Columbus Mission to Mandeville, Katrina Relief

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.




Keep area around the dumpster clear of trash and large items at all times. Please do not overfill dumpster with branches.







On the left is a kitchen chair... fridge...Tiki Torch?









Several pictures have come back of houses still standing without any material in the walls, but the 2x4s and beams like this one.















James' flooded house before cleanup.









After cleanup. Removed flooded drywall, carpet, furniture, and insulation.








James Richardson of Slidell Louisiana who ownes the house above.















Nancy from Tennessee takes an obviously well deserved break in Jim's garage.





Casey from Cincinnati


"I will go where you send me..."

The first picture is in the Tammany Oaks church building/warehouse. The lady there is Beverly, a member there who was assembling cleaning supplies to be handed out.
The second picture is the front of the house our team of 5 basically gutted in Slidell. It had taken on 3 feet of water and the owner had no insurance.
The third picture is me (Beverly), Bill (Vath), Karen Dorman (from Columbus), and Mr. Gaines, the owner of the house, at the end of the second day of work. Mr. Gaines worked along side of us the whole time.

This entry will update as we get news from the team returning and stay at the top of the blog.

@12:59, Saturday, most of the team is already in their beds after arriving at about 12:25am. I'll point out that ETA stands for Estimated Time of Arrival ;-) Thank you Lord for returning our loved ones, friends, and family to us safely. We appreciate their heart and are so satisfied to do this work in your name. Tonight, we lift up the people we have been and will continue to meet that need us to be your hands and feet on earth. We pray for their safety and recovery as they weather yet another powerful and malicious storm. We ask that you use us to do your will and be salt and light to them. And we thank you for the opportunity to serve. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

@12:03, Saturday, The boys (and girls) are back in town. They'll be at the building in minutes. WOOHOO!

@7:40, Friday, the team is passing Louisville.

@5:30, Friday the team was 76 miles from Louisville, Kentucky. Current ETA is 10:30pm.

@2:15pm, Friday the team has crossed into Tennessee and trucking their way home.

@12:30pm, Friday the team left Birmingham iHop after a tire repair on the bus.

@8:00am, Friday the team was up and around repacking and then heading for home. Birmingham is normally 10 hours from Columbus, but given the pace of the caravan, they should arrive sometime after 8:00 tonight.

@1:20am, Friday the team arrived in Birmingham to spend the night.

@10:52, Thursday the team is now 56 miles from Tuscaloosa, 15 mile inside the Alabama State line in I-59. Current ETA for Birmingham is near midnight Central Time.

@ 8:45, Thursday they had made it to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and were on Interstate 59 headed for their overnight in Birmingham. They took on gas on their way out of Mandeville and avoided the highway backups by taking side roads. North of Hattiesburg, they have found no traffic problems. If their pace is good (and bladder capacity) they'll make it into Homewood Church of Christ aroung 11:00 central time.

I wanted to pass along some occurrences today that illustrate God at work in this project. They have encouraged me and I hope they do you too.

Tammany Oaks has asked for help getting an Audio Visual system up and running (AV for short). My first utilitarian/overly practical assessment was that this request seemed almost frivolous (sorry Tod ;-) But, thinking about it, there are around 100 people from across the country worshipping there nightly. Let me tell you it has to take some major inspiration to volunteer to "muck out" someone's house. Without a sound system and projection it's difficult for everyone to have the words to unfamiliar songs or hear the message.

And, given the following, this side project is obviously very important to Him.

While I asked for the engineered specs for the system that Tammany had designed (these things cost tens of thousands of dollars), I hadn't had time to scrounge for the second hand stuff I thought practical to obtain this week as an interim solution. I got an email, however, from a week 4 team member, Mike Benidetti from Delaware. Not only does he have access to a used sound board, amp and speakers, but he feels called to lead a mission effort much like the one we have running; full time after his last hatchling leaves the nest next spring. Tomorrow, he's setting me up with the gear he has and showing me how to hook it up in Mandeville. And he's nearly arranged for a moving van to take equipment and supplies we have to go down!

So, except for speaker wire, Microphones and 1/4 inch cords, the Audio portion is taken care of. Anyone have a couple to donate?

Right after hanging up the phone from arranging this with Mike, I got an email from David Taylor from WORD Fellowship in Centreville Michigan asking how he could help with the AV solution. He is among 4 members of that Mennonite church (the diversity of this Christian effort absolutely inspires me) who will be coincidentally (right!) at Tammany Oaks volunteering this coming week with me and the rest of our team. David offered a PC and two monitors to project lyrics and verses on Tammany Oak's screen and is bringing them with him.

David (from Michigan!) found the new link on the Tammany Oak's Recovery Blog pointing to this blog and emailed me to see what help we needed to get them an AV solution. He found Tammany Oak's blog in his web search to find somewhere to physically pitch in and help.

Now while I don't expect a long throw lens (hint hint) I'm still expecting a 2000 lumen projector to materialize before we leave on Sunday, though that's my timing. He usually picks his own. You see, God appears to want this to happen and I'm trusting he'll use me where I can help and he'll provide where I can't. My part is writing this to let you know of the remaining need. His will be to draw the right person to the effort who can provide. And, while He's at it, I fully expect the wireless G network adapter and extra video card I'll need to complete the solution with Dave's PC ;-)

A quote from "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" by Stephen King keeps ringing in my head today describing God as a closing pitcher working for the save. "...It's God's nature to come on in the bottom of the ninth, .... Especially when the bases are loaded and there's only one out." A friend of mine, Larry Chiounard, once explained this phenomenon using the Lords Prayer. "Give us this day our daily bread". Not tomorrow's bread, not yesterday's bread, not bread for the next month. He provides what we need for today, today. And tomorrow he'll provide what we need then.

In this effort we get to be the bread. God is providing us to the people of Louisiana and missive devastated by the storm. They are coming into Tammany Oaks and being found by our workers in the bottom of the ninth in their lives. And we're the save. It's such a pleasure to serve Him with you. I thank God for all of you.

John McGuire

I'd like to share a little of our experience in Louisiana this week (week 2) and let you know the money and supplies sent are both desperately needed and appreciated by the people. Bill and I spent some time working in the church/warehouse. We unloaded trucks bucket-brigade style, then sorted and pre-packed boxes of cleaning supplies, while others did the same with food and toiletries. As people started coming in we gave them pre-packed boxes, plus any other needs we could supply such as diapers, etc. We talked with them as we loaded them up and the vast majority had lost everything - lots of moist eyes and some still in shock. Especially sad were the young children - they just looked dazed and sad. We offered to pray with each family and sometimes shared tears and hugs. All we worked with were extremely grateful.

Another day we worked together with a couple of new friends from Nashville for about 6 hours in the yard of a 94 year old lady cutting fallen trees and carrying the logs and brush to the roadside. (Side note to Week 3 - scrub pants worked well in the upper-90 heat)

Next we spent 2 days in a house in Slidell that had taken on about 3 feet of water. The owner was about in his 70's and his wife was disabled and in a wheelchair (she was in GA with a daughter). We removed mildewed drywall, flooring, cabinets, water-soaked magazines and other items. The first day the owner seemed in shock and very depressed. He just wandered from room to room, not saying much. The second day he started working side-by-side with us and by afternoon was telling us what he might do with some of the rooms and teasing and joking with us. The transformation was marked. I believe God used us (and all the teams) to give them " hope and a future" (Jer. 29:11) His teenage granddaughters came by and brought us a plate of cookies. They had made them with the large container of peanut butter the Red Cross had given them. They had sad stories of their own of the majority of their friends from school moving away as their parents had no work. They said, "If we just take it one day at a time it doesn't hurt so bad.”

I know this is long and I could go on and on, but I just wanted to say - if you can, please, please go help. There is more work than people. If you can't work on the houses or chain saw crews, there is plenty of sorting, etc, to do in the warehouse. (and it's air conditioned) In fact they were short-handed there some days. Bill has back problems and I have shoulder problems, and we did all the wrong things as far as lifting and pulling heavy things - but neither of us had a bit of trouble the whole time. We truly feel that God allowed that to happen. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And if you can't go - PRAY. There are so many hurting people there.

Bev Vath

This operation has been soooooo successful. God has graced us with willing volunteers, effective leaders, and pulled together incomprehensible logistics to allow us to serve. He has broken down the walls men use to differentiate their faith in the body to allow people from 12 or more different churches to work shoulder to shoulder. Current participants are as far afield as Dayton, Canton, and Huntington, West Virginia. Our mission has reached so many people in the current disaster zone through God's grace.

As we met at lunch today to discuss the stories, the massive destruction, and the failure of our government and well funded professional relief charities to meet the need it was obvious that this effort cannot just end after 4 weeks of success. It is also obvious that, without major devine intervention, there will be an extended disaster zone after hurricane Rita passes the coast this weekend. There have been many references to Mathew 9:36-38 describing our situation as members of the body of Christ right now.

Our work teams have been half of the volunteer population working with Tammany Oaks to rebuild not just their community of Mandeville, but as far afield as Gulf Port. They have a work board, they call the Get R Done board, with voluminous tasks that need completed by teams. Single jobs may be as extensive as removing all carpeting, furniture, drywall, and insullation from a flooded house. They find new areas who have seen NO assistance every day.


Included in our meeting was Mark Bass of Alkire Road Church of Christ in Grove City in the southern Columbus suburbs. They have a mission providing supplies and some cleanup labor to Van Cleave Mississippi. They will also be sending equipment and tradespeople to help rebuild houses. As our two efforts are the only ones we know of ongoing from the area, we will be joining forces and providing mutual support.

The stricken people in Louisiana and Mississippi need many more of us to come and help. Each week we send larger teams and must keep that going rather than die off. To do so, we need more congregations to join the effort. The body of Christ in the central Ohio region is absolutely massive. We have tremendious monitary, leadership, and volunteer resources to offer this effort. In order to be most effective, we must band together through reliable channels and programs.

The two programs we have running have proven to be reliable, even though they only began a few weeks ago. These operations can direct much more support than they have to help many more people much faster if we can provide them the most lacking resource, people.

• People to fill positions in leadership at home sharing duties coordinating the effort.
• People to fill team leadership positions in the field.
• People to volunteer to perform the work onsite.
• People and trucks to transport goods we collect to be distributed.
• Many more people in supporting roles at home.
  
• Most of all, people to spend a week to work with the victims of this disaster to rebuild their lives.

This coalition is being formed through relationships. Please encourage your church leadership, your friends, and coworkers to become involved in this effort and join us in marveling at what God can do when we let him use us to our cooperative potential.

Katrina threatens and comes ashore
Properties devastated, but so much more;
Lives uprooted, shock and awe -
Governments tested; human flaw.
Humanity pictured in deep despair;
Hearts across the country ignite with care.
Calls come in - "we're going down;"
"Come with us - we need you now!"
Spring Road is coordinating groups to leave;
My son calls and makes his plea,
"Come with us Dad, we can work together."
"We couldn't spend our time much better!"

With chainsaw tuned and sharpend chain;
Supplies loaded and volunteers gained,
We head to Mandeville as a mobile train.
Driving all day and through the night
Resting a couple hours and at morning light
We reach Tammany Oaks Church of Christ.

Walking in to see what needs to be done;
"I need you and you, can you make a run?"
To a hospital we go with much needed supplies;
We are greeted with weary, but cheerful eyes.
"Can you drive a truck with a standard shift?"
"It's a big one now, but we've got to go quick."
Delivering supplies, clearing debirs;
Praying with families, we share our strength.
Working hard from morning 'till night
Worshipping with brethren our hearts unite,
There was no better way this father and son
Could have spent their time under the sun!

-Steve Fuchs (father) Stephen Fuchs (son)

Wed., 9/21 Ok, where do I start?!? It's 7:30 a.m....we're having a group meeting (about 100 workers...from Calif., Colo., Canada., Ohio, etc.). Just took a "cool" shower in a "mash" type of set up outside...it's actually awesome showering outside...it's warm down here (even at 7:00 a.m.)! Volunteers are a huge blessing here (older youth/adults)...AND YOU can be one!!! Pray-ers, sorters, organizers, kitchen help, nurses, social workers, counselors, physical laborers, (tree cutting, clearing brush, tearing down houses, unloading/loading boxes to hand out). You name it, the jobs are endless.

TR, 9/22 10:00 a.m. We received the sad news this a.m. that we have to leave this afternoon because of the unpredictability of Hurricane Rita. This is sad news to our team because there is SO much work still to be done and this team is FULL of hard workers...working from 8 a.m. until dinner and then some. We don't want to leave, but need to for our safety, they say...we have a very large group. We've met awesome people that will be hard to leave, also. I think that Jed Duffey and his friend, Ben Smith, will be staying to continue helping and come home with one of the next Spring Rd. COC teams that are scheduled to come next week and the week after. Please be praying for them...safety, stamina, and for God to further move in their lives through this opportunity to serve others.

My favorite part...talking and praying with the hurricane victims. God's heart for these people is manifested quickly as you spend time with them. Many of them say they are holding up ok, but then break down while praying with them and need and want to talk. They have held alot in. They need to know that God is real and close to them. They need to know he is in control. They need to be filled with hope. They need to know there's a place to go for help. One woman came up to me and said, "You prayed with that other woman, why didn't you pray with me?" So, of course, I did. There's just not an opportunity to pray with everyone, unfortunately. One woman I prayed with came back later and brought 2 men who needed help with her. She said she felt so much better after the prayers that she decided to reach out help others. Another man who came to the church for help, sat somewhat despondent for about an hour. He said he's never had to ask for help before and he just couldn't accept "handouts". We talked and prayed, but he said he just had to leave and might come back. The situation here, as you can imagine, affects each person differently. Their lives have been turned upside down and laid out before everyone. Each responds and copes the best they know how.

Your prayers right where you are invaluable...not everyone can be here, but God hears and answers your prayers....and EVERYONE here desperately needs them (volunteers AND victims)!!! Please continue to pray for stamina, good sleep, safety, God's healing touch for minds, hearts, bodies, and however else God leads.

There are MANY ways to help...keep in touch with this website AND go to the Tammany Oakes church link for updated items they need contributed. Workers and prayers are ALWAYS needed. There are MANY, MANY stories and testimonies that you will be hearing later...as well as pictures to help you further understand what is going on here.

Thank you SO much for any and every way that you have made it possible for us to be here. We are extremely grateful.

We LOVE you and are VERY thankful for you.

Beth Duffey (Northside Fellowship)

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

Tim hines led the devo Wednesday morning talked about helping a homeless man/group of them and going home to give them his second hand things but on the way God convicted him of the first fruits concept where the Israelites were commanded to give the first of their crops before they took any, so Tim ended up loading up his truck with the new tents, camping stuff so they got the best not secondhand stuff. Tim encouraged the group to give of our first fruits. I’ll tell the rest of the story later. Kenny

Tim Hines also told about a couple days ago about some of our people helping a family that had lost their entire mobile home and belongs—they were very poor and no insurance and lived in tents and had no hope of anything better. Our people left there and not far away was a million dollar house with no visiable damage the relief people saw them out and asked them if there was anything they needed anyway. They said they could use bleach so the relief people gave them a couple of gallons of bleach. These people were so impressed by the giving attitude that they came to the church a few days later and said they had purchased a brand new motor home and they wanted to help by giving it away to someone in need. It was a 300,000.00 mobile home. You can guess who got it. The family who lost their mobile home and had been living in a tent! That is what God is doing here!

Kenny

As of a few minutes ago, the decision has been made for the Week 2 team to leave Mandeville this morning, a day early. Though they are very safe for the forseeable future, there is new concern hurricane Rita will change direction to a more northerly course and their area is being evacuated. By leaving now, they have plenty of time to work their way out of the area and head for home.

Arrangements are being made for an overnight stop in Birmingham, Alabama, well out of the storm's path. Thanks to Homewood Church of Christ for hosting our team on short notice.

The team will also be pulling as much of our campers and gear from Tammany Oaks as possible and leaving it in Birmingham for the next team to collect to protect it from the storm.

Pray hard and pray often. Especially for the people at Tammany Oaks.
John McGuire

Week 2 has been busy thus far boxing up supplies, cutting down trees, and hauling debris. Many are "demucking" houses trying to get them cleaned up to the point that they are livable.

Our team has been encouraged to spend time with the people they meet, to pray for and with them and encourage them before moving on to the next families in need.

Kenny said a disabled lady from a community that just got power back and roads opened came in today with a complete list of all the needs for 28 people in her community "Pickbar". She had a list of all needs from medicine (insulin and the like) to food and supplies. She was so organized and put together that the crew packed up a Ryder truck and took the supplies out to this area that had just opened up for people to come in and help. They unloaded them in front of her house, covered them with a tarp and she is setting up her own little center right there for her community. God is working through so many people in so many ways.

Janet Hines is a Tammany person we have coordinated with. She and her husband Doug are owners in a company called Bumble Bee Tuna. Tonight they shared that several of their employees who were at their company when the hurricane hit are still unaccounted for. Please be in prayer for these people and Doug and Janet. I will try to get the missing employees names tomorrow and post them for prayer.

Know that Central Ohio is making a difference in this tragedy. God is using us to touch peoples lives and assist in His plan for recovery. Many people are digging in and helping. Today the warehouse got behind in completing its care packages and Toni and some of our experienced Honduras Missionaries dug in and helped to catch them up after returning from a long day in the field. Thank you Lord for willing spirits and strong bodies to do your work.

You too can be a part of this work. We have 2 work teams left to take down to LA. Sept 25 and Oct 2. Sign up to be a part of one of these teams today! Check the supply list on the Spring Road site or the Tammany blog for updates on needs and bring them to the Spring Road building by noon on Saturday for packing to be included in the week three delivery. Please if you can try to provide only needed items so that we can get them what will be most helpful at the time they need them. www.springroadcoc.com

A new friend of mine (ours) brought forth as a result of Gods work here, shared this verse with me today:

It in from Mathew 9 beginning in verse 35 and following:

Jesus went through all the towns, villages, and synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

You might be one of those workers in His harvest field!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In closing, another great hurricane "Rita" is building and traveling through the gulf. Take a moment and pray that the God who created nature might stop it in is path or diminish the destructiveness of its power. Pray for those who are glued to their TVs watching for updates out of fear and concern. Pray for those who have evacuated already and are traveling, and those who will be affected in anyway by this storm.

Traffic is expected to be high out of the area on Friday so our team will be leaving Friday morning right after the devotional. They will travel to Nashville where they are being hosted at the Hendersonville Church of Christ. They plan to leave Nashville around 8:00 on Saturday morning and should arrive here around 4 or so. Pray for their travel.

Thank you all for your prayers for these continued efforts. We can not grow weary, tired, or discouraged. There is much work to do. Won't you find your calling in all this disaster and put your hands and feet to his work?

I pray God's richest blessings on each of you reading this and his activity in your hearts. May your families be blessed and safe and may He give you strength and wisdom.

Brad Hayes

Their blog link is on the left column and here. Last night's posting adds requests for the following items that should be to the Spring Road building by Noon on Saturday if you wish them to go down this week:

• respirator masks (the kind w/ charcoal filters that work w/ mold)
• wheelbarrows
• appliance dollies
• 110v household outlets (white & almond) (all outlets that have gotten wet must be replaced before the power companies will turn power back on to a house)
• children's backpacks filled w/ school supplies (most school systems that are opening in Oct will be overrun w/ new students who evacuated to this area but have not resources)Wal-Mart gift cards (this is a great way to help families get back into their homes or temporary homes)

Special need:

• industrial chippers & operators
• If you read their blog, know that Randy and I have offered help on their AV system. If anyone else would like to work with us on this, please mail john.n.mcguire@jpmchase.com

Yesterday's requests are also still valid.

We will most likely need one or two trucks to pull goods down to LA this week. If you have a truck for this please email me with the size and year, people it can carry, the size of tow hitch it has, and the electrical hook up. Your help here is appreciated.

Currently the needs for your trips have changed so for those of you who are leading collection efforts take note. It will be my intent to contact the Spring Road Web master and see if he can set up a button labeled supply updates where you can go and regularly check for these and I won't have to send them out. (See link to Spring Road Katrina Relief in the left pane of the blog)

• Cleaning supplies - bleach, rubber gloves, masks, brushes, sponges etc.
• Garden Sprayers
• Hand sprayers
• Brooms
• Mops
• Drywall and Keyhole saws
• pry and crow bars
• framing hammers
• Utility knives and blades.

If you collect these items they need to be to the spring road building before noon on Saturday to go on your trip. Also if you have a sizable quantity of any item please let me know so that I can be sure to arrange transport.

We no longer are in need of food for our trips. The host church Tammany Oaks wants us to share in their food program. Please make a note of this.

Please only collect the items above as it is getting very difficult to coordinate getting all the items we have collected down to LA. Trucks are very hard to come by.

As a team we are seeking the use of a large 20 to 24' panel truck to haul items. We can drive it down and back in two days. If you can help with this it would be much appreciated.

We also are seeking a 12 to 14 foot enclosed box trailer for hauling goods.

Please contact me immediately if you can help with those transport needs.

In closing, momentum seems to be slowing down. Let me assure you of this, the need is not. In fact people come in everyday needing help. Some having just gotten back to the area to see what has really happened. We took 21 in week 1, 40 last week, I want 50 in week three and lets see if we can take 75 in week 4. Talk to your friends, your neighbors, send this email and the web addresses out.

Lets keep moving for our brothers and sisters in need in LA.

Brad Hayes

Toni just got out of her briefing at Tammany:

• They desperately need deodorant – THEY HAVE NONE! They currently have other personal hygiene supplies.
• They also need Bibles (small pocket types if possible) – they are handing them out every chance they get and including them in each Family Care Package.
• PRAYER – Toni said they are seeing people who are coming into Tammany for help who are flat breaking down – they feel overwhelmed or they feel that nothing is getting done to help them - even after 3 weeks, or they are just now being hit by Post Traumatic Stress.
• THEY DON’T NEED MORE FOOD. ALL cooking is being done at the church now. We sent all our food over there when we arrived and there is plenty for the time being. Tammany also takes care of recruiting the cooking volunteers.

We need to stay plugged into the Tammany Relief Blog (left frame of the blog page under links) for current listing of things needed (that’s where the list above came from).

Randy Rhodes

Editor's note: Just got word that the team arrived in Mandeville at 3:30 Eastern (2:30 CST) this afternoon safely.

Well its a new week and today about 40 additional workers should make their way into the Tammany Oakes relief work.

Saturday our team 1 arrived home at around 5:30. They were all full of smiles and hugs but you could see the exhaustion in their step. When they arrived we were dealing with some issues getting team two ready. Several members of team 1 stayed and help late in the evening to be sure all was good and ready for team two. It was wonderful to be a part of this work on Saturday when over 50 different brothers and sisters came together to pack, load, and prepare. A special thanks to Kenny Nichols for his late night work on getting our trailers shored up to insure the safety of our team.

Sunday brought a buzz to Spring Road as travelers showed up from all over ready to head for their work. We had a little excitement early in the AM. I had a miscue with the church treasurer and found out at 6:00 AM I had no cash to send with our teams. I don't often panic but I did. My humanness took over and I thought somehow I would overcome this obstacle. I got on the phone and called my wife who got out of bed and went to the ATM. We both withdrew our maximums. On my way to the church building my mind was racing with names of people I thought could do the same. How should I contact them, should I let them sleep a little before calling, after all I was responsible and had to handle this. Well, I pulled into the church for a second time around 6:50. There was someone in the parking lot. I saw he was driving a Suburban, which matched up with one of my assigned drivers, so I assumed it was Chric Orecchio from SOMA Church in Marysville. I greeted him and thanked him for all his support. He had informed me a week earlier that the church had decided to support our efforts and he would be bringing me $1,500. I told him how much we appreciated the church support and he handed me the $1,500...
...in cash. Yes not a check in cash. It brought tears to my eyes. Here I thought I somehow was supposed to save the day and as usual God had it well in hand. And just to be sure, Chris was there at the building waiting for me before I could start making the calls to my list. He is so good and has provided everything we need for this effort. The stories don't end there. There are many more which we will try to get written down and out on the website for you.

As the travelers got dropped off it was a time of hugs and apprehension. Parents, husbands, wives saying goodbye to let the ones they love go and work for others while they hold down the fort here. A sweet mixture of joy, excitement, tears, hugs, and smiles were on the palette that day. What the Lord will paint with those colors is yet to be seen in this week to come. Many of you may become aware that they did not get out until 10:00 due to some trailer problems but we all need to be there and ready to leave at 8:00. We will get better and better at this and for that we will need your help.

Well 10:00 rolled around and as the lot started to fill up for church service our team pulled out of the drive with 6 vehicles, two trailers full of supplies, and two campers in tow… It was a beautiful site. The team leaders checked in last night upon arrival at University Church in Tuscaloosa AL. They were greeted at 10:00 with hugs smiles and food. Yes they got fed. The church had prepared places for them to sleep and the team settled down around midnight. My check in this morning showed wake up around 6:30 and they were on the road at 8:00. No more news at this time but I am sure it’s because they hit the ground running in LA. Thank you all so much for your participation in this effort. So many things are happening so fast that it is impossible to thank everyone. Things are just getting taken care of like clean up after the team left yesterday to the numerous unexpected hours spent working on trailer lighting and welding. It goes on and on. Every time a problem pops up someone takes ownership and it goes away. That is all of God's hands and feet participating as a body.

In closing I want to tell you that over 15 different churches are participating in this somehow, from many different backgrounds and belief systems, all working together in response to this dissaster. I can only imagine that at this point He is well pleased. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I received a call this morning from a client on my list today whose company had taken up a contribution that was going to go to the Red Cross, they discussed it internally and decided to send it to us. God is good.

Please see Spring Road Katrina Relief for more info, from the field updates, and pictures.

Brad Hayes

Good Morning!

Day 1 included: traveling.

After several fuel/potty stops, and one wiring problem with a truck,
we arrived at the Tuscaloosa Church of Christ at 10pm CST to a crowd of
open arms and hearts.

The wiring problem set us back about an extra hour, but the additional
delay was probably because of the larger group and the fact that we
overload the bathrooms. (Today we will try to find places with multiple
womens restrooms!)

The people at this church are very hospitable. Many adults and many
college students ( they have about 100 ) waited on us and then served
the meal and other needs. They even restocked our coolers with drinks
and ice and gave us snacks for the road. It is really amazing how they
put up with 'Buckeyes' since they are right next door to the U. of
Alabama. Most of all it is encouraging to see God's people working
together to help others. (Web site for the college students is
www.ucmbama.com )

Most were to bed in various places by midnight. 6am wake up call. Bags
to the trucks by 7:30 and leave 8. Will travel a ways and stop for
breakfast and fuel. We will do the same for lunch and then get to work.

Have to go. Roll call in 5 min. Thank you to everyone who is
supporting this mission effort in so many different ways. From praying
to donating to helping here or there. You are a valuable part of this
thing that God is doing. May he bless you for it.

Have a great day!

Kenny Nichols

This week's team arrived at University Church of Christ in Tuscalussa, Alabama who is putting them up for the night. The church has beds and showers for them and will send them off in the morning to continue to Mandeville and their mission field. They got in at 11:00 EDT (they are in the central time zone) without incident.

Team 1 returned Saturday evening and Team 2 (organized into 3 seperate teams which is going to be confusing) left the building around 10:00 this morning with more campers and gear, more supplies, and more people. At 8:00pm after 10 hours on the road, they are about 60 miles north of Birmingham. They will spend the night at University Church of Christ in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Go Tide!) before continuing to our camp across the road from the new Tammany Oaks church building in Mandeville.

Interesting to note: According to Troy from Northland CofC this building is only 3 months old and the church members haven't even really had a chance to use it as a church building. Now it is a warehouse processing 3 trailers full of supplies a day, temporary shelter, and base of operations for the relief effort. By God's plan (which we seldom can fathom) the only damage to the building during the hurricane was a gutter torn off the roof. In the middle of mass destruction, He left a haven and has staffed it with dedicated servants. God is good!

Request for team 1 members - Please send your thoughts, stories, and favorite pictures from last week to john.n.mcguire@jpmchase.com to be posted on this blog and the Spring Road Katrina site. Now that you've had a chance to rest and sleep, the rest of us would love to hear about your mission. We'd also benefit from a simple narrative on the setup at the church, our camp, and the job that has been and needs to be done down there.

Team 2 has a computer with them and we have a good wireless Internet connection at the Tammany Oaks church so check this blog regularly. Team 1 did an excellent job keeping us up to date. Team 2 should be better equipped to report back and hopefully even more prolific.

Request for every reader of this blog - Please pray, right now, and regularly for our team, their mission, and the people of the gulf coast. This afternoon a new tropical depression became tropical storm Rita, the 16th named storm this year. Current projections indicate this storm will become a hurricane and pass the Florida keys into the Gulf by Wednesday. Really. Pray Now!

Thanks to the first team and their families for their sacrifice of time and convenience. Also, thanks to the ever growing members of this mission who support it through their time and financial investment. And thanks to the team leaders who are allowing God to use all of us so very effectively. Thanks for guiding us to be his hands and feet. And, we all thank God for this body of believers and the opportunity to reflect Christ's light in the darkness of catastrophe. Amen.

John McGuire

Ephesians 6:13-18

Some Pics from this morning:


Team 3, Week 2


Teams 1 & 2, Week 2


Making it work...

Many hands make lite work, but this fridge wasn't... It goes next week.

Wagons Ho!