Fluid Ministry

Fluid ministry would mean that it changes all the time, like water, which matches relief from floods and hurricanes. It was a different place when I got to Tammany Oaks and I'll BE in a different place tomorrow for an extension of the relief effort down here in Louisiana.

I'm riding tomorrow with Paul Crites down to Sunrise and Hialeah, Florida, loaded with a truck of water and food, chainsaws, and gas cans for some quick relief of the Wilma survivors. So pray for travel graces.

Spoke to Mike Clark of Valdosta on the phone today, he's Blessed and he's not afraid to say so.

Met Ralph Coles from Churches of Christ Disaster Relief, Inc. out of Nashville today. He's the Coordinator of Outreach and Follow-up on a follow up mission with one of the board members. They are staying here a few days, will be visiting with Fred Franke tomorrow. What an awesome ministry! They help people. They are sending some food boxes down to Florida, which is why we are only taking a small set. Their trucks will be leaving to get there about the time we will get there.

Fred gave a couple of elders from Woodland West Church in Arlington TX a tour today of the devastated churches of Christ and some of the other damage, much like he did for Janet, Rhonda and I on Tuesday.

I heard that White's Ferry Road has a mission to help out some of the Church of Christ preachers in hurricane effected areas with salary deficits due to familes and contributions leaving their congregations. The Texas brethren were surprised how few COC's there were in as big a town as New Orleans anyway. And now they're mostly ruined and taking many steps back.

I drove a truck to be serviced at the Penske dealership in New Orleans. Driving back, I was blessed in my time spent with Wayne Newland, a volunteer from Maine. Our discussions were focused on our Restoration Movement heritage. He came down here because he had told his church that he was already going to the Restoration Forum in Lexington KY, so he may as well go down to help with the Katrina relief effort... so they sent him. We spoke of our own journeys, Leroy Garrett (whom he wrote this article link about), and to cap off the day, he carried me to buy some pigma pens (for marking Bibles), then he went and bought me a Dr. Pepper. Good guy for that alone.

We moved a lady this morning named Kay. She has rheumatoid arthritis and had to move from her apartment to more of a retirement village. All of her neighbors seemed to love her and were taking care of her in a fine display of community. Get this: some of her furniture in her upstairs apartment were ruined by molds because the first floor in the complex were flooded! It wafted up through the floors. She can only get around good in her mobile chair and she had one of those lift chairs like my Meemaw has that got ruined. The insurance company said that she couldn't get another one because it wasn't necessary for living. They must not have family members who have one. pray for Kay.

One last thing: There's some girls from Wisconsin Tammy and Sadie who traveled down in a converted school bus/camper by the name of the blue whale. Jerry, it was awesome. I'll try to take pictures. An Airstream trailer is still my dream home, though-- for those of you who didn't know that.