Gulfport, Mississippi June 2006

Hurricane Katrina Relief

A motel sat on the slab in the picture above, but now the parking lot, the pool and a fire escape are all that is left. No debris was taken from the site after the storm; a 26 foot tidal surge took care of that and everything else within a few thousand feet of the shore.

The first day of our trip started with a concert of prayer. All three church groups we were hosting were eager to get to work. As their leaders and I checked out requests people made for help to the Christian relief center, we sensed that this was not what God had for us. The above location, for example, was not in the neighborhood of the church we were staying at, and working on this crushed shed did not seem like it would have a major impact on the kids doing the work or for the kingdom.

That afternoon as we walked around the neighborhood of the church praying for God's leading, we came upon a badly damaged house among houses in good shape. When we knocked on the door of the tiny FEMA trailer there, a husband and father of three came out and told us about being underinsured, and about working on stripping the house down to the frame by himself to save money. Once this was done, the insurance company would release funds to rebuild it.

He accepted our offer of help, though he would have never asked for it. That week he came to church with us, and has been attending there with his family ever since. We came to find out that he had just returned from Iraq, having taken a bullet through his stomach and out his back, so the work was hard on him. Yet he worked beside us all week.

We all learned that praying first, and waiting upon God brings his blessing, and a lasting impact for His kingdom.

Iraq veteran Rob (tossing a board) and our work crew

We know that God will move some of you to join a team of people who will surround this ministry in prayer andhelp fund it. You can use the enclosed card to send support our ministry financially or to let us know you are praying for us. We are asking for the people God moves who have a passion for local church ministry, missions and youth, and who care deeply for us to invest in this mission of mobilizing churches for missions.