Kairos Journals

From Bay St. Louis, MS

December 16, 2005

The Lord is good. Martie and I want to say a special thank you to all of you for your faithful prayers and active support of the ministry here in Mississippi. Your encouragement is critical to our ability to continue to run the race set before us. Please do not forget the people here who are still struggling under the weight of the aftermath of Katrina. It is so easy to let the significance of this tragedy slip into the backs of our minds as we look to new issues that have appeared on the horizon. There is always a "new issue" it seems. Something that calls upon our time, attention, and resources. How can we do it all? We can't! I think that is the "big" lesson to be learned from this. We, as Christians, are by nature, spiritual. (Speaking of our new nature, of course.) God wants us to call on Him (Proverbs 3:5,6) and not on our own strength and resources to respond to life and all of its challenges. It's not by might or by power, but by His Spirit (Zech 4:6). I don't intend this update to be a bible lesson, but I do want to encourage you all.

As we meet with people each day, we continue to see great despair and weariness. At this time of year when most Americans are getting the Christmas ornaments out and deciding where to put the Christmas tree, people on the gulf coast are wondering where their friends are and how on earth they are going to build back their homes. There is a spiritual hunger here as well. The Church (as in Body of Christ) has responded well. We have had 245 individual volunteers minister through our camp since the middle of October. We expect an additional 60 over the Christmas season. Those volunteers represent 30 churches and ministries.

One of the "big" needs the people have is storage. FEMA trailers are very cramped with practically no room for storage. A group from North Carolina started a ministry called "Sheds for Jesus" where they built low cost 6' x 8' sheds which they "give" to people living in FEMA trailers. These folks are in Pearlington which is about 20 miles west of Waveland, right on the Louisiana border. To date they have built 86 sheds and have a waiting list of about 100 families. We have plans to begin building sheds for families in Waveland/Bay St. Louis in the near future. In fact, two men at the camp are building a prototype this weekend. This will be an expansion of our ministry and not a change of focus. Will it require more volunteers? Yes. More resources? Yes. But we believe that God will provide as He has in the past. Please be in prayer about this new facet of our ministry.

I am typing this while sitting at the table in our home in Montgomery. Friends from Eclectic are standing in the gap for us for three days while we get a respite from the Gulf. Be blessed and thanks again for your friendship and partnership in the Gospel.

Matt 25:35-36 …… for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me ….

Shoreline Park Katrina Disaster Response Project, 10121 Kiln-Waveland Road, Bay St. Louis, MS 39521

228-493-1272

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