DownshoreDrift

In 1994, I was a 19 year old college sophomore from Mississippi State University who went on summer missions with the Baptist Student Union. I was sent to California where I met Greg Sumii, who was the director of the summer missions program for the California State Baptist Convention. We had an orientation in the mountains at the state baptist camp called Jenness Park and two life changing events happened to me there. First: I met my future wife, Erika. She was a college student from the University of Alabama who was also a summer missionary. And, she was really hot. She still is. I remember the first time I saw her. We talked later, and while everything was very spiritual and godly in nature, a connection was formed that we nurtured throughout the summer by writing letters. When we returned to our universities, we stared dating (MSU and Alabama are only 90 miles apart). But, I digress.

Second: I was taught the mantra of the California BSU Summer Missionary: Pray. Be Flexible. Have a Good Attitude. I was so open and teachable at the time that it made an incredible difference. I digested that teaching and incorporated it into my spiritual DNA. I did Vacation Bible Schools all summer, and I prayed for the kids each and every day. I prayed for them until my heart was broken and I found myself weeping over them. I prayed for their souls, and before every presentation of the gospel with either children, youth, or adults that summer, I prayed that God would break me and anoint me with the power of His Spirit. We saw over 60 decisions for Christ that summer from our little team of myself and another girl from a community college in Mississippi. God answered prayers.

I also learned to be flexible. Plans were changed at the last minute. Things did not go as planned. Host homes fell through and supplies were not available. It didn't matter. I was flexible, right? Along with that came a consistent practice of having a good attitude. Whatever came my way, I made it a habit to praise God and not complain. After a week in the mountains with 40 teenagers, I became deathly ill. Apparently, they meant it when they said that you were not to drink the water from the mountain streams. I developed some type of intesinal sickness that produced diarrhea that left me dehydrated. I passed out one day from it. The problem was, I had been placed in a home by my host family across the street from them. He was a pastor and he arranged for me to stay in the home of a neighbor while they were on vacation. While I was sick, neither he nor his wife came to check on me. Barefoot and delirious, I wandered over there one day and said that I was dehydrated and needed some Gatorade. This was after I had passed out on the floor of the bathroom. The pastor's wife gave me the keys to the van and sent me to a convenience store. Still barefoot and delirious, I drove to get myself something to drink. I did not complain or even see anything wrong with the way I was being treated. I was thankful for the Gatorade and the relief that it provided. After praying for myself profusely, I recovered and was able to continue with mission work throughout the rest of the summer. I wish I still had that attitude all the time now, but I was a missionary, right? How could I see things any differently?

I only tell that story because there was something very powerful in Greg Sumii's ministry to me that summer. I learned that when I am serving the Lord it is not about me. It is about Him and the people that He is sending me to. Problems may arise and difficulties may come, but our strength is in the Lord. My wife and I taught these three principles to the 23 from our church who went down to the Gulf Coast on the mission trip last week. We ingrained it into the children and whenever fatigue or crankiness would begin to set in, we would remind them of the 3 Rules for Missionaries. It worked great. We had a great plan of having a 4th of July Picnic for all of the people that we had met in Waveland, and when the skies opened with a deluge 5 minutes after the picnic started and we got completely rained out, no one complained. The kids had joy playing in the rain and we just changed our plans and delivered the food to the people instead. We had enough left over for a group of 15 teenagers who were helping work on a home as well. God was glorified through the food we delivered as well as through our attitudes.

Those lessons learned long ago have served me well. I am thankful to Greg Sumii and the Baptist Student Union Summer Missions Program. I am thankful that I met my wife there. I am also thankful that God taught me through all of that that we are all missionaries all the time and we need to always pray, be flexible, and have a good attitude! I confess that I often fall short of those ideals, but when I think back to that life shaping experience, I am reminded of the power of simplicity and obedience.

Here are some pictures of our trip to Waveland, MS with Pathfinder Mission that I found interesting. The pictures were specifically chosen to tell a story of faithfulness and progress in the midst of destruction and despair. God is at work in all types of ways in Waveland, MS through His people - and, it's not the first time it has happened this way. Let me know what you think.

   

I heard this refrain quite a few times while we were down on the Gulf Coast this past week. Everyone believed in God. Everyone. They all pray. They all have some sort of faith. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is a heavily Catholic region and there is a pervading sense of spirituality and of faith in God.  Yet, so many really do not have a relationship with Christ. They are not sure if they are going to heaven. They hope that God is not wrathful toward them.

As I talked with our team, I told them that we were dealing with people who believed in both faith and works. Our job was to encourage them toward the faith side. We were to pray with them, to talk about Jesus be the only sacrifice for sin, to encourage them to place their full faith and trust in Jesus and to not believe in anything else. At times it was difficult, but at other times, the people were very open.

But, by and large, most saw their faith in God through an individualistic lense. They could pray and follow God on their own, so why did they need the church? Why attend church when God was personal or I could just engage in some type of abstract belief in Him and receive His blessing? All in all, spiritual life was about them, but it rarely reached into their everyday life. Yet, they were so very glad that the Baptists had come. Over and over again I heard from Catholics that if it had not been for the Baptists and the other Christian groups, they do not know what they would have done.

Fortunately for them, all of those Christians who came did not share the same individualistic notions of faith that some of them did. Many want to both believe in God and maintain their own independence. They want to have faith, yet have total freedom. Yet, God set it up where all followers of Christ would gather together in a church, the ecclesia, the called out ones. As we gather together loving God and loving others, we experience His presence and power, both individually and collectively. We also become His hands and feet and we bring His Kingdom into this world - together. Every group that goes down to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast is giving a powerful witness of the necessity and beauty of God's people, the church, being who they are created to be.  If your church has not yet gone down, you are missing a historical moment that will likely not come around again anytime soon. Sow seeds into the lives of the people of the Gulf Coast region.

Yes, people still say that they don't need the church to follow God. But, they are saying it with much less confidence as they see God's people live out their faith and not just talk about it. Hearts are being turned and people are asking questions. They are opening up to the Lord. That tends to happen when a Baptist group that you have never met travels from Tennessee and rebuilds your house.

Jesus said it was loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. Paul agreed and said that he preached nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which was the fulfillment of Jesus' love for the Father and for us (But God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us - Romans 5:8). Loving God. Loving People.

I'm in Waveland, Mississippi this week with a group from our church to work with Pathfinder Mission. We brought a bunch of families down with their kids to visit people, help them out some, pray with them, counsel them, and throw a big party on Wednesday for the 4th of July. I am seeing some people that I met last year (check out my posts from the Coast from July, 2006) and am catching up on how they have progressed. Over and over I am hearing one constant refrain: If it weren't for Christians and the church, we don't know where we would be. This is coming from many who are non-Christians. They are so thankful. They welcome us into their homes out of respect for all who have come before us. They welcome us and thank us because of all that have come before who have loved God and have loved them. Christianity has been lived out down here and it has made a difference.

But, we don't always experience this in the Church in America. I wonder if a big part of our problem has been that we have allowed "truth" to be taught to us by academics who have parsed every verb and split every hair. I wonder if we have allowed the pharisees, who are the experts in the Law, to dictate to us what it means to believe the truth and we have submitted ourselves to that interpretation to the point that it has affected our ability to work with others. Maybe we should take some time to listen to those swinging the hammers and leading the mission teams. There is a lady that I met last year named Hazel. She is in her 80's, and when I met her she was living in a FEMA trailer next to a home that had been stripped to the studs. Today, I saw her in a newly repaired home. It was fixed up by a church from Massachusetts who came down again and again. I don't know every jot and tittle of their theology, but they told her about Jesus and they showed her love. I have a good feeling that I'll see them in heaven. If I will be with them in heaven, shouldn't I find a way to work with people like that now? As a matter of fact, unless they are teaching something that will keep people out of heaven, do I not have a responsibility to find common ground with them and keep the unity of the saints in Christ? Once you really begin to face the desperate need and lostness of people, it is hard to understand why you would not want to work with as many Christians as you could to bring the love of Jesus to the Nations.

When Christians are on mission together, the world experiences the love of Christ made flesh. We become His hands and feet. Those hands and feet continue to make a difference on the Gulf Coast. If your church has yet to take a trip down here, you are missing an incredible blessing. So many are still in need and there is still so much work to be done. Everyone that could help themselves has already done so.  Much of the work that is left is among the elderly, the disabled, and those who are alone and have no means of support. They are good people and they are trying their best. They just need a helping hand. Please pray about joining the massive parade of Christians who have come down here and have made a difference in the lives of people on the Gulf Coast.

Something tells me that I am seeing the core of Christianity lived out down here. Theology makes a lot more sense when people are living it instead of arguing about it. When you are in trouble, there is little time to divide over every little doctrine. You roll your sleeves up, find out where you can cooperate, and you get to work building the Kingdom - one broken life at a time.

I'll have more reports and a lot of pictures later in the next couple of days. You really need to see the before and after pictures of Hazel's house!

Ernesto is coming . . . Please Pray.  Here are some different projections I found:

   

Obviously, if this hits anywhere in the possible projected area, it is very bad news for the people on the Gulf Coast. The second projection would be a bit better for New Orleans, but not by much. We're already gearing up by connecting with our contacts down there and are making plans to activate the network that we established of churches in Montgomery to send groups and help. If you would like to be a part of that, leave a comment and I'll get in touch with you. We are positioning ourselves to be a shelter of last resort for people who live in FEMA trailers. Over 50,000 people alone live in FEMA trailers on the MS Gulf Coast. In strong winds, they'll roll like a tin can. I've made a bunch of phone calls today and our camp in Waveland is getting the world out to residents to offer them shelter in Montgomery. Things are gearing up. I hope it goes somewhere else. This area can't take it.  Further updates later . . .

Well, we finally finished up our mission trip to Waveland, MS with Pathfinder Mission. It was an incredible experience. God was so faithful to connect us with people who needed encouragement and who needed to hear the gospel. We threw a big party yesterday for the 4th of July.  It was huge success!  We had well over a hundred people from the community join us and we all sat around and ate BBQ chicken that was given to us piping hot off the grill (thanks Bay Vista Baptist Church!), shrimp, hot dogs, and other sides. Kids came and played basketball and other games at the adjacent park. We heard and told stories, laughed, prayed, and enjoyed God's gift of life. It was really important for Pathfinder to connect with the community this way, and also to provide a sense of place and normalcy for people. They team was great, we all worked together well, and I can truly say that God blessed us enormously.

A really great thing is how we (Pathfinder is a ministry of our church, Gateway Baptist, in partnership with other churches) are truly becoming a part of the community down there. We have an official shrimp boiler now, Mr. Charles. He brought his boiler and also found shrimp for us straight off the boat down by the docks for $2 a pound! What a deal. We connected with him on Saturday and he said that he would love to come and boil shrimp for us anytime. We're going to take him up on it!  He did a great job!

We also now have an official camp photographer!  His name is Lionel and he does really great photography of the area. I spoke to him for sometime. I told him that he was now the official Pathfinder Mission photographer. Whenever we have special events, we're going to call him and have him take pictures. He readily agreed and said he would come by anytime.  He's a really nice man. You can see his photos here: http://pbase.com/nomofilm1.  Especially check out the Katrina before and after pictures here: Katrina Before & After.  I'm going to be posting some of his pictures soon to give a good idea of what truly happened down here.

We reconnected with so many people yesterday that we had visited with during the weekend. It was so wonderful to sit with people for an hour or so on their porch on Saturday, and have them come back to Pathfinder on Tuesday and hang out with us some more. It really showed me their deep need and appreciation for community and relationships.  Just about every person I had a significant conversation with came to the party on Tuesday and just hung out. These are just regular folks. Some of them lived in really big beautiful homes. Others, lived in trailers or small old houses. They're all in the same boat now. Each one is waiting for a group of volunteers to come and help them put their lives back together. It is too big a job for them to do by themselves. Many of them are older, or they have been wiped out.  When people question why they just don't leave, the answer is that they have no where to go. They would be in the same boat anywhere else, without a home and without resources.  Plus, this is home. Unlike much of America, people have real community down here and are tied to the land for generations. It's very difficult to just leave that.

An example, is Scott in the adjacent picture. I talked with him on Sunday for quite some time. He gave his heart to the Lord right after the storm, but is in desperate need of a community of believers to connect with.  We are going to try and provide that for him through Pathfinder. Next to him is Kathleen, one of the permanent volunteer staff at Pathfinder. She is doing incredible work in the community as are all the other staff.  God is working in powerful ways to bring resources to the point of need and to help lift people up. We just need more teams to come.

People are very open and are willing to talk about spiritual things. But, I learned something very important. Often when you go on a mission trip and God does great things, you think that you wish you could stay in that area where people are responsive to the gospel. But, the reality is that people are responsive to the gospel everywhere. You only notice it more because you are praying for the power of the Holy Spirit, are totally dependent on God, and are focused on the singular task of ministering Christ to people through all kinds of ways, even through parties, chicken, and boiled shrimp! God is the one who opens people's hearts. People are no more responsive in Waveland, Montgomery, or China. It is all the work of the Holy Spirit, and until we realize that, start depending on Him, and start acting in faith, we are going to see the same results we have been getting. The gospel must be preached in power. It was in Waveland, MS this week. God drew people to Himself and was glorified. May it be so in our hometowns as well.

Please pray about coming down to Waveland, MS with Pathfinder Mission. We are at the point that we have built up a need meeting ministry, but we desperately need teams to come and minister, share Christ, and try and connect all of these folks with spiritual hunger into a community of faith. If you have a group from your church that would be interested in coming down to share Christ with people that we have met through follow up, I would be so grateful. Our staff at Pathfinder is small and most volunteers who come are focused on the construction end of things. We need some evangelists. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  If you want to send a team down, let me know and I'll set the whole thing up for you. What an incredible training time for folks in your church as well! Please pray about it!

We met Red and his wife Melissa today. Red was self described as "bad people." He had tatoos up and down his arms, earrings in his ears, and it was obvious that he and his wife had trouble. We went by to tell them about the 4th of July picnic tomorrow, and like so many other people in the area, we began to hear their story. Thirteen of them had gathered in Melissa's aunt's house, including children. They didn't have anywhere to go outside of the area, so they had to stay in Waveland. These are poor people, and all they really have is each other. They gathered together on Sunday night, and Monday morning the waters started to rise. Within 20 minutes they rose from knee high, to several feet over their head. People were drowning all around them.

Red got everyone in the attic, lifting older ladies who could not help themselves and pulling children up. He broke a hole in the roof and got them all up on top of it. As the waters continued to rise even higher, everyone had to swim for a higher building. Melissa couldn't swim, but she just started kicking her legs and swinging her arms and somehow made it. There was a man across the street who got his mother-in-law and wife on the roof, but his mother and he drowned. Red and Melissa saw him disappear.

As we kept talking about their ordeal and the subsequent days of misery after the water went down, Red made the statement, "I don't know why God let this happen. Nothing good has come out of it. Nothing is any better. Did He save my life just for this mess?"  Red does not have a personal relationship with Christ, but he believes that God exists.  Both his mother and his wife, Melissa, have cancer. He was really discouraged as he spoke to me about what happened with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. As I began to share the gospel with him, he couldn't accept that God could forgive him, or that God could do anything with a scoundrel like him. Remember, Red is "bad people." 

For so many folks down here, their lives have become like the picture of the steps here.  After Hurricane Camile in 1969, they called these steps, "Steps to Nowhere."  They are steps that go up to where homes once stood, but now there is just empty space. That is how so many lives are. Ask Scott, the guy we met yesterday, who is suffering from Katrina fatigue - he is overwhelmed with sadness from the loss of the storm, but he gave his heart to Christ while he slept under the stars in his tent in the weeks following Katrina. But, he is still so lonely. Through the work of the ministry of Christians down here and through places like Pathfinder Mission, we are providing people "Steps to Somewhere."  That Somewhere is actually a Someone who loves them so much that He gave His life for them. We are reminding people like Red, Melissa, and Scott, that Jesus loves them and we do too. 

Red did not receive Christ today. He just couldn't accept God's love and He couldn't believe that His life could change. He couldn't understand all of the suffering from the storm or the suffering in his family with his mother's and wife's cancer. He said that if he had one wish, it would be to trade places with his mother and take her suffering.  I was able to relate to them about cancer because of Caelan, my son. I was also able to tell him, that while he couldn't take his mother's suffering, that Jesus loved him so much that he took Red's place to take his sin, suffering, and pain. Red couldn't accept it. I'm praying for him and I hope you will too.

God is at work in Hancock County. He is touching hearts and changing lives. He is bringing hope in the midst of despair. He is doing work right out in the open, and He is doing secret work that no one can see. Hearts are so open. We talk with each person we meet for so long. They want to laugh, share their stories, and hear about why we have come. They want to hear about Jesus. They all want to pray. But, there are so few volunteers in comparison to the still present need.  Judy, a lady we met this evening is waiting for another church group to come and help her with work she cannot do. Charles and his wife so desperately need another FEMA trailer so they can bring their family back with them. They need a pod to put their stuff. There are STILL people living in tents all over, waiting for a trailer.  They are all thanking the churches, declaring that if it weren't for the Christians, so many more people would have died. They are waiting for you to come because they cannot put their lives together by themselves. They are waiting for someone to tell them how to build their lives on the Rock and to show them how. Please pray, send, and come down yourself. I'll set you up with some really needy folks.

Tomorrow is our 4th of July party. Please pray that people that we have invited come. Please pray that we are able to speak into people's hearts and spread the Joy that we know in the Lord. We'll be home tomorrow.

Jesus is on the move in Waveland, MS. Sometimes you have to look a bit harder and use enlightened eyes of discernment, but He is working. Yesterday, we went to worship at Bay Vista Baptist Church in Biloxi, MS and heard an incredible message on Philippians 1:21 - "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."  We have been thinking about that quite a bit the last few days. We are living that out right now, and are finding true life, our reason for existing. Jesus. Here's a picture of the team, gathered like the early church around the common table, laughing, sharing life, and on mission. Praise God.

We had some amazing experiences with people yesterday. Christ was shared with dozens of folks in one on one conversation. We passed out flyers on Pathfinder Mission and also about our 4th of July picnic. We prayed with so many hurting people - their stories of survival and of life on the coast since the storm are courageous and heart breaking at the same time. Many people gave their hearts to Christ in the days after the storm as they thanked Him for living through it. God is bringing us to those people to encourage and bring together into a congregation. Pray that their hearts are receptive and that the chains of religion that keep them from joining a body of believers are broken.

Hazel is one of the people that God is speaking to these days. She lost her home and is living in a FEMA trailer. She is waiting on a team to come from Massachusetts in October to put her home back together. They promised. She is waiting. I pray that they keep their promise and that it wasn't just made in haste so they would feel better about themselves. There is a little old lady in Waveland, MS who believed them and is waiting patiently. May God help them if they do not fulfill their word.

So many people. So many stories. Tomorrow, as I said, we are trying to gather people together to celebrate the 4th. So many people we've talked to do not have any plans. We are going to try and provide a sense of community, join with them in throwing a party, and also share gifts with them and let them share with us. Mike, a guy who almost came to Christ yesterday, asked if he could bring something. I said, "Yeah, bring some shrimp if you can." We're going to try and boil shrimp along with the chicken and other sides. We'll see if that works out. Please pray for us as we finish up the trip today and tomorrow. We've seen God do great things. We believe Him for more.

This is Cathy. We met her today as we were out visiting people who have come by Pathfinder seeking assitance. We have already gotten her a storage pod to put her stuff, but we wanted to go by and check on her, see how she was doing, and see if there was anything else we could do to help. We have about 16 folks down with 6 more joining us by tomorrow and we broke up into groups of 3 or 4 and fanned out across the community to pray with people, assess their further needs, help them with things, and check on their situation for the camp's further work with them. Cathy was a really sweet lady who loves Jesus, prays to him all the time, and is very sincere in her faith. Her Catholic church was destroyed in the storm, so we invited her to join the Thursday night Bible study we've started at Pathfinder.

One comment that she made really touched my heart. She's living in a FEMA trailer and does not have very much money. She is totally dependent on volunteers coming down to help rebuild her home. So many have come, but there is still so much to be done for people like Cathy who cannot care for themselves.  We prayed with her that God would continue to move the hearts of Christians in Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri and all points in between to not forget people like her and to continue to come down and make a difference. It was a sweet time of prayer.

A success story had us running into Jeanne, who I met a couple of months ago. She works at the local Wal-Mart. She was so happy to see me, as I was her! A group from Michigan came down a couple of months ago and rebuilt her house. Pathfinder helped her with a toilet for her bathroom that we had salvaged. We invited her to our 4th of July party that we are having and she said she was coming and was going to bring her daughter.

One other thing: We ran into a guy today named Charles. He likes to boil shrimp and is pretty good at it, too. We got to pray with him and share the gospel over the course of about an hour long conversation. I invited him to our 4th of July party and asked him to come and share his gifts with us and boil us some shrimp to go along with the BBQ chicken. He said that he would, so hopefully, we'll get to spend some time with Charles boiling seafood on Tuesday. I also asked him to bring some shrimp if he ran across any! Our goal is to be a hub for the community and to serve them in bringing them together. The more that we partner with them, the closer we'll be.

We arrived in New Orleans yesterday with a group from our church and are now in Waveland, MS at Pathfinder Mission.   I got to meet Joe Kennedy yesterday (awesome guy) and connect with some folks from New Orleans Seminary and others who are doing disaster relief. We followed them into the 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish and were able to get this picture of a shrimp boat that floated over the levee and is now, basically in someone's front yard.  Ugh.  Check out Joe's version of the events HERE.

The devastation continues to be overwhelming 10 months after the storm. But, little by little, people are putting their lives back together. That is what we are here to help along. We are over in Waveland now and will be going out today to visit with folks who have come to Pathfinder looking for help. We will be doing follow up on the help they have received, we will talk with them about future evacuation plans, we will invite them to a big 4th of July party we will be having, and, most of all, we will be praying with them and sharing the gospel. Please pray that God will open hearts to the saving power of Jesus Christ and that many will turn to the Lord, as well as receive tangible help.

I'll be keeping you updated over the next several days from the blogs and will have lots of pictures and stories to share! So, come back often over the weekend and please pray for us.

UPDATE:  Seriously, check out Joe Kennedy today. He gave an eloquent description of what we experienced yesterday and his future plans in relation to reporting on what is going on. He took this picture of our advance team:

This week I went down to Waveland/Bay St. Louis, MS to check on a couple from our church, Charlie and Martie Elgin, who have left everything of their life here, sold their house, and are living in a trailer to help people devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  It was a quick trip to work through some ministry plan stuff, see the camp/mission we are now starting called Pathfinder Mission, and have some meetings with the local baptist association, and a really great pastor, Kevin Clifton, of Bay Vista Baptist Church in Biloxi, MS.  God is doing some incredible things down there in opening people's hearts and through continuing to call volunteers to give of their time and resources to help put people's lives back together.  Our church is sponsoring Pathfinder, and we are praying that we will be able to start a church out of it as we reach into people's lives with practical and spiritual help.  Charlie and Martie spent 6 months at Shoreline Park Baptist Church in Waveland running their camp and felt led to stay down there and serve the people.  We are doing everything we can to help them.  Please pray for us and pray about any help that God might be leading you to provide for these people who are still in great need.

In thinking about the cancer that my son, Caelan is going through, it would SO easy to throw a pity party and say, "Why us, Lord?" I could do a really good job of it, if I had half a mind. I've been known to throw some amazing pity parties in the past, with balloons, music, and even the paparazzi showing up to take pictures. I can be a pity party professional (P3 for short).  But, God, in His amazing grace is using all types of things to provide incredible perspective and to cause me to praise Him for His abundant blessing and goodness. He is using His Word, the prayers of others, and also things like books and film to remind me to pray without ceasing, praise the Lord, and think about the horror that others go through in this world.  My family really is blessed. 

The other day, Erika and I saw Hotel Rwanda.  I've been wanting to see this movie for some time, but haven't gotten around to it.  It is a really heavy movie about the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 where almost 1 million people were killed.  The story follows hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (a Hutu), as he works to save around a thousand Tutsi from extermination.  It is an amazing story of courage and compassion, and it also shows the incredible depth of our sin and how evil man can be to one another.  I found myself terribly ashamed that when this happened, I was in college and did not even notice.  I don't think I even uttered one prayer on behalf of all of the people that were killed or that the violence would be stopped.  The West turned a blind eye to what was happening because it was not in our vital, immediate, interests.  Shame on us.  Shame on me.

This past week, I have also been reading The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley.  This massive book chronicles the week of August 29, 2005 in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast when Katrina hit.  It tells the story of the lack of preparation before the storm, all that went wrong on the local, state, and federal level during and after the storm, and the incredible suffering and courage that was experienced and shown by the people down there.  That is my homeland, being born in New Orleans and growing up in Picayune, MS, right up the road.  The Gulf Coast was our playground and the culture and people there mean a great deal to me.  During this disaster, I (and my church and so many others) did respond with many prayers and action, sending a team of 30 with supplies enough to start two Red Cross shelters on September 2 in Ocean Springs, MS.  All of that work has led us to stay involved down there and we are now  helping start and support, Pathfinder Mission in Waveland/Bay St. Louis.

Since I wrote about some bad news for the Gulf Coast, I thought I would follow it up with some good news.  And, with all the controversy in the SBC, this reminds us what we are to really be about. Franklin and Billy Graham were doing a crusade in New Orleans this weekend. Here are some comments that they made at a pastors meeting on Thursday (thanks Joe McKeever! and Baptist Press article):

Franklin Graham said, "This is an historic occasion. I never dreamed that Daddy and Uncle Bev and Uncle Cliff would be able to be here for this 'celebration of hope.'

"Soon after Katrina, I was down here talking with community leaders and pastors. A mayor of a suburban community said to me, 'I have not seen a FEMA worker. They may be here, but I haven't seen them. I haven't seen a Red Cross worker. They may be here, but I've not seen them. But I have seen church vans from Iowa and church buses from Michigan. It's the churches that have saved our community."

"A Marine who is now working with FEMA told me, 'The faith-based groups have something the other volunteer groups do not have. They meet needs no one else is touching--deep spiritual needs. When you lose your home and everything you own, the first thing that needs healing is your spirit."

"We have come to support the church in New Orleans. This is not about us; you get the credit when we leave. You will stay here. 'We are your servants for Christ's sake.'"

"When we were first invited to come for this event, I felt inadequate. I didn't want it to look like we were grandstanding. But your pastors convinced us we needed to come preach Jesus."

"Saturday night (at the Arena), you'll have to put up with me. Daddy will preach Sunday. We intend to give people the opportunity to get up out of their seats and come to Jesus Christ, our only hope."

"David asked me to introduce Daddy. I'm not quite sure how to do that. People ask me 'What it's like being the son of Billy Graham?' I don't know. I've never had another father. But he's a wonderful man. He's the same person at home as he is on television or in a stadium somewhere. Daddy, welcome!"

The congregation rose as one to welcome this hero who is ignoring his pain and his infirmity to be here during our time of great need.

Billy Graham slowly made his way to the pulpit with his walker. He put it off to the side and stood at the pulpit, hunched somewhat, obviously weak. But he's still Billy Graham.

"I'm hard of hearing and don't know what Franklin said. (laughter) I want to tell you I'm devastated by what I've felt and seen. I haven't called my wife about this yet because I'm not emotionally capable of telling her what it's like."

"I've been so impressed by the pastors of all backgrounds working together. Thank you for the privilege of being here."

"This is the first time I've had a tie on since the New York Crusade in June. I couldn't tie it. I have other problems, too. Something Bev Shea is too young to understand." (laughter)

"At Pelican Stadium, we went for six weeks. Every night. I would preach 50 minutes or an hour and a half.(someone called out a loud, "Amen!") No wonder we had such a hard time filling the stadium!

"Dr. J. D. Grey was the pastor of this church back then. He was a true friend and a real character. Just before coming to New Orleans, we did the crusade in London and we invited him over. He told the British all about New Orleans. They didn't understand him at all." (laughter)

"In the Bible, Job lost his sons and his daughters and all that he had. He didn't complain at first, but worshiped. He believed and trusted and debated. Eventually, God restored and gave him many times over everything he had lost. I believe God is going to do that for you."

"This disaster is a mystery. People always ask 'why?' I don't know. I don't know anyone who does. God did not cause it, but He did allow it. Maybe it was to build a new New Orleans. (chorus of amens) Jesus Christ is no security against storms, but he is the perfect security in the storms."

"I watched your mayoral debate on television the other night, and learned more about New Orleans than I had ever known. There are many political divisions in the city. Many political winds blowing. The only thing I didn't hear in the debate was anything spiritual. And that is the city's greatest need. I pray God will become the mayor of this city!"

"I used to come to the Gulf Coast a lot. We took vacations on the beach. We flew into New Orleans and drove to the beach. I've been up and down the bayous and seen the alligators and snakes. Now they've come to the city!"

"God has raised up Christian leadership in this city. I believe we're going to see God at work."

Amen and Yes Sir. That really reminds me what all of this is supposed to be about. Let's never forget the Gospel, which is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe - that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.  I praise God for Billy Graham and how he reminds us to keep our focus on Jesus and the cross. That is the hope for New Orleans, and it is the hope for me and you as well!

For those of you who know me, you know that I have been pretty vocal about the situation in New Orleans and the MS Gulf Coast. Being from down there, I admit that I have been an advocate of the people, and at times have been critical of the Federal government and the Bush Administration's handling of the response and recovery. It's not because I have a political ax to grind, because I am really conservative politically. It's just that I think that things could have been done WAY better.

Here's a case in point. In Hope, Arkansas, right now, there are 11,000 mobile homes that were bought by FEMA at a cost between 350 and 800 million dollars. No one knows the exact price. They cannot be sent to the Gulf Coast, because Federal law states that they cannot be placed in a flood plain!  Apparently, no one checked the law before they spent upwards of a BILLION dollars (I can hear Dr. Evil now) on mobile homes that no one can use. Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of people cannot return to the area, because there is nowhere to live. People are still living in tents down there, as our folks in Waveland-Bay St. Louis, MS will tell you (Charlie and Martie Elgin). Yet, 11,000 mobile homes sit in Arkansas.  Read the article here.

One interesting thing to note:  The Federal Government has been slow to give money to the state and local officials of Louisiana and Mississippi because there is concern about waste and mismanagement.  Can you imagine the national outcry if Louisiana or Mississippi misappropriated a half BILLION (again, Dr. Evil) dollars?  We'd never hear the end of it. Yet, this gets barely noticed. Oh well.  All the folks living in tents can feel better because the weather is at least getting warmer!

On this blog, I will probably have a lot of information over time on what is happening in my home area of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast concerning the rebuilding after Katrina. I really believe that this is such a critical time for the church to live out the commands and opportunities that God gives us to transform this world (Isaiah 58:12; Isaiah 61:1-4; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:18-20).  If you are wanting to keep up with what is going on, two great resources are available.  One is the website of Joe McKeever, the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans.  I met Joe on a trip down there in December and he is doing a great job.  Check out his site and hear about what God is doing through the Baptist churches there.  It is really amazing to see how they are coming together.  The other resource is Nola.com.  It hosts the Times-Picayune newspaper and each day there are articles about the recovery.  It really gives me something to pray for as I think and pray about what is going on there.

I believe with all my heart that God has called the church to help with the rebuilding of cities. In many ways, Christians were the first on the ground to proclaim the gospel in word as well as deed. What if we stayed in this for the long haul and helped provide strength, support, and the muscle that it takes to rebuild homes, businesses, and lives?  Could it be that God has placed us here for such a time as this? Joe McKeever thinks so and  paints a beautiful picture of a "New" New Orleans.  If we really do possess eternal life and the blessings of God, what if we blessed others with what we have received (Matthew 10:8)?  I believe that in 20 years we will look back and see this as a divine window that God opened to change the future of a region and to create a witness for the truth and love of Jesus Christ that will affect the world as we love people in need - one person at a time. 

If you are growing tired of hearing about this, know that the situation is still grim and people still need your prayers and support.  Check out Charlie and Martie Elgin's website concerning their work on the Gulf Coast to see what I mean. They are trying to gather resources  and volunteers to help construct storage pods for people who live in FEMA trailers and have had over 500 people request help.  The work goes on and on, but God is being glorified, people are being helped, and lives are being changed.  It is amazing what happens when you step out in faith and follow the Lord.  The "Pods for God" effort is a $150,000 project, but God is providing and people are receiving the help that they need.  A spiritually dark region is being changed one life at a time and seeds are being planted that will bear eternal fruit.  The Bible says in Galatians 6:9-10, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."  I pray that this will be the legacy of our church and all of the others that God has called to help in a desperate time.