Path

We are watching the path of Hurricane Ike. The people of Baton Rouge are watching it with keen interest and praying that it spares them from another direct hit.

Last night I received a text message from our Communications Coordinator in Flint advising our team to be on the road no later than 2 pm today to avoid the outer bands of weather associated with Hurricane Ike.

We will do our best.

This morning I looked at its projected path again and the weather forecasters are saying that it is headed to Houston.

There is a message posted advising nearly 1 million people to begin evacuating to avoid being in the path of another hurricane. Some will comply, some will stay and some will wait and see. All will be affected.

Today we will end our work in Baton Rouge. Other teams are already in the staging process to address the effects of Ike should it come ashore as predicted.

After seeing the damage caused by Gustav, my heart goes out to those who will have similar experiences in Texas later this week.

It is comforting to know that there will be people who will travel many miles to provide aid to those affected by the storm. Even then it is sad to think of all of the destruction.

As we head home, we go back with the assurance that in small ways we have made a big difference. The same will be true for the people of Texas.

Regulations

Today was an interesting day.

The white truck rolled up to where we were working. He got out of the truck and walked toward where we were repairing a roof damaged by a fallen tree.

"You're doing it all wrong!"

Those are encouraging words when you are doing your best.

He walked across the yard and climbed the ladder to look at our work.

"I'm shuttin' ya down."

Welcome to the world of Baton Rouge Building Inspectors.

Yes, you guessed it. Nazarene Disaster Response met the Building Inspector.

He shut the job down, so we sat under the shade tree and waited for a building permit. It gave us a chance to get out of the heat, to relax and sip chocolate milk shakes from Sonic.

The good news is that we got a permit and continued to work.

But America has to be the only place in the world where the government can tell volunteers to stop working.

We will return tomorrow and wait for the building inspector to show up and approve the work that we have done.

I am practicing my best smile.

Meeting

Last night the Leadership Team from Baton Rouge First Church came over to the area where we are staying for a brief visit. They were in their monthly meeting and decided to come over and express their appreciation for all that Nazarene Disaster Response is doing.

There were many kind words shared.

There were many funny stories shared as we introduced ourselves to one another.

At the end of the evening I reflected on our meeting.

Here are some thoughts that I had this morning when I first woke.

Every church Leadership Team desires to be effective in their outreach to their community

Some churches become effective when the circumstances demand it, and others talk about outreach as if it is an option to be considered. Baton Rouge First Church has had an opportunity thrust upon them and they are responding admirably.

Every church Leadership Team is a mixture of great talent and diversity

We saw it last night. As each person introduced themselves and described their secular employment as well as their responsibilities on the Leadership Team it was obvious that God has crafted this group of individuals "for such a time as this."

Every church Leadership Team looks the same

There is an old television show that started with words similar to these..."What you are about to see is real....the names have been changed to protect the innocent." As I listened to the stories from Pastor Brad's Leadership Team, my mind went to a person on our Leadership Team and I thought to myself, "that is (fill in the blank)"

It is early and the sun is still hidden below the horizon in Baton Rouge. It will not make an appearance for another 30 minutes or so. When it does, it will again reveal the magnitude of human need and the devastation caused by Hurricane Gustav.

Baton Rouge First Church is responding to the needs that they see.

Our team is responding to the needs that we see.

Here is the question....Are you willing to respond to the needs that come across your pathway today?

Just a thought.

Fallen

The tree fell across the fence and served as a reminder that trees know no property boundaries when they fall. The heavy limb had fallen from nearly 60 feet up in the tree.

We pulled up to the church members house and unloaded the equipment. Upon closer inspection there was only eight feet of tree on his property. The culprit was the sixty feet laying on the other side of the fence.

We easily cut up the tree on Howard's property.

I asked about his neighbor. He said, "I have lived here eight years and really haven't talked to him much."

One of the team members accompanied Howard to visit his neighbor over the fence.

The purpose of the visit was to offer Nazarene Disaster's Response help in removing the tree from the property.

He said that he was a skeptic and seemed wary of the offer. He finally agreed to let us on the property to clean up his property.

We removed the fallen tree. We raked his property. We replaced the broken fence boards. We swept his property. That was important work.

But the most important work was Howard and his neighbor standing under the carport talking about life. I overheard Howard talking about how proud he was of his church and extending an invitation to his skeptical neighbor. His neighbor agreed to visit sometime.

His neighbor had the opportunity to see people who genuinely believe in helping others.

I saw a sign while driving home the other night. It said, "With Heart to God and Hand to Man."

That describes why we are here.

Today I saw a tree become a bridge.

Anticipation

Anticipation is an interesting thing.

When I was a kid I would anticipate a coming event. I would wait and wait until the event actually arrived. Sometime the anticipation was worth the wait and at other times it wasn't.

Today as a "grown up kid," I am anticipating the day ahead.

Getting up early helps. Even though I am anticipating another day of intense heat, high humidity, oppressive working conditions, and hurting people, I am confident that today will be a great day.

The smells of breakfast are wafting into the eating area.

The aroma of servanthood calls us to the field of service and we are anticipating Him to be there ahead of us.

More stories tonight.

Friends

The homeowner came to the door this morning and she blurted out, "I knew the Nazarenes would come and help."

I laughed at the thought of her waiting for the Nazarenes to show up.

She was truly grateful and thought that once we opened up the doors to the trailer that all of her problems would subside.

The Nazarene family is strong and resilient.

One of the privileges of ministry is partnering with others who have similar callings and passions.

We have been blessed this week to join with a sister congregation to meet the needs of the people of Baton Rouge.

We are grateful for new friends whose hearts beat for His Kingdom.

Dinner tonite was superb as we celebrated another day of ministry. It was like a family. We laughed, told stories, and reminisced about a day in the blast furnace known as Baker, Louisiana.

Deadwood

"There is a lot of deadwood around here."

Here is a multiple choice question.

Does the above question refer to:

A. The people from your local church

B. The place where you work

C. The people that attended your last family reunion

D. The effects of Hurricane Gustav

If you answered "A" you probably need to have Him light a fire under your congregation

If you answered "B" you may need to change jobs

If you answered "C" I can't help you out

If you answered "D" you are right.

There is a lot of deadwood in the neighborhoods of greater Baton Rouge.

We spent all day cutting trees that averaged 24" in diameter. We worked in 97 degree heat with a heat index to match. The work was grueling and the pace was demanding. In spite of all of those factors we were grateful to work in His kingdom.

In the wilting heat we labored to assist people who had no other alternative but to pray for someone to come and help.

The families that we helped today were speechless when we left. They tried to think of words to express their appreciation, but all they could say was, "we don't know how to thank you, we don't know what we would have done without you."

My response was simple. "We're here to help."

I am sitting in the area where we ate dinner reflecting on the day. Earlier one of the team members said this, "I felt the prayers of people today."

Thanks for praying for the people of Baton Rouge and thanks for praying for us.

Tomorrow we rise to work another day.