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From Waveland, MS April 10, 2007 |
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Greetings!
We
trust this update finds you well and
in pursuit of your calling.
Some Perspective on the Gulf
I
was asked a question today and
thought it was worthy of sharing
with those who have an interest in
helping the people on the Gulf
Coast. The paraphrased question is
this, "When are the people going to
start helping themselves?" Or
restated, the question might be ...
"Shouldn't the people be helping
themselves as they receive help from
volunteers?" The more basic
question is "Are the people capable
of helping themselves, and in what
ways?" The answer is ... "Some are
capable and some are not" Some have
emotional and/or physical
impediments that limit their ability
to come along side the volunteers,
that are not readily apparent to the
volunteers who work on their
homes. Some must work and with that
added to the financial, physical and
emotional challenges associated with
recovery find it impossible to do
anymore than they are doing. Where
you might hire a contractor to do
the work for you, they must rely on
volunteers. Where you might get the
work done in two weeks or a month,
it may take two months or even 6
months to get it done with
volunteers and limited funds.
Are
there some who could do more?
Sure. But they are few, at least as
far as those we are helping are
concerned. Since our priority is to
the elderly, widows, disabled and
single moms, there are not many of
our "clients" that are able to help
with the work. But there are a few
who are .... some of them do
remarkable work ... a very few
others can but don't ... well we
leave that to the Lord to work out.
We try to be careful to not look at
those exceptions and draw general
conclusions from their lack of
effort and apply them to everyone
else.
It
has been 20 months since Katrina
made landfall. I still hear
volunteers who come here comment
that they had no idea the recovery
was so slow. It is. Martie's and
my challenge is to keep you and
others who live elsewhere, in touch
with and aware of the need for your
help. How long? I really don't
know. At the risk of sounding like
Yogi Berra .... it won't be over
until it's over ... and it is far
from over .... the more important
question for you is ... "Is the Lord
still speaking to your heart?" This
is the really tough part of recovery
... maintaining the momentum of
volunteer support. Our country has
never faced a disaster of this
magnitude before. But, you might
ask, when has someone done enough?
I think, the Lord will let you
know. He will say -- "You have done
enough , on the Gulf Coast ... it is
time to do something else" You
notice I didn't say take a break.
You see, it is never about NOT
serving ... it's about where are you
going to serve tomorrow and the next
day.
In
the past, friends have
encouraged Martie and me to not
become weary of well doing ...
making reference to Galatians
6:9 "Let us not become
weary in doing good, for at the
proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up." I
always hasten to tell them that for
us it's not about being weary of
well doing, but of just being
physically tired and emotionally
drained. For Martie and me, we have
never been more convinced that the
Lord wants us to serve right where
we are. He knows we are tired, and
we know His strength is sufficient.
The Lord always calls us to go
beyond ourselves ... and when we do
... He gets the glory. You know, it
is somewhat like when Israel
wandering in the wilderness. God
had done miraculous things in their
favor to release them from bondage
and take care of their needs during
their journey .. reminding them of
His presence every day and night.
But over time, they stopped looking
at what God had done for them and
called them to do and looked to
themselves. God has done great
things over the past 20 months here
on the Gulf Coast to show that He is
the Source and Provider. He has
stirred the hearts of many saints to
help the people of this region.
Using a term from Experiencing God,
there are many spiritual markers on
the road to recovery .... many of
you have been part of the stacking
of the stones. God is not done ...
there are still many stones to be
stacked. So as the "Duke" would say
.. let's saddle up and move out!
40 Days of Purpose Campaign
We
have begun services on Saturdays
nights for volunteers and local
residents. We have the service on
Saturday night to avoid conflict
with Little Zion Baptist services on
Sunday mornings. Starting Sunday,
April 29th we will be meeting at
3:00pm for a 40 Days of
Purpose Campaign. We have
mailed over 120 letters to people
who received a copy of the Purpose
Driven Life with their Pod to tell
them about the study and will be
following that up next week with
phone calls and visits. So many
churches have helped us with
gathering the materials we need for
this campaign. Please be in prayer
that God will use this time to
encourage believers and draw those
who are lost to a saving knowledge
in Jesus Christ. I will use the
Saturday night services to speak to
the five purposes.
Bunk Houses
(Click
Here)
Volunteers from several churches
have made significant progress
on the Bunk Houses. Last week
we did not have any volunteers
scheduled so I figured that
final coat of paint would have
to wait. That Monday Martie
called me to the office. Some
volunteers who had helped us
last summer were back in town
and wanted to know if they could
work with us again. Needless to
say, the painting on the outside
of the bunk houses is done. A
group of ladies from Gulfport
will paint the inside on May
5th.
Our office tent is becoming
inviable (er... un-livable)
because of the floor system. We
are not sure what we are going
to do just yet. We have our
computer lab in that tent as
well.
Prayer
requests.
Continue to pray
for Craig. He is struggling
with drug addiction - crack
cocaine and is ready for a
life change. I have shared
the Lord with him and prayed
with him. Craig
has moved back to New
Orleans to work with his dad
....
Continue to pray for
Pastor Gordon Howard and his
wife Patricia. Pastor
Howard's liver biopsy came
back confirming that
sclerosis had begun. He has
Hepatitis "C" He will be
taking medication for the
next 48 weeks.
Continue to pray that the
Lord will continue
to provide the
resources we need for this
ministry.
Not just financial, but the
volunteers as well.
Currently we do not have
many volunteers scheduled
for May or June ... (Click
Here to see our
calendar)
Pray for the 40 Days of
Purpose Campaign ... that
there will be seeds planted
and a harvest reaped ...
Pray for Kenny and his
family. He is struggling
with alcohol and drug
addiction, as well as other
issues. He is currently in
VA rehab.
Pray for Marie and Sam.
They are both in their 70's
working 40 to 50 hours per
week to pay the bills. They
aren't greeters at Wal-Mart
... they are washing dishes
and serving food ... on
their feet for hours at a
time.
Pray for Alma and her
husband. He had a heart
attack while trying to
remove a tree from his
father's roof right after
the storm. His health has
been declining since.
Rebuilding
I am providing detail on these
homes so you have an idea of how
many different volunteer groups
are involved and the tasks that
remain that we need help with.
We are currently working on 6
homes ... I have provided detail
on 5 of them.
Howard Home.
Pastor Howard and his wife are
the latest family we have taken
on. Pastor Howard is disabled
and unable to do the difficult
work of rebuilding.
In Process
Next
Harris Home.
The home owner is a elderly widow.
In Process
Next
Gillum Home.
The home owners are a couple who
attend Little Zion. Harold
spends all his free time helping
other people
In Process
Next
Tooley Home.
Mr. Tooley is 79 years old and
is attempting to rebuild the
home for his son who is in and
out of the local VA hospital and
daughter-in-law who has severe
arthritis.
In Process
Next
Cunningham Home.
The home owner
is a disabled Vietnam Veteran.
We are assisting a case worker
associated with another
organization by providing
volunteers to finish the
rebuilding of their home. The
house is 14 feet above the
ground.
In Process
Next
Charley
Charley & Martie Elgin Pathfinder Mission Waveland, Mississippi http://www.pathfindermission.org (228) 493-1081 Isa 58:12…. you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. |
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Pathfinder Mission, P.O. Box
3313, Bay |
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228-469-0507 |
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