Crossroads GoNola 2013 NewOrleans

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio: "Building people. We build into them, they build into us! Since Hurricane Katrina, the people of Crossroads in Cincinnati have volunteered to help not just recover from that huge storm, but to see this city transform. "Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city." Time to help them fertilize, and watch their garden grow!!! We love this place, and are grateful that the Crescent City has been such a great host to volunteers over the years." 

As a community, Crossroads Church partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help build houses, with Franklin Baptist Church to give Vacation Bible Study classes, with Cafe Reconcile to provide photography promotion shots for their staff and to give them a blessing of over 400 Crossroads volunteers eating in their cafe during our stay. The food was something to relish and remember forever!

Crossroads partnered with several schools to clean rooms, outside garden areas, and playgrounds, and partnered with Dance Nola, a nonprofit dance organization that provides dance classes to young people. In addition, Crossroads sent a team of photographers down to capture this game changing endeavor. I was part of the photography team that traveled to all of our partner sites to capture and document the experiences of both the people of New Orleans and our volunteers, and in the process I was impacted by the people we went to bless! This experience, the volunteers and the people we came in contact with blessed me in so many ways!

  

This was my traveling team GoTeam #21! They were awesome. Over a course of two weeks

over 400 people traveled to New Orleans each traveling in smaller GoGroups. In addition to our GoGroup, we also were part of our own GoWork group. Some of us worked at vacation bible study, some worked at the schools, and some with Habitat for Humanity. After work we often socialized!

       As a member of the photography team, Crossroads wanted us to capture candid moments, too!
       Ryan in the sunglasses and Matthew with the camera were part of the photography team. 
       I'm behind the camera here! Ryan produced an awesome video below. It is the last link at the end.
       And that's pretty Michele she was part of my GoGroup #21. She and I had great fun together!
                

Our first stop was Franklin Baptist Church...Crossroads has been coming to New Orleans

for six years! The first embrace of these ladies who built relationships from prior years!

You can see our buses lined up outside the Franklin Baptist. Five bus loads for each week! Over 

400 volunteers descended upon New Orleans to love on them! Each group made Franklin Baptist their first stop!  Our caravan arrived in New Orleans just in time to grab eat a quick meal at Cracker Barrel. Yes, all two hundred of us. Cracker Barrel, has also been a hospitable host all six years of Crossroad's travel. They got us in and out, in time to make it to Franklin Baptist for 11am service. We were a little late arriving in New Orleans, but thank God we made it there safely!

Joe Morton on the right has been coming to New Orleans for a number of years now.

He is he one who told me about! And I grateful!

Vacation Bible study kids!

                         On the site of Habitat for Humanity...two Crossroads ladies

        Crossroads Habitat for Humanity and Vacation Bible study kids came together for a mixer
         on the work site!

                          Lots of action at the Habitat site and Vacation Bible study mixer!

One of the Crossroads photographers capturing shots; the lady in red! And the home

owner behind her taking his own shots. The young man was excited about having

his own house built! The home owners have to invest a designated amount of volunteer

time working on their own home and another Habitat home owner's home.

Our photography team was awesome! I think each of us took at least 1000 pictures over a 

course of a week. That was just week one. Week two had its own photography team.

And they did an awesome job, too!

             Some of our good looking Habitat for Humanity crew! Worked hard but looking good!

                   Mike was on my GoTeam # 21. We also had a great time socializing together! His
                     friends teased him about his guns in this picture! :)

                         My room mate Karen on the right, with her work team mate!

               Leaving notes of encouragement and love to the Habitat for Humanity home owners!
                 You will see later on the video how much these letters meant to one home owner!
                                                                  It's beautiful!

                         My photography team mate, Roxie and the home owner!

                                        The homeowner, a really lovely lady! Very sweet spirit!

 Every morning, all GoGroups got up for our 6am service at the hotel in New Orleans. We had loads of bacon! Inside joke, along with a full breakfast. We had prayer, announcements and singing. During the service we were given a challenge for the day. One of the challenges was to go outside your comfort zone and talk to the people of New Orleans. Get to know them!  So here's a story: These two young men are brothers! I met them while taking photos at one of our school sites. They indulged me in taking photos of them The younger brother below I couldn't get over how long his legs were!
                                                                 He's only 10!

He said to me: "everybody says that I have long legs for my age!" Yes, you do! :)
He said I'll stand up for you so you can see, I said ok, but next,  I want you to sit down and
                                         lay your legs across the bleechers!

                           So here we have it! His legs are long! This is a not cliche, but the people of
                 New Orleans have such a sweet spirit and so did this young man and his brother!
                          Later, I caught the older brother trying to teach his brother to shoot!
                                       Maybe, I will post it later; it was a sweet moment!

One of my GoTeam members, took this shot of me talking to the little boy

and his sister! I'm glad she got this candid shot!

               I had a time getting the little baby to smile! But she did! Ms Jenkins loves the kids!

             The little boy and his sister's yard...doesn't it say it all! Kids make your house a home!

                      Just some interesting pieces of outside art from one of the school locations.

               The interesting stories of New Orleans and their cemeteries.  I will post about it soon!

And their ornate black iron is beautiful!

            And who doesn't love New Orleans food! Well, I know I do! It was to die for! After shooting
      at the Nola Dance groups at beautiful Dillard University, we stopped for lunch at the school's
     cafeteria. We all were stunned at how good college cafeteria food was! It was awesome. I wanted to take some home with me, but we had to get back to work!

          This was our first stop...Mothers' and delicious isn't a good enough word to describe New
               Orleans cuisine. Cabbage and jambalaya! Make you slap your momma! LOL!! :)

 

GoNola Dance pictures....these kids were talented and awesome! 

 Little shy girl...sometimes we see ourselves in children!

I know you are dreaming, and your dreams will come true!

Believe in yourself, pray and work hard, young lady!

        I was amazed at how dedicated, focused and disciplined the kids were, even the young ones!

   

                    Some time to socialize with our groups after our daily mission work.

                             Our first stop to eat...Mother's and it was sooo Good!

                At the end of our days...we just had to have some fun...but what's up with our photographer
                  now, all of a sudden he can't shoot! I think it's the cocktails! LOL!!

Part of our photography team at the Foundry! We had a dancing good time with 

New Orleans style music: When the Saints go Marching in! Wouldn't be New Orleans without it!

The homeowner on the video below.

This was my first trip to New Orleans along with my first mission trip ever with Crossroads Church!  What a wonderful experience! I went expecting to pour into the lives of the people I came in contact with! But, little did I know that my life would be deeply impacted by the food, art, music and more importantly by the spirit and soul of the people! Go New Orleans! Thank you!

  

This video was produced by Crossroads of the work done during GoNola 2013!
Click the link if the above You Tube doesn't work! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlY_riEKfb0

Second video by one of the photography team members, Ryan Tudor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqVQJNQCxAM