No Pictures

Yesterday was a beautiful day on the Gulf Coast, and today looks like it's shaping up to be the same. The Hope Missions crew from Pennsylvania is doing a great job and staying very busy. L.T., their leader, is on his fourth trip down to the Coast...once to Slidell, and three times to Pascagoula. He is a true Christian gentleman, hard worker, man of prayer, and an awesome brother. Maybe I'll try to get his picture today. I haven't been carrying my camera like I should! Yesterday I visited a stately elderly lady who we have helped a good bit. She has been attending services some, but we hadn't seen her in a few weeks. Mildred has had more than her share of heartache in life. I doubt that I could recall all of the losses she has suffered in her family. A year before the storm, though, her son died. And a few weeks ago her son-in-law died. She had six siblings, and there is one left. All of her friends have passed from this life. This woman has suffered much grief in her life. That simply intensfies the natural grief we are enduring as a result of the storm. Her house is looking better, but sheetrock needs to go up. I don't have a picture of her, though. I also visited with a brother from our church that I've known for all the years I have been the minister here. Since the storm I feel like I've gotten to know him much better. His family is living in two different places, in order to care for a son with MS while he rebuilds their home. This couple does not talk much about their struggles and hardships, but they have more than most people. The first time I visited Alfred after the storm, I was speechless. He lives just three blocks from the beach. Every home around them was condemned. Their home was originally condemned, but they were able to overcome that. When I saw their home, my heart sank for them. They would have to do so much to regain their home, but they were determined. I remember hugging Alfred in that driveway ... I just didn't know what else to do. But now their home is looking great! Once they get some flooring down and a few more details, they are going to have a beautiful home again! Maybe I'll swing by and take a picture another day. But the landscape has changed. Most of the houses around theirs have been torn down and there's nothing left but a slab. You can see three blocks South to the water if you look in the right direction. FOR SALE signs are going up everywhere ... on houses that haven't been emptied since the storm ... on houses that are gutted but not repaired ... on slabs. I saw a house yesterday that had been put up on 15 foot pilings, and was being repaired up in the air. I wish I had my camera with me! Daved Baker is a disaster relief specialist from Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Daved has been working with us from early on in the relief effort. David is an expert at finding resources for disaster relief. He is also gifted in filling out the paperwork to acquire some of the resources that are available from the government and other organizations. He has a great vision for establishing disaster relief for many years to come. Several crews from Sherwood are scheduled in the coming months, and there is a crew here now. I should take a picture of them. Daved was calling someone in Pennsylvania for a reason I do not currently know, and got a wrong number. It turns out that he called Jeff Steppe of the new church plant, Watermarke. Jeff lives very near and knows some of the Pennsylvania workers that are here. And he has some interest in bringing a work crew down. Seems like God just keeps making connections .... even through wrong numbers! Thank you for reading ... I hope your day is filled with opportunities to say a good word for the Lord.