When I left home

When I left home I knew that I would not return there to live. Somehow, I knew in the back of my mind that it was the best thing I could have ever done. I left a place I had known for twenty nine years of my life. There were so many memories and so many reasons as to why I should leave. I said goodbye to my immediate family, whom I had distanced myself from during most of my life there. I was alone. It was strange, yet difficult to just up and leave. If I would have stayed my life may have taken a turn for the worst. I cannot answer that now, but I do know that I am much better off than I was prior to leaving home. I don't call it home anymore. I have a new home where I have embraced the concept of family. I struggled at first, but I learned to adapt and overcome situations that were out of character for me. I had to learn to crawl, then walk again.

The next day

The following morning began by having breakfast at a local restaurant. Good thing it was an all you can eat breakfast buffet because I was ready to eat something with substance besides the cereal bars and fast food we had been eating during most of the trip. Bacon and eggs sounded real good right about then. After having stuffed ourselves with real food we headed back to New Orleans via the Lake Pontchartrain causeway. I knew my eyes would see much more than they had the night before due to darkness being upon us then. As we drove across the causeway I took pictures of anything and everything that would substantiate our visit to this devastated place. This event will forever remain a part of our nations history and I was getting a first hand look at it. Once we arrived back in to New Orleans we took more pictures. What we saw seemed unreal. As we drove through communities large trees lay uprooted in yards and streets. Some trees were laying against houses with the roofs caved in. Piles of debris were stacked at nearly every house and street corner. Many of the homes were marked with spray paint to notify anyone who entered that a death or deaths had occurred.

A long way from home/the mission begins

There are only three other occasions where I left home. The first time was back in 1990 when I joined the Ohio Army National Guard at the vulnerable age of nineteen. On October 10, 1990 I became a soldier. I joined the service out of duty to my country and in honor of my father, who passed away the previous year. He was a soldier too. I turned twenty years old ten days after leaving for basic training. That was at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, which was right next to the Atlantic ocean. Sadly, I did not take the opportunity to see this vast coastline. I was away from home for four and a half months. The second time came when I moved to Kentucky for a short period and lastly to northern Ohio on July 3, 1999. I'd never been away from home no more than a weekend. When I left for Louisiana I wasn't sure when I would be home. I knew I wasn't going to stay as long as I did on any of the previous trips. At times, I struggled with the thought that I abandoned my wife and children. I wanted them to be proud of me. I did not want to let them down. I felt guilty at times for all the other times I had let them down. I was there to support my family and be a part of what Jesus called the great commission. If anyone wanted experience in the mission field this was a field ready for harvest. Everywhere we stopped I would place bibles, tracks and small, pocket size crosses. Truck stops and gas stations were hot spots for ministry. I was honored to be a part of something greater than me.

Lake Pontchartrain causeway

Ah yes, Lake Pontchartrain. This lake has been the end for some and the beginning for others once they left New Orleans for safety before,during and after Hurricane Katrina's landing. Its name has been used in many a song. It was created around three thousand years ago, give or take a few hundred years or more. Its depths are much shallower than I once thought. Water levels reach anywhere from twelve feet to sixteen feet. It is forty miles wide and twenty four miles long. I was a bit surprised actually. It was difficult to get a clear view of the landscape during the night. After leaving New Orleans the causeway was the last thing in my mind when we reached the other side of the bridge. While crossing the bridge I was slightly terrified that the weakened structure would collapse while we were on it. I thought to myself, what a way to go, drowning after falling into the lake. I thought the end was ever so near. I was anxious to get to the other side as quickly as possible. I couldn't wait to hit land. Lord just get me safely to the other side, I whispered under my breath. Yes, it was all in my head. If the bridge wasn't safe enough to cross it would have been closed off. I concluded in my mind that the construction barriers, barrels and caution tape made me a bit nervous. If it were not for the fact that all I could see was water in the middle of the night I might have been more at ease.