God is so good!!

God has again sent help to this area! Friday afternoon around 2:30 PM Lee and Dottie from Brainerd, Minnesota arrived!
They said they were anxious to "get to work". Not wanting to disappoint them, we gave them enough time to change into work clothes. Within one hour they were laying a floor...and so it goes in the Bayou!!

What a blessing they have been! They will be here most of the month. We are also looking forward to the middle of February when a team of 12 members from Minnesota will be here. Our prayer is that God will take all of our efforts and enlarge and multiply them to meet the needs in this area.
Besides the home repair projects that are underway there is a need for food distributions. We will be doing two food distributions to the community in Feb. Both sponsured by NDR (Nazarene Disaster Relief). I am excited to see what God is going to do next!!

From the Eyes of a Newcomer

Living in the north central area of Minnesota, we just weren't prepared for the amount of damage that is still evident this long after Katrina. In fact I am somewhat ashamed to say that we honestly thought that the damage would be repaired and everyone would be 'back on their feet'. We even wondered why we were coming and wondering what type of help, if any, would still be needed. During our drive from Texas to Bayou La Batre all of our questions were answered! There was much more devestation than we ever believed would still be here.
Perhaps you're thinking like we did. You'd like to help IF you are needed but you fear you are no longer really needed...Come on down! You ARE needed! Many are still living in FEMA trailers and unfortunately we have met one and heard of others whose FEMA trailer was taken back to FEMA leaving them in unlivable conditions.
We are currently repairing the home of a single lady who had been living in her bedroom since her trailer had been returned to FEMA because the rest of the home was unlivable. Her roof had blown off during the storm allowing her home to become saturated. Her walls and floor had buckled. Can you imagine the mold and rot from the dampness that had invaded her home after all this time of heat and moisture? If you should feel the "call" to help others, answer that call. The rewards far outnumber the
demands on your time.
I am so thankful for this opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of others. My main prayer is that my "old" body not let me down!
We are excited about the arrival of 4 more from Minnesota. They will be arriving the end of the month. In February a Work and Witness team will be here from Minnesota. We are looking forward to seeing much happen in the Bayou before we leave the end of February...we will keep you posted!

Help Has Arrived . . .

Greetings to our faithful readers. And to those who just happened to stumble upon this blog or who may be visiting us for the first time!

It's a beautiful day in Southern Alabama-- crisp, cool, and a lot of sunshine. Yet, this is not the only thing for us volunteers down here to be excited about this new 2007 year. In fact, we are excited about a great many things, and the first being that we have received some new "long-term volunteers"! After Jesse and Jordan departed, Charles and Tim have been praying . . . and now we have Ken and Betty here with us.


Having been here only since Saturday January 6th, they have already jumped right on in and started helping us on one of our projects and one of our most faithful teams from Pismo Beach, CA. Bridget and Jim have already praised the arrival of Ken and Betty as well. And all together we declare that; God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!We are looking forward to the next 6 weeks with Ken and Betty and of course the teams still to come. We ask for your prayers as we work hard at trying to finish our remaining projects, and again, if you would like to come, COME!

It was also a wonderful blessing of ours to show some friends of ours from Rome, Italy around the Bayou. Danielle and I spent three and half wonderful years in Italy and over those years met some incredible people. Emanuele and Claudia are two terrific people, and special friends to us. Thanks for coming all the way from Roma to see how God has been working through people in the Bayou.

Finally, look forward to many upcoming blogs as Ken and Betty will be blogging soon as well . . . and you won't want to miss their stories!

Grace and peace to you all this New Year!

Happy New Year!

A new year is upon us and the demands of the Bayou have lessened . . . Thanks be to God for His work through many of your prayers, many of your labors, and most of all through the many ways you have loved Bayou La Batre.

There are some changes that will be taking place in the Bayou soon and thats not just the glorious departing of so many trailers, like in front of the Jone's house . . . But that Lord willing we will have some more long-term help through January and February. We will know for sure in the next couple days.Be praying that this does happen. But until then we need to offer up some more thanks!

Othello, Washington Church of the Nazarene came and brought another team to help us this past week. Arriving December 26th with Christmas and New Years happening all around them, they found the time to "gift" some of our home owners this blessed season.
Thanks to the team for their work, to the church for their continued support, and to our Lord for continuing to answer so many of our prayers. It was expecially great to have you here helping us in a very busy time for the Alabama Team. Even though we only got to share a few moments together (including our new baby girl Natalie), we are extremely grateful for your help, and love for the Bayou.

We look forward to the teams that are still yet to come these next couple months, and we covet the continued prayers of all of you.

Grace and peace be with you all this blessed 2007 New Year and may He bring Himself in a brand NEW way to you as well.