LRBC

LRBC to Lakeshore Mississippi

January 5-12, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers while we were in Mississippi. So many people have asked for an update that I thought I would just write a travelogue of sorts. I almost can’t express the depth of the story, but I will try. There really aren’t words to tell about all we saw, the people we met, and the on-going needs in this Gulf Coast community. One man in our group prayed that “this experience will so change us that we will never be the same; so that we would give all to Jesus Christ.” I believe that many of us grew in ways we didn’t expect – we came home with a deeper compassion and love for people in need and a deeper desire to serve in our own community.

♥ Background

In a way, the Lakeshore story began three weeks before Hurricane Katrina when Pastor Don Elbourne told his people he envisioned their small church ministering to their community in sort of a “relief ministry”—seeking to meet the needs of those who needed help. He had no real direction at that point but the people began to agree that they should help their community. The thought had been planted but the people did not know they would begin this ministry before they had a chance to fully develop it. Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005 and Lakeshore had a full-time relief ministry.

Though we did not know it, we first heard of the Lakeshore Church shortly after the hurricane. A church in Louisiana was collecting money to put up a temporary church building for a little town on the coast. We did not even know the town’s name but our church sent money to help. We only found out that our money went to Lakeshore last Wednesday when Pastor Elbourne told how they got the         Quonset hut. In July, Larry got a letter from Carlisle, PA asking if anyone wanted to join a work crew being assembled for January 5-12, 2008. It seemed so far away but we wanted to go and began fund raising. In the end we collected $10,000 to give to this needy church who is first of all serving others before themselves. It must be noted that January came quicker than we thought it would!

♥ Trip

Everyone was excited as we arrived at San Jose International Airport around 5 a.m. Some of that enthusiasm quickly dispelled when we found that flights were changed, some tickets were unavailable and Delta had somehow even deleted the last leg of our flight. Larry spent one hour in line trying to get the tickets and was the last one on the plane right before the gate was closed. We were all hoping our problems were solved, but Delta had also changed our direct flight from San Jose to Atlanta to include a stop in Salt Lake City a few days before we left. We arrived in SLC with five minutes to get to our next plane instead of the planned one hour layover, due to the airport closure. Brian Clappin ran to the gate and asked them to open the plane for the 19 people who were running over. We made it to Atlanta, but of course we missed our flight to Gulf Port. All but 8 of the group were able to get on the 5:30 p.m. flight while the rest of us waited until 10:30 p.m. Needless to say it was an exhausting day. You can read the whole story at www.arbcainlakeshore.com. (Scroll down to “A Traveling Story.” There are lots of pictures there, too.)

We were very thankful that Scott and Carole Kemper joined us from FL. They drove over and arrived before we did. Having gone out to the Lakeshore site early in the evening, they found that the sleeping arrangements were full and it would be difficult for all of us to squeeze in among the 130 people already there--plus there were no more cots available and the cold, hard floor didn’t sound inviting to those of us with back problems. Scott found a motel about 8 miles away from the church and reserved 5 rooms. It was a great blessing because we had comfortable beds and showers to return to after the hard days of working.

♥ Work

 Sunday morning we drove our three rental vans out to Lakeshore Baptist Church. We got our first view of the Gulf Coast after Katrina: some of the roads were only dirt, foliage was still stripped bare, and homes lay in ruin next to small FEMA trailers. Most of the expected 150 people (130 men and 20 women) were already on site and it must have seemed strange for this little church of 34 members to have the Quonset hut they are using as a church building filled to the max. Volunteers are constantly coming and going but we were told this was the largest group of volunteers at one time. Pastor Elbourne preached a very good sermon, we ate lunch together in the mess tent, drove around the coast area for a more in-depth view at Katrina’s fury, then met for a team meeting in the evening. The large group was divided into smaller work teams: electrical, siding, drywall, runners, piling diggers, gophers, rear support, ministry, distribution center, handymen, cooks and writers. Our LRBC people were on many different teams and worked very hard in their respective areas throughout the week. The group leader showed a stuffed Gumby he’d found in the wreckage of a home on a previous trip to Lakeshore. He said it was now our motto for the week. “Semper Gumby” (meaning: always flexible J). And, for sure, we needed to be! This past week lots of work got done. I think the teams worked on about 10 homes during that time. Thus far, 26 homes have been built and 108 homes have been refurbished since Lakeshore started this ministry of mercy after Katrina.

The work crews had to be at the camp site at 6:00 a.m. each morning. We had to get up earlier than those at the camp site, but we didn’t mind it since we had a comfortable place to sleep. When I first saw the distribution center I was assigned to clean, organize and fill, there were no words except “wow!” It was daunting. Empty, dirty shelves needed to be filled so that the community could once again empty them beginning on Wednesday. The storage hut was full of mildew and mold and there were even mushrooms growing on the wet floor. Boxes of donated clothes were soaking wet and full of mold; I didn’t know if our team of ten (mostly teens) would be able to accomplish this massive job. Monday and Tuesday we worked so hard and by Tuesday afternoon you wouldn’t believe the difference! The people who run the Center from Lakeshore were so thankful that this job finally got accomplished and we were exhausted albeit joyful that we could help them. They don’t have time to do organizing since it’s just a full time job filling shelves and keeping track of those coming to the Center.

Before and after in the Distribution Storage Center

The weather was great for the first four days and each team got so much done. Houses were going up, trees were coming down, things were being cleaned, people were ministering to the hurting and we constantly thanked the Lord for the opportunity to serve these people who were becoming dearer to us each day. As for those of us in the Distribution Center, Wednesday is the day that things changed. In my journal I wrote “On Monday and Tuesday we blessed the people of Lakeshore; on Wednesday through Friday they blessed us.” The community members came to the place that they had been relying on for 27 months to get food, clothes and help. As they lined up early for the 9 a.m. opening, we saw young and old, the poor, the dirty, those with missing teeth and poor hygiene—it wasn’t a very nice sight. I will confess that many of us were a bit repulsed by those waiting for our assistance. As they started to file into the building looking for items they needed and wanted we sought to help them—some needed bags carried, some had special requests, some just  needed to talk and our hearts began to change!

The residents had experienced hurricanes before, much like we in CA experience earthquakes. Some didn’t evacuate because they never evacuated before. During the week we heard many stories that would break your heart. An old woman told us how she swam from her home as it flooded and was left only “with a wet pair of pants and a wet little dog.” We heard of the older couple who offered their water to others rather than drinking it themselves. We had tears in our eyes as we heard of a man who returned home to find his wife dead and house gone.  Each day, one woman came to the center more drunk than the day before—it was pitiful and we couldn’t help feel for her when we learned that she has lived alone for the last two years in a small FEMA camper with no electricity. There were stories of loss, suicide attempts and suicides—everyone lost something or someone, many lost everything; but the one thing we didn’t hear too often was whining, selfishness, or anger at God. People and volunteers who live in the area are tired though—at times their tempers flare simply from exhaustion or frustration.

People were deeply appreciative of the volunteers coming from all over the U.S. They thanked us so much and were so warm to us that it was almost embarrassing. We didn’t go to be thanked over and over. We just wanted to give them hope and assistance in the name of the Lord. Instead, they taught us that possessions are not what makes a person happy, that we have many blessings in our lives that we take for granted, and that a loving heart can be hid behind poor hygiene, grammar or weakness. They taught us to love what some would see as the unlovable. I wish I could tell you all the stories. I can’t even remember them all. There were times after hours of listening, that I went to the outhouse (yep!) and just cried for the people I’d met. At first I didn’t know I would be able to love these people so much—but God gave me a heart for them and I found that they often just needed an arm around their shoulder, a hug, or someone who was willing to let them give a kiss on the cheek (as I was given quite often).

Larry and I had one experience that will always stay with us. On Thursday, we were asked to go immediately to speak to a man who had a dire need. We stopped at a storm damaged home to talk with a man who had tried to commit suicide in November. The hole in his head was healing but he will always have brain damage. So many things brought him to the point of absolute hopelessness where he felt he had no other option—finances, family and his general life situation led him down a path he thought he’d never take. Again—though we were able to speak truth and love to him, find out his needs and be listening ear—we felt that we were blessed by this man. He still has marriage and financial problems, and is unable to fix his home, but he realizes that he was blessed by God to still be living and now has a new joy in life. (We’ve learned that Lakeshore has put him on the list of homes to fix.) We hope he will develop good relationships and find the on-going support he needs. We still hope to help this family.

The storm on Thursday was fierce for us Californians but it was nothing compared to Katrina. Crews continued to work in the pouring rain while we looked forward to our night out. We’d planned on going to New Orleans, but the storm seemed a bit fierce to drive down there and walk around. We did go to the nearest “big town” of Slidell and had a great Southern dinner where everything was fried! Fried shrimp, fried crawdads, and best of all hushpuppies! We even had alligator! What a week it was! In the end, I believe that man’s prayer was answered: that we would be changed! What will the future bring? I don’t know yet, but may the Lord use us in any way He sees fit. Lakeshore had no idea what was in store for them, neither do we. Pray that we will continue to grow and be used by the Lord in any way He desires!

Want more of our notes and fun stuff? Check out

http://livermoretolakeshore.blogspot.com/