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kairos: "a passing instant when an opening appears which must be
driven through with force if success is to be achieved .... "
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Hurricane Katrina brought great devastation to the Gulf
Coast. But with it also came a great opportunity for the Church to leave the
pew and put her hand to the plow. It's a God ordained
kairos moment
that must be seized. Like at the pool of Bethesda, the church must
move while the Holy Spirit is stirring the waters. God has been and continues to be amazing
as He has proved His presence and shown His might over the past months. He is
the Sustainer and Provider. He proves Himself to be faithful and able
to do exceedingly abundantly more that we can ask or think, He is a
"just in time" God.
This journal is comprised of the periodic updates that
we
have e-mailed to
friends of the ministry over the past 4 years. They chronicle the
progression of our personal ministry and the development of the
relief efforts that we support. Martie, my wife, and I have been in the Gulf region
since September 2nd, 2005. The journal entries begin the first week of
September the day we left for the coast from Montgomery. I trust
these words will serve to encourage you in
your faith and glorify God for the great things He has done and continues to do
here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.
Charley Elgin |
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…. you shall raise up the
foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of
the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
Isa 58:12 |
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Journal Entry
From Waveland, MS
for November 2009 |
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We trust that this update finds you
well and strong in your faith.
Before I tell you about the
happenings in Waveland, I wanted to
share an encouraging word with you.
Just yesterday I received an e-mail
form a dear friend of ours, Edwin
Messerschmidt. (Yes he is related to
the German airplane builder.) Edwin
and his wife Ruth (who has gone on
to be with the Lord) are more than
dear friends, they were our teachers
and mentors when we set our feet on
the path of service to God in the
early '90s. Well ..... when I
received his e-mail I was filled
with joy to see that Edwin, at 90,
is still obeying the call of the
Lord. Both Ruth and Edwin have
spent their lives serving God ... as
missionaries, professors,
encouragers, mentors, the list goes
on. Let me share an excerpt of his
e-mail and you will see why we love
this guy!
"
My Missionary Ministry Trip -
November 7-14, 2009. Serving with
OM on the Logos Hope as a volunteer
while based in Barbados, West
Indies.
The Lord confirmed his promptings to
be available following my wife,
Ruth's, decease in April 2009. He
brought Paul Lierman, an engineer
with the Moody Radio here (Tuscaloosa,AL)
to go with me. Paul was surely the
"lifter of my head", enabling me to
go and do that which I could not
have done alone. He was a real
Barnabas to me.
.... Upon our arrival in
Bridgetown, Barbados, the large
ship was at anchor several miles
out, which required us taking a
lifeboat to the ship's side and
climbing up a rope ladder to
board.
This was a challenge, having an
artificial hip and a bulky life
preserver.
.... We had the privilege of
meeting, talking with and
praying with some young people
among the over 400 on board,
representing 35 different
countries.
.... was privileged to speak
at morning devotions and several
meetings with smaller groups.
Paul and I met and talked with
some Barbadians about the Lord.
On Friday before returning, we
joined a small group and went to
the only prison on the island
(housing 600 inmates) for
ministry there.
....
I thank the Lord for His grace,
your prayers, and am deeply
grateful for the safety in
travel and for the profitable
time he gave us as we sought to
walk with and obey Him.
......... I am doing well
awaiting the Lord's next
assignment "
"I am doing well and
waiting for the Lord's next
assignment"
.... how awesome is that! Why
do I share this with you? Not
to puff Edwin up ... he would
have none of that ... but to ask
this. Are you, like
Edwin, waiting on the Lord's
next assignment? You are
receiving this e-mail because
you have served along side
Pathfinder Mission at some
point. You next assignment may
or may not be Waveland, MS. My
question, are you ready to go?
Martie just read 'Flags of our
Father' and so she wanted to
watch the 'Sands of Iwo Jima'
with the Duke. When it was time
to go Sgt Stryker would say
'Saddle up!' Are you ready to
go? To serve the Lord where
ever He leads? I pray that you
are. We thank the Lord for
bringing Edwin and Ruth into our
lives ... they are a part of the
"shaping" process the Lord used
to prepare us for this work.
Our hope is that we have carried
on in their steps and have been
part of what the Lord is doing
in your life. Saddle Up!
We have been busy helping folks
finish their houses. There are
so many homes that were started
but not finished ... the
families could wait no longer
... therefore many of them moved
in, living around the unfinished
floors, bathrooms, whatever. As
we meet these folks we always
have the opportunity to share
the Lord with them and encourage
them.
Anna.
While working on a home this
last week, a woman (a widow) who
lived across the street saw the
volunteers and asked if there
was anyway she could get some
help. She owned a small flower
shop in New Orleans before the
storm and lived in the back of
the shop. She lost her home and
business to Katrina and moved to
Waveland to get a new start.
She lives on social security ...
her house insurance is $400 per
month ... you can probably
finish this story ... there are
so many who find themselves in
the same situation. Well,
Martie and I met with her
yesterday and we think we can
help with her home. There is not
much left to do, but more than
that we talked about the Lord
and the importance of faith for
most of the time together. What
she needed more than a hammer
and nails was a listening ear
and a word from the Lord.
Asa.
I was called by the Waveland
permit office on Monday of last
week. It seems that Hurricane
Ida snapped a 60ft pine tree off
and it landed on Mr Asa's roof.
He is on a fixed income, no
insurance and rain was on the
way. As the Lord would have it,
the men from Orlando that were
here are trained in tree removal
... they have had a lot of
practice in Florida .... so I
sent them over and in no time
the tree was off of the house
and a blue tarp was on the
roof. A number of rafters were
broken and there was a big hole
left behind. A team from
Atlanta was due to arrive on
Wednesday. They had experience
in roofing. Now, for those of
you who know me, you know that I
am not that good. Prophecy is
not one of my spiritual gifts.
There is no way that I could
have anticipated this need.
Three days after the incident,
the roof has been restored, and
the other 60ft tree next to the
one that snapped off was cut
down. We didn't have the funds
to purchase the materials needed
but I sent a few e-mails and the
funds were sent to us. I told
Mr Asa that God was the master
planner. He provided just what
was needed to fix the problem.
He is a just in time God!
Michelle.
Michelle lives in the county,
west of here about 12 miles.
She and her husband have 6
children, all teenagers. They
adopted 3 of the children (
children of a family member)
after Katrina. They
built most of their house
themselves, but ran out of time
and money. We are working with
the Housing Resource Center who
is providing the funding for the
materials. We needed to install
siding and ceramic tile ...
guess who showed up this weekend
to work on the house ... pretty
cool.... the tile is down, the
siding is up ... closet doors
hung ... base molding in the
bedrooms .... Michelle, 3
daughters and her youngest son
came to the camp for supper
before the volunteers left and
once again we had the
opportunity to share the Lord
with them. The Alabama
volunteers showed Michelle and
her family their faith by their
works not just by their words.
Volunteers Needed!
We still need volunteers to
finish the houses we are working
on and for the many others that
are waiting for someone to help.
For the people of Hancock County
struggling to cross the finish
line with their homes, that we
can help them finish the race
For the people of Hancock County
struggling with hurts, habits
and hang-ups… addictions,
depression, suicide, abuse,
abandonment
For the lost people of Hancock
County who need Jesus, that
Pathfinder can be a beacon of
hope
For the launch of the Celebrate
Recovery ministry in January.
For volunteers to help finish
the work here.
For Pathfinder Mission ... that
the Lord will continue to
provide for the financial needs
of this ministry ... both for
ministry and personal support
Martie and I love you and thank
God for you. Be blessed
Charley
By His Grace
and for His Glory
Charley Elgin
Pathfinder
Mission
www.pathfindermission.org
228.493.1081
Isaiah 58 Rebuilding Houses -
Restoring Lives
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