My first trip with Adventures in Missions was in 2006 to the
Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina hit (the picture to the right is the only one I have with me from that trip). The main focus of the week I spent
there was seeking to hear the voice of the Father and acting on what he said.
For the most part, there wasn’t much of a ministry plan and it turned out to be
a trip that radically changed my life. I learned what God’s voice sounds like,
learned how to worship him, how to share the gospel with his people and even
what God’s calling on my life is.
Last week I got the opportunity to go back and visit the area
where this wonderful trip took place, Long Beach. I was visiting my friend
Myles in Gulfport, a neighboring city, and one of the days I was there we were
able to take a drive through the town so I could see everything again. It was
pretty surreal. Things looked a lot
different. When I was there last, over four years ago, they still had piles of
debris on the roads and some houses had still been untouched since the day of
the storm. Now they are all cleared away and if there isn’t grass and trees
growing in its place there is a new house, hotel or casino. We passed by the
church I had stayed at and it looked quite the same except for everything was
switched to Spanish. The destroyed Walmart was replaced by a new one, the beach
road was rebuilt and Katrina’s Soup Kitchen is now an empty parking lot.
While I was there in 2006 I participated in an ATL (a time
to “ask the Lord” what He wants you to do) for the first time. It started out
kind of weird. People were getting pictures in their heads of strange things like
swans, bowls of apples and plants with tomatoes. Later on we kept thinking
about an elderly woman named Corinne who we had met earlier in the week during
a prayer walk. We decided to load up in the vans and go on over to her house. She
invited us in to show us her house and the pictures she had painted. As we
walked through we noticed that each vision God had put in my teammates heads
were in that house. A bowl of apples on the table, a painting of a swan in the
water, dozens of tomatoes growing on plants in her backyard… and that’s just a
few examples. It was clearly the place we were supposed to be.
This passed Thursday I went back to Corinne’s house. Surprisingly,
she was there alive and well (still driving in fact at nearly 90 years old!
Haha! See my previous blog.) At first she didn’t quite remember me but after a
bit of a memory jog she invited Myles and me in for a visit. Like before, she
showed us her paintings, gave us a tour of her back yard and in her cute
southern accent told us what her dog was thinking, as old people like to do. After
a bit of talking, I told her I had been praying for her and that she should
start painting again. She agreed and said it would be good for her and then we
said our goodbyes left.
I’ve been hanging out with God for about eight years now and
I still have no idea why he does some of the things he does. Why were we led to
go to Corinne’s house in the first place? Why did he lead me to go back? What was
the point of all this? I don’t know. But I know he was pleased with us. He is
always pleased when we do the things he asks us to do.
Trevor Perla. I love you. Keep being awesome.
Oh, my gosh Trevor! I remember that trip and being there. I had forgotten all about that experience let alone remember Corrinne’s name! A flood of memories have just come back. I will look to see if I have any pictures with you in them. pat and I will be going back that way in July when we drive to SC to help Laura & Josh move to NC! After reading your account of what it looks like I’m even more anxious to go back. One never knows just how God will use an experience to change us. Your life is proof of what can happen when we open ourselves to truly listen.
I always enjoy reading your comments. You have a gift in writing down your experiences and thoughts. By sharing your experience in listening to God you teach us all to do the same. The reasons for you visit to Corrinne’s house twice now not only brought joy to God but to Corrinne and to me. Thanks!