UPDATE!!!!

I am pretty sure no one is checking this blog any more, but just in case i wanted to give our new blog: brettandalicia.blogspot.com

Considering Ukraine

Brett and I are going to create a blog site together and I will post it as soon as we set it up.
We will tell of our very recent trip to Texas to explore Ukraine mission work and we will post pictures.

God Bless You, Alicia

A new mission

Brett and I are in Valdosta Georgia considering where God wants us next. Our time in Louisiana has expired and we are praying that God will make clear to us whether we should go into overseas missions or consider ministry positions here in the states. We are considering going to the Ukraine or Africa. Please be in prayer for us as we discern the Spirit's leading.
I am praying for you all and that God will show all of us what being a servant is and what that looks like in our lives.

Alicia

A new life

As most of you know, I am now a married woman. Who would have ever thought i would visit Louisiana, meet a guy from Georgia, move to Louisiana, aaaand then get married, all within 3 months time. I certainly would have never have believed it.
That's the amazing thing about a life led by the spirit, you know. I thank God for allowing me to have the faith that He has given me. If it weren't for that, i would not be where I am and I would not be Mrs. White.
Well, I will be home in a few weeks, and those of you who will be at my wedding will get to hear the whole story; or at least important parts.
Please remember to pray for the work that is going on here. Times can be stressful, and it is in these times that Satan loves to attack God's people. Pray that we all have on our spiritual armor and are prepared for battle.(thanks to a friend who reminded me of this tonight)
I love you all! God is Good.
Alicia White

My trip home

I know it's been way too long since i've posted. I will try to keep up better, it just requires sitting down and taking the time to do it. I've been struggling to get into some sort of routine where I take my own quiet time with God and to do things like type on my blog.
I went home on Wednesday, Nov 23rd. I still had stuff at my house to get out before the closing and Jamie Waugh had also planned to go home from Birmingham, Al for the holiday. Thursday I spent the day helping cook and eating and just relaxing with my family. Friday, mom and I spent from 1:30 to 10 or later cleaning out my house and bringing stuff to her house. Saturday we went to my grandma's house, and Sunday after church and lunch, I began my trip back. It was quite a whirlwind trip, but a good one nonetheless. It was good to spend time with my family and friends, but at the same time, the trip reconfirmed the fact that I know I am supposed to be here in Louisiana and not in Wv.
Friday, when I was in Wv, I talked to Carla, my real estate agent, and she told me that she had forgotten I needed to sign the deed; she said it wasn't something that could be faxed. She called the agency the closing was with, and the woman who answered the phone said I could come in and sign it even though the office was not open that day. The lady said the office had been closed but she decided to come in to get some work done since no one else would be there. At the closing today, Carla said that lady said the phone had rang several times on Friday, but the only call she ended up answering was Carla's, and she said she does not usually have the deed written up until the actual day of closing, but for some reason, she had mine ready that day.
Carla also told me that the girl buying my home said that she had tried to buy another home, but nothing would go through and that it was a terrible experience. She talked about how excited she was to buy my home and that she couldn't believe how easy things went.
These things are just more confirmation to me and hopefully to all who were involved in the process that God's hand guided this process.

Some of my experiences

Friday Nov 11

Today was very rewarding. This morning I was sad to say goodbye to my good friends Mary Ann and Claudia, who began this journey with me a week ago tomorrow. Several work crews arrived here last night, and as the job assignments were being handed out this morning after chapel, I decided I didn't want to go on a truck today. A crew of 6 from the Cookville church of christ in Tennessee was headed out to demuck. I decided to go with them.

We headed to New Orleans and arrived at the home of Barbara. She is a single woman around 64 years whose home had at least 12 inches of water. A canal is situated directly behind her home. She exlained that the mayor of New Orleans ordered the canal workers to evacuate before Katrina; she says that if they had not shut down the canal and had been closer to the city after the storm hit that her neighborhood would not have flooded.

Barbara's home had already had some carpet and other things removed and piled on the curb in front of her home. She told us that she had a stroke last week, but did not have any side effects now. She was not suppose to help us as we worked, but she probably did not sit down for 10 minutes the whole 8 or nine hours we were there. We tore out all of the sheet rock halfway up the walls, tore up all the tile that had been under the carpet, we also had to pull out her kitchen cabinets and removed every item that she had in her garage to pull out the sheetrock in there as well. I think I must have removed 200 nails today!

Today was definitely the most tiring day so far, but also the most rewarding. Barbara blessed us with her kindness, and she was so very thankful for what we did. She wants me to send her the pictures of her home that we took. She gave us all mardis gras beeds as a thank you before we left. I pray that she felt and saw Jesus in out labor today.

I would also like to say I had a great time with the group from Cookville; they made me feel like part of their group and invited me to work with them again tomorrow.

God Bless

Wednesday, Nov 9

Wednesday began after breakfast and devo, by heading out to 3 different schools to deliver school supplies and other items. I made a contact with one of the teachers at the elementary school. She said she and her family were living at their church; she has a six and twelve year old. She said they have a hard time saying goodbye at the end of each week when different volunteers leave. She told me the bottom floor of their home was flooded, but the rest of the home was ok. They plan to live in the upstairs soon, as they begin to rebuild the downstairs.

When i returned back to the church, I went out on a scouting mission to pick up generators the church had loaned out, and we went to several homes that had requested help, some as long as a month ago. Tammany Oaks has been so short on volunteers, they have not been able to get out to the git r done jobs. One home we visited had a tarped roof, and had a soggy and sagging floor in the back of her home. Her home had been added onto about 6 or 7 yrs ago, and this complicated the damage to the floor from the strong winds. We really can't do anything to assist her except retarping her roof if necessary.

Another home we visited was in a very devastated area in New Orleans. There was no electricity, and the neigborhood had been flooded horribly. It is located with bodies of water on either side. Cars were all over the place, debris that had been cleaned out of the homes was piled everywhere. It was tedious finding the specific home we were looking for because there were no lights and most homes no longer had mailboxes. A note had been left in their door from the government, stating they had the right to enter their home and remove anything that was a threat to the area. This again was a home that was not within the scope of what we do as volunteers. The national guard stopped us and said the curfew was 8pm in that area.

Tammany Oaks is supposed to get around 100 volunteers this weekend. We have only had 12 all week. This will be quite a change.

Please pray about coming to volunteer. There is so much to be done and we need more bodies to get these things accomplished.
God Bless.