Greetings once again from the Sunny and Hurricane Free (for now)
Mississippi Gulf Coast!
We trust that you are doing well.
We have just returned from a trip to
California where we attended the
Celebrate Recovery conference at
Saddleback and met with a number of
groups: members of High Desert
Church, Jim and Lisa Shaw's small
group from Saddleback Church, and
churches in the Mendocino - Ft Bragg
area which is on the coast north of
San Francisco,
as well as many individual
volunteers and friends.
August is traditionally the month to
make those trips ... not much
happening here in Mississippi, primarily because of the heat.
But talking with the folks in California who have volunteered at the camp reminded us of
how God has blessed the Mississippi residents, the volunteers, and us
over the past four years.
Serving God
I was shaving
the other morning, and
suddenly realized there was this
"old guy" staring at me and I
thought ... "Who is that guy
looking at me?" Well as you might
guess, it was me! I turned 59 on
my last birthday - Aug 9th. 59!
Maybe I should say this "jar of
clay" is 59. On the inside, I feel
the same way I did when I was in my
twenties. I don't dwell on my
aging, but from time to time, I
suddenly become aware of the guy
that everyone else sees. (The other
day my sister said I look like a
cute Col Sanders! Ugh!
Why couldn't it be Paul Newman or
Robert Redford ???) Paul (the
Apostle, not Newman) said "though
our outward man perish, yet the
inward
man
is renewed day by day." 2 Cor 4:16
(KJV) Each year the gap between
the two (men) seems to widen. The
question that pings around in this
head of mine is ... "Can God still
use me?" I mean look at me, Lord!
You know, God, that this engine is
not running on all of its
cylinders. And I need a lot of body
work - a lot of work. The tires are
balding. Can God still use me?
More importantly, will He still use
me? Have you ever wondered about
those issues? If I just look at the
world around me and at my own
limitations, I might be tempted to
get a job as a Wal-Mart greeter.
But God doesn't look at the outer
man. He looks at the heart, doesn't
He? When He searched to and fro for
a man to stand in the gap ... He
wasn't looking for a strong man, or
even a young man ... but a man who
had a heart for Him. He picked
David - the runt - to rule a
kingdom. Gideon - the coward - to
defeat an army. A bunch of
fishermen – smelly, uneducated - to
change the world.
So can God use me and you with all
of our limitations? That would be a
"Yes". He is still looking
at hearts and our willingness to
walk by faith after Him. He is
looking at the inner man not the
outer man. So it looks like
Wal-Mart will just have to wait.
Rebuilding Homes
We recently had a house blessing at
the Wells. Their MEMA cottage is
gone. They are moved into their
home. John Turnbull, Mendocino,CA,
provides small crosses made of
redwood for each home and others
have donated large print bibles
which we give to each family. Next
week we plan to have a house
blessing at the Leslie Davis
and LaFontaine homes. I know that
many of you have worked on those
homes and I will pass along your
encouragement to them.
We are working with the Hancock
County Housing Resource Center
(HCHRC) to help folks finish their
homes. The HCHRC has over 800 work
requests, most of which are not
funded. Rick Shepler is the
construction coordinator for HCHRC.
Rick is a believer from
Maryland who worked as a
contractor before coming to the Gulf Coast a couple of years ago.
Currently we have two groups
scheduled in September from
Clanton,
Alabama & from North Georgia, 2 groups from
California in October, 1 tentative from
Florida in November and 1 in December from
California. Folks from Clanton, AL are coming this weekend to do some work at
the camp.
Restoring Lives
As Martie and I were riding our
bikes around the neighborhood the
other day I noticed signs of
improvement all around us. I saw
yards that could have been anywhere
in America. Manicured .. flowers
growing ... fresh paint. But right
next to it was a vacant lot or a
house that was partially rebuilt and
then abandoned for some reason. The
scars Katrina left on the landscape
are still apparent. Dead trees
still stand like warning signs of
what awaits those who dare to plant
their roots in Waveland. A lone
house stands complete in the midst
of overgrown vacant lots where homes
once stood. Yet, in the midst of
these reminders of nature’s often
violent temper you can hear the
crack of a bat and a cheer from the
crowd at the ball diamond down the
street from the camp. The parking
lot at the American Legion hall
built just across the tracks is slam
full of cars ... it's Bingo
Night! But there is a wreath next
to those same train tracks,
just across from the snow cone
stand, in stark contrast to those
rays of hope. It marks the spot
where a woman from Diamondhead who
worked part time at the snow cone
stand laid down on the tracks at
midnight three weeks ago ... giving
up on life. Drug and alcohol abuse
is on the rise ... the incidence of
homelessness is growing. Especially
among mothers with children who were
abandoned by fathers or partners who
lost work and then lost hope ... so
they left. Physical abuse is
growing at an exponential rate.
Domestic violence calls have
increased by 50% this year.
The people who live here, who
survived the physical devastation
wrought by Katrina, are struggling
to survive in their relationships,
with their finances, with their
future ... Who is helping them?
Good question! We have watched and
waited ... for someone to stand up
and say "We are here to help
you." You may recall, our stated
purpose for Pathfinder Mission being
here is to rebuild houses and
restore lives. (just look at the
signature line at the end of this
e-mail) For the past 4 years the
majority of our emphasis has been on
the first part -- Rebuilding Houses
.... But if rebuilding houses was
"the" answer for the people here,
why are they having all of these
relational - personal problems?
As you know, the answer to the
problems here (and everywhere else
in the world) is not found in the
house you live in ... it is found in
Jesus. It has always been Jesus and
always will be Jesus. He is God the
Father's eternal solution. The
former Executive Director of the
Military Ministry for Campus Crusade
for Christ often said - "It's all
about Jesus and all about grace."
That is the message that folks that
live here need to hear and to
believe. Martie and I have
always known that the Lord has us
here to do more than build houses.
Some months back the Lord led me to
a verse in 1 Samuel 22:2 -- it says
that the Lord brought men to David
who were distressed, in debt, and
discontented. I thought ... hmmmm
.... those sound like the people
that we have been ministering to for
the past 4 years. Is it possible
that the Lord wants us to minister
to them on another level .... is He
wanting to raise an army (meaning
people who are living for Him) for
His glory in Hancock County?
The woman who died on the tracks had
just left the bar that sits at that
intersection. They were able to
give her a drink to steady her
nerves, but could not offer her hope
that would save her life. When she
died, we were sleeping peacefully in
our bed not 200 yards away. I am
not suggesting that we could have
saved her if we were awake, but
there are so many more people living
here that are just like her.
Looking for some way to cope with
their hurt, habit or hang-up. The
world has nothing to offer except
something to mask the pain. The
Body of Christ has something much
more ... healing and life. I spoke
with a woman at Wal-Mart the other
day who has been a volunteer here
for at least three years. When I
mentioned what I saw as the next big
need to be addressed she lit up.
She said she knows many people that
she would like to see get help for
their personal struggles.
Please pray with us for the people
here. That the Lord would stir
their hearts .... draw them to
himself and that we would be ready
to share the Gospel and point them
to Jesus. You might be wondering
if this is related to Katrina?
Absolutely. Can you help ? ... you
bet. It may not be swinging a
hammer, although that will continue
for a season. I will share more
about that in future updates. For
now --- join us in prayer: that the
Lord will give us the strength,
wisdom, discernment, and
anointing for the days
ahead. Consider whether the Lord
would have you support this work
financially. He has provided for
the needs of this ministry for these
4 years. We know that where He
guides, He provides. But He
provides through the Saints.
The Lord never asks us to do
something we can do on our own, but
always provides what we need to
accomplish His purpose. He is
asking us to exercise even more
faith than we have in the past. We
thought coming to Waveland was like
crossing the Jordan ... we needed to
step into the water. What we didn't
know was that there would be many
more rivers to cross and each one
gets wider and deeper. Lord, we
believe, but help us with our
unbelief!
Thank you for the blessing you have
been to us and to the people here.
God bless you
Larry (Smokey) Gillum family ..
at his passing
Robert Wells - problems with
stomach and diabetes
Linda Bynum .. At home after
chemo treatments
Joe Tague .. his chemo
therapy continues
Sam Foye ... continued
physical problems - they did
get central heat and air
Phillips Family ...
Martie for her hip and
difficulty walking
For the family of the woman
that took her life
That the Lord will raise up
the local leaders we need to
help as we minister to
restore lives
That the HCHRC will find the
funding to help their
clients finish their homes
Continued support for the
ministry ... camp support
and personal support
