the weather so sticky, and the gumbo so tasty!

Enroute to Workcamp, our overnight stop in Clinton, Mississippi was great,and we left after worship Sunday morning. Thanks to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church! Pray for us as we venture out again tomorrow, and watch each day for a little taste of our New Orleans Workcamp experience.

Muck-out Monday! We all got started this morning, and Lori, Evan and Josh got one of the few "muck-out" job sites. They made great progress in this ancient house with 12-foot ceilings. Many of the other worksites have been "in process" for 7 weeks, with a different crew working each successive week. Because of this, most crews are finishing drywall, taping, priming and painting. Those residents are really excited about their new homes!

Kim's crew has the task of finishing off taping the drywall and painting a their resident Aaron's home. Kim is well known for her closet taping expertise!

Tuesday night we were able to go to Jackson Square, have dinner and enjoy Shandra's favorite health food- beignets from the Cafe Du Monde!

This is as bad as it gets! Jimmy and Amy started this house yesterday, and Andy and Simon volunteered to join them today "mucking out" this house.

Details, details... Jennie and Matt's crew were putting the final touches on the work at Sonia's home today.

Kim and Mike's crew had the pleasure of finishing the house they were working on. Their resident, Aaron, was a great and a grateful guy!

Jimmy, Amy, Andy and Simon finished Miss White's home today. It will need to dry for a few weeks, then the mold can be treated and repairs can begin.

It was a steamy hot day today, and yet the crews were on a mission. This triple crew with Steve, Evan, Josh, Lori and Steve really worked hard to finish gutting this home. This picture caught them getting ready for their group devotion after lunch. A couple of neighborhood kids were enjoying the crew's attention, too!

Time to head back home! We were up and checking out around 7:15 this morning. Lotsa garbage and a sweaty, smelly packing time on a sweltering New Orleans morning.

We all gathered on the steps of our host church just before going. If you look closely, you'll see that all 29 of us survived and are accounted for! We also traded our "Full Service- a Jesus Attitude" spare tire for the orange one you see out front, which is from our Texas workcamp friends.

We ended the night at Ken Hadler's sister's home in the country, where we were treated to a real tasty spread of BBQ pork, chicken and hot dogs. Following that, we traveled to their church, St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Jackson, Missouri to spend the night. Tomorrow it's back to good 'ole DG!