In the days following the initial move, my parents were an absolute lifesaver. We had a million boxes to unpack and get organized. My mom was determined to make the apartment look like a home before she left. I'm so grateful to them! I must say the apartment looks great. After their week here, my poor parents were so scared to leave us in New Orleans. We are very close to the 9th ward and of course everyone has heard of the things that happen there. Dropping my parents off at the bus station was an adventure! AT and my dad were inside the bus station buying the tickets and left us in the Tahoe with it running. Next thing we know a woman was looking into the truck thinking no one was in there. When I say looking in, I mean face up to the window about to steal the truck. It scared me and my mom to death. That was the last thing that needed to happen before they left their baby girl and grandkids in a new city. I had to reassure them we would be fine and things like that don't happen all the time. I'm sure they are still worried about us even now. This is the most my dad has ever called me in my life. I guess he is trying to make sure I'm still alive!
It has been very interesting getting to know the area. The seminary is in a "bad" section of town. It is gated but as soon as you step outside the gate you can tell the difference. We even have campus police to make sure no one jumps the fence. The nickname of the seminary is "Mayberry in the Hood." Everywhere we go people are arguing. It's just a mean place. Any of my fellow Auburn fans who have ever been to LSU understand what I'm saying. Louisiana is just a different kind of place. There are daiquiri places on every corner. People actually drive up, buy a daiquiri, and drive off drinking an alcoholic beverage. I've never experienced anything like it. With all this being said, this is the perfect place for ministry. I'm so excited for what God is going to do through AT and me for His glory in this city!
In Christ,
Alissa
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Moving Day: What an Adventure!
We moved on my birthday, July 29. It was a crazy day. We were so tired from all the packing and painting getting the house ready for the renters. We decided it would be best to drive at night so the kids would hopefully sleep most of the way. We left around 8 p.m. That was not a good idea! I started off driving and was doing good until around Atmore, AL. I was so sleepy I could barely keep my eyes open. A.T. took over and it wasn't long before he was the same way. We contemplated stopping and getting a hotel but we didn't want to spend the money for only a couple of hours. We decided to get some caffeine and walk around a rest area for a little while. That helped but it was still a nightmare. We arrived at the seminary around 4 a.m. By that time all the kids were up and we were delirious. All we wanted was to get in the apartment and go to sleep. The apartment has tile floors throughout so we brought the futon mattress and Camden's mattress to put on the floor to sleep. All of our belongings wouldn't arrive until later that day.
As soon as we opened the apartment door, the smell of bug spray overtook me. We turned on the light and there were dead bugs all over the floor. I wanted to cry! I quickly told A.T. there was no way I would put my babies on that floor. We didn't know what to do. There was a hotel that the seminary owns across the street so we tried to call to get a room but of course no one was there to take the reservation because it was 4 in the morning! Our last hope was to sleep in the Tahoe. I felt horrible for making my family do this. We found a parking lot at the seminary and took out the back and middle row of seats and laid the futon mattress back there. It was the craziest thing ever but it worked. We all laid down and got us a few hours of sleep before our belongings were supposed to arrive. Can you imagine five people laying in the back of a Tahoe asleep?!
Our belongings were supposed to arrive at 2 p.m. We didn't have anything to sit on, no extra clothes, nothing for the kids to play with or anything. My mom and dad got here around 9 a.m. so we made use of the time and decided to paint the rooms. For anyone who knows my mom, you know she was busy cleaning the apartment. I was so grateful to have her here because the apartment definitely needed her touch. We were so ready for the truck to get here so we could get things unpacked and at least the beds together so the kids could sleep. We waited and waited. The truck arrived at 11 p.m. We didn't realize the truck would be so late so none of us took a nap and were so tired once the truck arrived. We got our second wind though and unpacked boxes pretty much all night. Now as I look back I believe that the furniture arriving late was God's blessing in disguise because I know we wouldn't have had time to properly clean and paint if the furniture was already here. We already had the apartment looking somewhat like a home. Oh what a day!
In Christ,
Alissa
As soon as we opened the apartment door, the smell of bug spray overtook me. We turned on the light and there were dead bugs all over the floor. I wanted to cry! I quickly told A.T. there was no way I would put my babies on that floor. We didn't know what to do. There was a hotel that the seminary owns across the street so we tried to call to get a room but of course no one was there to take the reservation because it was 4 in the morning! Our last hope was to sleep in the Tahoe. I felt horrible for making my family do this. We found a parking lot at the seminary and took out the back and middle row of seats and laid the futon mattress back there. It was the craziest thing ever but it worked. We all laid down and got us a few hours of sleep before our belongings were supposed to arrive. Can you imagine five people laying in the back of a Tahoe asleep?!
Our belongings were supposed to arrive at 2 p.m. We didn't have anything to sit on, no extra clothes, nothing for the kids to play with or anything. My mom and dad got here around 9 a.m. so we made use of the time and decided to paint the rooms. For anyone who knows my mom, you know she was busy cleaning the apartment. I was so grateful to have her here because the apartment definitely needed her touch. We were so ready for the truck to get here so we could get things unpacked and at least the beds together so the kids could sleep. We waited and waited. The truck arrived at 11 p.m. We didn't realize the truck would be so late so none of us took a nap and were so tired once the truck arrived. We got our second wind though and unpacked boxes pretty much all night. Now as I look back I believe that the furniture arriving late was God's blessing in disguise because I know we wouldn't have had time to properly clean and paint if the furniture was already here. We already had the apartment looking somewhat like a home. Oh what a day!
In Christ,
Alissa
Our Journey to New Orleans: The Critical Stages
Hi guys! The last post left you with me trying to figure out how I was going to make the move work out. Once I got back to Phenix City from the preview event, I had the task of talking to A.T. face to face. He thought I had gone off the deep end. I was so fired up but soon had to realize that all my family and friends had not been to New Orleans with me so they didn't understand. I felt so alone but I continued to pray to God for His will to be done in my life. The normal routine began to set in. I was mom and wife again. My days consisted of doing laundry, cooking, and taking care of my family which I loved. At the same time, I had the urge to get back to New Orleans by August for the start of school. I knew that if I was truly called God would call A.T. as well so I waited and waited and waited. I probably asked A.T. every day had God spoken to him yet! I finally had to let go of the situation and trust that God would take care of it.
Within two weeks A.T. came to me and said we were moving to New Orleans. I was so shocked! That was God and God alone. We both were comfortable in Phenix City and were close to our families. We loved our church family at Cascade Hills and thought we weren't going to leave any time soon. However, we knew New Orleans was where we needed to be.
These were the critical stages of the journey. Once we figured out we were supposed to be in New Orleans then came the how do we go about getting there. We prayed and prayed about every detail of the move. My "soul sista" Alicia was my rock during this time. She helped me see God's hand on every part of the journey. Alicia is the women's leader at Cascade Hills and also the leader for the marriage ministry. The bible study we did during this time was Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer. If you are a woman reading this blog and haven't done this study I highly recommend it! The study was so convicting. It detailed the events in Jonah's life and how God had told him to go to Ninevah. Ninevah was a place of sin and Jonah knew it. He didn't think the people there were worthy of God's love so he didn't obey God's command. Instead he went the opposite way to Tarshish. This is what humans do all the time. We know that God told us to go one way but we decide it's in our best interest to go another. The story of Jonah ended with him finally going to Ninevah and it being the biggest revival ever. It's funny how we always end up where God wants us to be. It may take 1 month, 1 year or even 10 years. I realized throughout the study that my call was to go to the present day Ninevah (New Orleans). There were so many parallels from Jonah's story to the journey I was actually on. I knew that was God's way of speaking to me. The women in my bible study were so great. They prayed for me and gave me words of encouragement. They even took up an offering for my move. I could never thank them enough.
During this entire time of getting ready to move to New Orleans, A.T. and I were terrified but excited at the same time. It didn't make "worldly" sense for us to pack up our 3 boys and move to a place like New Orleans. I had to realize though that it didn't have to make "worldly" sense as long as it made "Godly" sense. We had a lot of bumps in the road and things didn't go as planned. We weren't able to sell our house. We couldn't get Kolbi into the school we wanted. A.T. didn't even get a job offer. The devil was working hard to deter us. We stayed on the course and I'm proud to say God has provided throughout the entire process. We found a renter ONE WEEK before we left and Kolbi got accepted into a Christian school. We could see God's hand in every step of the way. Even though A.T. wasn't able to secure a position, we knew God was behind the wheel so we decided to move forward with our plan.
In Christ,
Alissa
Within two weeks A.T. came to me and said we were moving to New Orleans. I was so shocked! That was God and God alone. We both were comfortable in Phenix City and were close to our families. We loved our church family at Cascade Hills and thought we weren't going to leave any time soon. However, we knew New Orleans was where we needed to be.
These were the critical stages of the journey. Once we figured out we were supposed to be in New Orleans then came the how do we go about getting there. We prayed and prayed about every detail of the move. My "soul sista" Alicia was my rock during this time. She helped me see God's hand on every part of the journey. Alicia is the women's leader at Cascade Hills and also the leader for the marriage ministry. The bible study we did during this time was Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer. If you are a woman reading this blog and haven't done this study I highly recommend it! The study was so convicting. It detailed the events in Jonah's life and how God had told him to go to Ninevah. Ninevah was a place of sin and Jonah knew it. He didn't think the people there were worthy of God's love so he didn't obey God's command. Instead he went the opposite way to Tarshish. This is what humans do all the time. We know that God told us to go one way but we decide it's in our best interest to go another. The story of Jonah ended with him finally going to Ninevah and it being the biggest revival ever. It's funny how we always end up where God wants us to be. It may take 1 month, 1 year or even 10 years. I realized throughout the study that my call was to go to the present day Ninevah (New Orleans). There were so many parallels from Jonah's story to the journey I was actually on. I knew that was God's way of speaking to me. The women in my bible study were so great. They prayed for me and gave me words of encouragement. They even took up an offering for my move. I could never thank them enough.
During this entire time of getting ready to move to New Orleans, A.T. and I were terrified but excited at the same time. It didn't make "worldly" sense for us to pack up our 3 boys and move to a place like New Orleans. I had to realize though that it didn't have to make "worldly" sense as long as it made "Godly" sense. We had a lot of bumps in the road and things didn't go as planned. We weren't able to sell our house. We couldn't get Kolbi into the school we wanted. A.T. didn't even get a job offer. The devil was working hard to deter us. We stayed on the course and I'm proud to say God has provided throughout the entire process. We found a renter ONE WEEK before we left and Kolbi got accepted into a Christian school. We could see God's hand in every step of the way. Even though A.T. wasn't able to secure a position, we knew God was behind the wheel so we decided to move forward with our plan.
In Christ,
Alissa
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Our Journey to New Orleans: The Beginning Stages
Hi everyone! I'm new to this blogging thing but I thought what better way to keep our friends and family in tune with what is going on in our world than to have a place for them to follow our journey. So here we go.... I want to start off with a little background on my calling into the ministry. It all started in January while A.T. and I were in Atlanta for a couples weekend. I was 9 months pregnant and couldn't sleep. During that delirious moment, I had a vision of me on a college campus being a ministry leader. I heard God say I needed to attend seminary to obtain this goal. I didn't know if it was my hormones or really a sign from God! I was so lost because I wasn't even sure what seminary was all about. It took me a couple of weeks after that divine intervention before I even thought about it again. I knew I had been asking God for over a year to make my purpose clear to me. I decided I needed to do some research.
I was amazed to see what God had called me to do. I thought seminary was for preachers in a church. I knew that was not my calling so I was so confused. As I began researching, I found that seminaries have numerous tracks for people with various callings. In particular, I found a collegiate ministry track. At that moment I knew it was God who had spoken to me that night in the hotel room. It was definitely confirmation, and I had to be obedient.
I wrestled with the fact I was a mom of a newborn and being called back to school. I began looking at different seminaries with the thought I could do online classes while Brennan and Camden were asleep throughout the day and at night. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary kept coming up. I looked into the curriculum and saw they had an extension center in Atlanta. I thought I had hit the jackpot! One day while I was on the internet researching the school I saw the main campus in New Orleans was having a preview weekend. At this point, Camden was 6 weeks old. I felt so convicted to go to the preview. I didn't know why but I knew I should be there. This was a week before the event so I had to be quick if I was going to actually make it. I spoke to A.T. about it and he told me if I felt led to go then he was fine with the idea. Let me reiterate the circumstances surrounding the timing of all of this. Camden was 6 weeks, I was breastfeeding, I didn't have hardly any milk stored, A.T. had gone back to work, I didn't know how I would get to New Orleans, and it was a week before the event! All odds were stacked against me. Needless to say it was overwhelming but God provided in all those areas. My mom stayed with the boys and Camden had enough milk until I made it back. Hallelujah!
Preview weekend in New Orleans was amazing! I was so nervous because I was there alone because A.T. had to work. During chapel on the second day of events, the president of NOBTS spoke about the journey of faith. Everyone I spoke to that day and night told me how being in New Orleans would be better for my ministry. I kept thinking these people are crazy! I have 3 kids (one of which is a newborn), a house, my husband has his dream job, and there is an extension center close by to take any classes not taught online. That night I got so convicted that we were supposed to move to New Orleans that I couldn't think straight. I spoke with Brian and Gina, a couple that was attending preview weekend about my concerns. They were so humble and listened to all my concerns. I spent the entire weekend being their third wheel! They told me they were moving to New Orleans and they had 4 kids! God sure does have a way of showing us His way can be done. I was overwhelmed by their obedience to God. I knew that I had to at least try to follow God's will. Later that night, I called A.T. and delivered the news. I know he thought I was crazy to even think we would move to New Orleans. Remember, I told him (and really believed myself) I was only going to New Orleans to see the campus in the event my classes weren't offered online or at the extension center. However, at that moment I was convinced my family and I had to move to New Orleans no matter the cost.
In Christ,
Alissa
I was amazed to see what God had called me to do. I thought seminary was for preachers in a church. I knew that was not my calling so I was so confused. As I began researching, I found that seminaries have numerous tracks for people with various callings. In particular, I found a collegiate ministry track. At that moment I knew it was God who had spoken to me that night in the hotel room. It was definitely confirmation, and I had to be obedient.
I wrestled with the fact I was a mom of a newborn and being called back to school. I began looking at different seminaries with the thought I could do online classes while Brennan and Camden were asleep throughout the day and at night. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary kept coming up. I looked into the curriculum and saw they had an extension center in Atlanta. I thought I had hit the jackpot! One day while I was on the internet researching the school I saw the main campus in New Orleans was having a preview weekend. At this point, Camden was 6 weeks old. I felt so convicted to go to the preview. I didn't know why but I knew I should be there. This was a week before the event so I had to be quick if I was going to actually make it. I spoke to A.T. about it and he told me if I felt led to go then he was fine with the idea. Let me reiterate the circumstances surrounding the timing of all of this. Camden was 6 weeks, I was breastfeeding, I didn't have hardly any milk stored, A.T. had gone back to work, I didn't know how I would get to New Orleans, and it was a week before the event! All odds were stacked against me. Needless to say it was overwhelming but God provided in all those areas. My mom stayed with the boys and Camden had enough milk until I made it back. Hallelujah!
Preview weekend in New Orleans was amazing! I was so nervous because I was there alone because A.T. had to work. During chapel on the second day of events, the president of NOBTS spoke about the journey of faith. Everyone I spoke to that day and night told me how being in New Orleans would be better for my ministry. I kept thinking these people are crazy! I have 3 kids (one of which is a newborn), a house, my husband has his dream job, and there is an extension center close by to take any classes not taught online. That night I got so convicted that we were supposed to move to New Orleans that I couldn't think straight. I spoke with Brian and Gina, a couple that was attending preview weekend about my concerns. They were so humble and listened to all my concerns. I spent the entire weekend being their third wheel! They told me they were moving to New Orleans and they had 4 kids! God sure does have a way of showing us His way can be done. I was overwhelmed by their obedience to God. I knew that I had to at least try to follow God's will. Later that night, I called A.T. and delivered the news. I know he thought I was crazy to even think we would move to New Orleans. Remember, I told him (and really believed myself) I was only going to New Orleans to see the campus in the event my classes weren't offered online or at the extension center. However, at that moment I was convinced my family and I had to move to New Orleans no matter the cost.
In Christ,
Alissa
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