Thursday, September 22, 2005
Stephen Fuchs Diary and Thoughts
I did not go to Mandeville, LA for any personal gain, but I write this report a richer man. I was enriched spiritually. I saw how much God is in control, and how little I am. The enrichment started the evening of Monday Sept. 5 when I found out we were sending people to LA to help. I had been wandering ever since the storm was over, “What can I do.” I was excited that there was an organized effort to put people on the ground to aid the victims of Katrina. The rest of the week I kept busy searching for donations of the supplies we would need to support our team, and again, the experience has made me richer. Donations were made by businesses and individuals that had been in my same position wandering what they could do. In the interest of keeping this report brief I will now relate highlights from my time on the ground in LA.
Monday Sept. 12: We arrived at Tammany oaks mid morning and the place was humming. Busy busy busy. I stepped through the front doors and was immediately asked to help load medical supplies onto a truck. I had not even “signed in yet”, I didn’t even have a t-shirt. How could I say no, that’s not what I came to do or I’d rather do…. The coordinators there needed to here YES. I helped load the supplies and then agreed to deliver them to a hospital in Slidell. The hospital was in very real need of the supplies and was so grateful for the delivery. Even though I had not “envisioned” being a delivery boy, it was humbling to see the need and be asked to take care of it.
Tuesday thru Thursday: I worked on a chainsaw crew. I worked with men from Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Ohio. I was just kind of numb to the sheer enormity of the disaster at this point. Everywhere I looked I saw work that needed done, so every thing was kind of blurred together. Only as we began clearing trees from driveways and felling trees away from houses so as to keep it from more damage did things begin to sink in. I could see the look of near hopelessness on the homeowners face when we would pull up and survey the job, change to a look of hopefulness when we were done. It was a huge burden just lifted from their shoulders. I can’t imagine facing such an enormous task alone. They were just relieved and thankful. We prayed with each family. We shared the love of God.
I know this report is short, and choppy, but there are so many things that made an impression on me. I know that there are things that really meant something to me at the time and now I cannot remember them, or cannot put them into words. Some experiences I will remember later on and be blessed over and over again by them. Working with the men from all over the US was a blessing as well, and a joy. Working with our team from Ohio was a blessing and a joy. All of us worked together, no one worried about who got the credit, other than to praise God in our prayer at the end of the job.
Stephen Fuchs
Monday Sept. 12: We arrived at Tammany oaks mid morning and the place was humming. Busy busy busy. I stepped through the front doors and was immediately asked to help load medical supplies onto a truck. I had not even “signed in yet”, I didn’t even have a t-shirt. How could I say no, that’s not what I came to do or I’d rather do…. The coordinators there needed to here YES. I helped load the supplies and then agreed to deliver them to a hospital in Slidell. The hospital was in very real need of the supplies and was so grateful for the delivery. Even though I had not “envisioned” being a delivery boy, it was humbling to see the need and be asked to take care of it.
Tuesday thru Thursday: I worked on a chainsaw crew. I worked with men from Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Ohio. I was just kind of numb to the sheer enormity of the disaster at this point. Everywhere I looked I saw work that needed done, so every thing was kind of blurred together. Only as we began clearing trees from driveways and felling trees away from houses so as to keep it from more damage did things begin to sink in. I could see the look of near hopelessness on the homeowners face when we would pull up and survey the job, change to a look of hopefulness when we were done. It was a huge burden just lifted from their shoulders. I can’t imagine facing such an enormous task alone. They were just relieved and thankful. We prayed with each family. We shared the love of God.
I know this report is short, and choppy, but there are so many things that made an impression on me. I know that there are things that really meant something to me at the time and now I cannot remember them, or cannot put them into words. Some experiences I will remember later on and be blessed over and over again by them. Working with the men from all over the US was a blessing as well, and a joy. Working with our team from Ohio was a blessing and a joy. All of us worked together, no one worried about who got the credit, other than to praise God in our prayer at the end of the job.
Stephen Fuchs
# posted by John McGuire @ 3:32 PM 
