And We Begin Again...

Happy Monday to each of you! I do hope that your weekend was a great one. We had a good weekend at Central. Saturday night we had a some wonderful congregational singing led by Bill Collins from Gulfport. Then the group Cornerstone from Faulkner University sang for us. We were blessed to have visitors from Picayune and Mobile present to celebrate God’s goodness with us. Bill also brought me a guitar to play with until mine comes back home. Thanks, Bill! Sunday we had a good number of visitors. We closed the operation down Sunday afternoon and I took a nap. David went fishing. Some of the workers watched some football. Later I swept my house out and took some trash to the curb. That made me feel like I was doing something. We were blessed to meet Pat McCormick and her husband from Orlando this weekend. They came through delivering supplies and some panchos that ladies from the Metro Church of Christ had made. We had several here from Prattville, AL. The Prattville Church of Christ has been very good to us and continue to serve with grace. We were also blessed to have a crew of seven from Conyers, GA and several from the Hillsboro Church of Christ in Nashville. It is amazing to me that these people come such long distances, work hard, and travel home in a short amount of time. I know that Al and Vickie Sanders drove most of the night Friday night, worked all day Saturday, and drove home to Conyers Saturday night. What dedication to helping others! And they do so with a smile on their face and love in their hearts. I’m just becoming more and more amazed at the responses of people reading the blog. Yesterday a brother from Zanesville, Ohio called to offer a box truck for deliveries - a truck that belongs to their city. But, we really need a truck with shelves, so we declined their offer. But I was very grateful for his willingness to drive it down here for our use. Their website is http://www.churchesofchristdrt.org/. To keep up with their work, check out their blog at http://www.disasterresponseteam.blogspot.com/. My friend Otis Bowman from Brookhaven is on his way to spend four days here on the Coast helping us out. I think my friend Tex is on his way from Monroe. I don’t know how long he will stay or if he is coming alone or with others. My friend Cecil May III called today to say that a crew from Fulton, KY is coming in mid-December. So for this week it looks like we have two helpers in addition to Nathan Walker, Carlos, Paul & Elsie England, & Jerome Faulkner who are here for long term work. John Sanders has been helping with a variety of duties also. Just a few blocks from our church building is a lot with about 200 campers on it. There are new families moving in every day. This is a fantastic opportunity for ministry. These campers do not come equipped with any housewares at all. Most of the people moving into these campers are homeless, displaced from apartment complexes that have been condemned, or have been living on the Holiday cruise ship. So, many of them arrive empty handed. That’s why there are many household items listed in the CURRENT NEEDS list below. CURRENT NEEDS: *Volunteer workers, both skilled and unskilled. Carpenters, plumbers, roofers, electricians, sheet-rock hangers, and painters can all be kept very busy! We can use ladies and those who are older to sort clothes, load the bus for bus runs, and go with us on the bus runs. *Ministers who can give up several days to come and pray with the community members, conduct Bible studies as available, and fill in on work as needed. *Youth ministers who can bring their teen groups (mature teens willing to serve, please) for one or two days on the weekends. *Small electric heaters *Towels, Sheets, Pillows, Blankets *Deodorant *Laundry Detergent in boxes or bottles we can give away easily. (Note: The big 5 gallon buckets of detergent are nice, but we would rather have smaller quantities to spread it further!) *Plastic tableware (forks, knives, spoons) and napkins. The FEMA trailers come with no items such as these. *Snacks, drinks, and other foods that can be kept in our Dining Hall for workers as they labor here on a volunteer basis. *Cleaning supplies (pine sol, mops, brooms, buckets, etc.) *Delivery Truck. At some point State Farm will come get our totaled church bus and we will need a delivery truck with shelves to make daily deliveries through our neighborhoods. This is from the "I doubt anyone can help with this, but it doesn't hurt to ask" department. *Large Print Bibles. We have a lot of elderly people here in our community, and they cannot see the small print editions. I have a special need for a Thompson Chain Reference Bible if anyone wants to make an investment in an older man who is hungry for the Scriptures and needs the helps to get him started. It needs to be LARGE PRINT and NIV please. *Chocolate and Coffee. Ok, those aren’t necessities. You caught me. All of my contact information is to be found at http://www.123jesus.com/. My picture page is located at: http://community.webshots.com/user/jedobber