Trouble Brewing

I've been holding off for a week on an update waiting to see what happens. First it was TS Fay which dumped tons of rain on most of Florida.

There hasn't been a relief effort set up in Florida that I've found needing out of state volunteers so I've been waiting to see what turns up.

I'm sure you are following along as it made the main stream news today, but in case you missed it, this thing is not going where we would hope.

You can track progress with me at the National Hurricane Center site. Gustav is expected by the majority of computer models to hit New Orleans as a major hurricane Monday night; just past the three year anniversary of Katrina on Friday. The gulf is hot and winds are light leading the the expected development after the storm passes Cuba.

Our first job here is prayers for our new friends we've been helping in New Orleans and along the gulf coast. We want to be fervently asking God to block this storm's progress and development and spare the severe suffering Katrina caused happening again. Please post a comment to this post if you've done so to let them know we are.

Our second job is to get prepared. Immediate storm relief will involve collecting the right stuff packed the right way and shipped cooperatively and efficiently into a receiving organization who can distribute it out of the truck. This will require churches and volunteers to act as central collection facilities and a couple people who are good at managing logistics to organize the shipping. Please email me immediately if you can fill this role. If collection is required I will publish inventory requests for food, personal care, baby care, and cleaning kits.

Our parallel task is to start making plans for volunteers to perform immediate relief. Services will be chainsaw, distribution of supplies, counseling, first aid, and flood cleanup. This will require volunteer team leads, vehicles, tools, and potentially camping gear.

Both stuff and people will cost $$$$$ to get where they are going. Please discuss with your church leaders the possibility of a special collection or one time missions gift to Servants Unite to cover these expenses so they will not be required of the volunteers and donors of supplies. Do that this Sunday if not before so we are as prepared as we can be.

Communications contacts for any effort like this will begin with John McGuire (614-404-8610) and Melinda McGuire (614-523-3996). As others end up managing portions of the operation their contact information will be distributed here and on a special web page for the new effort.

Since Katrina three years ago, we've provided 2500 man weeks of labor in Louisiana, Alabama, Ohio, and Iowa. 400 of those were in the first 4 trips to Mandeville. All of you have had an awesome heart to serve.

We may be called in the next few days to rise up again and put our hard earned experience to use making a new effort even more effective and glorifying our Lord even more than we have. Please be in prayer for what your role will be when that time comes.

Servants Unite!

John McGuire