We
started our day with a quick stop at the fire station to get a little bit of
ice. Why would we need ice? Well, it was our day to deliver a meal to the
volunteers in Santa Fe who were hauling and loading hay and feed donated to the
livestock of farms there who received damage from the flooding. We picked up the meals from Mel’s Diner and
headed out. The group doing the work
appeared to be primarily older teenagers, both boys and girls. They were literally tossing and stacking
bales of hay as it came into the fairgrounds show barn. The fair was also apparently a donations site
as well. They had several mountains of
bottled water that I could see, and a registration table set up. A few of the young men helped us unload the
car. We also brought a box full of
random supplies in case they might come in handy. Socks.
Hand sanitizer. Beef jerkey. Slim jims.
Granola bars. And of course,
mosquito spray. That was the first thing
the coordinator of the project noticed.
Not the meatloaf. Not the apple
cake. Not the cooler of iced
drinks. Nope. She reached right in and held up a can of
mosquito spray and cried, “Yes!” I guess
we got that one right.
We
then made a round of visits to individual homes. We stopped by the homes of several in the fire
fighter family, and then found some Seaside families at their homes as
well. The responses to our visit were
quite varied. All of them were grateful. A fire fighter humbly just nodded his head and
said, “Thank you for this.” One young Mom
just needed a hug. Or two. Or maybe just one more. She very much appreciated the prayer. Another had just been denied a FEMA claim
because they deemed her house habitable.
Hmm. The water had completely
covered the electrical outlets and they had mold beyond that. It was so bad that they had already torn out
sheetrock all the way to the ceiling, and the ceiling itself was sagging in
some places. We could still smell the
distinctive mold odor as well. Her
request? Did I know of a fire fighter
who could stop by and give his opinion that the house indeed could not be lived
in in its present condition? I made a
few texts and connected with a Dickinson fire fighter who said he could get
with her.
The
Seaside group that adopted the Alvin neighborhood had a great time on their
Wednesday meal delivery. They sent me
the name and contact number of a pastor who ministers right in the middle of the
neighborhood. The hope is that I can
find someone who can send them some more physical help. That seems to be the hardest need to meet
right now – volunteers. The biggest volunteer
need story of the day, however, came from a Seaside family who went to assist
an older couple in Dickinson. The home
had been in the flood on Saturday and had not been touched since. Seems a church group had promised to help them,
but didn’t show up. When the homeowner
called to see where they were, she was told that they had gone back to Arkansas
to rest so they could go to Florida after Irma hits there. Noble sentiment, I suppose. However, it sure put this couple in a
difficult situation. By the time our
Seaside family arrived (Mom and Dad and two kids), there was a serious mold
problem on the walls, all the carpets were still drenched. The refrigerator still had food in it, but there
had been no electricity for ten days, so the stench was overpowering. Cabinets were ruined. They somehow managed to clear out three
rooms, but they still have five more to go.
They put out an impassioned appeal for some help. I made all the calls I could to other relief
groups. They will determine response
based on who shows up to volunteer this morning. I understand that. I saw a late post that one other church
thinks they might can put together an extra team. There’s a big NOW kind of prayer request,
folks. We need physical bodies in the area
to muck out houses. And I got a message
from a lady in Lake Jackson yesterday.
There are people there who haven’t even returned to their homes
yet. The flooding there is still making
some areas impossible to reach. So …
more to come. I’m attending a meeting
this morning with the guy who will be coordinating outside Baptist volunteers
in the area out of First Baptist Church here on the Island. I’m really hoping they can get started immediately. We also have a group wanting to come from
Oklahoma. They are trying to arrange
specific dates and possibly stay in our retreat center.
And
then, as we try desperately to put Harvey in our rear view mirror, Hurricane
Irma barrels down on Florida. Hurricane
Jose churns in the Atlantic. Hurricane Katia
meanders in the Gulf. All three at the
same time. Right now Irma promises the
most destruction in her wake. Already
tight resources in Texas will be strained even more when Florida is hit. Not to mention the out of control wildfires
in Montana and the Northwest. People in
disaster tend to take on the spirit of those around them who are helping. In the midst of the physical help, what do
they see? What do they crave? What do they truly need? How about Love? Joy? Peace? Patience?
Kindness? Goodness? Faithfulness?
Gentleness? Self-control? Harvey victims, Irma victims, Fire victims … Sure
they need physical help, monetary help, even psychological help. But the gift the Church can always offer is a
part of who we are. Along with our
pallets of water and gallons of bleach and hours of man power, remember that
perhaps your biggest donation is fruit.
Fruit of the Spirit …
Galatians
5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Father,
I kind of understand just tad what your frustration must have been when you
said something about the laborers being few.
Please inspire some laborers and work out schedules and cut through red
tape. Amen.
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