Caroling in Flip Flops

Yesterday I did the craziest thing ever...I went caroling in flip-flops! Its been averaging a balmy 70 to 75 here for the past couple of days so I needed nothing more than a sweater when I went out with Westminster Presbyterian Church last night. We had a very fun time. Luckily my roommate, Sarah Ann went with me because I don't really know a ton of people there, except for kids in the youth group. This can be a challenge for me although I'm getting much better at sticking my hand out to people and saying, "Hi, I'm Brenna." I think this is the way to be friendly here and its not seen as pushy which is how I feel. Anyway, the few of us that are transplants here kept saying how weird it felt to not be caroling in ten layers and begging people for warm drinks. I think I could get used to the warmth though.

Saturday Linda M. and I went to NOLA for a day of shopping on Magazine St. This was a much needed "city" day for me. The weather was awesome and Magazine St. is nice because its not super touristy like Bourbon St. We had lunch at a fabulous Mexican Restaurant called Nacho Mama (what do you call a Mama that's not yours?) with our friends who live in NOLA (see picture above.) We sat outside and drank margaritas. Who could ask for anything better?

Friday night we went to a movie with our bosses. This was good for 3 reasons. 1. The movie was really good. We saw The Pursuit of Happyness and I recommend it to everyone. It was a very good comment on poverty and homelessness and I think was well done in terms of bringing different audiences together. Our theater was probably the most diverse audience I've ever seen.
2. We got to spend time with our bosses outside of work which doesn't happen often. I hope it was a good break for them too.
3. They Paid! For snacks too!

I'm currently struggling with what to tell my congregation when I come home. There's a part of me that wants to be very chipper and share all the places I've seen God (houses being built, lives being changed, etc.). There's also a part of me that wants to be very political and show all the work that needs to be done. This is hard because unless you're here its very difficult to hear all the bad things. I'm praying for wise and moving words.

Here's a funny story. On Friday morning, my roommate, Erin, noticed my tire was low. We set off on a quest to get it fixed and ended up at the tire center at Wal-Mart, as much as this pained me and it hurts to give money to that organization. It was ok though because we were able to get some Christmas shopping done for our bosses at the same time. The funny part though was the woman (yes, woman) processing orders. She had on tight jeans and what looked like a little kid's shirt with a pearl necklace! Who wears a pearl necklace to work at the tire center at Wal-Mart? I just don't get it.

Obviously, as we move through advent, I'm trying to be expectant and hopeful of change here and throughout the world, especially in places of war. I'm trying to see where the light is shining in the darkest of places...hopefully its shining in me.

3 more wake-ups Mommy!