Post Gustav Update from Chalmette

Here's an update from Aaron at The Gathering who we've stayed and worked with for several trips during the past year.


greetings,
if anyone emailed over the weeked, we had a small snafu with our website and server, so i may have not received what you sent this way. same with shauna.

anyhow, we received power on friday, sept 5th- most people's refrigerators were a bit of a mess. neighbors across the street lost lots of shingles--enough that the paper and vents were gone, too leaving exposed wood and attic-their drywall ceilings fell into the bedrooms! what a mess.

shauna returned friday evening and our whole team has jumped in:
-patching shingles -tarping roofs -standing fences back up...

..mowing lawn for a national guardsmen who had long hours on duty in new orleans during the evacuation -cooking food and passing it out "down the road" (several people still w/out power on the far east end of our parish sunday and monday)

tomorrow we'll go help remove the floor at dennis' house- he's a good friend who was very close to moving into his house last week (moving in for first time since katrina). we were going to go over and do some touch up painting, but his front door blew in during Gustav and his new flooring is ruined.

from some of these comments notice the heartache that some people might have with some old Katrina emotions returning. our task is clear- serve and love like Jesus, pointing at Him and reminding people over and again that He is hope and love.

thanks for asking about things and for sending the emails our way. a few of you said you'd been meaning to call me anyway- ha, my how disasters bring us together. and for that, see attached picture about how we all find strength to lean on-finding anything and everything to make a fence stand! and the first pic is our group driving back from the retreat.

please pray that our work and daily endeavors keeps advancing the Kingdom rather than our own agenda.

our AC went out in the car- now we have those decisions to make. and next week we plan to begin a Financial Peace group meeting at a local school. hopefully another way of meeting people and helping families. thanks!

aaron johnson
the gathering
chalmette, LA
504 610 7779