AMAZING PEOPLE

Today was our first work day. Breakfast was at 6:30 pm (as it was for the rest of the week). Sharkey, the camp coordinator, asked me to put together a team to lead worship. I found one other singer and led a short fifteen-minute set. It was such a fun thing for me and something that I definitely wasn’t expecting.

That morning, Sharkey assigned my team to unload several semi-trailers worth of donated camp items. I also helped clean up and rearrange the Good News Store tent. The store is available for locals needing grocery, clothing, cooking, toy items, and more. Unfortunately, one of the guys that was working with me in the store that morning ran over my big toe with a loaded palette jack. The same toe that I lost a toenail with just a couple years ago (in a scary “ride cymbal” accident).

Herb and Seth tried to take me to an emergency medical clinic, but they didn’t want to work with my health insurance. The alternative was a guy named Buddy Shipp, founder of the non-profit agency American Samaritan. This guy was a real influence on me this week. For starters, he heated up a paper clip with his cigarette lighter and poked through my toenail to release the pressure that was already building up beneath my nail. There was an audience of about fifteen to twenty onlookers cheering me on through the whole process. I was “hugging” a paper towel roll when the paper clip poked through. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, to say the least, but it did an incredible job of making the pain go away. And I was also able to work with the rest of them for the rest of the week; that was what I was most concerned about. I didn’t want to miss out.

Buddy filmed the whole procedure but I didn’t get a hold of a copy before I left. I’m gonna try and contact him soon and see if there is a way that I can get it.

Buddy also influenced me with his stories about sharing the gospel with beef brisket, about his encounters in urban ministry, and with his young mentor-friend, Brian. He is quite an amazing person.

Back to Sharkey, the Good News Camp manager… Herb and I got to hang out with him a little on this evening. He is quite the talker. It turns out that he has been working at the camp since just weeks after Katrina hit. He seemed pretty uncomfortable with “the church”, like he had some bad experiences in the past. He kept on saying things like, “I’m not a preacher” and then commenced to “preach”. He was just one of many other unforgettable people that I would meet on this trip. He told us that he wanted to show us his biggest problem; then he took off his sandals and showed us his rather contrasting “sandal lines”.