A Too-Long Post!

Things are very quiet here at this moment. It is almost 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday night. We have had our worship devotional. Everyone has gone home. The workers who are here are bedded down and trying to get some sleep after a hard day’s work. And this quiet has a sweet sweet sound to it. For the past three days there have been moments when I thought to myself, “I need to put that on my blog.” But I haven’t taken the time to do it. It was great to see bloggers Chris Lockhart and Kenny Harris this week. (Thanks, Ken, for the 1 lb. bag of Community Coffee, Medium Roast. Awesome!) I had some big laffs with them on the bus as Chris kept offering cold water to the people we stopped to help - even though we did not have water (cold or hot)! Also tomorrow Danny Dodd will be here with my old friends Ronney and Sylvia Wheeler (Fresno, CA). As I think about the past few days, it all seems pretty much a blur. Yesterday a highlight was a birthday party for one of our elderly members. She has an adult son who lives with her who suffers from MS. She turned 80 yesterday. After she blew out her candles she told me she had never had a birthday party since she was 16 years old. We have replaced the sheetrock in her house and it will be painted tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Flora. Today was a day when almost no one was here at the building to help. This made for some hectic times, but we’ve made it. This afternoon we loaded the bus with food, hygiene supplies, water, pine sol, mops and brooms and went to a FEMA campground where about 50 campers were. I took Andy and Kelli and Bridgette and someone else with me. The someone else is someone whose name I do not yet know. I do not know most of the workers’ names. I have our fearless leader (David Kilbern) beat, though, because he doesn’t know anyone’s name (hi Dave!). Dave spoke at the Rotary Club today and many of our community leaders want to join with us to help with homes. Really incredible things are happening, and we give God all of the credit. The www.openchurches.com people have been so awesome in their help to us, and it’s just beginning. A $1,000 contribution to them will re-build a home in Pascagoula. Gateway Church of Christ is building 10. What about your church? Next week we will have some Prayer Teams hitting the streets. Cecil May III, Tommy & Carrie Dublin (fellow blog readers), and a dozen other folks are headed down this Sunday. Dusty Rush and the youth minister at his church are headed down here as well. Some of these people will do nothing but greet people in the name of Christ, offer to pray with them, and be available to bear their burdens. My friend James Guy is co-ordinating this effort. If you'd like to come, e-mail him HERE. This is, to me, going to add an important element to our outreach over the next several months. Last week I met a woman who is living with her daughter in a tent in her front yard. Her landlord isn’t too swift in the home repairs. She asked me an astounding question: “Are any of the stores open?” This tells me she has not been off of her lot since the storm. She didn’t know that the grocery stores were open. Since then I have made it a point to go by several times. She will not take many supplies from us, just what she needs. Today she told me that she flagged down two trucks towing FEMA campers. A few hours later she got a phone call from a FEMA representative. I pray that Debbie will be living in her camper next time I go by her house. That tent has got to be a lonesome arrangement for a single mom trying to make it on her own with no job, no transportation (truck was flooded in storm), no electricity, no hot water, no possessions, no appliances, no nothing. The stories are endless. I’ll share more with you as you go. I invite you to come and work here for a few days. Many who do come to work do not want to leave. People are actually talking about moving down here to live with us. I can tell that God is building something great. We will work and watch and revel in His grace and mercy. Although this is too long, I will add a few personal notes. Our family is doing well. JR has had some kind of allergic type cold, but the doctor closes before he gets out of school. We’ll figure something out. Maggy probably overdid it today, she’s already in bed. Nicole and Claire seem to be coping well. Nicole has a new Camry to replace her flooded Mazda. I’m okie dokie. Thank you for your notes of encouragement both on the blog, the e-mails, and the ones that arrive in the mail. The gifts that have arrived in the mail have just humbled us and at the same time caused us tears of happiness. I have more to say, but I need to go get some supper, rest a bit, and get some sleep. God has some surprises set aside for us tomorrow. Isn’t He Awesome?