NOLA

My youth group went down to New Orleans every summer for the past 5 years.  I had the privilege of being one of a few youth leaders to accompany on the trip.  Each day, we worked on different site and performed tasks to help rebuild homes due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  Most of our jobs consisted of construction-esque duties.

The first year I was on the trip, there were 6 of us at one house ripping out the rotted wooden fascia and soffit installing the longer lasting vinyl version.  It took us 5 days to rip apart, cut up the appropriate sizes, and reinstall everything...we didn't have all of the appropriate tools to get the job done any faster.

I love construction jobs.

I am terrible at construction jobs.

Thankfully, there was another leader at the site we were at who had significantly more experience in this field than I did.  There was no way on God's green earth I could lead this project and wasn't about to attempt to take the lead.  He gave us all instructions on how to go about everything and we all obliged.  I must say, our handiwork (for being a rag-tag group of high school people) was pretty darn good!  

The last year I was on the trip, our youth group partnered up with an organization called the St. Bernard Project.  We were sent out to multiple sites to install insulation, put up dry wall, paint, remove mold...or sort screws in their warehouse.  

P.S. sorting screws are a waste of time and a joke.  

I was the only adult leader to be sent off to a different site every day we were down.  I had a different crew of students every day, a different project every day, and new challenges within our group every day.  If I had it my way, I wouldn't have been bouncing around so much, but the guy in charge of our whole team always asked me to be the one to take on the new sites.

In the middle of both of those trips, I was pulled off to the side by some of my co-leaders.  They thanked me for my flexibility and willingness to take a more back seat role to follow.  I was creating an example for my high schoolers.  It's okay not not always be the one up front.  It's okay to not be the one in charge.  It's okay to admit that I don't have all the answers or the experience to get the job done.

There is so much more to the story as there always is with mission work. 

Ever since I was young, everybody pegged me as a leader.  I know that is in me and I embrace that.  For the longest time, I had no idea what it looked like to be a follower.  That created a lot of conflict between me and whoever was in charge of whatever project.  New Orleans was out of my element in leadership and I was forced to step back and humble myself to the other leader's authority those weeks. What did I gain out of those few weeks every summer?  I gained those 3 C's we talked about in class- confidence, credibility and compassion.  

I learned a butt-ton of new skills in basic construction.  In the moments I needed to step up, our crew knew they could trust me.  I had the eyes to see students hurting on the trip and could sit down to be a comfort to them.

Following someone else's lead isn't so bad.