As soon as we were done eating, it was time to get our assigned cleaning duties. Each family group had a different assignment and we made sure to leave the dormitory we stayed in spotless for future missionary volunteers like ourselves.
After packing up and getting ready, we left and were on our way to some sight-seeing in New Orleans. On the way, we had devotions on the bus held by Emma’s family group.
We passed by the homes in the lower ninth ward that were hit directly by the broken levee, and suffered the most catastrophic damage of any other region in New Orleans; some that have been rebuilt by the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie foundation and others where the foundation was all that was left after the storm. We stopped at the O'Keefe Plaza Hotel where we would be staying and picked up our tour guide for the day, Marsha Fasullo. Our first stop was lunch at a neighborhood restaurant called the Parkway Bakery and Tavern in New Orleans where they served authentic Po' Boy sandwiches.
Some of us stuck to the more traditional sandwiches, and others were more courageous and had something a little more edgy like an oyster, shrimp, catfish, or even an Alligator sandwich. We left and started to see the ruins and remains of Hurricane Katrina, and passed by Tulane University and Loyola University. The markings on the house meant "Toxic Flood Waters," the number on the top was the date and the number at the bottom was the number of bodies found.
Then it was time to say goodbye to Tom. He was able to get a flight out of New Orleans so he could head back to work.
After checking into the hotel and taking a little while to rest, we walked to the French Quarter. We walked by many stores and explored the flea market where we all found quite a bargain, and bought our souvenirs, from masks to hand made African drums.
We sat by the Mississippi river and saw the riverboats on the side. After some shopping and exploring we went to eat dinner at the Louisiana Pizzeria. It was delicious.
We kept walking after dinner and continued to shop and see the sights of New Orleans. For dessert we went to the Café du Monde where we ate beignets: pastry desserts very similar to a funnel cake covered in powdered sugar.
We then had a peaceful walk back to the hotel. We all enjoyed our visit to New Orleans. We explored much of the city, but did not venture to Bourbon street, which we agreed was too mature for a youth mission choir to pass by. The next day we would be leaving for a long drive to Tennessee and then will be singing our first concert on Monday.
On Sunday we started off on our way back to Virginia. When we stopped for lunch, we had a group worship service in the grass by Burger King.
This really helped to emphasize that it's not where you worship but how you worship. After the service, we continued on our journey to Cleveland, TN.Keeping you posted,
-David and Jordan, Voices of Youth Blogmasters
Hope you survived the night:) I'm so jealous of your New Orleans adventure. It looks like you saw and "ate" it all in a day. It's true that worship can happen anywhere. That was the topic of the sermon yesterday morning here at Sunset Beach. We went to the beach service which is always inspirational because you can look out over creation while you are listening for God's voice. It ended with the "Heart of Worship" which reminded us of what's really important. You guys are doing the "really important" so hang in there on the bus rides, hang in there with the potlucks, hang in there with "unique" hosts families (you might have to stay at the Tates), and hang in there with those adults crazy enough to spend this month with you. They deserve a hug and thank you every once in a while. Blessings and hugs....and no matter what Harry Potter comes out this week:) All is well in the world.
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