Arrived in Franklinton, LA this after noon.

Good Evening! Family & Friends,

We arrived in Franklinton, LA at the First Baptist Church about 3:00 p.m., our home until the 13th of April.  What a great community we have come to.  There is so much love and how organized they are.  What a blessing the people we have met are to the people of Franklinton and Bogalusa!

We have all of our physical needs taken care of.  We have our beds set up, know where the showers and laundry are and have the meal schedule for each day.  Now we can put our energy in to helping the families.

Five of our teams members have gone to check out the first few job sites which we will begin in the morning.  Please pray that the rain and storms they are predicting do not materialize so we may achieve what needs to be done.

Also, our team grew to seven yesterday morning when we arrived at the World Renew office.  Les joined us.  We are thankful for another set of hands.  How wonderful!

The center has had a total of 335 applications as of today.  A 158 applications in Fraklinton and 177 in Bogalusa.  Today, March 29th is day 16 for the center.  The teams that have come before us have completed 220 homes already with 115 homes remaining at this time.  The center is still taking
applications and are open each day from 9 to 4.

First Baptist Church




               
Thank you so much for your prayers as we traveled these last two days.  We had great weather and dry roads.  We are thankful too for the time to get to know each other and our families.

I was reading from Isaiah 40: 27-31 "O Israiel, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? Have you never heard or understood? Don't you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary.  No one can measure the depths of his understanding.  He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak.  Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up.  But those who hope on the Lord will find new strength.  They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will round and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint."

As I write these words to you I hear thunder and rain.  Please pray for the families with homes that are open to the elements that they do not feel that they have been forgotten, that their troubles will not be met.

Please pray that they will feel hope as we come to meet their needs .  May we be a blessing to them.  May they see that it is our love for the Lord and for them that has brought us here.

Thank you,
Catherine

World Renew - Rapid Response - Franklinton, LA

March 25, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

It is hard to believe that it has been six months since I last served with World Renew.  At that time it was in Coal City, IL with the World Renew - Needs Assessment Team.

God has placed a tug on my heart again to serve.  This time with the World Renew - Rapid Response Team in Franklinton, LA.  There has been extreme flooding in the area which is in the northeast corner of what I call the "toe" of Loisiana state boot.

It is always amazing to me how God works.  I do not know why it always amazes me but it does.  He is so good!  Eight years ago I served with our church youth group in Franklinton, LA after Katrina and the local leaders were the same as they are now.  I am thankful to be serving along side them once again.  I am sorry that their area has been flooded, this time not from a hurricane, but from an extreme amount of rain that swelled the rivers.

If you would please pray for our team of six.  We will begin to travel to Louisiana on Monday, March 27th.  It will take us a day and a half to travel.  We will serve with the local teams until April 12th and begin our travels home on the 13th arriving home on the 14th of April.

Things to pray for:  for the families that we will be serving who have lost so much, for healing for the families, for traveling mercies, for us as we serve physically, emotionally and spiritually, for safety as we work.  Please pray for our families that remain at home, who support us as our team serves.

Luke 10: 27 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And Love your neighbor as yourself."

Serving with World Renew is one way that God calls me to serve our neighbors.  If you would like more information about World Renew Disaster Response Service please see their website from the link on the side of the page or at:  http://www.worldrenew.net/drs

God's Protection

Good Evening!

Thank you for your prayers.  On Tuesday before I left Grand Rapids I had asked for your prayers for our team as we came together, as we had our first meeting and that we would work well together.  It has only been three days but it seems like we have known each other forever and that we have worked well together for a long time. What a great group of people that God had planned to bring together.  Why am I surprised?

One of our team members was unable to join us as he had planned.  He fell from his deck last weekend, hit his head and needed stitches.  Please keep him in your prayers as he heals. 

In the last three days with walking the neighborhoods and with the people that have come into the walk in center we have made contact with around 500 households that were affected by the tornado.  We have completed surveys from about 5% of these families.

Please pray that we will have more families come into the walk in center tomorrow.  We know many of the people were working when we were in their neighborhoods the last few days.  We hope and pray that they feel comfortable with the process and come to share where they are currently with their home  and what needs to be completed. 

While in the neighborhoods it is hard to see how one house can be totally destroyed and a house a half a block away was not affected at all.  To see how the tornado shifted and the winds around it changed peoples lives significantly.  When we look at the damage we are so thankful that the community did not have any deaths as a result of the tornado.

It has been so great to hear about how neighbors who have basements called or went to get their neighbors who did not have basements to bring them to their homes so they could be safe.  Neighbors helping neighbors.

As I thought of how different people have shared their experience of the tornado I thought of Deuteronomy 31"6 and how God assures us that He will not leave us or forsake us.  So this evening I read how Moses was preparing the Israelites because he was in his last days.  He wanted to encourage them that the Lord would be with them.  That He (the Lord) had chosen them and would protect them.  The Lord said he will destroy the people that are living in the land that they are to live.  Moses said, "Be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid of them!  The Lord your God will go ahead of you.  He will neither fail you nor forsake you."

I have asked people if they saw the tornado and they said no, that it was dark.  They said they could feel it but not see it.  I am thankful that God was with the people and that He protected them from seeing what was coming.

Another person shared that God was with her and protected her.  She said she was reciting Psalm 91. What an amazing testimony!  In the NLT the Theme for Psalm 91 is: "God's protection in the midst of danger.  God doesn't promise a world free from danger, but he does promise his help whenever we face danger."  If you have a chance read Psalm 91.  What an amazing Psalm!

Thank you for your continued prayers for the people in Coal City and for our team.

Needs Assessment, Coal City, IL - Make Time for the Lord

Good Afternoon!

I was reading Luke 6: 12 - 16 today.  "One day soon afterward Jesus went to the mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night."  He was praying because he was making a big decision about who the twelve disciples be.

I know often I get busy and do not "make time" for the Lord.  I think there are more important things on my to do list that need to be accomplished.  In times like today when I am going out to work for the Lord I find that I tend to "make time".  Maybe it is because I feel that He has called me and I really need his guidance and wisdom.  I need to be ready for His plan.

My hope is that I can once again learn from the Lord's example.  If He felt He needed to pray for His decisions, the Holy One, the all knowing.  How much more I need to remember to come to Him in prayer.

I am part of a team of eight volunteers to conduct the surveys in the community and in a walk-in center.  

Things to pray for:

That the families will open their doors as we walk the neighborhoods or that they come to walk in center so we can gather the information to share with the Long Term Recovery Group.

For the team that we will have eyes to see and ears to hear as the families share their experience and verbalize their feelings.  Help us to understand their needs and report it as they see it.

For the team that we will work together,that we will encourage each other and be able understand what the Long Term Recovery Group needs us to accomplish to help them assist the families.

For safe travel as we drive to Coal City today.

For our first meeting as a team tonight.

In case you are not familiar what a Needs Assessment is here is the description from the World Renew web page:

Needs Assessment

World Renew DRS volunteers conduct community wide surveys to identify the disaster related needs (construction, household, emotional and financial needs) of vulnerable residents who might otherwise fall through the cracks. This information is provided to the long term recovery group (LTRG). Case managers use this information to make sure those most in need get the assistance they require and qualify for.

So if you have read my blog before and know that I have volunteered for Reconstruction and that is not your area of giftedness.  You may want to consider Needs Assessment?  

Please check out the World Renew link on the top right corner of my blog if you have any interest in volunteering or financially supporting World Renew.

Thank you for your prayers!

Finishing Well....

Wow, it is hard to believe it is September 18th already.  Sorry it has taken me so long to finish this post of our last two days in New Jersey.  We were busy and did not have much free time as we were completing work on the two homes, a final meeting on Thursday night and clean up for the new team on Friday.

My devotional was from Anne Graham Lotz book "Fixing My Eyes on Jesus", for August 1st.  The title is "All to Jesus".  Her scripture is from Malachi 3:10, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'

What Anne asked later in her devotional is this, "What is it you have to offer? A little bit of your time? A little bit of your love? A little bit of your money? A little bit of your faith? Don't concentrate on what you don't have.  Concentrate on what you do have.  Give it all to Jesus.  He will make it enough.'

So many times when I have read this passage I have thought about the money aspect of the tithe but what a better interpretation Anne has given me. 

In coming to New Jersey, to serve with World Renew, our team and our families have been giving of what we can offer through our talents and our time.  We have been sharing our love with the families we are serving and by encouraging our team members.  We have been giving of our money and sharing a bit of our faith to those God has placed in our path.  We are not concentrating on what we don't have because we see as we serve the families we have been so blessed.  God has opened the floodgates for us. He has made it more than enough.

My prayer is that in the places that God sends you that you recognize how much He has opened the floodgates for you.  That He is blessing you each day...He has given you enough!

Lorna was an amazing helper.  She is helping to clean up our mess.  Remember I talked about finishing well and that the home needed to pass an inspection we thought was completed.  See the insulation hanging.  We had to open up the insulation so the building inspector could make sure the studs were in compliance.  All part of finishing well.

Paul, our team leader was such a great teacher.  He helped me learn how to take out and install this folding staircase.  We couldn't finish off the cutting of the last section because we did not know what type of flooring they were going to put down.  This set will be much safer than what was there before.

Part of finishing well is to clean up the mess we have made and with installing insulation I have found we can really make a mess. 

We were hoping that the dumpster would come before we were finished but it was not meant to be but at least we left the mess in one place, close to the door for the next team to put in the dumpster.

Securing the home so the air flow will go above the trays we put inside to the attack and so furry friends won't enter the house.

Lorna is sealing the T-111 with paint to keep the house dry and secure.

Jenn is securing more T-111 to give the house a final finish.

Installing the last piece of T-111 before we had to clean up and pack up our supplies.

Thanks to our fearless leader, Paul the three of us were caught in action while we were working.  Sorry you only got to see Paul working a few times during the two weeks.  He kept us so busy we didn't get many pictures of him.

Thanks for taking this journey to serve with World Renew Disaster Response Service with us.  Hope you can join me sometime????

Wednesday - Sticking Out All Over, by Anne Graham Lotz

Good Evening!

It is hard to believe that it is Wednesday of the second week of our time in New Jersey.  We have had an amazing time.  How wonderful it is to be a part of another great team.  So much is being accomplished for the two families we are serving.  There have been challenges and set backs but God's plan in perfect.

We started the morning with prayers before breakfast and it was my day to lead devotions after breakfast.  The lesson I chose was from Anne Graham Lotz book "Fixing My Eyes on Jesus".  The date was for July 29 called "Sticking Out All Over".

The Bible verse was 2 Thessalonians 1: 11 - 12.  Paul, Silas and Timothy are encouraging the Thessalonians and these are the closing verses of the chapter.  "And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of the life to which he called you.  And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds.  Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him.  This is all made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ." (NLT)

The footnote of the NLT Bible shares that "as Christians, our calling from God is to become like Christ.  This is a gradual, lifelong process that will be completed when we see Christ face to face.  To be 'worthy' of this calling means to want to do what is right and good (as Christ would).  We aren't perfect yet, but we're moving in that direction as God works in us."

Anne shares a story about a pastor who is asking for people to invite Jesus into their hearts.  There is a little boy who can't understand how that is going to work out because he is a litttle boy and Jesus is a man.  The little boy is concerned because if Jesus comes into his heart "He'll be sticking out all over!"  The pastor says that is right.  If we yield our life to the Lord and His will then He will be sticking out all over.

So closing in prayer this morning I prayed that Jesus would be sticking out all over in our day.  In our work, in our words and in God's plan for our day.  I prayed that we remember that we may have a plan for how our day would go and what we may want to complete in the few days that we have left but God's plan may be different.

How quickly our team needed to remember these words as our day changed very quickly when the inspector came.  We thought we would be able to begin installing drywall by the end of the week but we will not.  We needed to take a step back and repair some things that were not completed earlier by another group.  This is a new house for DRS.  We thought things were completed that were not.

Quickly we realized that this step back was so needed.  The home will be much better because of our step back.  Thank you Lord for your plan....it is perfect!

Here are some photos from last Friday, Monday and Today:

Brian is taking down drywall.

Jenn and Shelley are helping to install insulation in the living room.

Lorna and I are installing trays along the edge before we install the insulation so air movement will move up the rafters and into the attic.

Lorna and I have moved into the kitchen to install insulation.  Do you like our handy drywall holding device?

Paul, our team leader is caulking around the door casing before he installs the T-111 to the back side of the home to give the house new siding.

Note:  Anne only used verse 12 in her message, I chose 11 and 12.

Our days of rest....week two begins tomorrow!

Good Evening!

The weather in Manahawkin was so beautiful this weekend!  The team was thankful for our two days of rest.  Some of our team went to New York City, a couple of us went to the town of Tuckerton and others to the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.  My daughter, Mary Beth came to join us last evening so the two of us went to Long Beach Island for dinner and a walk on the beach.

This morning we began our day with worship with Pastor Phil.  He choice of scripture reading from Romans 14.  He discussed how we are each responsible for ourself and only ourself.

Verse 1-4 says "Accept Christians who are weak in fail, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.  For instance, one person believe it is all right to eat anything.  But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables.  Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't.  And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them.  Who are you to condemn God's servants?  They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong.  The Lord's power will help them do as they should."

Pastor Phil gave us many examples of how this can apply to our lives with other things that one person may or may not do on Sunday.  Like bicycling years ago was forbidden on Sunday, or hanging a shirt on the line.  We may be able to think of things that we do not agree with one another.

However, Pastor's point was that we are responsible for ourself.  We will be judged for our actions only.  Others will be judged for their actions.

Sometimes this may be a hard concept to grasp.  I was thankful for the reminder of what Jesus calls us to do.   To forgive others, not to judge, to believe in Jesus as our Savior, to have faith, mercy, create unity and share His love with one another.  Judgement is not what He asks of us.

After church the team went to many places as well as stay at the church and relax to enjoy their Sabboth.  Mary Beth and I went to Toms River to bike along the intercoastal waterway, eat lunch and then on to Island Beach State Park.

Here are a few pictures from our day of rest:

Sunset on Long Beach Island, looking across the island from the beach.

Thank you Lord for your beautiful sunsets and amazing color choices.

Mary Beth and me on our bike ride in Toms River.  Thank you Lord for the wonderful creation of our bodies and the muscles you have given us to use.  Thank you for the beautiful waters and creatures we could see and hear along the way.

Island Beach State Park has sand and a beach which is similar to Michigan.  Of course there is the salt water but....the waves were amazing and strong.  I didn't go in as deep as Mary Beth.  It was a fun day!

Thank you Lord for a day of rest so we can continue to serve you this week.  Please keep us safe.  Please be with the families who are waiting to return to their homes.  Give them patience so we may prepare their homes in a manner pleasing to you.  Amen.


We begin week two of with our team in the morning.  There have been a few changes since Friday.  Six team members had only planned to be here for one week so they have returned home and two new members have come.  We have a total of 15 people on the team for this week.  We received our assignments for tomorrow.   I will return to the home with the team that is installing insulation.  Hopefully we will be able to finish with the insulation tomorrow so an inspection can be made.  Then we have work to do outside and if all goes well we may be able to begin installing wallboard later this week????

Please pray for our whole team.  We have two homes that teams are working and our team that remains at the church to prepare our food and take care of our physical needs.