The McCormick Family: Weekend of the Cross

To prepare for something in which spreads love and light to other people often comes at the price of labor and an occasional good story. This past Thursday evening saw the start of Weekend of the Cross (WOC). A yearly event in which students from all over North Louisiana gather in Shreveport for mission work. It's a great weekend full of hard work, great worship, and overall good times. For the past two years I've participated as a group leader, having sites or homes to be in charge of. We either paint portions of the home, or there's light construction work to be done, mostly in the vain of porches and wheel chair ramps. Two or three adults are paired with around 6 to 8 kids and they spend the weekend fixing up some one's home. This year, it was a little different for me.

I was asked to be a Major Group Leader (MGL). This brought about a new experience, a different experience than I was use to. As a MGL, I was in charge of 5 sites. 5 areas of work, 5 different groups of adults and children, all with different projects and needs. It was awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to serve these groups, and serve these homeowners as well. My preconceived notions of how little work the MGL actually did was quickly laid to rest as Monday rolled around.

I decided to go by and personally look at all my homes. I had come in late to the WOC, which is an all year planning experience, and by the time I had gotten into the mix, most all the measurements and home choices had been made. In order to best serve my teams, I thought it mandatory to check out these home first hand. Of the five sites, four were geared up, ready and willing and expecting their groups. However, no good story proceeds without conflict.

I noticed my homes were all located in the Queensboro neighborhood of Shreveport. A neighborhood not known for well manicured lawns and exceptional outdoor parties. Not a lot of neighbor's beaming at the opportunity to express how their property values have been shooting up, if you catch my drift. A place even I, who will go almost anywhere, would be wary to travel after dark. A neighborhood in which some things are overlooked.

Pool of Poo

In this case it was the giant pool of pee and poop that had taken up residence in the front yard of one of my group's homes. One that, in fact, was quite a project. They were suppose to rip up the flooring of an enclosed porch and then construct an exterior patio. Something that would really liven up the home exterior. Imagine my concern when I noticed the area the Middle School and High School kids were intended to work and share and hang out for three days was literally swimming in feces. Not something you want the parents of these kiddos finding out. Problem Solving mode hit and we ran with it.

I called a plumber who got his drain man to come out to the home and take care of the issue. I was very impressed with the quickness of the handling of this incident. Called on a Monday afternoon for the request, I received another call from the man, Jr., at 7:45pm saying he was heading out to the home to fix the problem. I slept well that night, knowing we did what was best for the kids. I had planned to run by the next day with a bag of Lyme to really put it all in the past.

I call Jr the next morning, to confirm he had no problems cleaning out the drain. I inquired of his time at the home. He informed me the line was clean. But, then he decided to go into detail of the source of the clog. Thinking the damage a result of roots, feminine products, or just a rough month with the TP, I indulged his discussion of the subject. However, he informed what was really the cause of the back up, the pool in the front yard, the smell, the flies, the extreme health issue was in fact...a cat. Actually more like a kitten. When he snaked the line he found there to be a feline stuck in the line. Gross huh?

The cat could only have gotten in the line one of two ways. Either from the outside clean-out access, which I'm hoping, or from the inside with a "burial at sea." I want to and choose to believe curiosity is what killed the cat and he ducked in the open line to see what was going on, only to never return. I feel better at it's demise this way than the more direct and intentional path of toilet to sewage. It helps to believe the world is not as cruel and misunderstood.

Either way, this is a funny and unique story. One in which could and should be shared. And that's exactly what I did. I told the director, the site manager, the team leader, my wife, I spread the funny and grotesque news. I got some razzing from it too, which I embraced. The pinnacle being at our first full group meeting.

The first night, the first meeting, a room filled with over 100 adults excited and a bit nervous about the weekend to come. The meeting starts, information is shared, but something out of the ordinary happens. The site manager (the one in charge of all 31 sites) begins an "interesting" story. Mine of the cat. She reveals my name, but at the end, she calls me to the front. I am presented with a Kitty Litter Cake. A hearty laugh resonates from the crowd as I sit down with my large cake and new nick-name of kitty litter. I spent the weekend with sly calls of "Meooowww" passed in my direction. Funny, indeed, and I gladly embraced it.

The weekend proved to be amazing, as usual, with wonderful work completed by these youth and adults. The Shreveport Times came by and took some pretty good pics, so check them out. I also took some pictures showing some greatness by these groups. It was a wonderful, challenging, and God-centered weekend. I'm so proud of all the participates and organizers and know the future will be bright as the present shows that Love and Peace will prevail.

Check out these extra pics too: