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

I’m coming back to the heart of worship, it’s all about you, all about you Jesus

Day 5 Super Friday is a day to sweep, rake, shovel and clean the streets of Central City New Orleans. It is also a day to listen, talk, and pray with the residents of this highly impoverished area. Boy do we have it good in our lives. We experienced a life that is mainly way below poverty. Some had clean, neat houses and others had little or no furniture and stuff piled all over. We picked up trash and spoke to those we met, listening, giving our bibles and asking them to join us when the hot dog cart came by at lunch. This was a day to show our presence in this community. The Castle Rock church in this community has a goal and that goal is to make this neighborhood a safe place where kids can ride their bikes in the street.

Each of the different members had packed up their camping gear, dirty clothes, and other items and loaded them into our cars. The pretty princesses flew home, the CA crew also did and the rest headed home by car. We were all tired but I know that I will not soon forget the people and their home. This definitely was a life changing week. I know that I am feeling like the song that has this refrain . . . “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, it’s all about you, all about you Jesus.”

Not To Us But To YOUR Name Be The GLORY

Day 4 – Dear Lord thank you for these ladies, these men and this time to serve you. We have done so much, learned so much and gained so much. Today the Rookie Ruffers went to finish the roof. This would be their last day on the job site. The “roofers” were anxious to get going on the job and the sun was shining brightly – so much that we knew it would be a hot day on the roof!

Betty, our “lady” greeted us and we prayed together before she headed off to work in the daycare. We had the front of the house to do and the shingles come off quickly. Jean and Betsy were real troopers as they took the shingles on the ground and made neat piles of the debris. What hard work! The rest of the team sweated under the sun and were well on their way. The felt paper went on quickly and then so did the shingles. By the end of the day our excitement changed to disappointment as we realized that they were not enough shingles to finish the job. The team worked until after dark and was not able to finish everything but the little roof over the bay window and the “roof vent” at the peak.

P.T.L. (praise the Lord) for a job well done – we just wish it could have been completely finished but we are trusting that God has a plan. Maybe He has something else in His perfect time. We submit to His will, His plan, and His timing.

We were also joined by a tree trimmer from anther team who brought his chain saw and experience. He cut some dead trees from around Betty’s house. It was great to see the trees fall and know that these trees would not be doing any further damage to her home.

The Gutter Babes went back to Rhonda Browne’s house. She met us there this time. She brought one of her daughters, Tyriana. This lady told us of her hard times in the past 18 months. She lost her home that she had just bought and moved in May 2005. She paid for the house and did not have mortgage. Rhonda works two jobs and is since the hurricane separated from her husband. She has gone thru depression, been suicidal, and unsure of her next move. She cried and yet she talked of the presence of God. She shared that she was raised with a Christian foundation but it was also evident that she has struggled with this faith. Who could blame her? While we were about to prayer before we began, Minister Johnson happened by and gave strong words of encouragement and ministered to her in a way we could not. He happened to be her neighbor.

We sang and we shoveled and we learned to work as a team. This house had blown in insulation. As we broke the sheet rock and tore down the ceilings the insulation rained down on everyone. Joyce was hit by a large ceiling piece but stood strong and worked on. At lunch Darva and Rhonda bought fried shrimp from a local dive. We ate our favorite church stoop. This happened to across from our first house we gutted. We began this meal with Mindy reading from the bible we gave to the precious little girl. Tyriana danced for us. She is a child in the midst of chaos. She twirled and rolled in the grass with Mindy. We were able to mostly complete this job.

Use your life that you would be a blessing

Day 3 – We began the day under rainy skies. It was not a heavy rain, but it kept the Rookie Ruffers from finishing their job. The Gutter Babes took off to gut a second house. This house belongs to Rhonda. Her house was partially gutted but there was still a lot to clean out. The house had been remodeled and a room addition made gutting harder. There was one dark, windowless room with several inches of water in it. This was at the back of the house and Dan Salars said we had to begin in the back. Nancy and I began near there, but did not want to venture in.

We needed some more supplies so we called our Roofing buddies and asked if they could bring them. What they didn’t know was that they would end up joining us in this yucky endeavor. We really enjoyed working as a large group. We were able to accomplish so much more with their help. The men, Ed and Dave, along with Paul, Dan and Paul #2 were so good about teaching us how to do each tear down and we were able to mostly gut this house. Tomorrow we will finish this one, too.

We met a neighbor named Judy who was working on her parent’s home. She had come to tarp the roof that was leaking. She was by herself. So our Rookie Ruffers, under the great direction of Dave, Paul and Ed, went over and did the job! Judy was in shock. She heard us say we would do. But she didn’t believe we would. She was so moved. Kimberly and Paul M. were disappointed along with the others because they could not finish the other house. But they realized had they done so, they never would have been here to help Judy. God is right on, ALL THE TIME.

During a break some of went to visit our new dear friend Irma Coleman. We brought her some flowers and a bible. She was so appreciative of having visitors. Her grandchildren want her to move to Texas with them, but this is her home. Irma is an amazing lady and as we prayed and hugged her good-bye we felt like family. Paul M. bought some donuts and took them to some men we met yesterday. They were working at the church across from our first house we worked on.

We were also able to give donuts and some tracks to seven men we met who came to haul our trash away. These men told us of their story. Greg was the first one we met and he told us of how he and his family were separated until just last month. He knew where they were but he had to work here, and they still don’t have their home redone and ready to live in. The money it costs to raise his home up to the level required is quite high. Each person left an imprint on our hearts.

Christina joined us from Trinity Church. She lives here and volunteers when she can. This young lady was another God send. She helped us with so many things and even helped us navigate traffic on the way home. She suffered damage to her home and had to have 60-70% of it rebuilt. She was like a tour guide on the ride over and back to New Orleans to work. She had taken time off of work, left her daughter with her in-laws and got as dirty as the rest of us. And today, we were very dirty. The house we gutted had insulation that is shot in and it comes out very, very messy. Goggle and faces masks did little to keep this junk off and out of our faces.

Tonight we had the community dinner and service at Trinity. We were happy to have three of our new friends join us. Blake and Pam from our Sunday outing and Janelle from the house we worked on Monday and Tuesday took time to join us. We felt so blessed to have been a part of their lives and they are part of ours now. I can tell you that each of us is going to leave here a different person. Blake and Janelle shared their stories with the group and there was not a dry eye in the group. A lady named Stella who was among the group and also a Katrina victim said this “use your life that you would be a blessing”. Other people shared their stories too. The stories were from Katrina victims and from the volunteers. One man asked that we go back and remember what we have experienced. He said we small Katrinas by us at home. He did not want us to do this and then forget. I don’t think we will! Until tomorrow . . .

God said I will bless you- so you can bless others

Ragin Cajun Rookie Ruffers worked for the 2nd day on the roof for Betty Devonport. We prayed in a circle and at the end of this prayer she said “Lord, you have Angels on earth. Thank you for sending them to me.” These Roofing Angels include Cyndi, Heidi Ho, Niki, Betsy, Kimberly, Debbie (who was sick but still helped), Jean, Paul M., Carol Dave, and we can’t forget Ed. We completed the back side of the roof today. Dave, who is a professional roofer, is an excellent teacher and he is very patient! He had to “teach” the non-roofers and that was a test of his patience! He passed with flying colors. We will never look at roves the same way again!

We learned that our homeowner is Cajun and her family has lived down here for many years. She is a dog lover and has 4 dogs that we met today – Mia, Maya, Oreo and Mocha! She packed up her family and dogs when she heard about the hurricane. Her nature was to pack up and just leave! She and her family had the resources and the ability to do that. Many of friends and neighbors were not able to do that. Her house was damaged mostly by wind damage and trees. Betty has waited a long to have her roof done.

The way it works done here is the owner is asked to pay for the supplies if they are able. She had some trees removed from her property that were close to the house, sold the wood and saved the money. Providentially she had done this prior to Hurricane Katrina.

We thought today that we could finish the job. But because there were peaks and valleys in it and it took much longer than anticipated. If we design a house that we have to roof, we will definitely make it simple – straight, with no peaks or valleys. But doesn’t God always take us thru the valley? Rain is predicted tonight, but we do hope to finish the job the job tomorrow.

The Gutter Babes finished the demolition of the house they began yesterday. Today we got to meet Janelle, Gina’s sister. Both ladies were so happy to have us there to help. We were happy to be of service. Janelle lives near Covington where we are staying. Both ladies joined us as we continued to tear down the dry wall, pull out nails, and remove the attic stairs, the kitchen cupboards and bath tub. This took most of the morning and part of the afternoon. Paul Mank was amazed at wonderful women that the Lord had blessed him to work with. Paul became like our protector. He was always worried about us. He was truly our protector as we worked.

As we worked side by side to complete the job we found we could do things we had never done. Finishing this job gave us such a sense of accomplishment. As the job was being completed several of us went done the road and met several neighbors. Donald and Willie were sitting in their carport. We spoke to them about the Trinity church and what the Compassion ministry was doing. These men were so thankful. Willie told us several times to be careful. Donald was such a sweet man, he commented on how people like us really made a difference. We spoke to a lady named Irma who rode out the storm in her attic. She was in there 3 days, a diabetic without medicine. She was there until her son came by in a boat and yelled her to come out. She was a sweet lady her smiled even when she wasn’t. She also was hit by the tornado last week. She said that God wanted me to still here.

We listened tonight to Michael Sprague the pastor of Trinity Church. He gave us an inspiration update on what happened days after the hurricane. He spoke of the many miracles that occurred. He said that time and again God demonstrated that He would care for him, and those he was serving in the ravaged city. He said, “I am going to bet on God, He has been faithful all the way through.” God said in Genesis 12 – leave your family behind – and not knowing what he was going to do – but God said I will bless you- so you can bless others. A cycle was begun and that is what this man and this group is doing in New Orleans.

Pictures from our First Days

WSEFC Women’s Ministry Team

The Women’s Ministry team of WSEFC church arrived on Saturday, 2/17/07 safely. We got here by road, by plane and by the power of God. Everyone arrived safely, but tired. The princesses (Nancy, Darva, Mindy, Jean and Betsy) came on the plane, but the real “women” tuffed out the 20 + hour trip. Two tag-alongs from CA joined the group after a plane ride.

Once here we were introduced to the Compassion Ministries and the task before us. Saturday was a day/night to get settled in and learn more about what we would do in the days to come.

Day 1 Sunday began as a morning of worship and then we set off to see the destruction first hand. It is amazing to see that there is still so much devastion 18 months after the hurricane! We toured poor and well-to-do neighborhoods and both showed little signs of life. We did see a lot of FEMA trailers which were small 20 to 30 foot trailers. While touring one area right by a levy, we met Ray, Dana, Blake and Pam. Their house we destroyed. Dana, a proud, kind, sharing lady always had her house “just so.” Today it had freshly planted flowers outside of a destroyed house. They were living in two trailers outside while they waited for a local church to rebuild their house. Actually they will get a new house built on 12 feet pilons which is dictated the insurance companies for those who are rebuilding. Ray prayed with us!! We wanted to share the gospel with them and instead they did so with us. It was amazing. This humble, God fearing family was in awe that God would give them a house. As we listened to this lovely, fragile lady Dana and stocky, hug-able man, Ray we all cried. Their son, Blake spoke of the things he had seen and we all listened and realized how much they had and how much they had lost.

Day 2 began early with breakfast and then devotions. We were given our assignments and headed off to be of service. We were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 was sent to Gina Bulleman’s house to demo it for her. She grew up in this house. It was on the East side of New Orleans. This 48 year old women lived there with her mother and daughter. We were amazed and saddened to see the loss of “things.” These things included furniture, appliances, various household items, clothes, jewelry and pictures. They lost everything. Luckily Gina and her family were in Florida. They left on Sunday before the hurricane and were safe. We were able to take everyone moveable out, tear off 3/4 of the dry wall, remove all carpeting, the yucky refrig and lots of molding and a sink. We will finish tomorrow.

We were able to share with this nice lady the gift of our “hands and feet.” We were not skilled laborers, but Christ’s representatives to her. We also were able to speak about Christ and His love with Gina’s uncle, two neighbors, the FEMA removal team. and three salvage men who stopped by to rumage thru the removed items. The :angels” sharing included Cindy, Paul, Doreen, Nancy, Mindy, Joyce, Darva, Dan, Cathy, Carol, Kelly and Brenda. God definitely used our various talents to and moved us out of our comfort zone. Team 1 performed like professionals!

Group 2 did not have the opportunity to meet the owner. She was at work. The plan to meet her tomorrow morning. This group after throwing around a couple of names like Gutter Babes, Rookie Roofers, and Ruffer Babes we decided on “Rookie Ruffers.” We spent the entire day on a roof that required tear off, laying down felt paper and shingles. We will continue tomorrow. The interesting thing about this was Dave DeBenedictis was the roofer extraordinaire with his trusty foremen Ed and Paul while the ladies in waiting performed the “real work.” They actually roofed 1/2 of the roof!! Great job team 2.