Search & Rescue

Our mission trip to New Orleans was amazing. Almost six years after Hurricane Katrina virtually destroyed a major US city there is still much work to be dome. Approximately 200,000 of the residents of New Orleans are still living away from their former home. Some of them, like a college classmate of my own, have vowed never to do something so stupid as to “live below sea level again!” Others long to return to one of America’s most unique cities.

Project Homecoming put seven teams comprised of 50+ people into the Central City and East New Orleans areas. My site was a home on AP Tureaud St. We painted, insulated, finished carpentry and generally cleaned up the area around the home.

Other teams began homes from the ground up. Still others sided homes that had already ben framed out. We worked with day camps for children, helped teachers get their classes ready for school, and generally brought hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

One symbol was common everywhere we went. It was a symbols of both hope and despair. It was painted thousands upon thousands of homes, remaining there from 2005 until today in the homes that are still unoccupied. The “X” you see at the top of this page has information regarding the day the property was searched, the status of the utilities at the time of the search, the team conducting the search, and a count of the corpses found inside the house. In the midst of this sea of destruction it was amazing the number of zeros there were for homes containing corpses.

However, the symbol reminded me that Christ is always on a search and rescue mission of his own. He comes seeking you and me. He comes every day. He comes calling us to respond to the command of the gospel to go into all the world and make disciples. His symbol looks something like this.

The question mark is asking the question of what Christ will find when he comes to search your life. Will he find a heart willing to respond to his call to go where he sends? Or, will he find only excuses? When government has forgotten most of the victims of Katrina in the six years since the disaster, it is a blessing to them to know that Christ and his Church have not.

Pastor Craig