Thursday, November 17, 2005
Blog from Karoline
Karoline asked me to share it with you. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect my views -- particularly the next to last paragraph! Actually, I was marvelling at how she shared several things I wanted to share but didn't have time for...God is good!
Michael <><
We arrived at Christus Victor around 6 p.m. last night and were immediately welcomed into the church to a corned beef and cabbage dinner. We didn't see too much damage on the way - just some torn highway signs and a boat under a bridge where there is now no water. Pastor Mike gave us the tour of Christus Victor and then took us over to the house where we are staying. We feel very fortunate to be sleeping in a house...even having a bed...as many volunteers are sleeping in the church in sleeping bags or in tents. Christus Victor is on Bienville Rd. in Ocean Spgs, and it's pretty much like 11E in Morristown, but higher density commercial property - businesses much closer together. Some businesses have a few cars, many offices are closed or were closed for the evening - but driving up to Christus Victor, not knowing what was happening here, one might think there was a festival or some other special event occuring - there are no parking spaces to be found! There are people here from Maine to Florida to Ohio....I met Morgan Gordy and also the transition pastor, Pastor Sig Arneson who just left my mom's church in Mt. Juliet and now is here in the midst of all this...and he's 75. He's also Norwegian too :) Can you imagine taking the position of transition pastor here? It's a tall order in any congregation, but for a church that's been damaged by a hurricane, housing volunteers, running a medical clinic (which has now moved out), food distribution center, feeding 200 people 3x a day...etc. Right after the hurricane, the preschool playground even served as a dog kennel.
Our hosts, Bob and Brenda Montgomery, live behind the church. I think there are 19 of us staying in their house, 2 out in a camper in their yard, and I believe a few in a tent. Pastor is sleeping upstairs on the landing. The girls and I are lucky enough to have a bedroom. We attended orientation last night and then the nightly prayer service. One of the Pastors asked where we see God as being near to us and where he is far from us. I see God everywhere here. From these people of this church who work tirelessly 7 days a week 12-16 hours a day coordinating volunteers...I'm talking 7 days a week since the hurricane hit, mind you....to the people who come in from mucking out the houses exhausted, tired...yet with big smiles on their faces...to our instant families, our brothers and sisters in Christ who we've bonded with instantly upon our arrival here. Everyone is a trooper. Everyone has a smile on their face, albeit a tired one. Everyone is kind and loving. It's like we've been here for ages. Some volunteers have been here since the beginning of October! Some people are here for the first time, like us...and some people have returned, eager to help out again however they can. It's very organized around here.
It really affected me last night when the volunteers spoke of people who have lost hope, people who after surviving the initial shock of the situation who now have reality setting in and are facing financial ruin...they did not have the proper insurance coverage that they thought they had. I hope that they find something to hang onto, that God gives them the strength to make it through this...so many people here have related stories about people who now see light at the end of the tunnel...for example, after mucking out their houses they now see an end to this process and hope of re-establishing some normalcy back to their lives...some of the residents here have stated that the Christian community is now their only hope. From what I've heard, Christus Victor with our small army of volunteers is the only church in the area doing this kind of ministry to the residents - most churches that you drive past, you may see one or two cars outside, if any. We are not only Lutherans here....I've met Methodist and Presbyterian volunteers, too....and a busload of volunteers arrived this afternoon from First Baptist in Tuscaloosa.
Those of you who wanted to come with us, but couldn't....I understand that CV will be doing this at least through the end of the year, maybe later. I'm already trying to figure out when I can come back.
Wednesday am - we got up at 4:45 to make breakfast - corned beef hash, scrambled eggs...and baked beans. Didn't have many takers on the beans until we called them "Ocean Springs baked beans". You're supposed to put them on top of the eggs and the hash. We had morning prayer meeting at 8. We made over 100 sandwiches for lunch, then made a couple hundred for the workers to take out with them tomorrow on the job sites. After lunch, we had a couple of free hours so Pastor took us out to Biloxi, which is about 2-3 miles away. Just like they say, you have to see it in person. We went to a house where our team was working. They were the third team that had been there since the hurricane, and they were doing the final work - taking out the insulation under the house and a general debris clean-up. The house behind it had it's front porch out in the middle of the road - it looked like the entire house had slid out into the road! On the ground, amidst all the sandy sludge, you see items that once held a place in someone's house....an old book of classic tales...a child's shoe....also a package of meals ready to eat. The Red Cross Ambulance drives through the neighborhood with it's loudspeaker on, announcing hot food is available. But no one answers to receive it. No one lives here right now. There's nothing but ruins of houses, boats juxtaposed against houses in strange places and angles. On the next street you might see a crane and demolition team. This is at least 4 blocks IN from the beach! On one street I saw an elderly black gentleman with a small shovel...I'm sure it was the remains of his home he was shoveling - there wasn't much left other than the slab. Stairs leading to nowhere. "Do Not Litter" and "No Dumping" signs, somehow undamaged by the hurricane, standing like lost soldiers in areas where everything is trash and ruins. FEMA marks on the front doors, indication potential presence of asbestos, and whether or not the house is condemned or not. Most of them are. It is absolutely mind-boggling. A boat, called the "Luna Sea", next to a back a block or so inland - just sitting right in the middle of town. Pastor says that a mile or so out in the water, debris and cars are bobbing in a tangled mess.
We made and served dinner. The people come in from working on the houses tired and dirty... and smiling, with such a pleasant demeanor. You can just see Christ shining in each and every one of them. Some are teenagers, some are in their seventies. Olga and Bergen are the darlings of the food line. I think people like to see their bright shining faces. They have been really working like troopers. There is a food distribution center in the back. People are lined up in the parking lot to receive canned goods, sandwiches, diapers - etc. - someone said the line was over 45 minutes long. We have a "drive-thru" distribution - people drive up and tell the volunteers what we need, someone goes in and gets it for them.
We then had nightly prayer service. It is now after 9 and I think I'm ready for bed. I don't want to leave tomorrow evening. I feel really connected, really privileged to be such a small part of this...here helping in any way I can. By the way, Bergen hung a sign on Pastor today. It had "jokes" written in the middle of the sign, a circle around it, and a bar crossing out jokes; however, I am sad to say it hasn't worked.
That's all for now - time to get these girls to bed.
Michael <><
We arrived at Christus Victor around 6 p.m. last night and were immediately welcomed into the church to a corned beef and cabbage dinner. We didn't see too much damage on the way - just some torn highway signs and a boat under a bridge where there is now no water. Pastor Mike gave us the tour of Christus Victor and then took us over to the house where we are staying. We feel very fortunate to be sleeping in a house...even having a bed...as many volunteers are sleeping in the church in sleeping bags or in tents. Christus Victor is on Bienville Rd. in Ocean Spgs, and it's pretty much like 11E in Morristown, but higher density commercial property - businesses much closer together. Some businesses have a few cars, many offices are closed or were closed for the evening - but driving up to Christus Victor, not knowing what was happening here, one might think there was a festival or some other special event occuring - there are no parking spaces to be found! There are people here from Maine to Florida to Ohio....I met Morgan Gordy and also the transition pastor, Pastor Sig Arneson who just left my mom's church in Mt. Juliet and now is here in the midst of all this...and he's 75. He's also Norwegian too :) Can you imagine taking the position of transition pastor here? It's a tall order in any congregation, but for a church that's been damaged by a hurricane, housing volunteers, running a medical clinic (which has now moved out), food distribution center, feeding 200 people 3x a day...etc. Right after the hurricane, the preschool playground even served as a dog kennel.
Our hosts, Bob and Brenda Montgomery, live behind the church. I think there are 19 of us staying in their house, 2 out in a camper in their yard, and I believe a few in a tent. Pastor is sleeping upstairs on the landing. The girls and I are lucky enough to have a bedroom. We attended orientation last night and then the nightly prayer service. One of the Pastors asked where we see God as being near to us and where he is far from us. I see God everywhere here. From these people of this church who work tirelessly 7 days a week 12-16 hours a day coordinating volunteers...I'm talking 7 days a week since the hurricane hit, mind you....to the people who come in from mucking out the houses exhausted, tired...yet with big smiles on their faces...to our instant families, our brothers and sisters in Christ who we've bonded with instantly upon our arrival here. Everyone is a trooper. Everyone has a smile on their face, albeit a tired one. Everyone is kind and loving. It's like we've been here for ages. Some volunteers have been here since the beginning of October! Some people are here for the first time, like us...and some people have returned, eager to help out again however they can. It's very organized around here.
It really affected me last night when the volunteers spoke of people who have lost hope, people who after surviving the initial shock of the situation who now have reality setting in and are facing financial ruin...they did not have the proper insurance coverage that they thought they had. I hope that they find something to hang onto, that God gives them the strength to make it through this...so many people here have related stories about people who now see light at the end of the tunnel...for example, after mucking out their houses they now see an end to this process and hope of re-establishing some normalcy back to their lives...some of the residents here have stated that the Christian community is now their only hope. From what I've heard, Christus Victor with our small army of volunteers is the only church in the area doing this kind of ministry to the residents - most churches that you drive past, you may see one or two cars outside, if any. We are not only Lutherans here....I've met Methodist and Presbyterian volunteers, too....and a busload of volunteers arrived this afternoon from First Baptist in Tuscaloosa.
Those of you who wanted to come with us, but couldn't....I understand that CV will be doing this at least through the end of the year, maybe later. I'm already trying to figure out when I can come back.
Wednesday am - we got up at 4:45 to make breakfast - corned beef hash, scrambled eggs...and baked beans. Didn't have many takers on the beans until we called them "Ocean Springs baked beans". You're supposed to put them on top of the eggs and the hash. We had morning prayer meeting at 8. We made over 100 sandwiches for lunch, then made a couple hundred for the workers to take out with them tomorrow on the job sites. After lunch, we had a couple of free hours so Pastor took us out to Biloxi, which is about 2-3 miles away. Just like they say, you have to see it in person. We went to a house where our team was working. They were the third team that had been there since the hurricane, and they were doing the final work - taking out the insulation under the house and a general debris clean-up. The house behind it had it's front porch out in the middle of the road - it looked like the entire house had slid out into the road! On the ground, amidst all the sandy sludge, you see items that once held a place in someone's house....an old book of classic tales...a child's shoe....also a package of meals ready to eat. The Red Cross Ambulance drives through the neighborhood with it's loudspeaker on, announcing hot food is available. But no one answers to receive it. No one lives here right now. There's nothing but ruins of houses, boats juxtaposed against houses in strange places and angles. On the next street you might see a crane and demolition team. This is at least 4 blocks IN from the beach! On one street I saw an elderly black gentleman with a small shovel...I'm sure it was the remains of his home he was shoveling - there wasn't much left other than the slab. Stairs leading to nowhere. "Do Not Litter" and "No Dumping" signs, somehow undamaged by the hurricane, standing like lost soldiers in areas where everything is trash and ruins. FEMA marks on the front doors, indication potential presence of asbestos, and whether or not the house is condemned or not. Most of them are. It is absolutely mind-boggling. A boat, called the "Luna Sea", next to a back a block or so inland - just sitting right in the middle of town. Pastor says that a mile or so out in the water, debris and cars are bobbing in a tangled mess.
We made and served dinner. The people come in from working on the houses tired and dirty... and smiling, with such a pleasant demeanor. You can just see Christ shining in each and every one of them. Some are teenagers, some are in their seventies. Olga and Bergen are the darlings of the food line. I think people like to see their bright shining faces. They have been really working like troopers. There is a food distribution center in the back. People are lined up in the parking lot to receive canned goods, sandwiches, diapers - etc. - someone said the line was over 45 minutes long. We have a "drive-thru" distribution - people drive up and tell the volunteers what we need, someone goes in and gets it for them.
We then had nightly prayer service. It is now after 9 and I think I'm ready for bed. I don't want to leave tomorrow evening. I feel really connected, really privileged to be such a small part of this...here helping in any way I can. By the way, Bergen hung a sign on Pastor today. It had "jokes" written in the middle of the sign, a circle around it, and a bar crossing out jokes; however, I am sad to say it hasn't worked.
That's all for now - time to get these girls to bed.
# posted by Pastor Mike @ 12:24 AM 
