Being Sent
It’s spring break 2017 for Noblesville Schools and a group of 22 have headed south to New Orleans from White River to serve on the mission field with Crossroads Missions. This is the 13th group from the church to visit NOLA and about half of the group are making a return visit to the Crescent City.
As has become a part of the tradition of the trip, the group stopped in the Jackson, Mississippi area on Saturday night to worship with The Bridge Church. The Bridge is led by husband and wife pastors Jamane and Alecia Williams. This group of worshippers have embraced the WRCC family and the church has become a second home After a home-cooked meal from members of the church, the WRCC crew loaded up and finished our journey to New Orleans. The trip was, thankfully, uneventful and we were able to go through orientation, visit a local restaurant and settle in for a night of rest heading into our first day in the field.
One of several people on their first mission trip is Arianna Doeden. She wasn’t sure what to expect on the trip, but has been pleasantly surprised at what she has experienced. “I was kind of nervous when we were leaving about coming down in the vans with all of these people, but it was super fun. We played games and chilled out,” Doeden said. “It was cool how the people at The Bridge invited us to join them like we were family with open arms, even though they don’t know many people from WRCC. Today, was kind of cool because we met the people we’re doing the work for and they were really thankful. They gave us sunscreen to make sure we didn’t get burned.”
Monday, our crew was split into three groups, with one group staying behind at Camp Hope, our home for the week. A second group went to a local park to begin construction on a very large deck and a third group visited a family in the upper ninth ward to begin a painting project.
“I was ready to go do something, but I was nervous because I’ve never been on a trip,” Carter Dubson said. “Overall, it’s been really fun. I wish we’d have gotten more done today, but we’ll get more done tomorrow and work really hard.”
One of those returning on the New Orleans trip is Hannah Thompson. She knew some of what to expect, but also had a goal in mind. “When we left Saturday, I was excited and ready to find a new experience out of the trip, since I’ve been on it before,” Thompson said. “What I thought was really cool was we went out and started to eat our lunch on the deck and the owner of the house, Evelyn, came out and started cleaning off the table and chairs so we could sit on them.”
There is more to come in the days in front and we’ll keep you up to date. Keep an eye on social media outlets and look for #WRCCNONA17.