In light of the flood damage in Nashville, today, I am re-posting an old article from August of 2008 where I shared part of my experience with relief work after Hurricane Katrina. Granted, the flood situation is not as severe as the situation caused by Katrina, however, homes have been completely destroyed or severely damaged and lives have been lost. The outcome is the same, the only difference is the reach of the damage. The article below explains a little bit about why helping those in distress is in my blood. Yo can also check out these videos from the relief efforts, they are kind of rough, but there was very little editing time: Video #1 is 18 minutes long as was used in one of our services as a part of the pastor’s message, Video #2 is 5 minutes long and shows slides of our relief team in action.
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A Moment Like This
Have you ever experienced one of those moments where you knew from that point on your life would be changed forever? Sometimes the realization comes hours maybe days later after the moment has passed, but then there are those times that in the present moment, it hits you!
One of my moments came when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Sure, its been several years since the hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast, but it was in that moment I saw things differently, and it affects me even today, it changed me then and the change has never subsided. I am sure the same would be said by those who survived the events of that summer and by those who spent months recovering bodies and doing the best they could to restore communities and cities and homes.
It was a Wednesday night that 6 of us embarked on a journey that transformed my life and the way I look at the blessings of God and the power that He possesses. I got to the office and was glued to the internet checking out the devastation that had wiped out much of the area. All of the staff pastors, two teenage guys, and another leader in our church decided to do something, so we rallied water and a few groceries and headed out after our midweek service, our plans were to make the 12+ hour trip throughout the night, hand out supplies and drive immediately back. Our destination was Biloxi, Mississippi. We didn’t get too far down the road and we experienced some significant problems with the RV, but we were not deterred from our goal. Fortunately we loaded up on gasoline at the last station that had it within driving distance, about two hundred miles out, we also carried numerous 5 gallon gas cans for backup. When we got to Biloxi, we were some of the first relief efforts in the area. The National Guard was there, but they were mostly scoping things out. All we had was a RV loaded with some groceries pulling a trailer full of bottled water. What was to take place was AMAZING!
It took me two weeks to pull my emotions back into order. It was at that point we took our second of three trips back to Biloxi, it was going to be a long time before I wouldn’t fall asleep thinking of what I just experienced; what I experienced shook my world. At first it was kind of cool seeing the scattered boats and destroyed signs as we neared the heaviest hit area, but as we got into the community that we ended up adopting as a church, the coolness quickly wore off, and it was at that Moment, I knew I would never be the same! Lives were destroyed, homes gutted by the force of the storm surge, personal possessions scattered everywhere you looked, the stench of death filled the air, entire buildings vanished.
We gave cases of bottled water away. We broke cases open and gave as people needed. For at least 10 hours, we distributed water. Remember how Jesus took a few fish and some bread and it multiplied? We experienced what we could only describe as a miracle (I am not being weird). We could not give all of the water away, it was as if it continued to increase. The stack never disappeared until towards the end of the day when it started to get dark and we set out to head home. I believe to this day, God increased our supply as the people had need. The rich became poor in one afternoon. There was no distinguishing them a part. In fact, many of the poorer people’s homes were in better condition than the richest we came across. There was no class that day or in the days to come, it was people, in need.
The greatest story from our first trip to the devastated area was when a lady and her family pulled up behind us in a jeep. She approached me first, and asked if we had any groceries left. I responded that I didn’t think so, but I went to the RV and confirmed. We had a couple of cans of Vienna Sausages for which we were going to split amongst the 6 of us on our journey home, but we offered them to this lady. She quickly responded, “Oh no, we don’t need the food, we were wondering if you had anything to eat!” (This is tough to type without getting emotional…Wow!) So we shared with this lady that we were going to share the two cans of Vienna Sausages on our trip home. The lady shared with us that her family had a couple of freezers at their house full of food and without electricity the food was de-thawing and they were having to cook it as quickly as they could before it went bad. She invited us over to their house for fried fish and shrimp…I think exactly what Jesus would have fed his followers! This family was going throughout their neighborhood feeding anyone and everyone they could find. Here we were hundreds of miles from home, no plan in hand, with one desire, to feed and give water to those who had less than us, and in the process we were treated like Kings and fed a seafood feast. I often think about that family and wonder how they are doing, the man who was dying at his house with his 11 year old grandson the only one there to care for him, and no electricity for his medical equipment; I wonder if he made it, I think about the people who made a fortress out of their apartment to protect from being robbed, the man who had no family, no home, the guy who’s mom was drug out to sea with the surge of the storm…it was in one moment, in the moment of this day, that I knew my life was going to be different, and it is!
This is OUR moment. We can make a difference in the lives of the flood victims in Nashville. Our Church (New Passion) along with other churches are partnering with Cross Point Church in Nashville to assist with their relief efforts. Please, don’t THINK this is a good idea. Put your thoughts into action. You can give a tax-deductible financial gift online or you can donate supplies. Check out our Facebook Event for more details on how you can get the supplies to us.
http://flood.newpassionchurch.com
Yesterday,