Greetings;
First .... thank you all for your prayers .... My mom shared
this scripture with me on the phone the other day ....
"The Lord says,
“Whoever loves me, I will save. I will protect those who know
me. They will call to me, and I will answer them.
I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue them and
honor them." Psalms 91:14-15 (NCV) ... her parting words
were ... "and don't forget it!" Yes Ma'am ...
I started writing this update
from Wesson, MS at Sylvarena BC Shelter. Sylvarena Baptist
Church is one of the churches that have come along side us in
Waveland to help the folks there. Pastor Stuart Givens and the
members of Sylvarena as well as several other churches in that
community have a heart for Matthew 25 ministry. They have been
awesome in their response to the need.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
As I am typing, I am watching
the Weather Channel and the progress of the storm. This is
Sunday morning so Gustav is still in the lower part of the
Gulf. I am listening to the reports ... how many millibars are
at the center ... what the wind speeds are, what the track is
... this hour anyway .... but the reality is that we can do
nothing but watch ... a great lesson in trust ... trusting the
One who is sovereign ... that He is in control when we meet the
Gustav's in this life. Thank you Lord! There are about 35
people from Waveland here with us. On Friday and Saturday folks
from Gateway Baptist Church called about 200 families that we
have been connected to through our rebuilding ministry in the
Waveland area ... to let them know about the shelter and to
encourage them to evacuate
We know that there is a better
than even chance that our home will be affected by this storm
... but we have insurance ... it can be repaired or even
replaced ... we know that because ... that's what we have been
doing for others for the past three years. What has been
interesting is the mental aspect of this experience. You leave
your home knowing that it may not be there when you return. It
doesn't really matter what you do to prepare ... the storm will
do what it wants to do. So you have to turn your back and
leave. I know that what happens to a home is a very emotional
thing, especially for most women . It is not just wood, nails
and concrete ... it's a home ... memories ... family ... every
piece of something has a special memory ... it is not about the
cost of the object it is about the memory associated with it
.... and so with each picture, curio, whatever taken by the
storm... a memory is lost ....
The rumors have already started
about flooded homes. First reports typically have some
elements of truth, but are most often not accurate ... the
extent of the impact of Gustav on Hancock County will be clearer
as the week progresses.
Tuesday, 2 September
We were awakened at 2:00am with
a tornado warning. That is part of being on the east side of a
Hurricane ... tornados are spawned as far out as 200 miles.
They aren't the huge lumbering tornados of the Midwest, but come
and go almost too quickly to respond. Very stressful for the
shelter residents. I have been watching the people in the
shelter ... They are pensive ... quietly anxious .... wondering
what they will find when they return home.
We got the word that we can go
back to Waveland today. We will go back to this afternoon so
we can assess what the needs are. Louisiana evacuees can't
return yet. Some of the Waveland families are going to wait a
day or so. I don't know but we may have to re-prioritize the
work we do back to relief from rebuilding for a time. I
received a phone call telling me that the camp and our house
appear to be OK. God is good! We are leaving Martie's car is
in Wesson.
There were 5 or 6 more tornado
warnings at Sylvarena after we left. Several Waveland families
decided they would be better off in Waveland since most all
vestiges of Gustav with respect to rain and tornadoes have moved
further west.
We arrived home at 5:30pm
today. We had to wait for about an hour to get power back but
for the most part, everything is as we left it. There are a lot
of branches lying about, but that is trivial. We drove by
Shoreline Park Baptist Church on the way in. Ed and Karen
Murphy were in the parking lot trying to determine the extent of
the damage from the flooding in the Shoreline Park section. We
spoke to them for a few minutes ... extended an offer to help if
we could. The National Guard is setup in the parking lot
across from the apartment complex on Waveland Ave at Highway
90. It takes us back to September 2005. When we crossed the
tracks we saw the tree cutting crews and the Mississippi Power
trucks parked at the intersection. For a moment I was overcome
with a sense of weariness ... and sadness for the people. The
Lord is our Help, our Strength and our Defender
So far we have talked with the
following families: Cunninghams, Nelsons, Gillums, Bynum, Foyes, and
Hanleys. They all fared well with their homes. That was very
encouraging. There are reports of homes flooded in Pearlington,
Shoreline Park, and Lakeshore... next to the Pearl River ....
more on that Later
Wednesday September 3
It looks like the storms are
lining up in the Atlantic. Hanna, Ike, Josephine, Karina ....
ugh! So we are not unloading the truck or removing the
protection from our windows .... we will once the storms have
settled down. This is an interesting year to say the least.
One thing we have learned is
that we need to be more mobile. I think we need a closed-in
trailer that can hold our tools and equipment and a bigger truck
(at least a 250 4x4) that can move it. I know the Lord will
provide it if we do need it. I told someone that I didn't think
we would chase storms but I do think we need to be prepared to
not only protect our equipment ... it is in a horse trailer in
Wesson Mississippi....... but we must be prepared to go to help
where help is needed when the Lord prompts us to go.
Blessings
Charley
By His Grace and for His Glory
Charley Elgin
Pathfinder Mission
www.pathfindermission.org
228.493.1081
Isaiah 58
Rebuilding Houses - Restoring Lives
