Photos by Nathan Johnson

SOMETHING BRAND NEW
Middle Church Youth Mission Trip
to New Orleans (August 1 - 7, 2010)

It's been 5 years since Katrina and here we are, still in the throes of rebuilding. Can there possibly be "something brand new", as Isaiah tells us? Is there something new to us about broken promises and shifting media attention? Is there something new about politics where those without a voice are cast aside so that we can make room for those with "more important" things to say? Is there something new about rising poverty and crime, and lack of access to a good education?

There is not much new in those stories; in fact, they are quite old and played-out. However, God says through the prophet Isaiah, "I'm about to do something brand new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it?" And this is where our journey begins. There are cracks being made in the structure of New Orleans by people that are hungry to see God's vision come forth. There is a hope of a people committed to their land and their history that called us forward into mission as a church, and as a youth group. There is a spirit of determination in the young and old that says "We can do this, together."

So if you thought that you might shed a tear for New Orleans or the Gulf Coast region, make sure that they are tears of joy, for we walk by faith and not by sight. This gallery is a picture of people that were on a mission to have something new "burst out" in New Orleans. This show goes beyond mowing lawns, painting, dry walling or surveying: this is about God bursting out through human hands to create something new.

The youth chose four themes for this show: Inspire, Building Community, Raising Spirits and New Beginnings. We invite you to look carefully at the photos once, and then again, more closely, through God's eyes. Then ask yourself,"What am I being called to do, to be the hands and feet of God?" Mahatma Ghandi said, "Be the change that you want to see in the world." In being the change, God is recreated and born again, doing something new. Don't you see it?