Links from the Relief Work Days

NEW!!! Building Project Slideshow

Tammany Oaks Church

Katrina Relief Update Site

Columbus Mission to Mandeville

TOCC Disaster Relief

Tim Hines' Blog

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

Central Church Valdosta

January 2006

We’ve been doing a lot of traveling since the holidays. We both met each other’s families. In December, we had two Christmases, two weddings, two honeymoons. Visited lots of old friends along the way. It’s been a good time.

It’s been a month now since we left Mandeville and the Relief Work at Tammany Oaks Church of Christ. We didn’t know we wouldn’t be coming back when we left, but that’s how it has ended up. They are still doing the work and still need lots of hands.

We’ve been scouting out some mission work for the month of January. We traveled to Texas to meet with the Ukraine Mission Work’s board. We are still praying for God to open doors and illuminate them.

Brett and Alicia's Timeline so Far

Timeline of Brett and Alicia so far…

September, Alicia travels to Mandeville, LA where Brett is already working at the Tammany Oaks Church of Christ in the Disaster Relief.

We met working together on different jobs; moving water on pallets, cleaning the Robinsons house

Alicia returns to West Virginia, knowing she would be back

Alicia feels like God is calling her to move to Louisiana, so she begins making arrangements

We keep in touch over the phone

Alicia Returns Nov 6 – our first "date" was at Copeland’s the second hour she was back

Brett begins visiting people in their homes, Alicia partners in this ministry. It was on these visits on the road, we started "joking" about justice of the peace signs we would see along the road.
Through time spent together and alone in daily prayers and Scripture readings, we believe that God was blending us together as a couple for His purposes.

On Saturday December 3, we had another date at the Café Dumonde in New Orleans. All joking aside about justices of peace—we tried to find someone who could marry us right then, but no luck at midnight in a half-paced New Orleans.

Not even knowing much about our relationship, Mike Hensley of Oakridge, Tenn, separately encouraged us to share our love with one another and to not be afraid of marriage, because it is such a wonderful thing. Thanks Mike!

Sunday, knowing we would have to take time off, we talked to Janet Hines about our intentions. "Awww! You guys!" Word had already gotten out that we were a cute couple.
Monday, Brett closed down some of his communications in the office from after devo until 2:30.

We went to the St. Tammany Parish Courthouse in Covington to get a marriage license. While we were at it, we got passport pictures.

After getting the paper work, we called Janet and Becky and told them to start rounding people up for a wedding at the building that night at 7pm. We started calling the Justices of Peace and found the Justice of the First Ward, Wally Porter, and started calling about honeymoon options (thanks Steve and Alia Martin).

We were buying our wedding bands two hours before the wedding. Our last dinner together as single people was at Petunia’s Place—Crawfish Bisque.

Our wedding was around 7:15pm at the "warehouse" at Tammany Oaks Church of Christ, Mandeville, Louisiana, the bride and groom were wearing yellow volunteer t-shirts and blue jeans, in the company of fellow volunteers and staff members of the Disaster Relief.