this is why

~ we work together. ~
Hopefully, we also work with accurate information, decision-making ability, and some sense of organization. Took the mail (a crate-full!) from our shelter and delivered it to the new primary shelter (First Baptist – and honey, we’re talking east TX Baptist church – HUGE) and saw Debra, who had been shelter manager with me 4 days a week, 10 – 12 hours a shift. She said, “This job is getting real old, real fast.” She’s an outstanding manager, who’s been overtaxed by an unorganized system. The kind of person we can’t afford to burn out, but will. Grrr.

~ all those ‘teamwork’ exercises really DO matter. ~
Driving from Tyler back into Dallas (the main evacuation – and therefore return – route), cars right and left, abandoned. Road signs (the kind that are always missing at least 1/3 of the bulbs) saying ‘expect delays on route to Houston’ and ‘fuel shortage on route to Houston’. What is it that makes us panic and horde, instead of panic and band together?

~ when we say ‘community effort’, we mean it. ~
Connie owns an industrial cleaning service and I’d called to schedule a run-through of the building as we finished moving residents into other housing; time to get ‘our house’ in recognizable order again. When I called to confirm yesterday, she said ‘I’d been thinking about you over the weekend. I was wondering how we were going to get your place back together if you were going to have more people headed that way.’ I caught her up saying that we didn’t open for the second wave, we were closing so that others could open for the Rita folks. But that she’d even given it a thought, after a single 3-minute conversation tells me a lot.

~ we have to actually let go if we’re going to give. ~
In delivering furniture on Thursday, we discovered that Faith’s story had reached many corners, and many people had responded. To the point, in fact, that the question came ‘Should we leave the stuff we’re taking? The apartment seems quite full.’ And the answer was yes. Help was requested, help was offered, help will be given.

Much as it raises flags and questions and hackles and whatever else … we are called to give from our abundance to meet another’s need. Period. Whatever our own sense of right, wrong and otherwise may prefer, giving does not come with the right/duty/privilege/responsibility of seeing that ‘they’ use the gift the way ‘we see fit’. If it does, then it isn’t a gift, it’s a condition.

~ We "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2) ~

Thank you for the use of your church, your time and hard work. - Medical Rangers

During the recent Hurricane Katrina relief operations, several soldiers of the Texas State Guard were honored to be guests at First Christian Church of Tyler. We were humbled by the extraordinary generosity of the people of Tyler in general and the membership of this church specifically. My troops were able to get to know several members as they joined the wonderful volunteer staff of the shelter. The facility your church provided was absolutely first class. We would like to thank this opportunity to thank the Christian leadership of Pastor Wilson and First Christian Church Tyler for providing us with an excellent facility that allowed us to accomplish our mission in comfort. The effort of this church and the volunteers are the very essence of being Christians. Thanks, FCC. - the officer and soldiers of the Texas State Guard, 19th Brigade (Military Police)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Back to Indy, safe and sound. A few more thoughts are rolling around, I want to try to put some closing reflections to this experience ... well, to this phase of the experience. I've a feeling there are many more weeks, and many more opportunities to come.