Back in the blog saddle again after Hurricane Rita...

Wow, it has been 12 days or so since I posted anything - my head has been wrapped around a lot of things - right now, paint fumes from painting a bedroom - ceiling, primer coat, walls and trim...

I've been focused on my new vocation - which if interested, you can read the press release here...

But I been thinking quite a bit about my trip to assist with the mass feeding efforts as part of the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief Team.




I was hoping to blog from Sulphur, LA but there was no internet connection available or a Starbucks to be found! and cell phone service was spotty; however gas was cheap! (by 40 cents a gallon).


Unlovely Rita

Briefly, the rich blessings I had in Sulphur LA with the mass feeding team from the People's Church in Franklin were numerous - we left Tuesday and actually finished up the mass feeding part by 12 noon on Friday. The electricity was being restored in the area, and stores were beginning to reopen. The local Walmart was only open from 8 am to 4 pm, running on generators. There was no produce, meats or anything items in the frozen section as the generators could not sustain those units.


inside a home

The people that we talked in the neighborhoods were very appreciative of the Red Cross and especially the Baptist Disaster Relief Teams assembled from all over Tennessee - Pikesville, Chattanooga, Crossville, Sparta, Morristown, Knoxville and many other states! We prepared the hot meals for distribution via the Red Cross Emergency Relief Vehicles and for the volunteer Chainsaw Teams that cut down and cleaned up the fallen trees and limbs.


Lumberjack heaven - clearing the damage

There seems to be a deep resentment toward Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin, as they felt forgotten with all of the emphasis on New Orleans. Surprisely, President Bush and FEMA were never mentioned. The homeowners were busy cleaning up, waiting on the insurance adjusters to settle up and mainly trying to get though what needed to be done in the immediate. The grieving part that I sense will come later when the realization sets in that much of neighborhood will never be the same again, as people move onward to different places and friends scatter to resettle elsewhere.


Damage - I got no home, not even a car...

When I was able to get out to the affected neighborhoods, I spent a lot of time just listening - to share the love of Christ simply by listening, offering a cold drink (and a hot meal) and carry one's burden (literally, a log off their roof) meant so much.


Laundry trailer (L), shower trailer

I don't know the exact numbers, but I believe that 159,00 hot meals were served, over 100 daily loads of laundry were washed and I think 14 homes a day? were cleared by the chainsaw teams - we were up and working by 5:00 am to 7:30 pm, but it was a good tired feeling knowing that every pot that our team scrubbed, every meal cooked and served and every log removed from a roof was unto the Lord Jesus and He ministered greatly to our spirit. I never knew that being a chief bottle washer was an act of worship! The rich fellowship from all age groups was precious as well - what a taste of heaven to come!


Chief Pot Scrubber

A fellow blogger from the University of North Carolina Hospitals' Hurricane Katrina Response Blog comments:

... a handshake, a hug and a smile are often the best and the most appropriate medicine you can provide.....

That home is no longer where the building and foundation are, where the mailbox is, where you hang your hat or take off your boots, its not even where the pictures are because you had no time to get them BUT....

That home is now where you find community in the truest sense of the word, where people who were once strangers are now your brothers and sisters and kin who offer you hope, sustenance, a smile, a human touch.....

That you have gotten more out of an experience than you could ever give back.....


Potatoes to go...

If you're the praying type, ask God to make a way for to go (or ask your boss for some time off - whoever you answer to) - we have a vast mission field right in our own backyard; the needs will be long term, and the cleanup will take a while - but the expression of love that you give will endure forever.


Joyful volunteers

For me, these folks just need assurance that everything will be ok (and that only trusting in the Lord will provide) - to "share the Gospel and use words if necessary" (St Francis of Assisi) was a tremendous honor and privilege.


Catholic church in Cameron Parish

I shot over 800 pictures and my friend Dan took a bunch of the chainsaw photos. The posting of batch one is on the right sidebar - here's the Flickr link: feel free to download and share with others in your center of influence. I tried to capture some photos so that the story can be told of the needs to be met and that perhaps we can encourage ourselves and others to serve with the relief efforts. More will be added on the Flickr photo album as bandwidth permits.