Hello!

 Martie and I trust that you are well and placing your full faith in the Lord Jesus.  We will soon be celebrating His resurrection and all that it means for the unbelieving world and for us who call Him Lord. 

 Construction

 Our work here in Waveland continues.  We have been blessed with a busy camp and abundant opportunities to help the people here.  Volunteers have been working in Long Beach, Kiln, Ansley, Waveland, and Bayside Park… spreading the light of Christ across Hancock and Harrison Counties.  We thank the Lord for allowing us to share in this work and are blessed in meeting so many volunteers from so many places in this nation.  I was talking with a volunteer last night about missions and how that God never intended for the extent of our faith walk to be limited to finding a pew on Sunday morning.  He told me how coming here had encouraged him to reach out in his community.  If that can be the legacy of Pathfinder Mission, then that in itself is enough for us to continue with the work.  I am reminded of Jim Elliot's quote "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." It is a joy to serve here and to know that others are encouraged to step out of the pew and put their hand to the plow as a result of their time spent serving here. 

 I was driving on Highway 90 along the beach the other morning amazed at the beauty of the sun rising over the water.  The reflection looked like a path painted on the water, leading to heaven.  About that time, I remembered an elderly couple we have been asked to help in Bayside Park.  They are in their seventies, living in a MEMA cottage, waiting for someone to help them with their house.  A volunteer group "helped them" some months back.  The quality of the work was appalling, but the couple doesn't care, they just want back in their home.  We will do our best to clean the mess up and get them back into their house.  The permit is dated November 2005.  Thinking of the contrast of the beautiful sky, and the dilemma that couple is facing, I was reminded that we are not here to enjoy the Gulf of Mexico, we are here to help people ... to give them hope ... to point them to Jesus, not just with words but with deeds.  There are many others in a similar silent struggle ... and it's not limited to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.... they may live just down the street from you.

 Volunteer camps continue to close their doors, and rumors are that more will soon join them in the exodus from the Gulf Coast.  But such is the cycle of recovery. The need for help with rebuilding will, one day, be assumed by the local churches.  As for Pathfinder, we will continue to help with the recovery as long as the Lord provides financial resources, opportunities to help rebuild and the volunteers needed to do the work.  

Celebrate Recovery

We had our third meeting at Old Spanish Trail Baptist Church last night.  Right now we have less than 10 people at the meetings, but there is much we need to learn so slowly is good!  God brought us together with OSTBC though my going to Lowes - my home away from home.  (I have heard it said that Lowes is to men what Wal-Mart is to women!) There I met Ben Dedeaux working in commercial sales.  Ben is also the pastor of OSTBC.  Over a couple of years we developed a friendship and partnership.  Ben helped us on a number of occasions with rebuilding when we didn't have volunteers but needed to finish some work.  He and his wife, Linda, are the only couple here that we have become friends with that we don't also minister to. 

Ben and I met with the Youth Court Judge for Hancock County prior to our first CR meeting.  Ben has known this judge for some time. In the four months since the judge has assumed his responsibilities the number of children placed in foster care has grown from 80 to nearly 300.  When parents are convicted of drug use or possession, their children are placed in foster care.  The judge was very interested in CR and commented that he believes that faith based recovery programs are more effective.  He asked us to come to the Youth Court the next week to present CR to the Child and Family services people from the county Department of Human Services.  We were then asked to meet at the DHS office to explain the program in more detail.  Since then we have had two referrals from DHS. 

This seems to be a natural transition from helping rebuild people's homes to helping them rebuild their lives.  I know that many of you are familiar with the book, The Purpose Driven Life.  If you recall the acrostic -- SHAPE -- Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences that God uses to equip us for His purposes ....  we have seen that validated so many times as we have ministered here.  God has prepared us for each thing that He asked us to do .. When He brought us together with OSTBC, the people there already had a heart for reaching the community at the point of their need but didn't know how ... we had a heart for reaching the community with the CR ministry but needed a local church partner .... God brought us together.  How cool is that!  Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Notice it doesn't say He will fulfill your heart's desires ... God says He will give you the desires ... the passion ... the heart, the "H" in SHAPE for the work He calls you to. 

This is Elgin's thinking, but I believe a common misunderstanding among Christians is that we come up with the ideas and then God validates them ... "Oh, Good one! ... or ... No, I don't think so ... or ... sorry ... try again .... or .... Let me think about it and I will get back to you.....or .....  Charley....... I am glad you thought of that ... I never would have come up with it .... " 

When I told someone that we were going to start a CR ministry here, his response was "Are you crazy!"  My response was ... "It was not my idea!  It was God's!" 

So to the point .... finally! ...... My encouragement to you is that you not limit your life to what you think is feasible or appealing.  Look to God for direction and the passions to go there.  Delight yourself in the Lord ... and watch what happens ...

Prayer Requests

Celebrate Recovery - that the Lord will draw people to the ministry and they will find Jesus there

Linda Bynum - recovery from cancer

Martie - freedom from the chronic pain in her hip

The Lord will continue to provide the resources needed for ministry operations and our personal support

The residents still struggling with rebuilding issues and emotional problems associated with the storm

Blessings