Wow! It
has been almost two months since I last sent
an update. I am not certain where the time
went ... it seems like we came back from the
evacuation for Gustav and now we are in
November looking at the Presidential
election. (Hope you voted).
The
situation on the Gulf Coast remains about
the same ... the economy is taking a toll on
employment ... some businesses have closed
... the casinos are laying off and cutting
back on hours and the construction progress
has slowed. There are a number of
commercially built new home initiatives that
have fizzled. The homes have been built but
not occupied. I suspect it is because the
homes are too expensive for the average wage
earner here in Hancock County.
Our hope is
to have the Tim Phillips home completed by
the end of the year. It will be tight ...
But we can do it with the Lord's help (and
your hands)
As you
drive around Hancock county, you can see a
good number of homes that are unfinished.
As of the end of October, there 210 families
still live in MEMA cottages in Waveland. In
May there were over 1000 cottages in Hancock
County. March 2009 is the date set for
their removal. The local governments are
talking about what to do ... they don't want
1000 additional families on the street come
March ... so I suspect there will be a
compromise on the date. In the meantime,
the relief Organizations that remain
continue to work on getting people into
homes and out of the trailers.
Since
Gustav, we have had several volunteer groups
here .... BelAire, MD...Clanton,
AL...Montgomery, AL....Crystal Springs, MS
..... Victorville, CA ... Acworth, GA ....
Wesson, MS. Nearly two years ago, President
Bush told Tommy Longo, the mayor of
Waveland, that Tommy's challenge would be to
keep the need for continued help for the
people in Waveland in front of the American
people in 2008. He was right. So much has
happened since Katrina. The war in Iraq,
Gustav in Texas and Louisiana, the housing
market fiasco, the economic slump, gas
prices pushing the $4.00 per gallon
mark. All of those issues are very real and
may have affected many reading this update.
Each one is sufficient to cause someone to
be distracted from the need here.
But I
believe that the work that continues here is
not dependent upon our economy ... other
storms ... the war in Iraq ... or the
American attention span .... I believe that
God has called the Church to respond to the
need ... looking to Him as their Source
..... Stuart Givens, the pastor of Sylvarena
Baptist Church (they were here last week) ,
said that I need to encourage the Church
.... the body of Christ .... to
"Finish the Fight" Since we
started this camp we have had over 1000
volunteers come to Waveland to help the
people in Hancock County from almost 200
cities and 36 states. We have helped over
600 families directly and many more
indirectly through the Pod project.
Let me
pause here for a moment to say something
about counting things ... In 1 Chronicles
21 it says "Satan was against Israel, and he
caused David to count the people of Israel. So
David said to Joab and the commanders of the
troops, “Go and count all the Israelites
from Beersheba to Dan. Then tell me so I
will know how many there are" David's
actions angered God. It wasn't so much in
knowing the numbers, it was in thinking that
David had something to do with it. I have
avoided counting and reporting because I
know how easily personal pride can take the
place of giving God the glory. You can
start thinking that you actually had
something to do with what is happening when
there is no other explanation other than
God's provision for what has happened
through Pathfinder Mission. So........ when
I share numbers with you ... I do it in awe
of God's mighty hand. And to tell you that
God is not done. That we need to
"Finish the Fight" that the Lord
has called us to. Martie and I are amazed
that He has let us be part of His work.
Henry Blackaby, in the study "Experiencing
God", said to see where God is at work and
go there. Please pray that the Lord will
make it clear that He wants you to stay in
the battle here on the Gulf Coast.
On the home
front ... Our granddaughter, Jessica - 11
yrs old, is staying with us for a season.
Getting her into a Mississippi school proved
to be a greater challenge than we thought so
Martie is home schooling her. We are so
thankful that we know so many home
schoolers who have been willing to come
along side us as we open this new chapter in
our lives. Please pray for us. Jessica is
a wonderful girl who has a heart for God.
So I don't get in trouble with my other
granddaughters ... let me add that they are
wonderful too :o)
The other
day I was preparing for a Bible study. I
remembered a quote from a pastor friend of
ours, Morgan Bailey. "God can hit straight
with a crooked stick". It had been about 6
years since I had talked with him so I
looked his number up on the internet and
called him. As it turned out, Morgan is
dealing with some significant physical
issues that will require surgery and perhaps
more treatment. He told me that he needed
prayer for what he was facing. We prayed
together and I would ask that you pray for
Morgan as well. This is an excerpt from
Morgan ... "Surgery
is scheduled for Wednesday at UAB
(University of Alabama hospital in
Birmingham) to remove the tumor in the
pancreas. The spleen will be removed as
well. Recovery will be three to four weeks.
The doctors will monitor the two small
tumors in the liver. Please join us
praying that
no more tumors will surface in the liver and
those may be removed in the near future."
God has used Morgan in
tremendous ways in many lives and am
confident that He will continue to use him.
Has God
ever brought someone to you mind? I want to
encourage you to stop and give them a call
or at the least, pray for them. I don't
always do that, but my conversation with
Morgan reminded me that there is one Spirit,
one faith, one Body. And that God wants us
to pray for each other .... and to listen
for the prompting of His Spirit.
I guess
that will do it for now. Please continue to
pray that the people, that God prompts to
labor here with us, will say "yes". That He
will give Martie and me the spiritual,
emotional and physical strength and
resources we need to press on.
Be Blessed
Charley
By His Grace and
for His Glory
Charley
Elgin
Pathfinder
Mission
www.pathfindermission.org
228.493.1081
Isaiah 58 Rebuilding Houses -
Restoring Lives
