Okay, so it's been a while. Too long. We as a community have the responsibility to share with the rest of the Christian (and non-Christian, at that) body what's been happening in our lives- as a sign of witness, accountability, and the like.

SO, here's what's been happening recently.

First, the documentary screening went fairly well! Brandt's a great communicator, and the film (he wasn't the one who did it, as it turns out- someone from PBS, I believe, wanted to do a personal- i.e. non-PBS sponsored- documentary on the mission he has been charged with. More on that "mission" in a bit...), much like this sentence, was a bit too long-winded at times but altogether thoroughly enjoyable. We made lots of friends and met up with some old ones and Brandt had a question-answer sort of session afterwards, which in my humble opinion spoke VOLUMES more than the film did. i wish he'd do more of those around here; he presents a biblically-inspired and practical (albeit seemingly "crazy" at first to people not familiar with the concept) demonstration of dedicating one's life for Christ.

As far as his "mission"- he cringes a little when he hears himself referred to as being called to "homelessness" or anything- he says he, and all of us, should only be "called to" people who are in need. We oughtn't get caught up in certain "types" of missions and so forth because EVERYONE is hurting, albeit in different ways.

Secondly, we've been in cahoots with a group called the Social Project. They want to work towards an improved New Orleans by doing things like supporting local businesses, supporting area non-profits, resource (re)distribution, etc. I think you can see where this is going..

We've been excited about this because THEY'RE excited about helping us with what WE'RE excited about hopefully doing for the New Orleans community (especially the Treme neighborhood)! AND they want to sponsor us so we can actually do this without going into debt (did I mention we're a little low on $$$? We're low on $$$. But what else is new? Keeps us humble, I suppose..)! Which would be nice.

However, they (and we!) need YOUR help! You can donate by going to their site (http://www.poweryourpassion.org) and selecting the Donations section. Make sure you note it's for House of the Rising Son!

Lastly, I (brent) just got over a bad cold. Which is good, because it means I probably won't get sick for another year or so (I don't get sick often) but it sucked pretty badly- I was fairly incapacitated for about three days straight.

I'll let Nik and Marc add to this if they want to.

So that's what's been going on in our lives. What's been happening in YOUR life? Leave a comment letting us know!