Hello from New Orleans

Linda and I rolled into New Orleans about 12:30 this afternoon, 15 hours after leaving Ashland Sunday night. We were blessed with a safe journey - no problems along the way, light traffic most of the trip, and decent weather after we got past Jellico Mountain in Tennessee. We shared driving duties overnight. One slept while the other drove, and we switched off several times. We thank God for watching over us, and keeping the driver awake. I would much rather travel overnight (not wasting daylight hours driving) as long as there is someone along to share driving duties. We have both noticed, however, that it is not nearly as easy as it was years ago.

The fifteen hours in the car reminded me of the fact that in just about a month, I will be leading a group of 9 on another short term mission trip to the Philippines. The amount of time we will be on one flight (from Los Angeles to Hong Kong) is equal to the time we spent traveling from Ashland to New Orleans. That is a LONG time to be crammed into an economy class seat. There is a tad more leg room in the car, and the seat will recline much further than the 6 inches or so it does on the 747. On the other hand, one can get up and walk around the airplane, stretching your legs, while the journey continues at several hundred miles per hour!

New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast are well on the way back from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina two and a half years ago. The whole area is a beehive of activity and construction. Yes, there are areas that are still in ruins and there are entire neighborhoods and towns that exist no longer. However, The Crescent City is coming back. Not bad for an area that was 80% inundated by the toxic floodwaters in the horrible aftermath of the hurricane. I sense a spirit of optimism in the city in general. This evening I stopped in a Winn Dixie store here in the Gentilly section of town. I was one of only three white faces in the bustling supermarket in a part of the city that was particularly hard by the disaster. In talking with some folks in the long check out line, I noted the determination they had to get past the trouble of the past and on with their lives. The residents I spoke with, each expressed somewhat optimistic feelings about the future. That's quite different than attitudes I have seen here on past "post Katrina" visits.

We were able to spend a couple of hours with our son, Jay, this afternoon. Even though he had an important meeting this evening, we still had dinner with Michelle, Quint and Canon - a very enjoyable experience for Mamaw and me! Jay is coming over tomorrow with Canon (the three year old) and they and Linda will be able to spend a good bit of time together while I am in my first day of Trustee Meetings.

The weather is clear and cool here. Unusually cool for this time of year in New Orleans (there goes that darned global warming again!) In fact, the forecast I just heard over the television said that the low tomorrow morning should be a record low temperature for New Orleans for this date. In fact, I saw seminary president, Dr. Chuck Kelley and Board Chairman, Rudy Gray in the lobby tonight, and Dr. Kelley said, "Looks like you brought that West Virginia weather down here with you, C.J.". All I could do was agree, as it is very similar weather to what we experienced when he was with us in Huntington on April 2 & 3.

Trustee Committee meetings begin tomorrow, and the Board meetings and dinners will continue through Wednesday evening. I serve on the Instruction Committee, and we have a full agenda for tomorrow's meeting, with a number of recommendations we must consider to forward to the full Board for consideration in the plenary session on Wednesday.

Wednesday night, after the dinner, Linda and I will be headed to First Baptist Church of Westwego, where I will be meeting with the New Orleans portion of our Philippine mission team. This will be a final get together, to answer questions and tie up loose ends before our trip in May. Thursday is a day off and we look forward to spending more time with Jay and Canon. Unfortunately this is testing week in the schools here, and Michelle and Quint will not be able to get with us until after school on Thursday. We should all be able to have dinner together on Thursday evening, then, plans call for us to head back home on Friday afternoon.

Not exactly a "vacation" but a nice way to at least mix business with a little pleasure.

I'll try to post more tomorrow. Thank you for continuing to remember us when you pray.

Love,

C.J.