Details from Bob Brown

Posted as received...

Dear Praying Friends,

I apologize for the LONG delay in getting an update out to you
... everyone is kind of "OVERwhelmed" here! But ... things are improving
slowly! We have had several come and help with "slave labor" which is
mostly what life is about these days! Here's how the procedure goes so
you can kind of picture the needs day by day:

TRY to get back to your home ... MANY have not been able to do
so. Lake Park Chapel & Sala Evangelica so far have not gotten everyone
back to check on their homes.

First carry out ALL wet items ... carpet along with EVERYTHING
that was on the floor and soaked up water. At the same time cut trees
off the roof and put tarps on to cover the holes ... IF the house is
capable of being saved ... and IF the house is not so severely cut in two
by the tree that tarping is impossible.

Second, disinfect everything ... floors, walls, everything.
Then cut back the sheet rock to above the flood level.
Pull out the insulation.
Then spray / disinfect these voids ... very strong chlorine
bleach and water ... or other such material.
then start cutting away HUGE piles of timber from your yard and haul it to the curb ... then start rebuilding.
All of this with no power ... maybe no water / sewer ... so no power appliances. this is where the generators come in handy .. and LOTS of cleaning gear.

While the husband is doing this, his wife is sitting in the FEMA
line to get Ice, Water and MRE's for the day. Then she tries to get
gasoline at one of the couple open stations (one person went up at 4:30
A.M. to sit in line at an "OPEN" station the other day only to get up to
the pump at 9:00 and there was NO GAS!

Then everything has to be done and everyone in by 9 P.M. due to a
mandatory curfew.

There is virtually not a home in Slidell (very few) that has not
sustained damage ... some totally destroyed ... some with only minor
damage. Many / Most were flooded by the Tidal Surge that came in from
the Gulf to Lake Pontchartrain like a huge 14 foot high wall of water.
So as you drive around it looks like some sort of movie set ... too
extreme to be real! Those that have come to help say they could never
have imagined such devastation!

However ... in the midst of it all ... we are HUGELY Blessed!!!
All the Saints in the 3 Assemblies are alive ... and SO FAR ... very few
of their homes have been lost. Praise the Lord for his ever faithful
hand of protection of His Own!

A couple of items that you could do to HELP ME in a mechanical
way ...
-Keep the e-mail to a minimum ... maybe one write for all
in your area.

-Keep the calls down to a minimum ... maybe one be the
spokesman for your area ... make a list of questions before you call

-READ THE E-MAIL BEFORE YOU CALL to see if your questions were already
answered. Then call me and just go as quickly as you can down the list
... I'll try to fill you in with folklore and philosophy as I think you
need it.

-Don't ask me to e-mail you a list of needs ... it takes
too much time ... and it will change tomorrow. It's quicker to tell them
to you on the phone and / or put them out once on the e-mail to all.
This way I can also give you up to date needs as they change almost
daily.

My contact information: Cell (all day - IF it is
working): (985) 502-8760 ... we have one hardline available the Fisher
home (985) 641-9324 (call between 9-10 P.M. our time - REMEMBER - this is
the ONLY hard line we have so PLEASE keep the calls to a minimum ... make
them brief and to the point ... don't duplicate calls!)

If you're coming to help ... for the most part we need
adults ... it's too hard to supervise young people and it causes us to
have to supervise them, assign them work, supervise them, provide tools
and materials for them ... i.e. it's work for us to work them! Also,
it's not a very safe area and not the best environment for a young
person. On a whole, groups of 2-3 are easier to handle than large
groups. Figure on Being self sufficient when you come.

Current Needs

Current needs include:
Funds
Vanilla flavor Soy milk.
Coke size cans of V8 juice or other High Potassium source
Staples ... esp. canned meat, vegetables, fruit
... NO PERISHABLES PLEASE.
Slave Labor ... 2-4 at a time.
Chain Saw crews ... one tree trimmer with his gear.
Anyone trained and supplied to clean, dry and disinfect after floods.

In time we'll need roofers, sheetrockers, carpenters ...
and materials.