Today I met Alan Cross, the pastor of Gateway Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He and I have been chatting back and forth for a while and it’s good that I finally met him. He brought part of his team to New Orleans today, and will meet the rest of his team in Waveland, Mississippi tomorrow to work at the Pathfinder Mission. My friend Doug took a couple of us down to the Lower Ninth Ward this evening so that we could take some pictures. In particular, he wanted to show me a huge shrimp boat that floated across the levee in Chalmette and ended up in some family’s front yard. It was incredible. I’ve uploaded all my photos from today to a flickr set, which you can get to by clicking here.
Alan told me about a post someone made on a Baptist blog about how we shouldn’t rebuild New Orleans. I can’t begin to tell you how much that kills me. It’s like saying that we’re not worth it. Would these people say the same if San Francisco or Los Angeles were devastated by an earthquake? If Seattle were destroyed by a tsunami? If Dallas were crushed by a series of tornados? It breaks my heart to hear people speak of New Orleans as if it deserves no more grace, no love, no mercy. I hear a lot about how we should move on, how people are tired of all the New Orleans news. But I say that ten months means squat in terms of rebuilding- here and on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Have you completely forgotten us? I won’t let you forget us.
I’ve decided to start interviewing people and taking pictures. You can ignore me if you like, but I won’t stop documenting what God is doing in this town. To leave us now is to pretend God will have no more of us. So expect stories. Incredible stories of God’s unbelievable mercy, grace, and power. If, after that, you have no heart for us, then I ask that you examine yourself.