Tennessee added to "Tornado Alley"

It's been quite some time since I was able to add some news to this BLOG. The Internet availability and cell phone services were not at the touch of a hand in the remote area of TN that I was in. The rolling hills are beautiful but were a real factor whenever I tried to get a call out. I was able to use the Cragfont Baptist Church dial-up on a couple of occasions. As for WIFI.... not available. You just learn to make due!

This area of TN has been added to the notorious "Tornado Alley"

The people of Castalian Springs, Cragfont Baptist Church are warm wonderful people. They became a Disaster Relief Center in full force at the onset of the tornado. Ginger, the church angel, kept an unbelievable vigil over the entire community of people who reached out for help. Miss Grace was relentless with cooking 3 meals a day for not only the volunteers but for anyone in the community who needed a meal and a kind word. She had a stream of ladies who volunteered serving. They were all appreciated, a special note of thanks to Miss June.

The food and clothes closets needed tender loving care with the endless supply of goods that came in from all over. I had the great pleasure in helping out and working with Miss Carla. My prayers are with all the people at Cragfont Baptist. A prayer request for all who read this is for this church to find a Pastor, they have not have a permanent Pastor for 4 years. God has continued to send then interim Pastors so they could remain connected.

The rest of today's entry is more like a report of what I experienced so far. There are more contacts that will be followed up on but this story is where God led me. Please pray for this family and all of those who experienced great losses. The death toll reached 33 on Thursday of this week.......

I arrived in Hartsville, Tennessee anxious to find out how the people were after a month of cleaning up after the tornado that took approximately 30 lives and left a path of destruction for several miles. The small community of Hartsville showed some damage but I was quickly made aware that the intense damage was more in the surrounding areas. Castalian Springs was one of those places, it is a small unincorporated town but believe me there is a great amount of people who know exactly where it is on the map due to the damage and lose of lives here. One of the most publicized reports was that of a mother whose life was taken in the storm and her young child was found in a field about 250 yards from where their home was ...alive. As of today, I was told that h was doing well in the hospital. Another story that was told to me was of an older couple who heard it coming, not buy warning signals, there are none, but by the sound of it's howl, took the only choice they had and lied in the hallway of their home and before they knew it the house was ripped away from around them. Here is the most intense part of their story....they were picked up and recall being inside the funnel, spinning around they woke up lying outside away from the hose very near to each other. They are both alive to tell their experience with some bone fractures. Is that incredible or what? God must surely have plans for them to tell a story like that to those who feel there isn't really a God, a God who can and does perform miracles!

If you have never been in this part of the Tennessee region you wouldn't know that there a rolling hills everywhere, there are homes on top of the hills and many homes in the valleys. What appears to have happened was that the majority of the damage and the total destruction of homes was more in the valleys. I for one was surprised by that, I thought the higher homes would have been leveled. As with many storms of this kind mobile home parks were hit very hard, I was given information that in the Lafayette community near here, there were at least 20 lives taken and most were in a particular mobile home park.
Volunteers and donations came pouring in to several of the towns that were hit. I have seen and heard of at least 5 places where there is some sort of Disaster Relief Centers set up. FEMA Command Center is stationed at the Castalia Springs Cragfont Baptist Church where I have been able to be housed and blessed to be able to be lending a hand. Their food and clothing closets are filled with donated supplies. They were blessed with a semi-trailer of furniture that was sent over from Virginia Beach. We surely live in a great country to have caring people take the lead to get supplies and other items to areas in such a timely way. Everything from toiletries, baby items, cleaning supplies to endless boxes of Russel Stoffer's boxed chocolates are just waiting for people to come pick up or call with a need so a delivery can be made.

I have been given a few names of people who our OAKS Ministry may be able to lend a hand to. I will be meeting with them throughout the week and send the information back to the CTR Pastors and Leaders. Last names and some details will remain private and only used at the digression of the Church leaders.

Here is one story...
Wayne, Rhonda and their young daughter were spared by the storm but have some needs for the damage done to their mobile type home. The home was shifted from its foundation, the roof was damaged, the end bedroom wall was opened up and clothing from that room was taken in the wind. Water damage has destroyed some of their personal belongings furniture and electrical wiring..
They had 3 contractors come in to estimate the repairs on this 1976 model. All of them said that it would cost more to repair it than to replace it. What their prayer is that with the $2,000 that FEMA issued them and from what ever they can put together, they would use it for a down payment on a newer used trailer.
The items that are needed are girls size 5-6 clothing, women's size 22-24 and men's size XXL. The Cragfont Baptist Church in Castalian Springs, TN has been able to provide some food and a few articles of clothing from their food and clothes closets.

The human interest part of their story is that Rhonda is a recovered crack addict who has adopted the daughter of her friend to prevent her from being placed in foster care. Rhonda herself was brought up in foster care and did not want this "crack baby" to be caught up in the system. She and her husband took her in at 2 weeks old and within 2 years was able to adopt her. She regards Katiesha as her reason to stay clean and Katiesha needs her parents just as much.

I prayerfully ask that you consider helping this family, whether it be in prayer support or financial assistance. If it is the latter please send it to CTR Community Church W6244 Hwy 10-114, Menasha, WI 54952 with a notation to OAKS TN Project.

Proverbs 22:9 A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.

She's Singing Praise to God

This story of one of a lady (Melvinia) who since Aug. 29, 2005 has been on a roller coaster of immotions. Her home along with thousands of others was flooded buy the rath of Katrina. What makes her different in my life is that her home was the first home that a small team ( Larry and Patty, I know if you are reading this you will remember her) from CTR tore out and threw out much of her personal belongings. It was heart breaking for all of us.

It was the 2nd week in October of 2005 when in some ways we added to her stress level and in other ways we were there to give her a new beginning. We only had a day and a half to go through her entire home to throw out all the things that were damaged buy the storm and then tear out her drywall and insulation. The mound along the roadway in front of her home was massive, too difficult to imagine unless you were there. there were time throughout the day that we just needed to stop and give her time to collect herself from the overwhelming feeling of loss!

We got as much done as possible by Friday midday but had to leave. Melvinia was very thankful and as we all gathered for prayer she prayed for us as well. She never left my mind since that day.

On a return trip Patty and I were curious as to whether she was in her home but when we were not able to catch her at home. I llater found out that things just got too much for her and she went to stay with a sister in another state to try to bein to heal. It was in October of 2006 that I finally was able to catch her at home. I was again leaving to come home within days but was totally shocked that very little more that what we had done a year prior was done. She had no family to help her and was depressed living in the FEMA trailer so she decided to put here bed in and live in the house as is. Mind you there is no kitchen, no flooring, half walls, some rooms had no ceilings but she did have a working bath tub and comode. Her tub was also used for washing dishes. She ran electricity with extension cords so she could have lighting and use small appliances.

There was good news though, she was working again. You see along with loosing a good share of the personal belongings and much of the structure of her home, she lost her job. The casino she worked at was also destroyed by the storm. It was now re-built and she was working again.
bidding her good-bye again was not easy. I asked her to get her name on the lists of Relief Agencies to get her some help.

I was home for 3 months we spoke a few times so I knew that she was not helped yet. When I went back the list of homes that had prioity over hers seemed endless, but.... I stopped in to see her and she became my mission again. I pleaded with the leaders to get a team in to help her out. Finally in April of 2007, it was going to happen! A team from Christ The Rock came down and we were able to do some work again, trim was cut and installed in a few rooms and a much needed shed was assembled so she could free up some space in her home. Guess what... not done yet!!!! There was one last team from Iowa that was coming in before Convoy Relief Center was moving to New Orleans. The week was full of finishing touches for several homes, Mel's being one of them. At the end of the week, my heart ached again because as much as we tried, she was still not back into her home. Her case was sent over to another Relief Effort and we had to bid her a prayerful good-bye.

I have kept in touch with her and found that that agency, even after she contacted them never got back to her. She had to hire out and found that to be just another problem. It was not that Mel didn't have the funds to pay for materials, she just became a victum of countless unfortunate circumstances.

Take a minute and put yourself there... what would you be doing? Mel went through the up's and down's keeping faith that God was there and someday it would all be done.

This past month when Tony and Shirley Slaats from CTR were volunteering in Ocean Springs that I asked Shirley if she could check up on her. Shirley called me while she was there to get more details, which brings me to the conversation that I had just last night. Melvenia called be and the minute I heard her voice I knew that things were getting done. She had never sounded so full of joy! What she found that had happened was that her paper work was lost and once this contact was made... work could get done. She was beaming with thankfulness not only to me that I never forgot her but more importantly to God that she is being blessed. I can't wait to see her and her home when I get there later this month. Her roller coaster ride is nearly at the end and she is singing praises to God for all of it.

So often we let go of people thinking that everything is okay. Don't let go, always remember, God doesn't ever let go!

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill, his purpose for me; your love endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands.