Greetings!

Brent, Marc, and I (with Heather newly returned from California and Leanna and Zebediah arriving this weekend) have been living in the community house for two weeks now, and the fact that I'm just now getting around to taking photos and posting an update should tell you how busy we've been. It's a satisfying sort of break-neck pace that was a welcome change after so much sitting around in Metairie and waiting for things to fall into place. When we moved into the house, the single amenity that we had was electricity. Everything else, from gas to water to air conditioning to all major appliances, had yet to materialize. As with anyone moving into a "fixer-upper" house, we've met more than our fair share of setbacks, particularly with the plumping and installing the shower fixtures. Here's a quick rundown of the work we've done so far:

- gotten both hot water heaters repaired and rerouted the vents so that the house won't blow up when we turn them on. The girls' hot water heater has since started acting up, so the next step is draining it and seeing if it is (as Marc suspects) a corroded/damaged pipe that needs to be replaced.

- installed two standing shower fixtures into a 75+ year old plumbing system. This took 3 full days and nearly killed Marc, or at least his back and spirit.

- installed three AC window units, one monster one on the guys' side and two smaller ones on the girls' side. Originally, we had the central AC working for the girls, but it went mysteriously kaput a few days ago and we decided it would be easier and maybe even more beneficial to go with window units, at least for now.

- Unloaded, unpacked, and organized about 3-5 trailers full of furniture, belongings, and donations. We took everything we thought we could use and distributed the rest to our neighbors.

- Unloaded and installed two sets of washers and dryers and two refrigerators. Well, technically we haven't plugged in the fridges yet because we have to finish cleaning six years of accumulated filth off of them first. I almost took before and after photos, but it made me exhausted just thinking about it.

Of course there's been a million other little things such as general cleaning and unpacking, but you get the idea. As backbreaking as the work has been thus far, I am delighted and humbled by the provision from God and the support of our friends and family. The vast, vast majority of the expensive/important things in our house so far have been given to us. This includes non-essential luxury items like a pool table, a myriad of extra furniture, a third refrigerator that we'll use to store extra food for homeless feedings, and that second washer/dryer set. Also, we have by no means been laboring alone. We owe a huge thanks to my dad, Jadon, Milty, Garrin, and Marc's family for lending their various expertise or just their rippling biceps. We've also gotten several lovely offers from friends like Audra, Casey, and Becca and Caroline to bring us food until we get our kitchens in order or just to hang out and visit to give us a break from move-in mayhem. We appreciate it all and consider ourselves richly blessed.

The word that keeps coming across my mind as we fix up the house is functionality. Old shotgun houses are the architectural equivalent of the Native American approach to buffalo: waste not, want not. Every aspect of these houses serves a purpose, from the 12-foot ceilings and straight-line floorplan that aids with the killer New Orleans heat to the lack of closets or other constructive flourishes to allow maximum living space for the typically large families who used to inhabit them. When he needed a break from the agonizing plumbing project, Marc amused himself by fiddling with the old Cinderella lock on the bathroom door and discovering that not only does it still work, but that we have a bunch of collected skeleton keys lying around that fit it.

As all of our housemates come together and we begin discussing how this grand little scheme is going to work, I pray that our presence in Treme reflects the construction of our house; I pray that we will be functional. I don't want us to be a rotary phone or a horse hitching post - something that was once innovative and important but has now faded to a decorative object, eclipsed by newer technology. I want our ministry to be made out of the stuff that lasts, the stuff that endures because it works, and works because it's ingeniously simple. Our 12-foot ceilings will always trap the heat, and a breeze will always flow through our open doorways. I hope that the Spirit of God will flow through as well.

I think it was wildly appropriate that we had Romans 13:8-10 as one of our verses for discussion at bible study on Sunday:

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.