Friday, Day 9 of our Serving in Franklinton, LA

Good Evening!

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Every day we serve in Louisiana we are reminded of God's faithfulness to us and especially to the families we are serving.  We see it in the look of relief in their faces as we arrive.  They smile because help has come.  The task is so overwhelming!  They do not know where to begin and what is safe for them to keep.

When we begin each day at a home we start with prayer for the family,  that as they make decisions about their home and belongings they will feel it they are the right choices, we pray for safety for all of us and for them as they begin the process of starting to rebuild their home and their life.

Today as we began to take the furniture, clothing, kitchen and bathrooms items out of the house and put them in a pile a verse came to mind.

It is from Matthew 6: 19 - 21:  "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.  Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be."

I realize that the treasures of the families are not being moth eaten but with the river water after 29 days there are many items that are rusty and there is so much mold.  It has helped me to put in perspective what is really important in life.

As I took out extra sets of sheets and towels, it made me think how many sets do I really need at home?  I think I will begin to look at how I may bless other people and/or organizations with the things I truly do not need.  I want to make sure that my treasures are for heaven.

Please keep our team and the families in your prayers.  Tomorrow, Saturday is our last day of work here.  We plan to begin our travels home on Sunday after church (about 9:30 Central time).  If all goes well with the weather, we should be home late Monday night.

Here are a couple of photos from today:

Update from Franklinton, LA - Monday, April 4th - Catherine Botts

Good Evening!

Sorry I have not written to you since last week.  We have been busy.  We began last Wednesday morning and worked each day through Saturday.  We took a day of rest on Sunday and began a new work week today.

So far we have completed 4 homes; a 5th home has been gutted and just needs to have the "Shockwave" treatment for the mold.  A team of two of us will do that sometime tomorrow.
In the morning the whole team will begin a 6th home in Franklinton.

The number of volunteers has been amazing which is helping to complete the homes especially in the Franklinton area.  Last week it was great to see the number of high school students that came out to help while on their Spring break.  They really pitched in and accomplished so much.

Bogolusa is not too far from Franklinton and has more homes which need to be completed so we will begin working there most likely from Wednesday through Saturday and stay in Franklinton.

Today is day 25 since the flood occurred.  We are so thankful for the families whose needs are being met.  As of today there have been applications for 345 homes filed.  Of that 289 homes have been completed and 56 remain.  Of the 56 remaining homes 13 are in Franklinton and 43 are in Bogolusa.

When I say homes have been completed I should explain that this does not mean that people are back in their homes.  It means that the Rapid Response teams have come in to muck out their homes and take care of sanitizing them in preparation of how to proceed from here.  This is when insurance companies, FEMA and local Long Term Recovery Organizations decide how needs will be met and money distributed.

Based on the number of applications FEMA will decide if they will help, as well as other sources.  Once this is done then families will figure out how they will be able to proceed.  There is still the long reconstruction process which will take months.

Please pray for the families which are still displaced.

Please pray for all of the volunteers who are working in so many capacities.  The church we are housed in is preparing meals for us each day, giving us food to pack for lunch, providing showers, laundry and so much more.  We appreciate them so much!

Please pray for the World Renew - Rapid Response Team and our families at home.  We are thankful for their willingness to support us while we are here.

Please pray for our safety as we work six days this week.  Our hearts are willing but our bodies are not used to the physical and emotional toil.

We know by the people we have met and are serving that we are exactly where God wants us.  We are so thankful that He sent each one of our seven team members.  We are working well together and we see each day why we are all here.

Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Here are some photos of today's completed house.