Break for Change: Opelousas: The Week in Pictures (to this point)

The bad part about a trip like this is that in order to be fully present in the moment you often are forced to neglect the art of reflection. Hours fly by, turning into days, and then before you know it you're packing your bags to head back home, certain that you have changed but not sure how to express it to others.

This tension keeps me humble and searching for meaning and purpose in each moment of these days. It's a comfort to know that what is going on right now is not an end in itself. God will continue to use these thoughts, feelings, and experiences to unfold new insights in the future.

Our week has been fast and furious. We have worked hard and played harder. We've seen the Gospel in action in some mind-blowing ways that sometimes only seem idealistic in "real life." We've made friendships with friends from Opelousas and from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. Most of all, we've encountered our Father graciously showing us himself in a hurting community that is finding healing through the Gospel. We're seeing how, as Hope of Opelousas puts it, "Love Changes Everything."

The Blue House: Hope for Opelousas was recently able to purchase this house next door to its offices, and its renovation has been the main focus of our work efforts throughout the week thus far. Lots of destruction, sanding, caulking, painting, etc., has gone into this endeavor. We have worked with a team of students from Northwestern College (Orange City, Iowa) and with several people of Opelousas to fix the house so that HFO can add another 20 kids to their regular program. HFO currently works with 20 children from 4th grade through high school.

Chris working hard at tearing the formica off the kitchen island.

Bernie chipping away some paint.

We haven't lacked for good local cuisine. Jumbalaya, gumbo, boudin, and Tuesday we were treated to a crawfish boil where we tasted some of Louisiana's finest. Some of team claims to have eaten close to 150 crawfish at this lunch...we won't name names but they were not from our male population.

Most afternoons we've had the opportunity to play with some of the kids from "The Hill" community. Most of these kids live in either single-parent or "grandparent-parent" households.

Yolanda paints the face of one of the children from "The Hill" community during the HFO Block party Wednesday afternoon. Approximately 200 kids came to the party after a shortened day at school.