Summer 08: The Beginning

You don’t hear about New Orleans or Mississippi as much in the news anymore. Katrina isn’t at the forefront of everyone’s mind like it used to be. You might hear the lone reference to Katrina here or there but for the most part it can be chalked up to “out of sight, out of mind”. That is of course, unless you live in New Orleans or on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In those places, the events of nearly three years ago are still very much at the forefront of everyone’s mind. There is still much to be done.

Things are improving in Mississippi and Louisiana. House gutting is on the decline and finish work is on the increase. That’s a great sign. Events are starting to return to New Orleans as well. As the Gulf Coast continues to rebuild, needs are varied and still abundant. This is especially true of spiritual needs. You and your group have answered the call and are part of the ongoing process of rebuilding and, in the case of Christian organizations, rebirthing. You are embarking on an incredible opportunity to get involved with physical AND spiritual needs. One positive left behind after the storm was that it provided a window for authentic Christian love to be shown throughout the New Orleans, Mississippi, and the rest of the Gulf Coast.

My name is Mike McCord. I, along with my wife, Sarah, will be coordinating much of AIM’s ministry in New Orleans and part of the ministry in Mississippi this summer. We are excited to have this opportunity and are looking forward to guiding you through this process. From this point forward, I will be your primary point of contact with AIM. Please feel free to email with any questions or concerns you might have. For your convenience I will be helping to maintain two blog sites for New Orleans and Mississippi, http://neworleans.myadventures.org/ and http://gulfcoast.myadventures.org/ respectively. This e-mail will be the first post. I will address individual questions on e-mail but things that will benefit the group will be posted on the blog. Additionally, about a week before your trip, you will receive a call from one of our Project Facilitators who will be guiding your group through their week in Mississippi or New Orleans.

I have every confidence that there is a great summer of ministry ahead. We will have many details and plans to discuss over the next few weeks. We will be praying through the summer and ask for you to join us in that, not only for your week but throughout the entire summer. As with any mission trip, please be flexible and allow God to work as He sees fit.

As I close this first of many e-mails/blog posts ahead, let me run through a few house keeping details that I wanted to hit from the beginning. 1) Be prepared to HYDRATE. It is HOT and HUMID on the Gulf Coast. I guarantee it. Please make sure your students pack a water bottle and plan on using it. We will be providing water at work sites but having your own bottle is a good idea. 2) Push your students have an up to date Tetanus booster. I cannot recommend this strongly enough. You can get Tetanus many more ways than just stepping on a rusty nail. The CDC says you should have a booster if you haven’t had one in 10 or more years. 3) Please remember the dress code as you prep your students. It can be found in the Missions 101 material. Additionally, I would prepare for work sites by bringing BOTH long pants and shorts. For light work, shorts are great but for anything more heavy duty, pants are the order of the day. I also direct your attention to the “strong shoes or boots” section of the work dress code.

Please feel free to send me any questions or concerns. Sarah and I and the rest of the staff look forward to helping you have a great mission experience this summer.

In His service,

Mike McCord