NOLA 2008 information

NOLA 2008 Mission Trip

Goal: To see high school and college students grow spiritually through the combined experience of serving the community of New Orleans physically and spiritually, through worship, through teaching, and through prayer.

Background: Forest Ridge Community Church Youth Program has sent teams to New Orleans in the summer of 2006, 2007, and January of 2008. These mission trips have provided life-changing experiences for our students while making an impact on the people of New Orleans. The ministry organizations we have worked with estimate it will take another 8-15 years of restoration for the region. There is a complex economic cycle of rebuilding infrastructure, businesses to provide jobs, businesses to provide services, and housing for the people.

Approach to Service: Our primary mission focus is on Monday through Friday. Students are assigned tasks across four main areas:
1. Kingsley House. Each day we will send about 30 students to serve inner-city children at a day camp. These elementary students come from homes that suffered loss of family and homes in Katrina, or they have parents suffering from drug addictions.
2. Second Harvest Food Bank. This is the regional food collection warehouse for the greater New Orleans region. Truckloads arrive each day and need to be sorted and organized for distributions to various charities that help feed the poor.
3. House Cleanup. We will work with our local contacts to help the working poor that are struggling to cleanup and restore their homes. Many people continue to live in trailers while working on their homes, and finding workers is difficult.
4. Street Ministry. We will work with the homeless and street people to help with food, clothing, and encouragement.
We strive to have each student spend at least one-day in each of these four service areas, especially first times participants. This means some students will be assigned to different teams each day – we try to keep friends connected, but there may be days that send friends or siblings in different directions.

Spiritual Impact: Each evening we will have a time of sharing, devotions, worship, prayer, and small group discussion. This is where we help students understand and process the spiritual aspect of their service and understand it in the context of the teaching of Jesus Christ.

OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE
Delay in signing up and committing to this trip is the biggest problem to solve. Late signups can create cost problems, and make complete planning of the logistics, work plans, and budgets a problem. We strive to bring as many students as are called to serve: please help us with early commitment.
Details

This is still a work in progress – some of these details will change depending on special donations, transportation, final lodging costs, and total number of students signed up. We are estimating costs at $700 at this point. Early commitment allows us to reduce that to $650. This cost provides:

∑ Transportation to and from Monument. If we find quality charter bus service at a reasonable cost, final trip costs might be reduced.
∑ Lodging at the Country Inn and Suites near the New Orleans Convention Center. This is a busy, popular tourist area that is safe, and within walking distance to numerous interesting sites including the historic French Quarter.
∑ Breakfast is provided each day at the hotel.
∑ Lunch each day – we had supplies so each student could make their own sack lunch each morning before leaving on work assignment.
∑ Transportation to work sites using rental cars driven by our adult chaperones.
∑ Work supplies for the team.
∑ Team T-Shirt

Students need to plan on having their own money for the following:

∑ Dinner each day (depending on the student’s interest it can be $10 or more per day
∑ Snack money – the Beignets (French Donuts) are popular, plus sodas or other treats in the area around the hotel.
∑ Souvenir money

Lat year we had several generous donors provide money for some team dinners. If that occurs that will reduce the amount of money needed by the students (although your student would certainly find other ways to spend it !)

EXPECTATIONS
1. Finished 8th grade (incoming freshman) or older (including college)
2. Respect for the whole approach, willingness to follow the leadership, and participation in all activities (selective.
3. This trip includes mature believers, new believers, and non-believers interested in serving. We pray that all would grow in maturity, and that the non-believers would see the teachings of Jesus demonstrated by the team.
4. Team Meetings. There will be a number of required meetings to prepare for this trip. Some meetings will have an obvious connection to missions preparation while other serve to help with team bonding or being prepared spiritually


EXPECTATIONS FOR PARENTS
1. Ask questions of your student, of Zack, and of the other chaperones. There is discussion on NOLA 08 every week at Roots (the Thursday evening youth group meeting) and we have handed out some materials already.
2. We know there will be planned family activities that conflict – please let Zack know ahead of time so we know that your student is still interested.
3. Help your student prepare. Help them write letters for missions support. Many students raise more than the cost of the trip through letters to family and friends.
4. Money students have collected above the required amount goes in to the general fund for the trip. We use that to help defer the unexpected costs that hit during a mission trip, or to help students with financial challenges.
5. Fundraisers are welcomed, but the responsibility of interested parents, or students with help from parents. Ideas from the past have included chili or spaghetti lunch right after church some Sunday.

WHAT TO BRING
A packing list will be provided as the trip gets closer. Generally it includes a Bible, a few clothes that are OK to ruin (if painting or removing mold), daily work clothes, comfortable clothes for evenings (it is hot there), a Bible, and normal travel stuff.