Day 18 Update
Dear Praying Friends,
Just a quick update to let you all know we're still here! Pleaseforgive the past couple of days w/o updates ... just "dog tired" andpressed beyond what my little pink body was willing to put up with!
We are INCREDIBLY blessed by the love and care of the Saints. Ifyou ever get to thinking you want to "chuck it in" and leave the assembly because of all of it's "warts and pimples" just give me a call! All the flaws no doubt are true ... BUT ... when the chips are down and you need a church family you can count on ... well, don't give up too soon!
I had a friend who polished gemstones and he put the rough stones into a tumbler with a rough grinding stone at the bottom ... the rocks tumbled around in there and abraded against one another and the grinding stone. Sometimes one or two would fly out of the opening onto the floor. In the end, the stones that stayed in the tumbler were made into beautiful gems... those that popped out were still the ugly rocks they were to begin with! I'm sure the rocks (if they could talk) didn't like what they were being put through ... but in the end it was all worth it!
Well ... from one living stone to another ... the Lord's not finished with us yet ...we're each a work in progress ... I hope none of you ever has to go through such an ordeal as this, but I KNOW that in the end ... this too will "work together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose!" And one day, we'll be "like Him!" Wednesday evening we met for prayer in the Fisher's home where we have been staying and the home we have been using as a kind of "command post" since it has had nearly all utilities. What a GREAT prayer meeting. We had 9 men in from Chicago to help us plus our own folks who could come ... everyone dirty, sweaty and dog tired. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and took prayer requests! The OVERWHELMING focus of nearly everyone's prayers was thanksgiving for being allowed to suffer such things for Christ sake and the sake of displaying the Love of Christ to a lost world around us! We talked about the difference between hearing a voice on the phone and finally getting to see a face ... and what it willbe like to one day see the Lord's Face ... face to face after all these years! We also gave thanks and prayed FOR YOU who are giving, sending, working, praying ... for us! We could not go through this without the Lord and without the love and prayers of His people! Thank you SO much!
They gave us the Statistics the other day ... Katrina was the worst storm ever to enter the Gulf of Mexico ... the worst disaster everto hit the United States ... and the eye went right over Slidell! We had sustained winds of 176 mph with gusts over 196 and a tidal surge of 26 feet ... that's higher than a telephone pole! Devastation has been extreme ... beyond description! We are still in the mode of tearing out soggy houses. Most ofthe locals are "fried" ... they would tell you they are "OK" but they just kind of plod along putting one foot ahead of the other trying to cope! Thankfully, we had 16 helpers with us from Chicago, IL.,Springfield, MO., and Raleigh, NC. this week! They are hauling out the furniture and carpet and anything else that could hold water or mold, cutting the sheet rock above the high water line and pulling it out, removing the insulation, hauling everything outside and putting it on the curb. In MANY cases making decisions for the homeowners that they themselves are too immobilized to make! Then drying it all out, disinfecting it, freshening it up and waiting to rebuild.
So far we have totally lost 2 mobile homes and one house (in St. Bernard Parish - STILL under 12 feet of water) totally gutted 2 more homes (down to concrete and studs), partially gutted 3 more homes (including ours and the Chapel building and one classroom in the school). This is just HARD, DIRTY,GERM INFESTED work. Today the men were surprised by several "critters"including a snake in the wall as they pulled the insulation out. The men also cut trees, cleaned up and burned tons of rubble and tree parts and did some repair on some of the structures. We also completely stripped a neighbors home and have our eyes on another. Other helpers have cut down trees and gotten them off of homes.
Tomorrow we'll have supper together and are inviting some of the neighbors ... we'll eat, enjoy each other, thank the Lord for those who have come to help them and us come back from destruction ... and then talk about Jesus who died to bring us each back from destruction IF we will just REPENT of our sin, BELIEVE God's wonderful plan of Salvation, and RECEIVE his wonderful Son as the payment for our sin! Maybe one, like Pilgrim, will choose to flee the "city of destruction" and find refuge through the little gate in the Cross of Christ.
Current needs ... manpower (slave labor) ... and money (for future rebuilding). We have plenty of food, supplies, equipment ... and other STUFF ... for now. Maybe we'll need more later, but for now we're good.
If you want to come and help ... call / e-mail FIRST ... we recommend NO young people (this is a VERY dangerous place) ... only adults or young people with their parents ... come self contained able to support yourselves ... come able to work unsupervised and having your own tools, transportation and talent ... have your shots up to date (MIN tetanus/typhoid) and Hepatitis A, B, and C are recommended ... seek your own doctor's advice. Generally, the workers stay at camp (about 45 minutes away) and meet in Slidell each morning at 8 A.M. for coffee and go to work by 8:30 A.M. They work steady till about 7:00 P.M. MRE's, Ice and Water are available for lunch. Then back to camp before curfew for the night ... and begin again the next day. And so it goes!
Thank you ... each of you ... for YOU!
From the eye of the storm,
Our very special love in Christ,
Bob & JoAnne Brown
Slidell, Louisiana
Just a quick update to let you all know we're still here! Pleaseforgive the past couple of days w/o updates ... just "dog tired" andpressed beyond what my little pink body was willing to put up with!
We are INCREDIBLY blessed by the love and care of the Saints. Ifyou ever get to thinking you want to "chuck it in" and leave the assembly because of all of it's "warts and pimples" just give me a call! All the flaws no doubt are true ... BUT ... when the chips are down and you need a church family you can count on ... well, don't give up too soon!
I had a friend who polished gemstones and he put the rough stones into a tumbler with a rough grinding stone at the bottom ... the rocks tumbled around in there and abraded against one another and the grinding stone. Sometimes one or two would fly out of the opening onto the floor. In the end, the stones that stayed in the tumbler were made into beautiful gems... those that popped out were still the ugly rocks they were to begin with! I'm sure the rocks (if they could talk) didn't like what they were being put through ... but in the end it was all worth it!
Well ... from one living stone to another ... the Lord's not finished with us yet ...we're each a work in progress ... I hope none of you ever has to go through such an ordeal as this, but I KNOW that in the end ... this too will "work together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose!" And one day, we'll be "like Him!" Wednesday evening we met for prayer in the Fisher's home where we have been staying and the home we have been using as a kind of "command post" since it has had nearly all utilities. What a GREAT prayer meeting. We had 9 men in from Chicago to help us plus our own folks who could come ... everyone dirty, sweaty and dog tired. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and took prayer requests! The OVERWHELMING focus of nearly everyone's prayers was thanksgiving for being allowed to suffer such things for Christ sake and the sake of displaying the Love of Christ to a lost world around us! We talked about the difference between hearing a voice on the phone and finally getting to see a face ... and what it willbe like to one day see the Lord's Face ... face to face after all these years! We also gave thanks and prayed FOR YOU who are giving, sending, working, praying ... for us! We could not go through this without the Lord and without the love and prayers of His people! Thank you SO much!
They gave us the Statistics the other day ... Katrina was the worst storm ever to enter the Gulf of Mexico ... the worst disaster everto hit the United States ... and the eye went right over Slidell! We had sustained winds of 176 mph with gusts over 196 and a tidal surge of 26 feet ... that's higher than a telephone pole! Devastation has been extreme ... beyond description! We are still in the mode of tearing out soggy houses. Most ofthe locals are "fried" ... they would tell you they are "OK" but they just kind of plod along putting one foot ahead of the other trying to cope! Thankfully, we had 16 helpers with us from Chicago, IL.,Springfield, MO., and Raleigh, NC. this week! They are hauling out the furniture and carpet and anything else that could hold water or mold, cutting the sheet rock above the high water line and pulling it out, removing the insulation, hauling everything outside and putting it on the curb. In MANY cases making decisions for the homeowners that they themselves are too immobilized to make! Then drying it all out, disinfecting it, freshening it up and waiting to rebuild.
So far we have totally lost 2 mobile homes and one house (in St. Bernard Parish - STILL under 12 feet of water) totally gutted 2 more homes (down to concrete and studs), partially gutted 3 more homes (including ours and the Chapel building and one classroom in the school). This is just HARD, DIRTY,GERM INFESTED work. Today the men were surprised by several "critters"including a snake in the wall as they pulled the insulation out. The men also cut trees, cleaned up and burned tons of rubble and tree parts and did some repair on some of the structures. We also completely stripped a neighbors home and have our eyes on another. Other helpers have cut down trees and gotten them off of homes.
Tomorrow we'll have supper together and are inviting some of the neighbors ... we'll eat, enjoy each other, thank the Lord for those who have come to help them and us come back from destruction ... and then talk about Jesus who died to bring us each back from destruction IF we will just REPENT of our sin, BELIEVE God's wonderful plan of Salvation, and RECEIVE his wonderful Son as the payment for our sin! Maybe one, like Pilgrim, will choose to flee the "city of destruction" and find refuge through the little gate in the Cross of Christ.
Current needs ... manpower (slave labor) ... and money (for future rebuilding). We have plenty of food, supplies, equipment ... and other STUFF ... for now. Maybe we'll need more later, but for now we're good.
If you want to come and help ... call / e-mail FIRST ... we recommend NO young people (this is a VERY dangerous place) ... only adults or young people with their parents ... come self contained able to support yourselves ... come able to work unsupervised and having your own tools, transportation and talent ... have your shots up to date (MIN tetanus/typhoid) and Hepatitis A, B, and C are recommended ... seek your own doctor's advice. Generally, the workers stay at camp (about 45 minutes away) and meet in Slidell each morning at 8 A.M. for coffee and go to work by 8:30 A.M. They work steady till about 7:00 P.M. MRE's, Ice and Water are available for lunch. Then back to camp before curfew for the night ... and begin again the next day. And so it goes!
Thank you ... each of you ... for YOU!
From the eye of the storm,
Our very special love in Christ,
Bob & JoAnne Brown
Slidell, Louisiana
posted by Shawn Abigail at 5:06 AM
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