women of GCC! pack! your! bags!

The date's set, the location's selected, and it's official:

The very first ever, not-to-be-missed, Geist Christian Church women's mission trip!

Within our outreach ministries 'Partners in Comfort' effort, Selah! (ministries for women at Geist Christian Church) is sponsoring a hurricane relief trip in the spring.

This makes Trip # 5 to add to the calendar for 2007. Which groups will step up next and make our 7 in '07 happen? (Ahem ... True North Men's Ministries? I'm just sayin'...)

The week of March 4, 2007 ... Covington LA (New Orleans area).
All women.
BE. THERE.

Seriously, how amazing is this year going to be ?!! Not just for Geist Christian Church, but for the people who know the love of God through service.

I canNOT wait.

come and see

A little road-weary, but mercifully missing the bulk of the Ky/In rainstorm today, our little team o' eight made it home safe and sound.

There's so much to tell, and show, and no 'right place' to 'start.' And once I start, I'm not sure where to stop.

First of all, if you're wondering 'what it's like' -- to see the Gulf Coast, to be on a mission trip, to spend a week 'doing that' -- I'll say the only thing that makes any sense: COME AND SEE.

It's like meeting Jesus at every turn ... it's like the light comes on and you say, 'Ohhhhh, so this is what He meant.'
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." (John 1:38-39)
This is where the presence of Christ is made known.

Second of all, and more significantly, don't ask me. Ask one of the people on this week's trip. Or the April (Beaumont) trip. Or our first, the November (New Orleans) trip. They'll be happy to tell you. They'll even help you pack.

Randy's sermons this month have focused on the theme of "Seeds" - so far, the efforts to prepare, plant, cultivate. A running idea through all of that, to my mind, is the significant notion that GOD is the sower, GOD is the one who tends the vine ... we are the growth, the upshoots, the evidence of the mastery of the gardener.

If there is one thing that makes itself known in doing mission work, it is that GOD is at work ... in us, around us, among us, and hopefully in some small way, through us. None of this is our doing ... the work, the sweat, the effort, the change, the progress, the difference. None of it is ours. All of it is God's. We're just so blessed to be in the proximity when it happens.

In the next few days, I want to share stories with you -- from the trip, from the work, from the people we met there, on the road, and who knows what else! There are pictures galore, and the album should be up (along with the previous two trips) in the next few days (look to the right and click on the links there).

For now, on this night that we've arrived safely home, by way of blessing and benediction for a remarkable week, let me offer my thanks to:

> Larry - our volunteer coordinator, for his direction and encouragement in each day's task (even when we didn't want it!)
> Gayle - a volunteer just like us, for bringing every one of his 80 years of lived wisdom to inspire us in every single thing (but I'm still not swinging my leg over!)
> Shirley - for bringing her 'mission trip vet' energy and encouragement to everything we did (and for roasting by the heat vent waiting for Gayle to make a pattern)
> Toby - for his gift of optimism and his constant reminder that there's hope to be found (and never missing the opportunity to be punny)
> Bob - for his gentle questioning and intense search for information and knowledge that brings help (even if Janet whips him at travel Scrabble - those 's'es will getcha every time!)
> Rod - for terrific humor, a great laugh and an passion to see this mission grow into all it can be (and for making the traffic jam in Louisville far more entertaining than the people in the Vibe were ready for)
> Janet - for showing us a living definition of open-hearted and flexible (and for always making the coffee!)
> Marian - for always being ready to laugh and taking everything as it comes, all the while showing deep faith and gratitude (and that gardening wizardry!)
> Nolan - for asking the hard questions when they needed asking, and for keeping a loving eye on everyone of us at the same time (even if sometimes he rolled his eyes when he did it!)
And to the congregation and staff of Geist Christian Church, for allowing and empowering the overwhelming and humbling opportunities to serve as God calls ... for investing time, talent and treasure in the possibilities of mission ... for being partners in comfort in ways they may not even know.

start to finish

Here we are, safely in Decatur AL. A little more than halfway in our return trip and MORE than a little ready for beds that ARE beds and showers you can turn around in. (Although, I have to say, for church showers, those babies in Gulfport were HOT and STRONG.) (Just like Janet's coffee ... ba dum ch!)

A quick view of the start and finish of the Anderson's house in Biloxi. First day of work was the full team together and we started on siding that could be reached from ground-standing and small-scaffold.By this morning (today was a half-day of work (for travel time), and thank the good Lord for that, given the trigazillion percent humidity already wet-blanketing the coast by 7:30a.m.), 3/4 of our team was back together, and finished up siding (except for that one darn part that has to wait for the electrician and inspector! grrr!). We're so happy for Barbara to have the whole weekend to stand in her yard and enjoy the sight of siding 'til her heart's content.Two of our team stayed at the church this morning, getting it prepared for our midday departure. A new cabinet went into the kitchen, everything was reset (to cover our tracks from having stayed there all week!), AND a truly stunning transformation came to pass in the small garden courtyard.

There isn't a before, but if you will, just look at the after ... and imagine the complete, exact, total OPPOSITE. :-)

(That's Marian. She's the Flower Queen.)

Much much more to show and tell ... conversation continues ... ideas fly ... I need to be writing but I can't keep up with our talking. I said it yesterday after we talked and talked and dreamed and imagined ... and I'll say it again: people, get ready ...

It's been a remarkable week ... well-summarized by Nolan tonight at dinner:

"The first question is always, 'How was the trip?' And I figured out how to answer that: It's the complete spectrum of emotions: from real anxiety to complete wonderment."

I like that.

And? I like the look of this bed ... more to come ... later. 

sunburn on my shoulders

... doesn't make me happy, really, but the DAY sure did.

Having survived Hump Day, we hit our last full day of work (tomorrow is work til midday, travel afternoon/eve) a little (okay, more than a little) bleary-eyed ... but WOW, it was a day of progress and spirit like you wouldn't believe.

On Lee Street, with John and mom Barbara off to work for the day, our team of five (leading our charge in the siding project all week has been 80year old Gayle Barb, joining the effort from Florida, who RVs full time, has ridden 4000+ miles on a BIKE and who put us all to shame with his energy, his knowledge, his precision, and that wry little smile) finished the front siding, even up into the gables, which required no less than acrobatics. A cheer went up from the crowd -- okay, from the five of us -- and we celebrated ... by moving around and working on the back gable. That will be finished in the morning before departure. A whole house sided in a week - by people who even look like they know what they're doing!

Over in St. Bernard's Parish (and yes, the stewardship question of a group working a four-hour commute (two hours each way) from where they're staying HAS been a conversation over the last three days), the other foursome of our GCC Eight finished their work with the Carmel crew, roofing Ronnie and Janet's place. What a task -- but would ya LOOK at the shingles on this baby. Nicely done, don'tcha think?!

Gathering for dinner tonight, we were quiet as usual when food is in front of us (a dynamic that our entire group AND OTHERS have noticed about us!), and I had to smile, thinking how familial we've become. Not just familiar, but familial ... like family. A few of us with tasks in the kitchen ... a few gathering the whole group to the table ... holding hands to pray for food and for the gathered ... a few cleaning up, telling stories ... and lots of laughter and encouragement and compassion (and comparing of war wounds from the week!).

We spent a lot of time in the context of our devotional tonight talking about encouragement, persuasion, community, empowerment, advocacy ...

Let me just say, y'all better buckle up. 'Cause this group is ON. FIRE. to make this Partners in Comfort not only a 15-trips-in-2-years reality ... but to do it RIGHT, and WELL, and to the incredible glory of the God we serve together.

When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4: 31 - 35)

People, get ready ...

helloooooo hump day

Whoooo, kids. It's Wednesday ... notorious in work trip history for being the day that it starts sinking in. Three days of tired, sore and hot. Two days to go. Three days of sometimes close quarters and differences of opinion and work style. Two days to go. Nerves get a little raw, sensitivies get a little more so. And yes, two days to go.

So today on Hump Day at Lee Street, we learned this is not Courtney's favorite sight. In fact, it is perhaps her least favorite. (Middle ladder's me.)

This, however:
makes me quite happy. Climbing the ladder, clenching my hams and glutes every step of the way, all the while wielding a nail gun ... all worth it to know that Barbara comes outside every night after work, four or five times, to look at her new siding. "She can't get enough of it," John tells us today. Worth it, man. Totally and completely worth it.

Wednesday is a day of frustrations, many due to the increasing realization that we are working ... hard, a lot, I assure you, both groups, both sites, both houses ... and then we are leaving. The people we serve, though? They stay here. With the partly-done this and the slightly-worked-on that, and the endless streets and lots of debris and loss and pain and abandonment (by locals, by businesses, by agencies, by 'help', by seemingly everyone). We visit this, and do what minimal we can to help ... for them it's every. day. reality.

So, after three days, with two to go, we also always seem to get an extra dose of the Holy Spirit to see us through. Somehow, the Spirit just knows where to move, and where to rest, and how to do what needs to be done ... so that we can do what needs to be done.

As we talked tonight, closing out the day with a lot of laughter (I had a sore side to go with my achin' legs) and some really powerful storytelling and reflection, we all repeated what we had been told by those who live here ... If it wasn't for church groups and volunteers, nothing would be happening, still. Cleanup and restoration is slow and tedious and painful and heartbreaking. But it will be at a standstill if even the church groups leave.

So we have promised that we won't. We have a two-year plan to be part of the hope ... part of what gets this gulf coast community - not just our little work team - over the hump. And if we need to develop another two-year plan after it, then we will. We will have to. We know these people ... they aren't strangers ... they're John and Barbara and Ronnie and Janet ... How can we not help them?

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4: 7 - 12)

you are light

Well guess who learned all about roofing today?!Alright, so far all she's learned is tear out ... but Janet does know what it means when someone short-nails her ... and (contrary to the expression as she starts up the ladder), if you do it, she's not going to be happy about it!

The group split up today ... half of us (the 'don't EVEN think about putting me on a roof' half) went back to Barbara's for more Fun with Siding. The other four (the 'sure no problem, I can do a roof' half) went for a quick jaunt (yeah, look at a map - we're in Gulfport) to NEW ORLEANS to work on a roof in St. Bernard Parish.

SB is the place you saw on the news constantly in the early days post-Katrina ... water to the roof line. Nothing but house-tops as far as you could see. Even now, Toby shared, all you see are brick structures, totally gutted, with water lines at the ceiling beams. For block after block. Amazing.

Also amazing? The weather this evening. The sky. The air. Hard to imagine that waters so beautifully painted, so serene and reflective ... and tonight, filled with life, boys and dads playing on the shore ... could have wreaked the havoc so plainly on display still, more than one year later.
About 20 minutes down Hwy 90 from the church/mission station, is God's Katrina Kitchen, in Pass Christian. As we understand it, this two-tent, ten-trailer compound houses relief workers from all over, and serves three meals a day, six days a week (the staff takes Sunday as sabbath and rests) to workers who live on the property, and any who come in for meals, all funded exclusively from donations (there is no charge to eat, but donations are welcomed).

Many from the Pass Christian community -- residents who would return to work on homes, or who hadn't left but are low on or completely without resources -- often eat with the workers. No one is turned away. Worship is held each evening, and again all are welcomed. "Not one church, just one God" a sign proclaims. A cross dominates the dining hall, and a spirit of grace and generosity dominate the people. All signs of help and hope in a community still so shaken by the events of September 2005. In fact, there are more of those signs than you might imagine ...

"Leave your burdens here," it says. And even more intimately, reaches further to ask, "How can we pray for you?"

Tonight I prayed with and for our mission team as we closed our devotional time. As I did, I felt the prayers of our community at Geist, our families and friends ... and of the people we don't even know are praying for us ... of the people we don't even know at all ...

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ... For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of the light -- for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. (Eph 5:1-2, 8-10)

It is powerful for me to know that we are held in -- and held up by -- your prayers. Then we become bearers of that grace, and carry those prayers here, where they join the prayers of so many here on the Gulf Coast. In conversations with near-strangers, in the laughter of new friends, in the teasing and camraderie and generosity of fellowship, in the sweat and sunburn of a hard day's work, the smallness of the world, and the greatness of God became very real for me today.

I am in awe of the people with whom I am spending this week.
For once you were darkness, but now . . . in the Lord . . .
YOU.
ARE.
LIGHT.

treasures

"So, do you have any construction experience?"
"Let's see, counting today?"


"These folks are here from Indiana. They're good people."


And seriously, where are THESE guys when you need 'em?!!


tonight's devotional:
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Lk 12:32-34)

A terrific first day of work. Siding (nearly) all 'round Barbara's house, and a quick chance to meet her as she left for work this morning, and son John as he left for a day hard at his lawn care business.

treasure: Knowing that your ability to take off of work for a few days to help someone else allows them the ability to GO to work and support themselves and their family.

treasure: Walking up to a house covered in protective sheeting in the morning, leaving the house in the afternoon nearly covered in hearty-board siding.

treasure: Sharing stories of celebrations, occasions, near misses and family funnies ... all while building your own little family of sorts at the same time.
* p.s. - Happy (I don't know which number) Anniversary to Rod & Carol Howard ... and Happy 4th Birthday to Nolan & Marian Cooper's grandson, Robbie Manuzzi! Thanks for letting us borrow Rod, Nolan & Marian and put 'em to work, when they could be home celebrating with you!

treasure: Starting the day with someone saying, "God bless you all." ... and believing that she really means it, and knowing that even if nothing else happened in that day, that God really has blessed you, just by having that very moment in the presence of another person.

we have arrived !

Another wonderfully uneventful day of travel ... okay, there was that time we nearly ran Nolan out of gas. Other than that ...

Arrived this afternoon in Gulfport, Mississippi, with enough time for orientation, a drive through the area, stocking up on supplies (how many grocery carts full does it take to feed 10 people 3 meals a day for a week?), dinner and now we crash. (Someone's snoring next door. I'm not saying who. But he is.)

First Christian Church, Gulfport, was itself hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. Some exterior brick damage (two of the vans from the adjacent First Baptist Church ended up against the outside wall, and the other two landed perfectly parallel parked at the front walk!), and a flooded sanctuary, office, and classroom in the fellowship hall area. The sanctuary work has been hired out and looks ready for carpeting (in fact, there are sample boards in the gathering area - I wonder if they'll let us vote, too?). The doors have obviously been stained and are propped on the (I'm assuming) chancel area. The stained glass (stunning, pictures tomorrow in the daylight) is - remarkably - unscathed.

For now, everything is happening in the education building.
The upstairs classrooms are our sleeping quarters for the week, and the downstairs fellowship hall is sanctuary on Sunday morning for the 20 or so remaining (of 35) members, and our dining area/gathering space during the week.

A short driving tour along Hwy 90 going west (see Friday's map) took us along the water ... "Wow, they're really right ON the water." "Well, it IS called Gulfport." ... and through the now-known-by-name towns of Long Beach and Pass Christian. Neighborhoods -- not only immediately on and facing the water, but also those a good distance inland -- are still littered with limbs, debris, the occasional carpet scrap in a tree, a boat in a driveway now sideways against a carport, a foundation (only) of what was clearly once an immense and stately home, and even one lone commode just perched in its (I presume) original location on an otherwise bare slab.

As much as the dramatic devastation -- of which there is plenty -- I'm struck by house after house that's just ... sort of ... left. Great damage, of course. But what you SEE is just a charming house, damaged in the storm, likely totally flooded inside, its contents (and perhaps inhabitants) completely destroyed, and now left ... on a lovely lot, surrounded by trees, set back from the road. And now ... just ... LEFT.


Tomorrow we head east on Hwy 90 into Biloxi ... concrete-based siding (it sounds heavy, yes? perhaps very wise!) is the order of the day. I hear there is a pneumatic nailer involved. Whoohoo! More power tools!

For now, some rest ... with thanksgiving for safe travel, wonderful companions, and a congregation of loving pray-ers 'back home (again) in Indiana.'

we're off!

... in more ways than one! :-)

It's day one - travel. And there's already been whole tons of laughter, no one's been lost or left at a pit stop, and we've even stopped a little farther down the road than we'd planned ... that means less driving for tomorrow.

We're just south of Birmingham, overnighting in Bessemer, Alabama. We'll be into Gulfport mid-to-late afternoon tomorrow, orientation with our mission team leader, settling in, grocery run, and a good night's rest before Monday morning's 7:30 work call.

It's so much fun sharing a trip with folks who are new to the experience. Lots of questions and excitement, and lots of openness to whatever God places in our path for the week. I love it. I love it.

It will be a long week, but it will go quickly, if that makes any sense. I look forward to updating you here as much as possible (given whatever connectivity I can scare up) and having great pictures to post and stories to tell when we return.

We also look forward to MANY MANY MORE opportunities for our congregation to share in this mission. Find some comfy work gloves and break in a pair of boots ... or heck, just pack 'em now and we'll help you break 'em in later! God is doing great things in the world, one heart, one soul at a time, and it is an honor to be but a very small part of something so much bigger than we can even hope or imagine.

 

all my bags are packed

Actually, they aren't. But they're about to be.

Tomorrow morning, another intrepid group of mission-trippers heads out of the Geist Christian Church parking lot. This is the third group trip, and our fourth hurricane relief venture (counting my solo tour at First Christian, Tyler TX). Destination: Gulfport, Mississippi.

The really exciting part is that 6 of our 8 travellers are 'newbies'! I just love expanding the circle ... the more people who hear the story, see the reality, live the mission ... the more people come home as advocates, as leaders, as partners in comfort.

Keep in your prayers this week the seven folks adventuring with me:
Nolan & Marion Cooper
Janet Annest
Toby Westcott
Bob Jonason
Rod Howard
Shirley Wells

God be with you as we are apart, and God bring us together again soon.

look 'n' feel

Making a few changes here and there, getting this mission blog ready for the gangbuster two years we have coming: 7 trips in '07, 8 trips in '08.

Hoping we'll have lots o' traffic here, so we're making a few changes, updating links and posts, and yes, working on the long-promised RSS feed.

In the meantime, check your calendar ... when ya comin' with us?!

Partners in Comfort

Katrina Anniversary Marks Start of Disciples Recovery Initiative
While much of America has noted the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this week, thousands upon thousands of residents across the Gulf South continue to struggle to put their families back together, rebuild their homes and communities, and return some sense of normalcy to their lives. While government agencies at all levels have not yet been able to organize a thorough and effective response, hurricane survivors continue to laud the efforts of the churches and church-related agencies. Disciples ... have provided more than $2 million dollars through Week of Compassion to hurricane relief and recovery and sent more than 250 work groups and nearly 3,000 volunteers to the region.

Now WOC is launching a new 2-year, $2+ million long- term hurricane recovery initiative to ensure that Disciples' response to the most disastrous hurricane year on record continues. The initiative calls for Disciples to send 750 work groups to the region between September 1, 2006, and August 31, 2008 ...

Week of Compassion is deeply appreciative of the remarkable outpouring of gifts in response to our hurricane relief and recovery efforts. These gifts have enabled us to respond to immediate needs, to ongoing needs throughout the year following, and now, to the critical long-term needs of recovery and rehabilitation.
- Week of Compassion update 8/31/06

Last weekend in worship, Randy challenged us to become 'Partners in Comfort'.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Tod was back, having left our staff six weeks ago to serve full time in our denominational office, leading this disaster response effort ... he said he'd be back, and he was! Jim and Tom and Pam shared glimpses of the meaning and power, even almost a year later, from the mission trips they joined ... the difference that it makes to make a difference to someone else.

And so the goal is set. 750 trips for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Of that? Geist Christian Church will do 15 ... 7 in '07, and 8 in '08.

This is an adventure in mission like none we've taken. Then again, this is a need -- here at home -- like none we've seen.

The gathered community on August 26-27 heeded the challenge from Randy, the inspiration from Tod, Jim, Tom and Pam and 'stickied' their intentions to be partners in comfort.

80 individuals or families said they'll be part of a misson trip or a support team: hammer, paint, carry, cut, clean, sweep / shop, cook, care for kids, take pictures

49 individuals or families committed to contribute to the mission fund: write a check, direct debit an account, charge a card (contact Elena)

78 individuals or families will prepare relief kits: pick up shopping/packing instructions at church, or click here and look for 'school kit' and 'health kit' lists

We will have several "y'all come" trips ... trips for the entire congregation, in any configuration. (Given the physical and emotional toll of this work, and for liability and safety reasons, we do ask that participants be of high school age and older.)

There will also be opportunities for special groups to pool their efforts and build relationships through serving together. True North men's ministries? Selah! ministries for women? CYF high school youth? Couples? Who else??

7 in '07. We have four of those seven dates READY for your calendar:

February 18 - 24, 2007: Slidell, Louisiana
*This trip will be in celebration of Week of Compassion, working year-round, but recognized each February. We have invited WoC Executive Director Johnny Wray to join us in Slidell.
May 13 - 19, 2007: Lake Charles, Louisiana
*Hit hard by Hurricane Rita, Lake Charles has been quite overlooked in other recovery efforts.
September 16 - 22, 2007: McComb, Mississippi
*Working with an interfaith agency, expanding the reach of recovery.
November 11 - 17, 2007: Algiers/New Orleans, Louisiana
*This mission station is finishing a new facility for hosting work groups of up to 70!

Enough excuses.
Enough delays.
Enough hesitation.
Enough.

Pack a kit.

Write a check.

Get in a van.

Become a Partner in Comfort.