Author: James, serving on staff with Kaleo Missions in New OrleansTo submit a story or a photo for our Kaleo Missions blog, email blog@kaleomissions.org.

Being so excited to meet your team.  Being so tired by the end of the day that you can’t see straight.  Seeing your team grow spiritually throughout the week. Getting lost many times in one day. Making many many U turns because of said lostness. Trying to calm a group of rowdy kids down. Trying to explain the importance of the cross to a child who is making one as a craft. Making yourself get up early so that the teams can have breakfast at 7:30 am. Finding a snow ball shop so that your group won’t be the only group that didn’t have them.

All of these tidbits work to summarize the unexplainably great week that was my first week of leading a team in New Orleans with Kaleo Missions.

My team got the chance to work with the Timothy House, the Community Center at St. Bernard, Gentilly Baptist Church, Israelite Baptist Church, and people in the Andrew Jackson Square. The programs that my group was involved with were amazing , and I got to watch my team, as well as myself, grow spiritually throughout the week. It was so comforting to see God working through the organizations in New Orleans.

Probably the most influential part of the trip for my group was having lunch with a homeless person in the Andrew Jackson Square. My team was impacted so much by hearing the stories of the people that they talked with. It was a very eye-opening, comfort zone-stretching experience for them. They were really touched by the way their view of homeless people was changing.  They no longer look at homeless people as untouchable but, rather, as people made in God’s image just like themselves. We also talked extensively about how they can work with the homeless back in their home, Tampa, FL.

Overall, the experience I had with my team was an amazing one. I was sad to see them go, but I was excited that they had such a positive experience.