Overall picture of Gulf Coast disaster

I was searching the internet to see if anyone has been able to put together the magnitude of the damage from Hurricane Katrina in the gulf coast region. I have the latest statistics that are available and it is shocking. Consider the numbers and what they mean.
900,000 people displaced
285,000 homes destroyed
20,700 businesses destroyed
1,100 schools destroyed
12 hospitals destroyed
286,000 people lost their jobs
almost 1,400 people lost their lives
3,200 people are still considered missing

I want to focus on the families. Can you comprehend what the implications of this is? Many people lost everything, homes, jobs, and families are seperated. Children are trying to adapt to new surroundings, have to go to new schools, make new friends, try to understand how they have lost all they had.
I am frequently asked how many homes have been rebuilt? My best guess would be less than 1%. Lets speculate and be optimistic and say that 10% are rebuilt which is unlikely. If 10% were rebuilt and lived in, that would mean that there are still 256,500 homes that need assistance. The numbers are staggering.
Yesterday I talked with a pastor who asked me the following question: "Why are there so many people waiting for help to arrive? Why are they not doing something themselves?" The pastors question was not a negative question, he was seeking some understanding as to the mindset of the people.
Here is my response: "Many people are in a state of shock to some extent. For those who still remain in the area they are surrounded by destruction. Every street is lined with garbage and debris. People are overwhelmed by the situation/destruction all around them. There is another issue for the people. If they see their homes in the condition they are in and begin to strip there home down to the studs, how will they rebuild? Many do not have jobs anymore. Many have not received money from insurance companies. The only hope they have is for people coming to help them and for people to get involved in rebuilding their lives."
Hurricane Katrina has been and still is a problem for so many. The end to their tragedy is no where in sight. The reality remains , the quickest resolution to the situation is for more people to get involved by going.

Pastors plea for help

I was driving in the car yesterday when I received a phone call from a pastor in Biloxi, MS., reminding me of his situation and his immediate needs. Pastor Tran and his wife, pastor what used to be the Vietnamese Baptist church in Biloxi. It was destroyed in Katrina and we have helped to clear their lot with many of our teams. They lost their home and a vehicle. On top of all that most of their congrgation lost their homes and have had to move from the area.
Therefore there are very few people in the congregation and the base of those able to tithe has dropped substantially. Pastor Tran has shared his need for their day to day needs as they are unable to receive a salary from the church.
There are many Vietnamese in this area. It is my understanding that close to 80 Vietnamese people lost their lives in this area surrounding the church.
My desire is to help pastor Tran in any way I can. I want to see his church rebuilt. I want to see the Vietnamese people have a place to worship together again in East Biloxi. I would ask that you lift Pastor Tran and his wife before the Lord. They are carrying a tremendous burden.

Another gem from MLK

"I would rather be a man of conviction than a man of conformity. Ocasionally in life one develops a convition so precious and meaningful that he will stand on it to the end." (The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. p.331)
What are some of my convictions? What things in life do I just go along with because they seem to be the norm?
Isn't it sad how quickly the moral values of society have gone downhill? What was unacceptable ten years ago is now considered to be ok? How does this happen?
Maybe it is because we are unwilling to stand up for what is right and go against the grain. Maybe it is because we lack strong convictions to stand for what is right.
MLK died for what he was convinced was wrong. He also stood for nonviolence to change the course of history.
As Christians do we not have the mandate/obligation to stand up for truth and what is right? Or maybe we should just conform to those who approve of things that are contrary to scripture. I don't think so!!!

Martin Luther King Jr.

I recently read the autobiography of Martin Luther King. He was a man of tremendous courage and commitment to say the least. He is a true inspiration. The book included many of his speeches. He was a brilliant man and a tremendous leader. There were a few quotes that stood out to me and I want to share some of those over the next few days. I have thought alot about some of the the things he said and I invite you to do the same.
At a certain time in MLK's life he was asked if he would change his view on a particular issue and be swayed to popular opinion. His answer was this. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge, moments of great crisis and controversy. There may be others who want to go another way, but when I took up the cross I recognized its meaning. It is not something that you merely put your hands on or something that you wear. The cross is something you bear and something you die on. The cross may mean the death of your popularity." (Taken from the Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. p.342,343)
As Christians we have to stand for what is right, what is true, even when it is not popular. I see it all around. If anyone stands for what is right, and that is against the mainstream view, they are labeled as a lunatic or troublemaker.
At what point do we say "I would rather be standing for what is right than standing for what is popular."?
Thoughts.

Modern technology

I am a big fan of some of the modern technology. Here is one of my favorites. Skype.
Skype allows you and I to talk to each other on the internet. Not text message but actually talk to each other. I talked with our base directors in the Ukraine on Saturday afternoon for free and all I needed was a headset with a speaker to talk into.
If any of you who read this have skype let me know, then we can talk together.
If you don't have it just go to Skype.com and download the program for free. Get a user name and then let me and others know.

As I write this I look outside and see a snow storm happening. It seems quite different than the gulf coast. I am reminded again today that I am blessed.

Fox News has it right

I have found myself watching television this afternoon as I am following President Bush's trip to the gulf coast area. Of course he went to New Orleans, but he also just held a press conference from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. It was very refreshing.
Shep Smith is by far my favorite journalist, and he is from Mississippi. He has a show called "Studio B". Today he has focused on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and showed up to date pictures from the coast. It looks so familiar. He is pleading with people to come and help.
Shep keeps saying things like,"you can never know what it is like unless you see it firsthand" and "I think if more people knew they would come". Well I for one want to echo that.
Credit cards are maxed out, insurance companies are playing games with people, and still over four months later houses have not been gutted out. People are without jobs, schools, hospitals and churches.People outside the gulf coast need to come and help. They need people with good hands and big hearts. They need faith based people to come and help.Will you get paid? No!!! Will you feel better for helping? Of course you will!!!

The widows (childs) mite

Last night I had the opportunity to speak to a local youth group about our ministry in the gulf coast. I shared that there is still such a need for so many people. I talked about some of the people we have met. I tried to paint a picture of what our city would look like if "Katrina" had come our way. I was not sure how well I was able to communicate with those who were very young.
As I was standing in the foyer after my time of sharing, one of the young girls, age 12, came by. I thought she was hoping to talk with another person I was talking with. She said she wanted to talk with me.
She said that she liked what we were doing and wanted to know if I would be at church on Sunday morning. I said I would. She then said I want to give you $40.00 to help with what you are doing. Her Dad stood behind her as she shared this with me and I could see the joy on his face. I knew that this young lady was sacrificing some of her own money. I believe this young lady has a heart for missions. Who knows but someday this young lady may become a missionary herself.
We can all make a difference. God loves the heart of a cheerful giver. I know that there is such joy in giving to the work of the Lord.

Complainers..they wear me out!!!

It was one of those weeks where we were overwhelmingly busy. The days were long from 6:30 in the morning to 11:30 each night. It had some interesting challenges.
There were two situations that stand out to me. First was a negative. Negative people complain about everything, and I mean everything. It is amazing to me to see how certain people will complain about the simplest of things. I do not know how people get so worked up about simple things, especially when they look around at all of the tragedy and turmoil.
In Biloxi the basic things of life are difficult to come by. For instance there are only two grocery stores open in East Biloxi. Most people do not have running water and/or electricity. Yet people survive. They hardly complain. They have their homes ripped apart, that is if they have a home at all.
Some of the people we brought into that area were disgusted that they might have to use a port-a-potty in order to go to the bathroom. It was not good enough for them. It is interesting that those complaining were adults. The teens were just fine with it. They never complained. It certainly was not all the adults just two or three. Sadly they caused their leader much frustration.
As I sit in the airport waiting for my flight home, I am listening to those around me and all I am hearing is complaining. "My flight is delayed", "the people working here are so stupid", "I should not have this inconvenience." The man sitting beside me is swearing, acting like a racial bigot. I can see he is without any joy in his life.

Now for the positive. On the way home from Biloxi on New Years Eve our tire blew out on the highway. It didn't go flat, it blew. We had a choice, complain or be thankful. We chose to thank God for this opportunity to trust Him.
I ended up calling a gentleman from Pascagoula who we had helped by putting a roof on his home. I asked him to come and assist us as we were stranded on the side of the road. He was very happy to help us. While we waited for him another vehicle stopped and offered to help us. In fact the driver "just happended" to have the same tire as we had just blown on the back of his truck. He sold us the tire for $5.00.
When David arrived from Pascagoula we drove to a nearby exit and had the new tire installed on the rim. It cost $10.00, but David paid for it for us as a way to thank us for our helping him. My theory is this. Instead of complaining about things, thank God for his blessings. Thank Him for his answers to prayer.
Which one are you? The one who complains or the one who thanks God for the circumstances we find ourselves in?