James 1:27 This is pure and undefiled religion in sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
This scripture really came alive during the past couple of days. God divinely lead us to a lovely, amazing, and beautiful elderly widow named Ela May. Ela May was born in New Orleans 82 years ago. She and her husband are ordained ministers and her relationship with Chist speaks for itself. The fruits of the Spirit are constantly on display with this awesome woman of God. Seeing her lovely smile, the peace in her eyes and listening to the joy in singing, one would wonder how she does it.
Ela May’s living conditions are a little rough. Her lovely home is basically crumbling down around her each and every day. She does not have any running water (which means no restroom facilities) and only has electricity in certain areas of the house. The exterior kitchen wall is beyond repair due to several years of water damage. Certain areas of the ceiling reveal the rafters as the plaster continues to decay and crumble into pieces. There is a section in the living room wall where the dry wall has rotted out and is now exposing the studs. She covered this area with a blanket and acts as if it doesn’t exist.
A local outreach group called United Saints has teamed up with a national group called AmeriCorp. They have taken on this project and call it “Ela May”. Some of the many plans are to replace the the exterior kitchen wall and jack the floor up in this room as well, install new plumbing throughout the house, rebuild both bathrooms from the ground up and replace and paint some of the exterior siding.
I could write about what we did at Ela May’s house but I’m pretty sure this has been covered by others. What I am going to write about is Ela May’s faith and relationship with Christ. This woman is absolutely amazing. To see such love, peace, hope, faith and joy in this woman is so breath taking. There are at least 15 people coming in and out of her house all day. Pounding, sawing and basically ripping apart her house, Ela May isn’t the least bit distracted. The frail body of this 82 year old woman keeps moving as if nothing is going on. She joyfully sings as she folds her torn and tattered clothes, over and over again. Other times she sits on her porch and just peacefully gazes across the street where a cemetary resides. When she was asked why she decided to live there, she replied that she wanted to be closer to going to going heaven. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. Ela May, through the Holy Spirit, displays each of these fruits in such a graceful way. Without her saying much, Ela May has really shown me an example of what it is to have a deep faith in our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Today Barbara, Hilary, Jason, Jp and me prepped the breakfast food and then we made grits, quiche with ham and a few other things plus we also made grits with shrimp, onions and peppers, then when they asked if anyone had any cooking skills, i was put in charge to run the new orleans mission soup kitchen this morning…
When you visit the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, you are treated to the highest level of customer experience. There’s attention to detail in every environment. The staff serve to anticipate and fulfill your needs, even when unexpressed. It’s a true five-star experience. This morning, our missions team brought a taste of this experience to serve the homeless in New Orleans. I loved every moment of it!
Today was a great day where we got to serve the homeless breakfast. It was such a great feeling to fill their bellies with a wholesome meal! Some of us worked in the kitchen cooking the meals (which were very elbaorate!), waitors and waistresses, bus boys and girls and I was one of the hostesses. We worked alongside other volunteers and served about 150 people. The people that came were so thankful and were suprised that we actually served them because it was set up just like a restaruant. It was a great feeling!
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) Man this trip has been about learning that. 
What an awesome adventure God has allowed me to take with Him and 11 fabulous friends. This has truly been an experience of a lifetime. We came with the prayers of blessing others and God has truly blessed us more in that process than we could have imagined. The people we have met and served with have stretched my faith and given me a deeper love for humanity.
It’s the 5th day in New Orleans and my head is spinning with all that we have done and seen! I could go on and on but I want to just talk about a part that has truly opened my eyes…the French Quarter (this is where Bourbon Street is located).