The need is great

As I have stated in many previous posts, I am not a very good blogger. Sometimes I wonder why I have one. I ususally don't have many profound things to say. I don't live a particularly intersting life (I don't skydive or anything like that). Yet there are times that I am glad that I have a blog. The whole blog mechanism is good for distribuing infomation to the 5 (and growing!) people who paruse the limited pages of this blog. I hope that if nothing else this entry will create some interest in what I believe to be one of the places that God is truly working in this world.

Over spring break I was privilged to travel with Allen Carr and his college group from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls and Trevor Cox and his youth from the Thomas Street CoC in Altus, OK to Pascagoula, Mississippi to aid in some hurricane cleanup. Our three groups totaled up to 22 teenagers and adults. We planned this trip in haste (like three weeks) and it contained every age from freshman in high school to people in their seventies. It was truly a unique group of people. We spent 14 hours on the road on that Sunday getting to know each other and fellowshiping. We arrived in Pascagoula late on Sunday and stayed at the VanCleave Church of Christ just north of Pascagoula. It was a really nice little church. We all sacked out on the floor. I forgot how much fun it is to sleep on the floor with a bunch of teenagers. They love it!

Yet our trip wasn't about sleeping on the church floor. It was about being there for people in need. We learned that 15,000 homes in Pascagoula alone were affected by flood damage. No one was exempt. The rich and poor, black and white, young and old were devatated by rising flood waters. While everyone there has hurricane insurance not many have flood insurance. So many of these people will miss out on their insurance payments because of a loophole. People all over town are living in FEMA trailers outside of their homes just waiting for someone to help.

We worked with a 75 year young lady named Margret. She has been waiting for six months for someone to work on her house. She had 6-7 feet of water in her house during the storm. She lost everything she had. Because of the mold that naturally grows in damp places her home was not able to be lived in. So for six months she waited. We had the privilidge of working on her home first. We completly gutted her home from floor to celing until there was nothing left but studs (not me, the wood studs.....sorry had to do it!). We then sprayed everything with bleach water to kill the remaining mold. After that her home had to be lifted four feet off the ground and a new floor built underneath. Only then could she get new sheetrock and start to move back in. Even after all of the work we did she probably won't be back into her home for another year.

That is simply one home of 15,000 in Pascagoula. People's lives are in shambles. Yet God is clearly at work. I have never been so overwhelmed with the obvious presence of our Lord while in Pascagoula. The Central Church of Christ has made it their mission to help those affected in the storm. What that means is ANYONE in need can come to find support. That means religious affiliation, color, age, and any other background dosn't matter. If they have need they can find it at Central. The even more amazing aspect is that this little church dosn't turn away help from ANYONE. It dosn't matter what church background you are from: if you are coming down to Pascagoula in the name of Jesus, they will take you in and put you to work. The church fed us three meals a day and gave us a place to stay. All that we had to do is go down. They worked so hard for us. They just need help.

This is the part where I plead with you. Go to www.123jesus.com and find out what you can do. We all have so much in our lives but people in our own borders have nothing because of a 6 hour storm. Get your churches to send groups to the gulf coast. Cancel your six flags trips. Sacrifice your vacation time. Challenge yourself to live out Matthew 25. If you don't know what that is, read it. Jesus means buisness when he says these things. I believe that there is a mission field in the midst of tradgedy. People need to be shown who Jesus is during these times. If you want anymore info on this great work please let me know.

Also check out the blog by their preacher, John Dobbs at www.remains.blogspot.com.


Thanks for bearing through this long post.

Chris