A Success Story

Too bad there aren’t more….

We arrived in New Orleans Sunday afternoon. There is still plenty to do. But there are some successes and following are a couple of pictures of one. The November 2005 team will remember Gary and Shelita. Take a look. They moved back into their home in November 2006 – a year after we took the first pictures when gutting there house..

Then…

NOW!!!!

2/18: First day

Today we set out to help Miss Pats. It was amazing to see how much work still needed to be done. With a group of four, you can say we accomplished a lot. We decided to split in two groups to cover more areas of the house. Terri and Cherri went out back to start the last bits and pieces of the porch while Don and I started framing. Closer to the end of the day, Miss Pats told us her story and everything she went through. She said the first night she was trapped in her house and actually fell asleep on her stove, how uncomfortable. But overall, I think the day went well and we’re all very, very excited to get to work tomorrow.

We’ll check in tomorrow!

Team Introduction

This is the team that left for New Orleans this morning (Feb 16th). From left to right are Terry Fisher, Don Sherman, Cherri Cribari and Rachel Stum. As you can see they left with the sun shinning bright; please pray for traveling mercies. You may leave your comments of encouragement here, I am sure they will be pleased to hear from you while they are away. Stay tuned for what we hope will be daily updates from the team.

Have your read Acts 29 Lately?

It’s going on 2 1/2 years since Katrina hit, and really (honestly) the excitement and the urgency has passed for many of us. Yes, we still have teams traveling to New Orleans – but they are fewer and farther between; they are smaller. No excitement, no urgency anymore; our lives and our needs again take precedence over the need on the Gulf Coast. Besides, there have been new disasters to chase (and they really do, seriously, need our help too) – but the shelf life of this disaster called Katrina has expired. So, we move on. We’re pretty much done with it; you know, maybe God’s pretty much done there too.

That’s one assessment… honestly it’s been my current assessment from 1200 miles away. With little direct contact with the people and their struggles it is so hard for me to empathize with those still in the middle of it.

But, for the survivors in New Orleans, in Slidell, in Covington and other towns devastated, it isn’t over. This point was driven home by a contradictory assessment I recently read. This one written by someone who has been in the center of this since day one when his home, his church and his life were changed forever. Following is one of many open letters from Paster Michael Sprague from Trinity Church in Covington (click the Trinity Church link to read more of his letters). And, dare I say, God is NOT done there yet… So, start reading about Acts 29.

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February 2, 2008

Making History – Literally

Thursday night, Donna was looking through a new 5^th grade United States Social Studies book used in the Louisiana Public Schools (ed. Scott Foresman, 2006). In the front of the book was a well-written two page historical account of volunteerism after Katrina with one of our teams being the featured picture. Here it is – maybe you will see yourself in the picture or can identify what team this is! The work continues.

►Volunteers from Illinois help clean

up a park in New Orleans (p. LA-20).

Acts 29 is being written as we approach 11,000 volunteers who have touched people’s lives with Jesus’ name being lifted up. Please do not think we ever get to the place we have figured out relief work and can do ministry on our own. Rather, our attitude remains, “Only God.” We are always a few weeks from going out of business unless God comes through. Therefore, let me share some updates and prayer requests with you.

A. The month of March and the spring break session are going to be huge once again. Over 200 volunteers are already committed for some weeks. There is still room for more if you are interested. Pray for logistics and for several more veterans to return to provide the needed leadership. I’m secretly hoping my friends, Gene Johnson and Dick & Anne Myers, will return.

B. Pray for long-term staff for our tools area, construction management team, and food services. We have some short-term fixes, but not the long-term answers. Maybe God’s answer is YOU! It may be the adventure of a lifetime.

C. Resources – I am the world’s worst fundraiser, but I will ask you to pray BIG.

1. Pray for the ongoing resources to fuel our Katrina fund to keep day-to-day ministry going. This may not be glamorous giving, but it keeps the core ministry going.

2. I haven’t mentioned this in a while, but we still desire to build a long-term regional disaster response center at Trinity Church. Potentially it will strategically serve the body of Christ for decades to come. The Disaster Response Center is estimated to cost $300,000. It’s a big need, but we have a big God. Pray for a donor/donors who want to advance a significant ministry project that is having a track record of fruitfulness.

3. The Urban Impact Ministry Center in Central City New Orleans is soon to break ground. Many of you have participated in Super Friday, and have grown to love Castlerock Church and Urban Impact like I do. The ministry has 1 million dollars toward the $3.4 million Phase 1 of their build. This ministry center will be situated just below the Super Dome and the “first place” Hornets Basketball arena in Central City. God is using this ministry to help change a neighborhood and a city. I love being on the Board of this ministry and believe John Gerhardt is a super-talented, called pastor/leader. Pray for God’s supply.

D. There continues to be a stirring in our volunteers and just a movement of God in many churches to build Compassion ministry into their DNA. I get to hear reports all of the time and in the next letter will report on my recent trip to San Francisco.

Thank you for praying!

Betting the Farm on God,

Michael

On Saturday Morning…

On Saturday morning, February 16, 2008, the latest Katrina Response Team from West Shore Evangelical Free Church will be on it’s way to New Orleans.  We will be staying at Urban Impact Ministries, Castle Rock Church in the shadow of the Super Dome.

This is a small team, four people:  Cherri Cribari, Rachel Stum, Don Sherman and Terry Fisher.

We’re excited:   There’s the anticipation for the trip itself – the travel, meeting new people, new places….   but more than that, there’s the anticipation of what God with do with us, through us.  So many people who have made this long drive come back talking about a “life changing” experience.  Will it be the same for us?  Who will we touch and who will touch us?  What challenges will God bring and how will we respond?

Next week the story of “The February Katrina Response Team” will unfold.   I hope you will share it with us.  We plan to share some of our stories, some of our needs, our challenges in this blog.  Stop back, read our story, pray for us and those we interact with along the way.

July 2007 Katrina Team

 

We arrived at Trinity Evangelical Free Church at 8:30ish on Saturday night. It was a long ride—mostly uneventful—and here we are! We have some time before the church service and wanted to start the blog.

We would like to introduce our team.

Andrew Davis is currently attending Houghton College. He is very excited about this week and what it holds, and the comic strips that he draws in the van make the team laugh.

Brian Gillespie is a mechanical engineer. We have appreciated his expertise in getting the trailer lights to work. He is excited to see how God will use our team to touch lives.

Eryn Frischkorn is a student at HACC. This is her first missions trip and she is very excited about what we will be doing and the impact that we will have and receive.

Jeremy Heintzelman recently graduated from Liberty University. This is his first trip to the Gulf Coast and he is very excited to see what will happen. He was happy to learn that we will be painting. He’s also happy to eat Jon’s food without his consent.

Jon Lahr is a recent graduate from Messiah College. He has been working construction this summer and we are glad to have his skills. This is his first missions trip and he is very happy to see his friend who is here on staff.

Joy Gordley is an interior designer and CAD drafter for an architectural firm. This is her second trip to New Orleans (she came with M.E. in June of 2006) and she is thrilled to be back.

Lydia Strunk is an administrative assistant for a computer manufacturer. She wanted to come in May but it fell through. We are delighted that it worked out now. She would like to ask her dad what is up with mattress he sent along with her.

M.E Siegfried is the leader. She is a communications specialist for a credit union trade association. This is her third trip to New Orleans and we have appreciated all of the work that she put into this venture.

Teresa Jones is a speech therapist who would like to send a shout out to her husband and three daughters. She has been wanting to come to New Orleans ever since Katrina went through, and is thankful that it worked out for her to be here.

 

Women’s Ministry Pictures