GO NOLA 2010

So I'm going to be completely lame and just copy what I sent in e-mail form to friends and family recapping my New Orleans trip:

This year I was a bus lead and in charge of making sure everyone was present and accounted for before leaving Cincinnati and at each rest stop.  I brought a bunch of movies along, cards and balls/frisbees to use during our pit stops.   The first year I went to New Orleans, I didn't know anyone on the trip and I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case this year.  Being a bus lead is the easiest way to to that, because instantly, 41 people knew my name and face.  And everyone called me Diesel, which just reminded me how cool my last name is!! :] And rest assured, I did my job well, and no one was left behind.

I was also on the vision team and was actually asked sort of last minute to lead the team for week 2. I had to help with the planning and contacting different sites to set up the screenings. We only had the camp information about a week before leaving for the trip and were playing A LOT of phone tag.  Our schedule was not completely planned out when we left and I was nervous there wasn't going to be enough to do and the volunteers would be frustrated.  Thankfully I had an awesome group who were completely flexible.  A fantastic lady from the first week's trip came on board and helped us through our first day of vision screens, so we felt comfortable with what we were doing.  Our schedule was busy enough so that we weren't having a bunch of down time, but also gave us time to interact with the kids at each individual camp.  And we weren't out sweating our butts off everyday which was nice!!  We screened a total of 644 kids the week I was down there and roughly 160 qualified for the clinic this month.  There were 1300 kids screened between the two weeks combined, which was 200 shy of our goal, but pretty good considering it's the first year we have done this.

I want to thank you again for the support you have given me in order to be a part of this trip.  It really feels great to spend an entire week just serving God and being in a city that has such great hope despite the devastation they have faced.  They are truly thankful for all of prayers and help they have received from volunteers that continually come down to bless the city.  Habitat is the number one builder of homes in New Orleans since Katrina, which receives a good majority of its labor from volunteers.  There is still so much rebuilding that needs to be done, but the people are just glad they haven't been forgotten; that people still care about the city. 

Check out the official recap video:

(I seriously wish Crossroads would get hip to youtube or something that provides an embedded code.) Below you can view a couple video blogs put together by some other volunteers on the trip.

exciting things to come

This Sunday I'm co-hosting my sister-in-law's baby shower.  I've come to the conclusion that party planning is not my thing, especially when trying to accommodate someone else: just tell me what to do and I'll do it.  I don't see the point in trying to offer ideas or input when other people are clearly set in their ways on how they'd like to see the baby shower turn out.  Anyways, the sister-in-law is due April 4th, but the doctor said she could come early, as the baby's head is down and she's a centimeter dilated. eek!  My niece better not greet the world while I'm gone! Speaking of which....

I leave for Seattle on March 20th to visit my cousin Kayla.  She has always made the trip to Cincy to visit me, so I figure it's my turn.  This will also be the first ever spring break trip I have taken my entire college career (undergrad and graduate).  And my first solo plane ride - not that I'm scared, just making note. We'll be attending a Sounders game, which sadly I had to look up.  Let's face it, professional soccer is not America's pride and joy when it comes to sports.  Even worse is that I consider myself a soccer player, at least from grade school through high school, but I've never really gotten into watching it on tv.  I guess it's just one of those sports I'd rather play than watch.  Hopefully we'll also catch some shows, as I hear Seattle has a good music scene.  Who knows... Either way I'm just glad to be getting away and spending time with family I'm lucky if I see once a year.  Any suggestions of things to do, send them my way.

In July I will be heading down to New Orleans on a long 17 hour bus drive to help habitat rebuild this wonderful city.  I went with my church two summers ago and am anxious to go again.  It's an awesome experience and a semi-vacation all in one!  More to come on all of this I'm sure.