Our life in New Orleans

Ok, so I finally decided it was time to go with the flow and get a Blog site. So, here it is! I am hoping that I'll be better about keeping people up to date on our lives in New Orleans, b/c I'm really bad about making phone calls!
Having said that let me catch you up on all that has happened. J and I have now been in New Orleans for a year and a half (minus the few months after Katrina when we lived with our parents... Baton Rouge and then Covington). J is working on an MDiv (Master of Divinity) in Biblical Languages (yep, Greek and Hebrew!) at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS). He will graduate next May ('07), and we are praying about the next step...PhD?...I am working for the Seminary as the administrative assistant to the Dean of Students. It's a great job, b/c I get to interact with students all the time, and I see J all through the day. In fact, J also works for my boss, as his research assistant and grader...God is so good! J is also the Youth Minister for Bogue Falaya Baptist Church in Folsom, LA...just 10 minutes from my parents' house in Covington. So, we generally head there for the weekends.

BACKING UP A LITTLE:
When we first moved to N.O. we were able to live at my aunt's house, which was just 3 miles from the Seminary....it was so great, b/c we were able to get a little dog whose name is Mikey (that's our first child, by the way!).
However, when the summer of '05 roled around we moved into some friends' apartment while they were away for the summer. You need to know that we had very little of our belongings with us (since we moved to N.O.), b/c both places were furnished, etc. And, at this point Mikey had to move in with the grandparents (my parents!), b/c dogs aren't allowed at these apartments (or on the Seminary's campus).
So, as the summer was coming to an end, J and I knew that we needed a new place to live, b/c our friends were scheduled to come back on Aug. 17th, 2005. In His perfect timing, God opened up an apartment on the Seminary's campus for us. We were in the Georgia States Apartment...1st floor...Our parents were so excited, as were we, to be on the first floor, b/c moving heavy items up stairs is no fun or easy task.
We had a great big painting party, and began the placement of all the items we'd had in storage for over a year, so it was very exciting. I was thrilled, to say the least!

So, things were going as usually until August 27th, the Saturday before Katrina hit, when we were all told to evacuate the city. We took the clothes set out for the weekend (and a few extras, b/c we thought we'd be gone for several days due to the storm heading our way), as well as whatever was in the dirty clothes hamper, and headed to a friend's birthday party (Lincoln P.'s 1st B-day!). While there, another friend mentioned something about wedding pictures, and I looked at J and he pretty much knew that I wanted him to go back to our apartment to find ours. So, like the wonderful husband he is, J headed back to our apartment, not only grabbing our wedding pictures but also our albums from London and Italy...I was grateful!
We left the party and made our way to Covington, not knowing our lives were about to change...

After church that Sunday, we headed to J's mom's house in Baton Rouge to wait out the storm. When Monday rolled around and I finally got in touch with my boss, it didn't look too good for the Seminary or our apartment. One thing you must know is that our campus slopes downward to the back (it's about an 8-9 foot difference!), so most of the damage received was in the back of campus, where of course most of the housing is located. Katrina didn't do too much damage in and of herself, but when the London Ave. canal levee broke (as well as a smaller one behind campus) that's when the water came...and pretty much stayed for a while. As best we could we began to prepare ourselves for the worst...in fact, we were told that we probably lost everything, b/c the States Apartments flooded to the second floor.

Meanwhile, in Covington, my parents weren't able to get in touch with us b/c they didn't have cell towers, or electricity...nothing! So, the Thursday after the storm we went to their house, and can I tell you that area will never look the same again......there were so many trees down it was unbelievable! After another week or so, J and I relocated to my parents to help my dad with the restaurant he and a friend owned. It's called Beck-N-Call Cafe (& Catering). See, J and I decided after much prayer that God wanted us to stay in Covington to help my dad as well as our church, instead of going to Atlanta where the Seminary offices had been temporarily moved (some are still there today!). Being in Covington for the first 2 or 3 weeks was pretty difficult, b/c there was no electricity...meaning no TV, no A/C, no warm water, etc. God definitely provided in different ways, one of which was the restaurant. It had electricity back pretty quickly, so we spent most of our time there (working, eating, or watching satelite TV in the evenings!). We also spent more time outside on the porch or talking with neighbors than ever before...So, when we did finally get the electricity back it was a bittersweet moment, b/c we knew that things would eventually return to "normal".

The restaurant business was definitely different, and I'll just say that as much as I enjoyed it, I'm glad to be back to my previous job, working for the Dean of Students. I guess my patience level isn't where it needs to be on a consistent basis (must be the red hair!). Most of the customers at Dad's place are regulars, so I eventually got to know them, and leaving there was also bittersweet. Plus, since they're only open during the week, I won't be eating there much anymore! Oh well, there's always leftovers on the weekends!!!

MOVING BACK TO N.O.:
Near the end of December, 2005, I received a call from my boss at the Seminary. He offered me the same job, etc., and he offered J the bonus of the grader's position. So, after praying about it we knew that God was once again directing us to New Orleans. We were both very excited, but we also knew that it would be totally different, especially early on. So, we lived with my parents until the 2nd week of January, 2006, and then headed to our new place at the Seminary. It was great to have a place to live with my folks, but we were ready to have a place of our own again (no offense Mom and Dad...we love yall!). Of course, for the past 4 1/2 months we were able to have Mikey again (b/c we were all living at my parents'), but once again we had to say goodbye...at least for during the week (we'd see him on the weekends). Anyway, the picture to the left shows some of our living room, and yep, Mikey came for a quick visit! So, this time our current apartment was untouched during Katrina, b/c it was closer to the front of campus (and we're on the 2nd floor). We are enjoying life back in N.O., but we still have our moments when we realize there is so much to be done in our city. Our prayer on campus is "Lord, Ignite our affections to obey the Holy Spirit and surrender to your worldwide mission.” This is a specific prayer that I ask you to pray for us and our city. God is at work, and we LOVE being in the midst of it!

God bless you and yours!
J & M Langford