Giving Hope

Over the next week or two I hope to reflect on several of the various aspects of our trip to Lakeshore, Mississippi, and the Gulf coast. Looking back, we can still recall the faces of those whose lives we interacted with and hopefully impacted in some small way while there.
Our first task brought us to the home of a husband and wife who had six children. The structure had been partially damaged by a fire not long before the hurricane. Katrina's winds and storm surge then swept through, submerging the entire home and destroying virtually everything inside.


Upon entering the living room area, we were just stunned at what we saw. Each room was piled high with wet, mildewed, and burned items, many of which were unrecognizable. The odor was unpleasant, to say the least. The damage was such that most of our guys wondered if attempting to remove the debris was even worth the effort, as the house itself appeared beyond rescue.


Despite the outward appearance, we were told by those directing our efforts there that the owners' greatest need was to be given hope. This was as crucial as our physical assistance, since their dream was to save the basic structure even though nearly everything inside was gone.


With that knowledge, we began to remove mountains of wet and burned garbage that used to be precious memories. We sorted through old ruined photo albums, smashed baby dolls, tarnished trophies and drenched Bibles, realizing that each one represented a special memory and something that could never be replaced.


After a full, and very hot, day and a half, we were able to strip the structure down to the internal wooden studs. We removed the walls, ceilings, insulation, wiring, vents and every single appliance into a huge mound in a long ditch near the street.


Our first glimpse of the woman of the home had been seeing her crying in her small car, overwhelmed at what her life had become. As we finished up our work, their FEMA trailer arrived and was installed in the front yard. This would give the husband and father the time he needed to rebuild the family home, which was now almost ready through what we had done.

It was only then when we saw that "hope" begin to appear on the face of this mother of six.


At our departure I took a group picture (the other seven of our team, plus the father and one son) and the family promised to send photos of the future reconstruction process.


We were also able to say goodbye and gaze upon the face of young Cody who perhaps also sensed that he would now someday soon return to the bedroom that had been suddenly snatched from him 2 months earlier.


Again words are not sufficient to relate an experience like this. But we pray that our actions that day gave that glimmer of hope to just one family. And we trust that we sufficiently showed the love of Christ in tangible way, as we sought to "weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice."

Reflections: Culture Shock

It has been 2 days since the Chapel crew pulled back into the church parking lot after the 1,300 mile return trip from Lakeshore, Mississippi, to Cedar Grove, New Jersey. It has taken nearly that long to clear my mind enough to even begin to reflect on what I saw and did there.

I suppose the best term for what I experienced would be "culture shock." Normally that is applied to being exposed to life in another country. But this time I faced that odd sensation while being in our own!

This had nothing to do with a Northerner living in the context of the deep South. This was not about hearing accents unlike my own or seeing vegetation that cannot survive in a colder climate. This was not about the one or two instances of sampling local food (most of which was outstanding, that would never be found on the menu of a North Jersey Diner – like Alligator!).


No, this was a striking contrast between a culture that was all but totally destroyed, and one in the same nation that was not. This was about a group of fellow citizens, and some of them fellow Christians, who no longer take for granted things like a job, food, water and even a roof over their heads when most of us generally do. It was a culture shock not unlike what one might feel on a vacation to a foreign country. This was something that assaulted the senses from being with those whose whole world was taken cruelly and suddenly. And this was a culture shock that cannot be fixed by simply returning home and getting back to normal life – at least it won’t be for me and hopefully not for those who ventured there with me.

Last night I stood in line picking up a few items of food at our local Shop-Rite grocery store. We had prepared a short list, partly because I felt too tired to do a major shopping. But as I stood in line preparing to check out, my mind shifted back some 36 hours earlier to another "line." For parts of 2 days, members of the Chapel crew helped give out food, ice and water on a "POD" (Point of Distribution) which is a FEMA-run program.


As we stood there for hours we were able to see the nameless faces of fellow citizens driving through and getting the items to help them survive for the next day or two. Pastor Elbourne, whose church we were there to serve under, said in his message on Sunday that the POD there was the most pressing need in that community at the moment. Without those supplies, many there would have literally nothing in the way of the basic needs to sustain life.

This was just one small example of the "culture shock" I have been feeling since my return. There have been others, like watching a very healthy tree being pruned by a local landscaper on my way to work at church this morning. What a striking contrast to seeing tens of thousands of trees smashed like small twigs, many falling on homes, with the damage extending 100 miles inland!


Yes, I am in culture shock today as I look around me at a beautiful Fall setting and the soon coming preparations for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. But somehow I suspect that this holiday time will be very different for me, and for those who can envision what life will likely still be for those we helped last week and for those we did not have enough time to assist.

I just pray that the Lord will raise up others to pick up where we left off. I pray that many more will take the time to experience "culture shock" in their own nation. I pray we can work out the time and means for our next trip. And I pray that this "shock" will remain as shocking to me six months from now as it did when I first pulled into the parking lot of where the buildings of Lakeshore Baptist Church used to stand.

Next, Pastor Bill continues the "Journey to Lakeshore, One Story At A Time," telling what it was like to reach the Gulf Coast with the Chapel Mississippi Team. (Note: Click on each picture to enlarge.)

Back...

...from a broken Gulf.



Pray for Mississippi.
Pray for Lakeshore.
More to come...

UPDATE: Just adding the men's names. (click on each picture to enlarge) Left to right: Bill Hodgetts, Frank Scerbo, Pastor Bill Breckenridge, Mark Schoonfield (in back), Jeff D'Angelo, Cliff Cherry, Blaise Wylie, and Nathan Abrams. Starting tomorrow, Pastor Bill will be posting "One Story At A Time" - a journey to Lakeshore.

Where They're Staying

On my blog, I've got some info on where the guys are staying, and more about the needs there. Go here to see the picture and read more.

I expect another audio blog today, so check back.

"Heading Out"

I wrote about the Chapel Mississippi Team leaving last night. You can read it here, on my personal blog.

"You Did It To Me"

Tomorrow I have the privilege of leading a team of men from Chapel on the Hill here in New Jersey. The eight of us will be driving 1,300 miles to go to help Lakeshore Baptist Church in Lakeshore, Mississippi. Pray for us...

But before I go, I wanted to tell a bit about my last trip. I linked up with a team from my brother-in-law Chuck's church. We left Chicago on Sunday afternoon, October 9th, and drove 16 hours, through the night, arriving in New Orleans around 6:30 a.m.

My first vivid memory of the trip was the sickening feeling as we drove past a very eerie sight - it was the Superdome, partially covered by the morning fog. I couldn't help but remember those terrible scenes that we all witnessed during that week following Hurricane Katrina.


After a short break, we went right to work for the rest of that day.


Ours was the first team on the ground there in New Orleans under the Christian relief agency Samaritan's Purse. We stayed at an old gymnasium facility, sleeping on air mattresses, in a town called Gretna, Louisiana, across the river from New Orleans. Gretna was not as hard hit as some areas, but it is still nowhere near normal.

Our team was there to place tarps on still-leaking roofs, and to remove trees and other debris from homes for the people who had just recently returned.


I learned that what we provided in the way of roofing for free under Samaritan's Purse was running about $2500 if done by someone else.


There were also about 40-50 others staying there with us who were the street evangelism teams. They did follow-up at homes where we did manual labor. Samaritan's Purse has a two-fold effort - material and spiritual. It is a successful strategy, since a person is more likely to listen to someone if a day earlier guys had been sent to help stop water from pouring into their bedroom.


After the first day, a few of us were wondering why we were working in an area not as bad off as many of the pictures we saw of nearby areas. We asked one of the members of the Samaritan's Purse about this, and the answer was simple. "Many of the buildings you saw on TV will likely be bulldozed. It's sad to say, but there is no reason to direct any of our precious assets in that direction."

On Wednesday, we decided to drive through one of those neighborhoods after our work day ended. (That work included the unusual task of removing a shed out of a tree. It wasn't even that man's shed!)



As we neared Lake Pontchartrain, that now famous huge lake next to the levees that broke, we were just stunned beyond belief at what we saw. And we also understood why we were not assigned to work there. It appears that much of what we saw is not salvageable.

The entire area was just covered in mud, and a brownish film. Every house had a water line, usually 6-10 feet high showing where the water had settled (it had been higher than that during the flooding).


That meant that every abandoned car there was totally submerged for who knows how long.

Trees were down everywhere, and many houses were still boarded up, as the owners have not come back yet. We hear that many probably won't. Those who are back can only work on their property (which is probably destined to be condemned) until 8 p.m., because a curfew is in effect, due to the danger that still exists after dark.

I spoke to a man whose house we were working on. He said three looters had been shot and killed by police, just down the street from where we stood.

One spot near a marina had literally hundreds of yachts just stacked on top of each other like a pile of little kid's toys. This kind of scene just went on for miles as we drove.

The bottom line is that this entire area is still devastated, and the physical restoration will take a lengthy and herculean effort for it to ever come near to normal again.

But as much as we focused on the material damage, I learned firsthand that behind it all, there is something more important - and that is the human element, and the stories that hide behind each broken structure.

On our last day, we did work on three houses next to each other on the same block. This gave us some rare time to linger, and get to know the people we helped out. After talking to them we nicknamed the street "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."


There was Leonard - a one-time hopeless alcoholic who was miraculously saved in a mission, and who finally got his life together - only to have Katrina roll in and put him out of work indefinitely.

There was Hazel - an elderly woman who, after we removed a tree from her garage, shared how she had lost all three of her sons in the last two years!

Then, too, there was Brian and his wife who - after our efforts at their home - handed us a newspaper about the legal trial they had just gone through as the hurricane swept in. Two years earlier, their 19-year-old son was brutally murdered - beaten beyond recognition, his throat cut, and his body thrown into a dumpster. Brian told me, as we stared at his still-boarded-up home, "I'd give this all up in a second to have my son back."


After we did the repairs, we were able to pray with them, and to give them a Bible signed by the whole crew.

There are times when you feel that the destruction and misery in such a place is so overwhelming that your effort is just a drop in a bucket, and doesn't really make a dent, especially with something the scope of a Katrina.

When I thought this, though, I was reminded of a verse in Matthew 25, where Jesus said something amazing, even about meeting the physical needs of those who are hurting. Verse 45 says,

"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to Me."

What a mind-boggling concept - that when we minister to others, we are also doing the same to the Lord Himself.

If I had to summarize what struck me concerning the trip, it would be the (to me) much-needed and vivid reminders of...

-how much we all have
-how much we all take for granted
-how little all these material things really mean
-how quickly all of these things can vanish
-how precious all human life is
and lastly...
-how great is the responsibility for all of us to help (both materially and spiritually) those who are in need.


I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve with my brother-in-law and nephew on the team, and I ask your prayer for those in New Orleans, especially the names I've mentioned. And I truly would appreciate your prayers for our trip to Lakeshore, Mississippi, a place that was 'ground zero' for Hurricane Katrina. I'll send in audio blogs, and will keep you posted as often as I can.

Serving in New Orleans

More to come...

For Such A Time As This

Pastor Bill leaves on Saturday to fly out to Chicago to join up with Reunion Church's team to New Orleans. They'll drive through the night Sunday to arrive sometime Monday.

Samaritan's Purse is just starting a base in New Orleans - after talks between Franklin Graham and Mayor Nagin. When they made the plans to go in, the Director for U.S. Disaster Relief asked Chuck Anderson, pastor of Reunion and my brother, to please come back with a team - though he'd only been home for their trip with Samaritan's Purse to Biloxi, Mississippi, for a few days. And Chuck called Bill - my husband - and asked if he could come.

I've heard people say they've been many places, and New Orleans is different - darker, more oppressive spiritually, more lost, if you will. For some, that's reason to dismiss it - to ignore its plight. But for those who have prayed for this city for years - much like many of us prayed for years for the former Soviet Union until communism fell - this is the time for action, with praise and gratitude, and godly boldness and love.

Samaritan's Purse will be doing ground-floor work this week, and Pastor Bill and Chuck and others will be the ones doing it. Pray for them. All they do, they do in the Name of Jesus. They may have opportunity to articulate it in a verbal witness. But all of it will be a physical witness of the Presence and the Love of Jesus Christ.

And in the future, when the immediate needs are met, and someone comes to explain the Gospel, it will have a face on it. It will have the face of Christians like my husband, brother, and nephew, and those from churches who dared to follow the call. And those hearing the Gospel - maybe for the first time - will say, "I remember your kind of people. They helped me in my most desperate hour. Go ahead, I'll listen."

Pastor Bill also hopes to meet Pastor Don Elbourne on this trip. We have six men from Chapel on the Hill who are planning to go to Lakeshore, Mississippi, on October 20th, to serve as a missions work crew for Lakeshore Baptist Church. Pray for Mark Schoonfield, Frank Scerbo, Nate Abrams, Bill Hodgetts, Cliff Cherry, and Pastor Bill as they prepare for that vital trip.

Lakeshore Baptist Church before Katrina hit

Lakeshore Baptist Church after

God is able. And we must pray, give, go, care - for such a time as this.

We'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: We now have eight men working on going. Blaise Wylie will be on the trip, and Jeff D'Angelo is working on getting the time off to go. Pray for these men!... Pray, too, as Pastor Bill drives through the night with the Reunion team tonight (Sunday). They leave this afternoon (Sunday) from Chicago to go to New Orleans, and should arrive there on Monday. It's a 20 hour trip...There is also a young woman from our church, Kristy, who is a college freshman. She is right now driving with a team from her school - Yellowstone Baptist College - from Montana to Biloxi, Mississippi, to serve on a missions work team. They have a 30-35 hour trip. Pray for safety on the roads, a passion for God in their hearts, and effectiveness in ministry when they get there.

Salt and Light!

Yes, that's what we're to be in this world - salt and light. The 'light' part isn't all that hard to understand, though its meaning might suffer from over-use. (And there is always the danger of becoming 'lite' - a cheap replica, a less satisfying copy - and that's definitely not what we want.) The 'salt' part - in a world of hypertension and nutritional landmines - is much harder to explain.

But we hope to not only explain it but live it - starting this Friday night at Chapel on the Hill.

We're not so purpose-oriented that we have a statement for every program, a spelled-out set of objectives. Maybe we should. But we don't. Instead, we have a passion and a plan - and if we had to spell it out, it would go something like this:

-Tell of the love of Jesus in dying for us on the cross (and never get tired of telling it)
-Show the love of Jesus, in showing love to the children He loves so much
-Create a night that's filled with so much joy and excitement, that being at church is a phenomenal - and not-to-be-missed - experience
-Direct children and families to God's Word - and encourage them each week to read it together, memorize it together, and learn from it together

To do all that, we'll use the Salt and Light Puppets, the Salt and Light Band, the Salt and Light Players (well, they say kids enjoy repetition...), some visits by Swordman, an electronic Quizmania, the Awesome Activities (Professor Baker the Science Maker will start off the first week), a reward of take-home weekly Bible computer games, and Movie Devos. The Band was practicing last night, and the Puppets were working on building up their arm muscles.



It's Friday, October 7th, starting at 7 p.m. Come if you're near, bring someone if you can, and pray wherever you are. It's going to be a great night!