Team Hoover: April 2013

Well my last blog post was a look back on 2012 and my hopes for an even better 2013. So far this year has been great, especially now that Spring has finally arrived! I have to say I was getting worried there for a minute that the warm weather was never going to come...but it arrived eventually and I am so thankful for that! This year I made a goal that I would help people in any way that I can. Helping people is truly my biggest passion in life and I feel that while I always have good intentions to do so, I dont always act on my intentions. So this year I have decided to put my good intentions in to more action. A big way that Chris and I are doing that this year is by going on a missions trip with our church to New Orleans this July. We went on this same trip back in 2008, 3 years after Hurricane Katrina. Even then I had a lot of people question why I was going, b/c after 3 years surely the city doesnt need our help any more. I can tell you after being there in 2008 it looked like the hurricane had just gone through there. So here we are in 2013 going back to New Orleans, 8 years after the hurricane, to a city who is still in desperate need of our help. Some of the areas that were hit the worst have been left completely untouched. I for one find this so sad that a city in the United States is left in this kind of shape. The good news is that a lot of the city has been rebuilt, and a lot of people have been able to return to their city that they call home. However, the city still needs our help, and Chris and I feel extremely blessed to be able to go there and help in any way that we can. Some of the ways that our group will be helping is by partnering with Habitat for Humanity to continue rebuilding houses for those who have been without for these past 8 years. We will also be partnering with a local church there to run a vacation bible camp so we can show Gods love to the kids there, many who had to go through the hurricane and lost their homes or even people close to them. We will also be working on schools and we have a photo team who will be taking pictures of families at no cost (since photos are one of the biggest valuables lost in the hurricane). This trip provides us an opportunity to reach a city that is in desperate need, and Chris and I are so excited to be going there to help meet those needs. Mostly we ask for your prayers for our entire team (of around 400 people) as we travel to New Orleans (on a 17 hour bus ride...ahh!) and while we are there in the city. I truly believe in the power of prayer and praying for this amazing city can have such a huge impact. Another way you can help support our team on this missions trip is by financial support. Our team has to raise over $300,000 for this trip, with mine and Chris' portion being $1,700. We will be working hard to meet our goal, but if any of you feel led to donate, your contributions will be going to an amazing cause. You can donate online to my trip page at https://www.crossroads.net/GOTripGive/1387 or to Chris' trip page at https://www.crossroads.net/GOTripGive/1388. You can also mail in a check to Crossroads at 3500 Madison Rd Cincinnati, OH 45209. Just make sure you put "Go New Orleans" and either Chris or Brittany Hoover in the memo line. We greatly appreciate any support you are willing to offer, whether it be financially or by your prayers and encouraging words! If you have any questions, or want to get involved in any other trips that Crossroads has to offer, please feel free to ask! I will leave you all with some pictures from our first trip to New Orleans!