New Orleans Displaced

"You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear."
-Deuteronomy 7:10

Tonight I volunteered at a New Orleans displacement camp in Franklin. Most of the families were on their second stay in Franklin thanks to hurricane Katrina during 2006. The camp, with staff and residents, had around 450 people and was beautiful chaos. Most of the residents in the camp were from very low income communities and many didn't have steady jobs. However, it was one of the coolest lessons in my life.

For the past few days I've been trying to refocus my life around something more concrete. So tonight when I found out I was working at the camp I had two emotions. The first, I was excited to be helping a group of people who wer less fortunate than me. Then on the other hand, I had planned to attend a wednesday night church service (something I haven't done in awhile).

Well as it turns out I got to experience both. Around 7 o'clock, a local church in Franklin came to host a prayer and worship service for the displaced families. I wasn't very familiar with any of the songs that were song, nor did i fit in with gospel sound that came with the service, but the experience was incredible. It was amazing to see, in a time of crisis, these families so upbeat and energetic. Most of the service was worship, but some of the residential men, that had been displaced, stood up and shared several verses and stories that had helped them through the Katrina disaster as well as now.

One in-particular stood out in my mind. A man stood up and spoke about how life will always throw storms your way. Sometimes these storms will be hurricanes, other times they may be finances, family situations, or things that test your faith. Everyone will encounter storms in their lives. God wants us to take these storms and develop perseverance and a refocused view on life. The man pointed out that, now, while they were away from their every day normal lives. They had time to spend time with God, away from the distractions and mess of their normal lives.

Although, the idea of encountering struggles and storms in everyday life was not a new concept to me. It was nice to hear the sermon come from someone who was in, and had been in, such terrible positions and remained faithful. As I worked the rest of the night helping pass out food, blankets, and helping with crowd control I tried to think of what storms and struggles I had in my life, and that's why tonight was so rewarding. I heard a sermon that caused me to evaluate and think about life, and serve the community. It was a win-win situation.