Josh and Leah and the college group from Calvary arrived about 6:30 PM yesterday. Even though they had driven almost 12 hours from Oak Park, they were in high spirits. For everyone except Josh, this was their first visit to Mississippi. Last night they all slept in the conference center on the other side of the lake.
This morning they had devotions by the lake, and this afternoon they took turns paddling the canoe to the north end of the lake where the beavers have built a big dam. A college student named Jimmy went fishing, but his experience proved there is a difference between "fishing" and "catching." He told me his fishing pole fell apart and then fell into the water. The group also went running along the gravel road and on the trails behind the conference center. This morning we fed them a true Southern breakfast–Connie’s chicken biscuits and gravy, which they all seemed to enjoy.
Meanwhile I disappeared for about three hours in the middle of the day in order to drive to Batesville to meet Pastor Brian Bill and the team from Pontiac (IL) Bible Church. We rendezvoused at a Shell station on I-55 so I could I deliver several hundred copies of Why Did This Happen to Me? They are on their way to Biloxi for their third trip since Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild homes and minister hope in Jesus’ name. We unloaded the books, I met the team, we prayed together, and then they left for Biloxi, and I drove back to Tupelo. I noticed a sign on the side of their truck that read "God’s Team On the Way to Mississippi." As they left, I could not help but think about the joy on their faces. Though they will work very hard this week, it is no sacrifice to them for they are doing it gladly to help those in need.

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