Greetings from Mississippi, this is Andrew Ojeda, and I am happy to report that this trip has been a huge success. I have had a great time throughout the week, from learning and helping to build a house to playing touch football on the beach. I feel that it was important for me to participate in this trip because it helped me rediscover my faith and to learn to sacrifice myself and my talents for the benefit of others. It is amazing that it has been almost a year since Katrina struck New Orleans and the Mississippi coast, yet there is still so much rebuilding to do. Although many people have lost or suffered a lot, they still possess a great deal of hope and seem very grateful for the work we are doing and the time we are spending here. I also have to say I made many new friends on this mission trip and bonded with them strongly. I hope to have the opportunity to share in future trips such as these and build on the new friendships I have made.

Hello friends, this is Jon Kolbert giving a report on our churches' mission trip to Mississippi. It's been a grand trip full of adventure and fun. We've all worked hard all week, but that doesn’t mean we didn't have fun. Everyone here had a lot of fun working with each other and getting closer with each other. I have personally made new friends and have a great time this past week away from home. It has been very rewarding learning to put a roof on a new house and helping to paint another person house. The people at the First Presbyterian Church and in Ocean Springs have been so nice to all of us and made us feel very welcomed. I would gladly do this again.

Hello to all my family and friends back in New Jersey. This is Ryan Velez, saying that over the course of this week, some of the things I have seen have affected me strongly on a personal level. The entire community down here has been very thankful and hospitable towards us during our stay, and I feel that our group has developed a remarkable amount of camaraderie and bonding that enabled us to take on some challenges that may have seemed impossible initially. Although the work has been the centerpiece of the trip, there have been many fun times and moments that I intend to remember upon coming back home. Overall, this group has been a great one to work with, and I feel that what has taken place here has had a positive influence on all the people involved.

Saul's Conversion
Acts 9: 1-20

⁵"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. ⁶"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

⁷The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.

¹¹The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹²In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

¹³"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. ²⁰At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.