all I got

After living in a FEMA trailer for so long Rudy was in a McDonald's restroom. His son turn and looked at him after finishing and said "Daddy can we get one of these for Christmas." His son was looking at a freaking toilet. All Rudy could do was throw water in his face to hide his tears.
It's amazing how much we take for granted the little things in life. I would never think to appreciate the nice toilet I sit on until it is taken away from me. All over New Orleans all you see is a bunch of FEMA trailers. These trailers were meant to be there only for 6 months to a year and now they have been there for over 2 and a half years. To make matters worse these trailers were not designed for families to live in them for such long periods of time. The formaldehyde is now at dangerous. These trailers are very similar to the people that live in them. They are tired of being stuck and want to get out. They lack the quality that people in the US have gotten used to. Both have given all that they have and are at the ropes end. What can we do to help?

1. Listen and tell their stories
2. Build a team to help the rebuilding process
3. Send resources
4. Pray
5. Pray some more

ch__ch what's missing? You Are

In John 10 we hear the story of a hired hand and a good shepherd. The good shepherd stays with the flock and the hired hand runs when the wolf comes.

After Katrina, the town was devastated. the population dropped 50,000 people which made it so many churches were and are unable to opperate.
This means that pastors and priests have left the area. Many of the locals feel that the priests and pastors have left their people like a hired hand. This is a sad reality when visiting in the St Bernard Parish. These people who grew up with the same pastor or priest no longer have someone to go to. Even worse some of the ones that remain are tired of hearing the complaints.

I look at this scene and feel God's heart break for these people. I understand the numbers game and why there are no pastor there but that does not make it right. My questions are: how do we help these people who feel abandoned by the church? How do we let them know that Christ loves them when the people who are supposed to be God's mouthpiece have left? What will be the impact on this culture?

the experience

Over the next few posts I will delve into my experiences while I was in New Orleans, LA. This was a very humbling experience and I feel that I went in with expectations that we would help someone that was unable to rebuild their home because they were too old, poor, helpless. Instead, I found myself working for a man who was perfectly healthy and told to stay during Hurricane Katrina but because of the effects of the dirty water he has become sick. He is fortunate to still be alive. The Lord has protected him and his family even though he was on the verge of calling it quits he has persevered.
I ask that you remember to pray for all of the work that needs to be done down there. I feel committed to send teams down there until the job is done. This may take several years but with each team there is a family whose life might be change for an eternity. These people have been through hell and some are still living in it. Their way of life has been about family and sticking together, some generations growing up with in a 5 minute walk of four generations. Imagine people telling you to move when the only life you have know has been that of one surrounded by family. To think that they should move is insensitive and we ought to respect their desire to be where their families grew up. These people hate to ask for help but have no other choice but to ask. To give them grace is to love them. They need to tell their stories and we need to hear them. They have seen some rough things and if they can't tell anyone then it will stick with them. So these next posts are mostly the story of one family. But this family's story is the story of many others. I write to remind you that the work is not done yet and that you might hear their stories.
Where we were http://www.stbernardproject.org/id182.html

New Orleans or Bust

During this week I'll be off to New Orleans on a mission trip... Please be in prayer for me and my wife who will be stuck taking care of our little puppy. Cheers!