What is your resource?
Hello everyone. Here is some information passed on to you all coming from emails and personal interaction with those displaced... First, and email letter from a friend, whose husband went with his church to help evacuees that are currently at Armstrong Airport...
About 2 hours later, another truck arrived. This time it was a 24 foot Ryder style truck coming from another part of the country. The truck got stuck in our driveway, but after church Sunday morning was freed and then unloaded. It seems that we are becoming a distribution center for supplies and necessities. We are not a huge church, and don't have space for 1000 evacuees or anything like that, but we do have warehouse space. The phones have been ringing off the hook with people saying, we're coming... we've got a semi/moving truck/pickup/ etc of supplies... We are overwhelmed by the response of the Vineyard Community...
Sunday morning, the Pastor made a great point in his sermon. His point, What is your resource? What has God given you that you can give to help these people? We all have resorces. For some it is money, or time, or extra groceries. For others it's prayer, or maybe even tears. For the church, it's a warehouse, and organization to receive and distribute needed
materials from all over the country. For us it is an empty room in our home. Currently we have a Pastor from a new Vineyard church plant in Los Angeles, CA staying with us for the week. His name is David Ruis. Anyone that knows Vineyard music probably recognizes the name. I must tell you that this man has a huge heart. He has flown here to give of his time and of himself to do whatever he can to help. Here is one of his stories...
Yesterday, he went down to the River Centre/Centroplex in Baton Rouge to volunteer. He signed in and began talking to people. Immediately he began getting words for different people. He had many opportunities to pray for people... One story he told me as we were driving back from down town was about a man that lived in Lower Plaquemines Parish (South of New Orleans). This man was unable to evacuate as the Hurricane Approached. It was him, a 6 month old baby, his older son and Father who is in poor health. The home they were living in was only one story. The hurricane came in and the water began to rise. He realized that they needed to get to higher ground. They grabbed everyone in the house and started across the street to the neighbors house which was 2 stories. As they were crossing the street the water continued to rise. By the time he got in his neighbors house and had pushed the rest of his family ahead of him up the stairs to the second floor, the water was right at chin level. He found that with every step he took to climb higher the water level was climbing just as fast. He finally got to the second floor and his head away from the rising water only to find the water already up to his waist... ON THE SECOND FLOOR MIND YOU!!! They headed towards the attic... They climbed up into the attic and threw stuff out the windows to make room for the combined families. Fortunately the water stopped rising, and never got into the attic. After the storm passed, they found themselves stuck in the attic of a home with 16 feet or so of water surrounding them. The neighbor crawled out the window nto the roof and swam across to a nearby boat he saw that had floated into the area. He was able to hotwire the boat and get it running, into which they all piled in and went searching for a place to get rescued... Obviously they made it out, they were at the Centroplex...
This is one of many stories. Nearly all of the 1.5 million displaced residents of southeast Louisiana have a story to tell. These are the things they have gone through. The range of people is very vast,from the very poor and homeless to the middle class business man. People of all races,creeds, and religions are represented.
Some other interesting things about the shelter... The Red Cross has it's act together. Supply trucks are coming in non-stop. The people are well cared for... An interesting thing for the Christians out there... There is a very small Christian presence at this place. Somehow, The church of scientology, has been able to set up 3 tents in the centre where they are manned 24 hours a day and they give "consultations" and massages while the recruit people for the church. The mormans also have a large presence there... Occasionally announcing over a loud speaker that they were going to have a gathering. I know that many churches are housing refugees, but where is the Church's presence in this place?
Another interesting note... While there, it was heard that Oprah Winfrey was supposed to be coming. Immediately orders were given to sweep the floor and start cleaning. AMAZING!!! Please tell me that we are not cleaning for Oprah. Please tell me that we are not doing something that wasn't supposed to be done already, just because Oprah is coming. Don't get me wrong here... I think the celebrity attention is important. Just as it was for the tsunami, it can generate a huge amount of funds and needed aid to those effected... Just don't do anything extra because of Oprah.
Moving on...
In church yesterday, more than half of those in attendance were not from our church. The majority of the extra folks were from the Kenner Vineyard. That church took it hard and flooded. This church family is without a church or homes. They are struggling to find everyone as evacuees have gone in so many directions. Pray for these people. Pray for our church to be effective in using our resources, and ask yourself what is your resource. What do you have to offer...
I want to leave this post on a good note So I ask the question our Associate Pastor asked Sunday Evening at our communion service. What good is God doing/gonna do out of this? I'll end with another story shared at church on Sunday that gives an answer to this question.
A coilition of pastors has been formed in the area that bridges gaps between all denominations. At the most recent meeting a pastor from a local church spoke about something he experienced. This church has opened it's door to 800 refugees. The first night they arrived they slept on the floor. There was some unrest and a few problems with those there. The second day the Pastor got up and spoke to them saying that, "This is a town, and I am going to be the mayor. We are going to have a few simple rules for our town. The first is that this is a town of Love." He had them hugging each other and a few other things. He gave them a few more rules they would need to follow, and then shared with them a brief scripture and message. In his own words, it really wasn't much, but he felt the Lord tell him to give an invitation. So he had everyone close their eyes and bow their heads. He asked if anyone would like to come to Christ please raise their hands. He peeked at the crowd and saw many many hands. He thought to himself, they must have misunderstood me, so he asked Anyone that would like to receive Jesus as their Savior please come down to the front... 750 out of the 800 people came down to the front.
I get chills again even as I type this. Two scriptures I want to share with you all...
1) For those of you that are having trouble asking Why instead of What...
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.
2) For those of you effected by this seeming tragedy...
Matthew 6:25-34
25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? 28 "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? 31 "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' 32 "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Hi,
I am calling on people to pray—please stop whatever you are doing and pray-I know there is an ENO
Where two or three are gathered…please pray specifically today while you are at worship for the countless lives that are still in
With God, all things are possible.
Love,
Alisa
About 2 hours later, another truck arrived. This time it was a 24 foot Ryder style truck coming from another part of the country. The truck got stuck in our driveway, but after church Sunday morning was freed and then unloaded. It seems that we are becoming a distribution center for supplies and necessities. We are not a huge church, and don't have space for 1000 evacuees or anything like that, but we do have warehouse space. The phones have been ringing off the hook with people saying, we're coming... we've got a semi/moving truck/pickup/ etc of supplies... We are overwhelmed by the response of the Vineyard Community...Sunday morning, the Pastor made a great point in his sermon. His point, What is your resource? What has God given you that you can give to help these people? We all have resorces. For some it is money, or time, or extra groceries. For others it's prayer, or maybe even tears. For the church, it's a warehouse, and organization to receive and distribute needed
materials from all over the country. For us it is an empty room in our home. Currently we have a Pastor from a new Vineyard church plant in Los Angeles, CA staying with us for the week. His name is David Ruis. Anyone that knows Vineyard music probably recognizes the name. I must tell you that this man has a huge heart. He has flown here to give of his time and of himself to do whatever he can to help. Here is one of his stories...
Yesterday, he went down to the River Centre/Centroplex in Baton Rouge to volunteer. He signed in and began talking to people. Immediately he began getting words for different people. He had many opportunities to pray for people... One story he told me as we were driving back from down town was about a man that lived in Lower Plaquemines Parish (South of New Orleans). This man was unable to evacuate as the Hurricane Approached. It was him, a 6 month old baby, his older son and Father who is in poor health. The home they were living in was only one story. The hurricane came in and the water began to rise. He realized that they needed to get to higher ground. They grabbed everyone in the house and started across the street to the neighbors house which was 2 stories. As they were crossing the street the water continued to rise. By the time he got in his neighbors house and had pushed the rest of his family ahead of him up the stairs to the second floor, the water was right at chin level. He found that with every step he took to climb higher the water level was climbing just as fast. He finally got to the second floor and his head away from the rising water only to find the water already up to his waist... ON THE SECOND FLOOR MIND YOU!!! They headed towards the attic... They climbed up into the attic and threw stuff out the windows to make room for the combined families. Fortunately the water stopped rising, and never got into the attic. After the storm passed, they found themselves stuck in the attic of a home with 16 feet or so of water surrounding them. The neighbor crawled out the window nto the roof and swam across to a nearby boat he saw that had floated into the area. He was able to hotwire the boat and get it running, into which they all piled in and went searching for a place to get rescued... Obviously they made it out, they were at the Centroplex...This is one of many stories. Nearly all of the 1.5 million displaced residents of southeast Louisiana have a story to tell. These are the things they have gone through. The range of people is very vast,from the very poor and homeless to the middle class business man. People of all races,creeds, and religions are represented.
Some other interesting things about the shelter... The Red Cross has it's act together. Supply trucks are coming in non-stop. The people are well cared for... An interesting thing for the Christians out there... There is a very small Christian presence at this place. Somehow, The church of scientology, has been able to set up 3 tents in the centre where they are manned 24 hours a day and they give "consultations" and massages while the recruit people for the church. The mormans also have a large presence there... Occasionally announcing over a loud speaker that they were going to have a gathering. I know that many churches are housing refugees, but where is the Church's presence in this place?
Another interesting note... While there, it was heard that Oprah Winfrey was supposed to be coming. Immediately orders were given to sweep the floor and start cleaning. AMAZING!!! Please tell me that we are not cleaning for Oprah. Please tell me that we are not doing something that wasn't supposed to be done already, just because Oprah is coming. Don't get me wrong here... I think the celebrity attention is important. Just as it was for the tsunami, it can generate a huge amount of funds and needed aid to those effected... Just don't do anything extra because of Oprah.Moving on...
In church yesterday, more than half of those in attendance were not from our church. The majority of the extra folks were from the Kenner Vineyard. That church took it hard and flooded. This church family is without a church or homes. They are struggling to find everyone as evacuees have gone in so many directions. Pray for these people. Pray for our church to be effective in using our resources, and ask yourself what is your resource. What do you have to offer...
I want to leave this post on a good note So I ask the question our Associate Pastor asked Sunday Evening at our communion service. What good is God doing/gonna do out of this? I'll end with another story shared at church on Sunday that gives an answer to this question.
A coilition of pastors has been formed in the area that bridges gaps between all denominations. At the most recent meeting a pastor from a local church spoke about something he experienced. This church has opened it's door to 800 refugees. The first night they arrived they slept on the floor. There was some unrest and a few problems with those there. The second day the Pastor got up and spoke to them saying that, "This is a town, and I am going to be the mayor. We are going to have a few simple rules for our town. The first is that this is a town of Love." He had them hugging each other and a few other things. He gave them a few more rules they would need to follow, and then shared with them a brief scripture and message. In his own words, it really wasn't much, but he felt the Lord tell him to give an invitation. So he had everyone close their eyes and bow their heads. He asked if anyone would like to come to Christ please raise their hands. He peeked at the crowd and saw many many hands. He thought to himself, they must have misunderstood me, so he asked Anyone that would like to receive Jesus as their Savior please come down to the front... 750 out of the 800 people came down to the front.
I get chills again even as I type this. Two scriptures I want to share with you all...
1) For those of you that are having trouble asking Why instead of What...
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.
2) For those of you effected by this seeming tragedy...
Matthew 6:25-34
25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? 28 "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? 31 "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' 32 "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
posted by Patrick J. Mehaffey at 1:36 PM
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