Interrupted by A Mocha

Yesterday I spent most of the morning at the church building at the front desk with Karen Potter. Karen is just a delightful young woman who has thrown herself into the hurricane relief work in a big way. We are so happy she will be with us all summer. Late in the morning Shane and Jody Ellett from Springfield, Ohio came into town. They are on an exploratory mission, taking a look around. He will be bringing a group of teens in July via Teen Missions. In our interesting conversation I learned that Shane had family at Johnson Grove Church of Christ near Brookhaven, MS. This church used to be a "non-class" Church of Christ, meaning that they did not believe it was Scriptural to divide the church into classes on Sunday morning. They do have classes these days and my friend Otis Bowman is their preacher. Shane's journey, however, led him to the other side of the keyboard as he now serves a Christian Church, the Springfield Church of Christ. He remains committed to the Gospel, and is doing a great job with the youth group there. We look forward to their July trip. Shane bought our lunch at Monica's Restaurant. As always, it was a buffet full of great Southern fare. The fried green tomatoes are always a favorite. Just a few tables away Senator Trent Lott enjoyed a meal with his wife. Shane wanted us to go up and talk to him, but I thought that he probably seldom gets to enjoy a quiet meal with his wife, so I wanted to leave him alone. By the time we got back and I ran an errand, I could feel my leg starting to tell me to rest. My ankle was a bit swollen when I got home, so I spent most of the rest of the day in my chair. Things are better each day, for which I am thankful. Last night David Kilbern and David Baker and I spent some time talking about our organizations and the things we are doing. Operation Love Thy Neighbor is David Baker's organization. He is mostly focused on housing and development of resources. He is actively recruiting and scouting locations to do some work farther to the West, while maintaining his work here in Pascagoula. Of course Central Church of Christ is focused on the Pascagoula effort. Both "Davids" have done a great amount of good, and cooperated quite a bit. Still, it is important to note that these are two distinct operations. It is good to work together and cooperate in reaching the helpless in hurricane relief. Robbie Woods is one of the special people I have met since the hurricane. He is an overcomer and a survivor. Having left drugs and alcohol behind, he has now been sober for six months. Robbie is a carpenter by trade. He is going to be working with Operation Love Thy Neighbor for a while and is in need of some support. If you are interested in helping support Robbie to do mission work in hurricane relief across the Coast, let me know and I'll put you in touch. Daved Baker just brought me a 20 oz White Chocolate Mocha from Dough Joe's Coffee House...so I'm going to go for now.