KATRINA RELIEF by Norma Hoag

OCTOBER 22-28, 2006
by Norma Hoag

On Sunday, October 22, twenty men and women left Linworth United Methodist Church, Columbus, Ohio, to go to New Orleans, La. to help with the Katrina Relief. This is my journal of our trip....

October 22, 2006

Here we are on our road to New Orleans. I'm very excited and somewhat anxious about this trip. However, it has been in my heart and soul to come here to help ever since the hurricane Katrina hit August 29, 2005. What devastation these people went through!! Lives and hearts were changed forever and continue to change.

The van ride is a little tight. I'm restless with too much on my mind. Am I spoiled with comfort? I love my book I'm reading as I ride along and sometimes I talk a little. It is wonderful to bond with so many new friends with our hearts all in the same place. We have 20 men and women in two vans who have left their work, homes and families to lend a hand where we feel there is a need.

We drive for 11 hours and arrive at a beautiful church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It is 11:30 p.m. and two wonderful ladies meet us and serve us dinner. Wow!! A good nights' rest and we are on the road early to New Orleans. We talk about this mission and how we all feel led to this journey not knowing what to expect.

We arrive at lunch time and some volunteer ladies serve us beans and rice from a tent. We are hungry and appreciative.

We are staying at a church/school that has been destroyed internally by the hurricane. The vans are arriving from Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas and other places to help in any way we can. Strangers - but united!! The facility has been set up with cots and a few bunk beds for volunteers. Our room has about 20 women. Down the hall is a bathroom with showers, sinks, and potties. So--here we go girls! No make-up, no hair blowers and no curling irons. The men's quarters are similar. There is a dining room and an assembly room for all to gather in. Everything at our compound functions on a generator.

I feel such freedom being here to help others. I'm so thankful my husband, Terry, and my family were so supportive of me coming on this trip. I'm concentrating totally on our work. WE ARE ALL READY!!

It is 12:30 p.m. and we're all in our "muck clothes" and work boots headed for our work site. We're speechless as we drive near Lake Pontchartrain through beautiful neighborhoods that used to be so alive with families and life. Total devastation with most homes having 13' or so of mucky debris and water. Now it is 14 months later.

It really looks like a "GHOST TOWN" here. The schools are empty, businesses closed, signs down, libraries destroyed. Our hearts are heavy as we look and feel for those who have gone through so much. We are here to help clean up and offer HOPE??!! It just seems so little when so much needs to be done. Where are the people? ---- How can lives be put back together? ----- It is so desolate here. FEMA trailers are everywhere. ---- Where to begin??

We arrive at our home. The couple who lived here came back once. Everything inside is destroyed. They have left and have started a new life in Texas, leaving all behind.

These lovely brick homes were valued at $150,000 to $160,000 before Katrina hit. Now they are being sold for $40,000 cleaned out and gutted to the studs.

We can hardly get the front door open for the debris. The water was clear up into the attic. The ceiling (drywall) has crumbled to the floor plus the insulation. The furniture is every direction in a tangle of wires. Oh Lord!! -- Where to begin. We touch a family’s things; pictures, clothes -- just like our own homes. Only...DESTROYED!! I don't feel anger, only sadness!!

We must have our legs and arms covered. We are issued surgical gloves to wear under our heavy work gloves. Preparations are wonderful here for volunteers. I thought we might receive a thin paper mask. But, no; we are given filtered gas masks that must be worn continually while in the home. The stench of mold, etc. is unbearable and dangerous to breathe. We have received tetanus and hepatitis A shots before our trip for protection. Now we understand why. The masks are confining and you cannot talk to each other. Maybe that is a blessing. -- What is there to say??!!

We start picking up debris and carrying things out. The kitchen is filled with old cans and food debris. The silverware and dishes are everywhere. I get emotional over a can of baking powder where someone made something for their family in this kitchen. No one notices my tears and we keep moving. We are driven now!!

Clothes are still hanging in the closets and in the dresser drawers. How sad!! This home is just sitting here rotting away. The only thing alive inside are some roaches. A pre-historic thing which I guess will always be around.

Dear Lord, if I feel this way, how do so many thousands feel who have lost so much? I am so glad I'm here to help-- if even in a small way, we are here to help and bring HOPE. Guide us Lord...please.. I'm not feeling it now. I'm numb and want to work hard physically. It helps!!

The sounds in the house are deafening. Cabinet doors being ripped from their hinges. Lights and fans coming down from the ceiling. Crow bars taking off drywall and wood work. Hammers ripping out nails and hammering some in. Tile being scraped off or beaten with hammers. Filthy carpet which is four or five inches thick with muddy oily muck. Our crew works so hard carrying out stoves, refrigerators, washers, dryers, heavy mattresses. We are instructed to separate appliances, items with electrical wiring, chemicals, and then just general household. The piles continue to grow larger and higher at the edge of the street in front of the home.

We are working side by side 20 church members from a church in Cincinnati, Ohio. We do not know these people nor do they know us. -- Side by side we work sharing tools and directed to clear and clean the house "best we can".

When we take a break, we reach in an icy cooler for a fresh bottle of water. The mask comes off and we breathe fresh air. I get emotional again thinking how we are so fortunate to have the fresh water. Some of us talk softly and others are silent just resting. Then it hits you to get back inside and help more. The pile in front of the property is so high with what's left of a one time active home. You feel and touch pictures, music boxes, little sandals, toys, and special glass wear, ---so many memories in a dirty heap.

In the back yard is a picnic table with a water pond beside it. The sun is shining down on several beautiful water lilies in the pond. Thank you God!!.....It makes us smile and feel a sign of life and hope. God is so big and powerful............we are so small so very small.

Then we begin to clear out a wonderful large workshop shed in the back. Great tools of all kinds are destroyed. It reminds many of us of our Dad's tool shop and we grieve again. So many emotions!!

Now we are down to the bare floor in the home. Only studs show and light and fresh air will come through and help dry out this home. Our work is complete here.

We have met the young couple with two little boys who will soon call this their home. As we talk with them and walk in the back yard they smile and are excited to live here sometime in the near future. We feel hope again.

Thank you Lord for today and the strength you gave us.....

Every evening we have devotions together with the staff leaders and all volunteers. It is awesome to reflect on our day. It renews our minds and bodies to say thank you Lord for what we have. It helps us to make a self-check personally on how we are living and what is important in our lives! HOW ARE WE LIVING??

The young leaders here are awesome; Adam and Matt and others. Giving their lives to help for so long in New Orleans is amazing. Their spirit was catching!!

We get up early to begin a new day. Coffee.....where are you? Our bodies are tired but we do not care. We persevere on,.
After a nice breakfast, we make a sandwich for lunch. I am amazed at how red and shiny the apples seem, and the bacon is so inviting and crisp. It isn't that I haven't noticed it before, but life’s' little details stand out brighter and everything looks different after being in the bleak destroyed area. Before we leave for another worksite we all gather together for prayer and devotions. Our work boots are on and we're ready for our 2nd home.


We meet Vinson........

At the second worksite as we are ready to enter; the home owner's son arrives. He is a big burly guy with facial hair, tattoos, (many tattoos), however he has one special one of Christ on the Cross on his arm. He shows us this and how proud he is of it. He is sad about his Mother's home, but most sad that she died three months after Katrina hit. He asks that we look for her Rosary Beads, which we did find.

We listen to him tell his story as tears run down his cheeks, and we all cry with him. One of our guys steps forward and gives Vinson and big hug. Vinson explains that it is what's inside that counts. Then he pulls out from under his shirt a very heavy chain with a cross on it and he cries again. As Pastor Terry embraces Vinson he begins to pray. What a wonderful moment for Vinson and each one of us before we begin. It is moments like these that you feel the Lord's presence like a warm blanket.

I want Vinson to leave so he won't see us carrying out his Mother's things. But he doesn't---- I can see him waiting by his truck as we start carrying and pushing wheel barrows filled going in out the doors with her precious things mushed down being dumped in to a pile outside. Another sad moment was to see that after all this time since August 29, 2005, a neighbor continues to put out a pan of dog food on the carport in hopes that Vinson's Mother's missing dog might return. We feel the dog is gone forever----but we say nothing as they continue to hope. What else do they have now but faith and hope!!

Two doors down we meet a wonderful neighbor who is living in her FEMA trailer in front of her home. She comes over to thank us for coming to help. She is smiling; she has a wonderful spirit and is extremely hospitable and gracious. She offers us the use of her bathroom in her trailer for the ladies. As she begins to tell her story, we listen to how much she has endured. Her home has been gutted and re-done. She was alone when Katrina hit as her husband had died several years ago. Her mother died since Katrina came and her 48 year old son died last month as he was painting her bedroom in her home. She still smiles and tells us of her faith. Her home is paid for, she has many family members in St. Bernard Parish, and she will not leave. I ask her if I can take her picture in front of her FEMA trailer. She laughs and said no one had asked to do that before. We are all touched by her strength.

Once again, we are extremely directed to finish this home by the end of our work day. We do complete the gutting as the pile grows in the front of her home. We see chairs, tables, sewing machines, picture albums, Halloween decorations, Christmas decorations all in a heap again destroyed. Her life; her memories. One little lonely mouse runs out. We can't even imagine what he was living on.

As on many streets we can see maybe three homes refurbished or a FEMA trailer in front which indicates the family will stay. That isn't very many on a whole block.

Vinson has left. I don't want him to see his Mother's home and the pile of memories and debris in front. But I feel sure through his sadness, he will be somewhat relieved it is finished and he didn't have to do it himself.

How many emotions the people here must feel? Sadness, anger, discouragement, depression, ----- I pray we have offered some hope! WE DO CARE.......

Down the block I can see the mailman coming in his little van. Loretta said they just started having mail delivered one month ago. Halloween is in one week. I try to make a joke about how I wouldn't want to "trick or treat" in these neighborhoods. Everyone in our van laughs; then I'm sorry I said that. It was a very sad joke.

Tonight we have been invited to Hilltop by Brandon, who is another leader for Katrina relief workers several miles from here. He has invited our group for a New Orleans dinner. How wonderful to meet, see, and hear about his mission work. He has been here to help since a few days after the hurricane hit. Our meal is so wonderful..... The lettuce salad is so fresh and crisp and the beautiful large bowl of fruit is yummy. He shares with us the work he has been doing, and gives us a tour of the school they call home now. Their housing quarters are similar to where we are. The first floor was destroyed so they are sleeping on the second floor. He ends our evening by showing us some footage of the hurricane and the damage from a year ago. What a wonderful person he is to dedicate his life now to the disaster relief. Two of our men have been down earlier this year and stayed here with Brandon at Hilltop.

Now we are ready this morning for our third home. We meet the mother of the man who will be moving into this home; she lives across the street in a very large two-story brick home. Her name is Nancy and her smile is huge as she greets us. She lives in a FEMA trailer also. She and her family cleaned out and gutted their own home. She is thrilled to see us and have help. She is absolutely delightful. We hear stories about her family and their experiences. She gives us hope as her yard is green and new grass has been planted at the home where we are gutting out. Life will go on..........

Our plans are to finish on this home early today. All of the volunteers at Crossroads will be taking some extra time to drive and look around New Orleans and visit the French Quarter. We are looking forward to the rest of our day but we become so directed in our clean out on this home that several of us do not want to quit. We feel with just a couple of hours we can do so much more. We do quit midday. I wonder how many workers have this feeling, "if I just could do a little bit more". Something in our minds tells us that we can do more and more, but we are only a handful of volunteers and we need to realize our capabilities. It is very important to us to know we have completed a project for someone so they can move on to the next step of rebuilding their lives.

We shower and dress appropriately for going out for the evening. It feels good... We have an enlightening trip driving to the heart of New Orleans. It is still unbelievable what we are seeing in one neighborhood after another. Many homes have been demolished and nothing more is left than the concrete sub-floor and a concrete front step. As we are walking to the French Quarter, we hear music coming from bars and watch some sidewalk entertainers. We peek into all kinds of gift and novelty shops. I had said to several that from now on I wouldn't buy any more unnecessary items. Just look what happened next....... We visited with many of the shop owners who told how they were able to open their business within two or three months after the storm. However, business is still not good and there are very few shoppers. I of course, had to help them out a little. I bartered with a gentleman in the French Quarter open market for a Cajun CD for my husband. Then I had to purchase two feather Mardis Gras masks and alligator beads for my grandchildren. It is a whole different world from what we have been in touch with the past few days. It felt good to see things put back together and hear fun music and laugh with each other. We had a wonderful dinner in a quaint New Orleans restaurant. We even enjoyed sharing some alligator sausage. It was a beautiful evening for our entire group. Thank you Lord, we needed that.

Our last day at Crossroads.....

We will finish the home we started on Thurs. with the help from volunteers from Cincinnati. It is raining but no one seems to mind. Everyone works so diligently in the rain. It is hard to breath through the gas mask with the high humidity. The rain makes it harder to empty the wheel barrows. We are finished and everyone is standing across the street under Nancy's front porch. When we were asked who would like to offer prayer, Nancy said she would. She thanked God and all of the volunteers for caring so much to come to help. Tears were coming down her cheeks. We hugged, said goodbye and our vans pulled away down the street. I hope and pray some day to return to find this neighborhood thriving. But, I know it will take many years, many volunteers, and lots of hard work to bring it back.

We shower, pack up, clean our quarters, and climb in our van. Our bodies are tired but mostly our minds are confused and our hearts heavy with mixed emotions about leaving with still so much to be done. What a marvelous outreach that has been set up here!! I'm anxious to tell my story to friends and family; praying that they will tell someone and more groups will want to come down and help like we have. It has been so rewarding to be here. We did help out. We gave them our love and helped where we could. Thank you Lord for my home and all the things I sometime take for granted. Help me to stay calm with the holidays approaching and so many trivial wasteful items available. I feel like, I know................... I have received much more than I gave. Maybe I will return....................... I brought my work boots home.................. and I see them looking at me each day on the shelf.........

Team 18 is on their way!!!

20 brave souls left Linworth UMC @ 1:00 on their way to continue the work in New Orleans. They will be staying with a new patner organization Crossroads Missions since Hilltop is closed this week. Accomidations and work will be about the same as we are all used to, but Crossroads is also building and remodeling homes.

Matt Brooker, the youth minister from Linworth led a prayer for safety for the trip and for good work from the crew for the week. We also prayed for the families of the team members.

Please join us all in praying for their success and work in the spirit to the glory of God this week. Keep monitoring the blog this week for their pictures and updates from the field.

If you aren't on the Hilltop list and missed it....

Hello all Hilltop volunteers!

We need your help in a way that will not involve any travel, expense, aching muscles or bad smells. For our Hilltop Family Reunion on September 1-3, we are compiling several Top 10 Lists and would love to have your contributions in the following categories:

Best Moment
Funniest Moment
Worst Smell
Most Touching Memory

Please email these thoughts, lists, or memories to whites@hilltoprescue.org. There are so many common experiences of the work here among vastly different volunteers. We look forward to putting together some lists that everyone can relate to and enjoy. Thank you for your help! If you are unable to attend the reunion, look for these lists to appear on the website in early September.

Sincerely,
June White

In the News!!!

ONN's blog and coverage of team 17 working

The ONN 30 minute special aired first Thursday night and will air Saturday (26th) at 5pm, and on Sunday (27th) at 10pm. Thanks to Amy, Stephanie, and the gang at ONN for covering the continued need.

And Thanks to the Columbus Dispatch! You'll also find some of Amy's work from Thursday and Friday at these links:

Dispatch covers ONN covering Servants Unite team 17

Amy Backus on their trip from Friday's paper

I also heard this story on NPR Weekend Edition this morning focusing on the effectiveness of non-profit disaster relief organizations and volunteers who have followed their faith to the gulf coast.

listen here

And watch out for Ernesto. It is predicted to become a hurricane and current projections have it aimed squarely at New Orleans.

Let's all pray it disipates.

If it doesn't... we've all got a lot of work to do. Keep watching the blog and these emails for updates. If you can help plan our response to Ernesto or the next hurricane, please contact me at the email or numbers below.

__________________________________________________________
1 Peter 4:10, Mark 12:30-31, Mathew 9:36-38, Romans 12:4-8

John McGuire
www.ServantsUnite.org
614-523-3996 home
614-404-8610 cel

Progress in New Orleans

Don't have pics back from our team yet, but found this one on the Times Picayune home page this morning as part of the lead story.


Great illustration of the slow progress. The stories Stephanie Menecke has been filing on OhioNewsNow.com are as well.

After nearly a year of effort and thousands of families touched, this is just a reminder of how much work we still have to do.

John McGuire
Servants Unite!

Ohio Brings Hope on the Web

ONN has a lot of blog and video on their web site.

Team 17 on the ground

Editor's Note: Our 17th team is made up of 8 people and being covered by ONN (Ohio News Network) as part of their anniversary of Katrina coverage. Melissa Ruble of Gracepoint Community Church in Lewis Center is the lead for the week.

Yes we are here, but for those of you taping. The coverage will be on at 5pm and 9pm. Please change that on your settings. Also the coverage of today will air at noon on Monday. PLEASE could you make sure that you tape it so that we can see if any clips will be decent to view as a short announcement on Sunday the 13th.

Yes we are here and today was our day off to go around and view the area. We saw soooo much devistation. There was even a pick-up truck under a house in the lower 9th. We will keep you updated as we begin to gut out houses tomorrow.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support on this trip. We were even able to pray with some ladies that were coming back as seeing a friend's house that was destroyed. God is moving in so many ways.

Thanks,
Melissa Ruble

TV Coverage and Next Trip

Be watching the blog, ONN, and your local CBS affiliate in Ohio for coverage of our team working in New Orleans this week. Eight team members pulled out at 8:30 Saturday and got in Chalmette VERY late after a long delay for a traffic accident (that they were not involved in). Thanks to Staphanie Mennecke, Amy Backus, Jamie Walters, and Micah Riffle of Ohio News Network for their support and coverage of our efforts in disaster relief in New Orleans this week.

Can you believe it's been nearly a year since Katrina struck? To honor all the volunteers who have worked with Hilltop, the organization is hosting a "reunion" of sorts at the school in Chalmette for Labor Day weekend. Volunteers will be treated to a day long cookout/party to celebrate the work we have all done together to help thousands of storm victims.

Servants Unite will be sending a team leaving Saturday September 2 to work for the week of Labor Day and join in the party. If you have been before, or even if you have not and would like the opportunity to turn your life over to the work of the Kingdom for a week, please respond to this email or call me at the numbers below.

Thanks for your continued efforts!

Servants Unite!

August 5 Team Meeting

The August 5 team will meet at GracePoint Church in Lewis Center (just north of Polaris off 23) at 3:00 Sunday for a final planning meeting.

Directions

Please contact Melissa Ruble with questions or if you get lost. Her phone number is 614-216-9839.

It's not too late to go along! If you are interested, please come to the meeting.

John McGuire
Servants Unite!

Pleas from New York State

Brothers & Sisters in Christ, Our relief effort of providing the necessary items to help people clean their homes continues to be a blessing to us and is greatly appreciated by each and every person who comes in. What we need the most right now are people willing to come here and help us clean homes and get them ready to re-build. We are a small congregation with a big heart but we are limited to how many families we can help. If you have some free time, please come here and join us in reaching out to those in need.

Your brother in Christ

Dave Halligan
Endwell Church of Christ
_________________________________________

I appreciate you trying to round up some volunteers. We have several groups going up to work. They didn't give me a final count of houses that need worked on but they said they had a huge stack of them and had stopped accepting applications until they knew how many volunteers we could get up there. I will be getting updated numbers this week and posting them on the blog hopefully Monday.

Thanks for getting back with me!!

Have a Great Evening!!
Laura
Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team
_________________________________________

This is Meghan from University at Buffalo. I'm really excited that you guys are on to this flood relief. I live in Vestal NY (right near Binghamton). God totally protected my family and nothing was damaged. The area really needs your help. Thanks for your help! Keep me updated if you need anything.

Meghan
_________________________________________


I just got back from a medical mission to Haiti, and opened your a-mail. I knew about the flooding in Binghamton because all my family is there. My brother was only one that lost his home due to it being right on the river. I spoke to my family yesterday and they said the need was in the Conklin area there ( It's about 30 to 45 miles outside Binghamton and right on the river) My sister and her husband went to help and said there was a Presbyterian church giving food, clothing and helping folks move their big appliances out of their homes. Their are not any Church of Christ in that area, the Endwell Church I attended reached out to the community as my family reported.

Deb Bentley

Mission Update and Needs

Contents:
1. August 29 deadline approaches – After that time, “abandoned” houses may be taken over by the local government and sold.
2. Two July groups made a massive contribution – Groups of 18 and 35 joined other volunteers over the last two weeks in Chalmette to gut 15 houses combined plus rebuilding a local school.
3. August 5 trip – ONN (Ohio News Network) will have a crew covering our work for their “Ohio Brings Hope” series ahead of the anniversary of Katrina.
4. What would Natalie do? – Gahanna teen who made her 2nd trip last week is promoting trips to more churches in the area.
5. Binghamton New York flood relief – No response to the first request for volunteers. Any takers now?


1. Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes encompassing the city of New Orleans, Chalmette, and other suburbs gave residents a deadline 2 months ago to have their homes cleaned out and secured by August 29 or else. Homes not cleaned out by that time may be appropriated by the Parish and sold for redevelopment and demolished. This makes our help over the next month and a half all the more important. The backlog of job requests at Hilltop Rescue in Chalmette has risen from 600 at the time of that announcement to 1100 today even with the 30 to 100 houses being gutted by their crews each week.


2. 35 youth and sponsors from Alum Creek Church of Christ and Linworth United Methodist joined 300 other volunteers last week to gut 100 houses! The previous week a group of 18, mainly from New Life in Canal Winchester, had a very successful week as well. See Mark McGiffin’s pictures


3. Our next scheduled trip will leave GracePoint Community Church in Lewis Center North of Columbus on Saturday August 5. Ohio News Network’s Stephanie Mennecke, Amy Bacus, and camera crews will be covering our team’s work and recovery progress for their “Ohio Brings Hope” special ahead of the anniversary of Katrina as well as live feeds during the trip. As of today there are only 3 or 4 people on that team. So here’s the appeal. If you were on a list with 1100 other people to have your house cleaned out or lose it, how important would it be to you that someone come help clean out your house? Additional trips will be built as volunteers are interested in going.


4. To help build up those trips, Natalie Rickard, a 17 year old veteran of team 2 after Katrina and team 16 last week, is calling and visiting area church leaders in an effort to drum up support for more help. She felt so compelled by the work she saw last week that still needed done and the urgency of the deadline looming she had to do yet more than she has already. I personally find her passion very inspirational. You too can have a large impact just by forwarding this request for volunteers to your church email list and your friends. Maybe you can spend some time during the day promoting the effort personally to church leaders in your neighborhood. We’ve all been called to this work and know the powerful feeling of the Spirit working through us. Your help along with Natalie’s is essential to our effort helping storm victims and the growth of this organization to facilitate that help.

5. We also need to support a new effort cleaning up flood damaged homes along the New York, Pennsylvania border where the Delaware River flooded homes and businesses. I received an email from Megan of the University of Buffalo group (team 11) who lives in the area and has validated the need for help in her area.

The hosting church is near Binghamton New York and seeking volunteers to do the same work we’ve been doing in New Orleans. These trips can be much shorter term, however, and may be easier for more people to attend. No volunteers responded to the first request I sent last week and we sent no help this past weekend. An open invitation is out for weekend trips as long as the hosting organization needs volunteers. Recommended agenda is to leave Friday for the 8 hour trip, work Saturday and Sunday, and drive home Sunday night, or Monday. Please email me if you are interested.

Final word – This can be discouraging work when we ask for volunteers for a new effort and none are available or we get TV coverage and there isn’t a large response to fill out the team. Every time I question whether we are doing the right thing, though, bursts of affirmation like an unsolicited, encouraging email or Natalie’s enthusiasm for promoting the work relieves the doubt. I’m impatient. I see what we can do and would prefer to have it all set up at once. But… He has His own timing for this and if there’s ever a consistent lesson he has for me, its patience. I really look forward to seeing what He has in store for us and working with all of you in our efforts. Thanks for your servant’s hearts and support.

1 Peter 4:10, Mark 12:30-31, Mathew 9:36-38, Romans 12:4-8

John McGuire
www.ServantsUnite.org
614-523-3996 home
614-404-8610 cel

South IB trip featured inThisWeek Papers, Westerville Edition

The Westerville South IB team that went down in June was highlighted in the Westerville Life section of the Westerville Edition of ThisWeek Papers.

Team 15 Update

Sorry about not giving much in the way of updates. We have been very busy and doing lots of hard work. The first day we spent in a private school Lynn Oaks, grades Pre-K through 8, the only Christian school in the area. They have been wanting to get schools opened up. Without the schools it makes it hard for people to come back with their children.

Day 2 - was spent finishing a house that another group had started. There was one bedroom and bathroom that had not been de-mucked. It was 3-5 inches of dried muck, hard to break up. We had a young man with us that has been here since May, Rod. He was like a plow going through the house. He didn't wear a mask or goggles, not even gloves. We worked very hard and we managed to finish the house. We didn't get to meet the homeowners but we signed a Bible and left it for them. Afterward, Rod took us on a "little tour" through the southern part of the 9th ward, where the Levy broke. The devastation is unbelievable, including the numbers on some of the homes that were left, indicating the amount of bodies found.

Day 3 - we got a house in New Orleans. The home owner worked in the evidence dept with the N.O. Police Dept. Her father built the home and she had lived there all her life. Her father had passed away some time ago and her mother back in 1990. She rode out the storms (Katrina and Rita) at Police HQ. She had family members that ended up living in the attic of house during Katrina. This is a very close knit community. Her father had built many of the homes, and she had family members, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, living on nearly every street. She described how the trees were bending during Katrina, like blades of grass in the wind. She was unable to return to her house for over a month due to the situations and all the water. "Who knew it would ever have been that bad." We stripped her entire house, walls, flooring tile, sinks, cupboards, doors. She said the water had risen to over 6 ft in the house. Mold growing everywhere. One of our crew found a shoe box full of pictures in the attic. She was ecstatic. They were the only pictures found with any of her family members in them. We even found some documents of recognition from the city of N.O. presented to her father for some work he had done for the community. She was very appreciative of all the work we were doing.

Someone had mentioned to the group that I made good sausage gravy. Thanks Becky!! :-) So I got up at 5:00 AM this morning to make gravy (for 100 people, I've never made such a large pot of gravy before in my life!), and we actually had REAL fried eggs this morning too. Two other guys in our group volunteered to flip eggs. A great breakfast, everything was homemade (except for the biscuits). Then someone mentioned that their husband made great chili (also from our group). All homemade meals today. Another group here made peach cobbler for desert to go with the chili tonight. I think someone may have gotten a picture or 2 of 3 guys making breakfast before we even had coffee! I bet that was some sight!

We have pictures of all the work we've been doing, but no card reader yet to get them uploaded. Will try and get them out to you as soon as I can.

--mark

Team 15 Out the Door

Running out of ways to announce departure's ;-)

Team 15, mainly made up of adults and teens from New Life in Canal Winchester plus Mark and Becky McGiffin of Spring Road left at 8:30 this morning!! They are 18 strong and were all really excited about the work that awaits them.
Fifteen teams and the 16th is ready to leave next Saturday morning. WOW! I'm so pleased the support continues to be there and we've been able to continue this operation past the original 4 trips and be planning for our next response. This is GOOD WORK and I'm thrilled and humbled to be working with you all on this.

To that end Melinda and I spent the first part of the week in Louisville at the North American Christian Convention. We didn't have as much interest in the booth as I expected, but managed to find attendees walking by with Ohio on their name badge and sent information with them for their missions/ministry staff. We also met some others who had been to work in Louisiana and found the same "life changing" experience is shared by others who have worked in other locations.

We also got to hang out with Janet, Gary, and Megan from Hilltop, meet Don Yelton from Whites Ferry Road for the "elevator" presentation on what we are building. We met Keith Wood and Rick Jett, Executive directory of IDES, a Christian Church international disaster relief organization that is starting up relief operations in the US in response to Katrina. We are investigating their DART project to see where we may fit in and so is Hilltop Rescue.

We will have a booth at the Westerville Christian grand opening (our building is now double it's size a year ago). Like we've done at Grace Point, we can set up a table at your church any Sunday or when you have a focus on missions and can speak to the congregation about our organization.

I wanted to pass along what I'm sure is a shared personal experience. Janet Hines and I were discussing being "under attack" Tuesday. There are times when you feel like all is pointless. All the mission work all the church work, effort put into kids and work, all the "good" we do seems to meet opposition. Sometimes even from the Christian brothers and sisters we expect to be our brothers in arms.

We know we have an enemy who attacks the work we do in God's name and we know how to defend against it (Ephesians 6:10-18). As much good as Janet has done since last September, she has faced more attack than most of us. She talked about being pushed to the point of frustration and going to a friend very angry about it. But by keeping the perspective that "we are not fighting flesh and blood, but spirits in the heavenly realms", using the whole armor, and praying for "all the saints", we can know that when others appear to attack us, they may not know they are being used and think they are doing good. We can defend against Satan's fiery arrows, and we can support and plead to God for one another's success working in his fields.

Take a moment now, before you forget, to pray for Servants Unite's leaders and volunteers; Janet, Tim, Brendan, Corkey, Megan, Gary, Bogden, and Savita at Hilltop; the people managing the ongoing effort at Tammany Oaks; Fred Frankey and the others at Carrollton Avenue, the thousands of volunteers, and the hundreds of thousands of storm victims who are struggling so hard to get their lives back together. Pray for strength, wisdom, energy, peace, and satisfaction in doing the Lord's work.

Thanks!

John McGuire
Servants Unite!

Potentially False Alarm and Other News

It appears that media coverage may have exaggerated the damage. Various contacts in Norwalk and Port Clinton indicate the generally expected amount of damage that occurs with any summer storm. Two people responded to the request for volunteers. We will not be sending a contingent up this weekend.

I do still encourage you to get out in your area for a few hours this weekend to help neighbors cut and stack storm debris for disposal. If you know of anyone who needs extra assistance or lacks tools (chainsaw) send a note back and I'll send the job opportunities out to this list tomorrow.

In other news, I met with Adam and Matt, the two youth ministers in Team 16 leaving Columbus on July 8. Much excitement there! They'll be happy with Nancy Michael (my dear mum-in-law) cooking. If you can help her that week, she can use it. Expectation is 350 volunteers at the school in Chalmette for that week. Contact me immediately if you are interested, but of course nobody is likely to be turned down at the last minute. An experienced team lead is still needed for this trip if you can take the time.

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to speak to Grace Point Church in Lewis Center about our organization. Several more members of that congregation are interested in the August 5 trip. That will be a good last opportunity before school starts if you'd like to join that team.

This week, Melinda and I will be in Louisville to exhibit at the North American Christian Convention We'll be drumming up more support from churches around Ohio, helping out our friends from Hilltop do the same, and encouraging others to start organizations like ours in their area.

Then, next weekend, July 1, Team 15 leaves early Saturday morning from New Life in Canal Winchester. Becky and Mark McGiffin from Spring Road will be escorting the New Life volunteers down. Gary and Sharon Kitchen have put together a total of 20 members of that team.

We'll keep you posted on any and all developments and be here when you feel the need to muck out a house or love on a new storm victim.

1 Peter 4:10, Mark 12:30-31, Mathew 9:36-38, Romans 12:4-8

John McGuire
www.ServantsUnite.org
614-523-3996 home
614-404-8610 cel

Westerville South IB Thoughts

Hi Brad and John,

As the time draws near for us to depart and I've had the better part of Sunday afternoon to reflect, I felt the need to give you a few of my thoughts. First and foremost thank you to Servants Unite for sponsoring our trip. It is an awesome thing that you are doing for the folks of New Orleans. I think that you have given our IB students something more than accumulating hours, you have given them a sense of what it is like to help those in need, and that is a debt that is only repaid through service to humanity.

I'm no stranger to hard work, but I have to say that this has been some of the hardest work that I have ever done, but what a sense of great satisfaction and the feeling that one person (or several together) can make a difference.

I was somewhat concerned that our students would not be up to the task, but in all honesty, they have been awesome. Have they complained some? YES! They have been tested and found worthy. We are very proud of all of them.

I have been so touched by the stories of the people that we have helped. It has reaffirmed that our God is an awesome God. All of these people seem to have such a strong hold on their belief even with all that they have been through. This has been such an uplifting trip for me that I just wish that I could commit more time, but home and family call me back.

Once again thank you for all you have done- "For whatever you have done for the least of them you have done for me."

God Bless,

Bill Kulju
International Baccalaureate CAS Coordinator
Westerville South High School

Thanks from Ms Ella

Just had to drop you a line and let you know how nice the ceilings look. They did a wonderful job. I didn't get to meet them in person, just on the phone. I had a awful cold which wound me in the hospital with pneumonia. Brian got to meet them and said they were very nice. Got home today and so glad to see how great things are looking. And gee just think it only took nine months. I'm making a joke but in actuality some people still haven't even started. I feel so sorry for so many people that are still having to live in trailers and even worse cars. Let's pray this never happens again. We have been helped by so many very nice people such as yourself. I know you realize we do appreciate everything y'all have done, but I don't think you understand just how much it means to know a total stranger has taken the time to give us their friendship. There's not a doubt in my mind God has sent you to us.

God Bless each and every one of you.
With warmest regards and sincere appreciation,
Ella Smith and Brian Barringer

Editor's Note: 3 weeks after Katrina, Ella returned home from Dallas to find her house in Slidell had been flooded 3 feet deep. She walked right back out and a Marine put his hand on her shoulder and asked what he could do to help. She and Brian had an hour or so to get what they wanted to keep from the house and the crew of Marines gutted it for her.

We met her at the Home Depot with a Penske truck, helped get all the things she needed and started putting her house back together in January. A few other volunteers through Hilltop have worked on it since then, but this week the Shiffbauer family from Westerville finished the last step, painting the ceiling on the day the air conditioning was first up and running. Ella and Brian are now home.

There are a lot of pictures of her house before and during our work linked from this blog entry and you can find more stories from team 7 at the archive of the blog from the week we were there in January.

Team 14 Friday Update

Not a lot new to tell. Hot and humid around 95 today. Sun bright and draining. The team split into two groups today and each completed a house. They were all very tired and exhausted when they returned.

Westerville can be very proud of their students. The Ohioans continue to make a name for themselves as good and hard workers down here. These kids are very mature and their leaders have stayed on focus and they are all getting a lot done. It will be interesting when there is more time to get their feedback. Not much talking going on tonight, the kids are tired and some of the groups went into NO for dinner.

Going to get a shower and get in bed for another big day tomorrow.

Brad

Team 14 First Day Report

Wow what a day. I literally got up at 3:15 and am just now sitting down for the first time at 9:15 other than eating dinner and the devo. And yet I am fine and ready for the morrow.

The team went out bright eyed and bushy tailed today with hopes of tackling great things. The team of 25 stayed together for their first day and will split up tomorrow. They returned around 3:30 dirty and tired with stories of all the gross things they saw and did.

Cleaning up mud and throwing peoples personal possessions in a trash pile. It seems that no matter who we are or where we come from that is the single thing that always stands out, the throwing out of things that were once near and dear to us.




Imagine if you will if God had said “go give away all you have and I will bring you peace....... Would we not debate argue or negotiate with God? Yet this disaster strikes and makes them all as filthy rags and here we are helping people to the curb with all their worldly possessions.

Tomorrow holds much promise. The kids from WSHS did such a great job today that the neighbor to the house they did came in and asked Hilltop for them to come do hers. I doubt that will happen but she was so impressed with how hard they worked, the quality of the work, and their attitudes that she followed them back here. Great job to the kids who are hear working so hard.

Well I need some sleep up at 3 again to cook. Good night and may God bless each of you.

Brad Hayes
Servants Unite

Team 14 Starts Work

Well the trip was long but we made it in one day. 15 hours of driving and let me be the first to salute the Westerville South kids on making their trips count and making them quick. It really helped to make the trip go faster and we were coming into New Orleans across Lake Ponchatrain just as the sun was beginning to set. It was quite a contrast to enjoy the beauty of the bright orange and red sun across the water when only a few feet away were still piles of garbage wreckage and distruction.

I have not been down since October but much is still the same as you come into the city. It appears that many of the major areas, the highways, tourist areas etc have had extensive work but as you come into St Bernard Parish there is still an awe of the massive destruction that occurred.

The group at Hilltop was over 200 last night when we arrived with 99 leaving today and over 100 more due in today. Just finished breakfast and clean up in time for the crew to prepare for their first day in the field. I will do my best to keep you all updated but have to tell you the pace hasn't slowed here if anything it has quickened.

Brad Hayes
Servants Unite

Team 14 Departs

A team of 27 from Westerville South IB led by Brad Hayes left at 5:40 this morning from South's parking lot. There was an unbelievable amount of energy from this crew for that early in the morning.

If you look close you'll see a couple familiar faces. Ross from Spring Road Church of Christ youth group is on his 3rd trip! Also Whitney Hayes is making a return run. Very inspiring!

They'll be driving straight through to Chalmette today, working through Tuesday, and returning home on Wednesday. Please pray for their safety, success, and thank God for the ministry oppurtunities this work provides. And keep watching the blog this week for Brad's updates.

John McGuire
Servants Unite!

Recent Pictures from New Orleans

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend of May 20-21 with the Hilltop leadership in Chalmette. Plans are in progress and solidifying for setting up the next relief operation in the next disaster area. Hilltop will be scouting and opening a basecamp when the times comes and organizations like Servants Unite will be sending in volunteers and supplies.

You can see all my best pics from that trip here

More volunteers and church families are needed to provide resources for the next relief operation as well as continuing our work in New Orleans. We need to be working now to collect water, non-perishable food, baby kit, personal care kit, and cleaning kit components. We need volunteers to serve the following roles immediately:

• Set up a collection of supplies at your church or business and staff it.
• Talk to your church missions group and leadership about making Servants Unite a supported organization of your church.
• Be a liason between your church family and Servants Unite. Primarily that's a communications channel.
• Continue to volunteer to work in New Orleans.
• Volunteer to be a first responder for the next disaster.
  

Several have done this recently! Thanks to Tegan who works with Team 7s Corey Bradenback. She organized the collection of a pickup load of cleaning kits at IntelliRisk. Girl Scout Troop #1721 purchased and donated several cases of cookies to send down. The ag science students at Ohio State collected food, bed linens, and $400 worth of Home Depot gift certificates. There are other groups presently collecting cleaning kit supplies. We also have a couple generous individual donors who I want to thank especially as they have allowed us to pay the expenses of groups going down to work. One generous soul bought us a trailer to use today! Which he will be using to haul all that stuff down next week ;-)

This is VERY inspiring work! I see the Spirit at work in everything you do!

A new pressure has surfaced that demands increased volunteer support of the effort in New Orleans. The St. Bernard Parish government, where we do most of our work, has given homeowners a date of August 29 to be started cleaning out their houses. The "or else" hasn't been announced yet, but there are hundreds of work orders not fulfilled waiting for us at the school and Tammany Oaks. If you can put together a summer mission trip the host organizations are very eager to get work done before the end of August to help homeowners meet that deadline.

Several Trips are set and ready to join:

1. We have a team of Westerville south IB students heading to Louisiana next Wednesday, June 7, returning on the 14th.
2. The next scheduled trip is New Life, Canal Winchester who will be going led by Mark and Becky (Team 3) on July 1.
3. July 8th, Alum Creek CofC and Linworth UMC youth groups are going together. We need an experienced volunteer to lead that trip (be a guide).
4. There is a trip scheduled for July 16 which is to be a Westerville Christian father son trip, but others are welcome to go along.
5. August 5, Grace Point church is sponsoring a mission trip. I'll be presenting to that congregation June 18th.
   

If you are scheduled on a summer trip, be prepared to be a first responder if a new disaster strikes. We will work with our partners to send in help as soon as it is safe.

I have some numbers and metrics to report on the Hilltop effort who we've been partnering with all spring. From January through April, that effort spent $81,000 feeding and organizing volunteers; aproximately 1600 of them. The cost of $50 per volunteer per week is reflected in their new request for a donation of $10 per day per volunteer to help cover expenses. Outside fundraising would help eleviate the need for this expense, but preperations for the next disaster take capital too. Servants Unite is considering whether to pay this donation for our volunteers, but needs to increase fundraising

That is a good investment. That $81,000 allowed the volunteers to clean out over 400 houses! That's around $200 per house. With $100,000 left, the end of August would be the end of the effort without more capital flowing in.

I hope this news finds you all well and ask you to pray for this effort and help corporeally where you can. Thanks for making Servants Unite grow and shine!

John McGuire
Servants Unite

Update

Wow did I have an amazing weekend this eve of hurricane season! Janet Hines, working with Hilltop Rescue in Chalmette, asked me to join their planning meeting and crawfish boil (Lana pictured). I’m writing this from the Houston airport waiting for my connection home to Columbus. So many great and small, but significant conversations and events happened while planning the next response and how to continue with the current effort in New Orleans.

I was able to define Servants Unite’s mission for the Hilltop organizers from California Savita and Robert and how we will support them in the next response. We are very much on the same page in planning. Details on that will be out when I get the whole plan documented. We are also going to work together to encourage other team leaders from around the country to start groups like ours. Through emails and a side meeting at the NACC Conference in Louisville next month we hope to increase the national capacity to respond.

We all met Louisiana Representative and recent gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal at a special church service Sunday to present thank you plaques to the relief organizations from the residents of Chalmette. Representatives were on hand from 14 organizations with 5 more mentioned.

We also discussed finances. Hilltop burned spent $81,000 in funds from January through April and has around $100,000 remaining. Volunteer levels average 100 people a day and will be climbing with summer vacation again, though not quite to the spring break levels. To continue to function, Hilltop would like a donation of $10 per person per work day (generally 5 per trip) from volunteers to cover food. They have grant requests out and are pursuing additional funding sources that may change that request, but presently they are only funded into August or September.

The $50 per person cost is something to start considering for our spring break groups. This is not a deal breaker for anyone who can't pay the donation, but will help Hilltop to continue to provide for our volunteers in Chalmette. We can also help by providing cooks with our teams to help feed the volunteers.

The St. Bernard parish government has issued a requirement that all homeowners at least begin to clean out their houses by August 29. Because of that, Hilltop is focusing all their effort on mucking out homes. They have cleaned out 400 since moving into the school building the first of March. They have 600 requests to fulfill and there are many who have not yet asked for their houses to be cleared.

I walked the block around the school building and it all came back again. Most of those houses have been cleaned and the debris removed, but the neighborhood is absolutely deserted. I saw only 2 or 3 residents living in FEMA trailers in the general vicinity with empty, abandoned properties making up the majority of residences. The spiritual darkness was visible even in the bright gulf coast sunshine.

Flying in, the tarped roofs weren't so prevalent, but were still there. This effort is making progress, but will need support for quite some time to come.

Put all that together and it underscores the importance of sending as many volunteers down as possible. We have more than 100 volunteers scheduled through the middle of July with more trips open and accepting volunteers up through the first full week of August.

Those teams are all on notice. A new disaster area when they are scheduled will require a redirection to provide for immediate and urgent first response needs. More first responders are needed and churches who can serve as collection centers with staff. If you can organize collection of water and ready to eat, nonperishable foods along with baby and personal care kit components at your church, we need to start stocking up now to be ready for the next need.

I have registered 8, but need at least another 32 first responders. Those with medical training are very important to have available right after a disaster, but anyone who can leave on short notice will help our effort. When the next one happens, Hilltop will set up shop and have supplies shipped in and we'll send the volunteers. I need a committed list of 40 where I can expect half to be able to go on one to two days notice. Please join this group so we can plan our first aid response as soon as possible.

You're all amazing and we're doing God's work. When Satan whispers in your ear you can't, won't, or aren't worthy, remember, you are recreated in God's own image. You are filled with His spirit. You are enlisted in His army. Together, when we turn ourselves over to Him for this work, we are a powerful force. I'm so proud of all our volunteers and so thankful to have the opportunity to work with you all. Pray for all our brothers and sisters on all occasions.

John McGuire
Servants Unite!

Newsletter

President Bush visited New Orleans today working on a Habitat house in the 9th ward. "There's lots of progress," he told reporters traveling on Air Force One. "There's still a lot to be done."

"If you're interested in helping the victims of Katrina, interested in helping them get back on their feet, come on down here,"

--President Bush

Well? What are you doing for your summer vacation, summer quarter off, or mission work. In the coming months there will be new opportunities to serve, new disaster victims to help, and new amazing experiences where God is so visible working through us in this mission.

Scheduled trip dates are:
June 3 – Marshall University students from Norway Avenue campus group in Huntington
June 7 – Westerville South International Baccalaureate,
July 1 – New Life, Canal Winchester
July 8 – Linworth UMC and Alum Creek CofC youth groups
July 16 – Westerville Christian Father Son youth trip

Join a trip or build a team for a date that isn't scheduled yet. If you've been down before, we need you to help lead these teams.

We also have three groups collecting supplies and building kits to send into the Katrina disaster area. A group from Ohio State has collected food and funds to send down. A mother daughter group and some coworkers of one of our past volunteers are building cleaning kits to leave with homeowners who’s houses we clean out.

Servants Unite continues to grow into the permanent disaster relief volunteer organization God started after hurricane Katrina. You’ve all been so amazing giving your time and money to help these people we never met before, but have bonded to over the past 8 months. 8 months? This has gone so fast.

Currently Servants Unite is prepared to be a central Ohio communications point and logistics organization when the next hurricane or other disaster arises. Churches in our area can come to us to join a consolidated efficient effort. We can react and respond the next time.

The next level which we have not yet reached is to prepare in advance for the next response. To do so requires volunteers to take on some preparatory tasks now.

• Organize staffed, designated drop-off locations for first response supplies
• Help find quick response volunteers who can go in and help set up relief on short notice
• Inform more churches and church leaders of our efforts
• Lead new teams into the next area in need

We have a good thing going here. We’re doing God’s work and giving Him glory. We’re “getting dirty and helping people”. It’s an easy yoke to keep making this work a priority and answer God’s call when we see such amazing results. Thanks for all you are doing and all you will do to expand our abilities as united servants in the body of Christ.
__________________________________________________________
1 Peter 4:10, Mark 12:30-31, Mathew 9:36-38, Romans 12:4-8

John McGuire
www.ServantsUnite.org
614-523-3996 home
614-404-8610 cel

Servants Unite on Ohio News Network Tonight

Stephanie Mennecke from Ohio News Network interviewed Pastor Mike, Gary Sargent, and I tonight on team 12's trip to Louisiana 2 weeks ago and the continuing efforts of Servants Unite. It will air in the 9:00 hour tonight (Monday). If you can record it, please let me know as I've been unable to get anyone definitively to do so.

For other news, check out the blog entries from last week. Barbara Kempton from New Life did a great job of reporting on the work of their foursome and the people they were helping.

We have sent over 300 people to work in Louisiana since Katrina hit. Over 100 more are scheduled for summer mission trips. More than 3000 people have served with our partner organizations in the New Orleans area, Tammany Oaks, Hilltop Rescue, and Operation Nehemiah.

All you who have volunteered and plan to are so amazingly inspiring. Even if you can't go back or go on the next trip, you can tell someone else who can. Servants Unite is going strong and planning for the next response. You who have gone to serve have the additional task of witnessing to others. Gary and Mike did a great job of that to the ONN TV viewers today. You can be just as effective telling your church leadership, friends, family, and coworkers.

Servants Unite!

Team 13 Thursday Update

So do you think we can stand up and tell the church what we saw, the stories we heard and how we were blessed?

Today we went to the east end of Chalmette. The houses there are really nice. Most are single story homes. A lot of elderly people. The gentleman we met was Harold (71). He lived in his house with his wife and mother. He was a square dance caller and they held square dances out back in a big gazebo. He had left the house during the storm. But those in the neighborhood who didn't leave ended up drowning. Several of Harold's friends died as a result of the flooding or from the trauma afterwards. Since he wasn't at the house at the time of the storm Harold couldn't say how long it took to flood the house. But his house was flooded into the attic. Everything they owned was lost. The water did not recede for two weeks. He had flood insurance but the insurance only paid $75,000 for his home and all its contents. He had no mortgage and now he is displaced to Covington Mississippi. Harold was such a sweet man; he brought us extra water and snacks.

When we got to the house it was a mess. All the furniture, clothing, dishes, linens, etc were still in the house. Everything was submerged in water for two weeks. There was about six inches of muck (mixture of mud, wet plaster board from the ceiling and insulation, along with anything else that floated around the in house). The kitchen still had water in it and the lower cabinets. A fridge had fallen and did not allow the water to drain. The stench was awful. We looked at it and didn't think we could get it done. But we spread out through the house and began shoveling, pulling curtains down and moving furniture out. After a lot of sweat and hard work we able to get all of the muck out of the house, removed the carpet and then pulled down just about all of the plaster board, as well as gut out the kitchen.

Even though the work is hard, we are dead tired at the end of the day and smell worse than we ever smelled in our life, this is probably the best thing I have ever done. It is so rewarding and such a blessing to me to be able to help someone who I have never met. And, to see the joy and hope on the homeowners face when we have finished. Harold was so gratefully, words could not express the way he felt.

For the last couple of months we have been talking about going out and serving others. About being more Christ. But there is nothing that will bring you closer to the Lord and to humble yourself to clean out someone else’s mess. The reality of how much material things mean NOTHING. The question we need to ask is who have I served today.

I will write again tomorrow.

God Bless.

Barbara

Bringing it Home...

I try to think if the crisis were in Gahanna, if this was OUR church hosting teams every week, week after week, month after month- going FAR out of our way to help in such a huge effort, could we do it - could we lay aside our pretty building & our busy schedules & the "way things are supposed to be" and DO IT?? I like to think we would.

When we had the ice storm a few Christmases back, we were ILL-PREPARED but non-the-less opened our building on Christmas day for people to cook and hang out and enjoy our heat :) But 7 months and they are still opening their hearts to all these strangers- that's the Body of Christ for you. They have humbled me with their kindness and I will certainly return the favor when someone needs ME to go out of MY way! Very cool to be a part of all this even from my perch in Ohio!

Cindy B. Schmidt
Director of Missions & Outreach
New Life Church
3690 Stygler Rd
Gahanna, OH 43230
(614) 475-8500
www.enewlife.com

Team 13 Wednesday Update

Today I went to Lakeview, just northwest of downtown New Orleans. We met Sue (71) and Ray (80), and their son Ray Jr. Ray had built his house himself, and let me tell you it was a solid well built house. Their house withstood the hurricane with no problem. They barely heard the wind as the storm passed by. They heard on the radio that the storm had passed and they relaxed in their family room.

Then they noticed about two feet of black water outside the sliding door. The water shattered the sliding door and about five foot of water came rushing in. They scrambled to get their pets, two dogs, two cats and birds. The water came in so fast that it knocked over the refrigerator and the furniture was floating about. They tried to get to the second floor and Sue got trapped at the bottom of the stairs. Ray Jr. had to pull her up out of the water. They sat upstairs and watched as the water kept rising. It came within inches of the ceiling on the first floor. They were camped out in the upper level and on the roof of their home. They cut a hole in the floor of the second level above the kitchen to try and get some food. The only thing they brought up was canned dog food and tuna (no can opener). They had water which they had bought in anticipation of the storm. They cut a hole in the roof and sat up on the roof. While waiting to be rescued the house next door had been washed off its pilings and was floating and bouncing into their house. They heard houses exploding.

For 3 days and 3 nights they watched as helicopters and boats passed them by. They were told they needed to leave their pets behind, but they couldn’t do that. Then finally someone came with a boat and rescued them. But that is not the end of their story.

They were first brought to the bridge (which was dry) because of their pets. They had to leave the birds behind. From there they went to the Coast Guard station. Ray Jr. was an avid gun lover and had saved one of his guns and brought it with them. As a result all three of them were forced to lie on the floor as they were searched. Sue said they treated them like criminal. From there they went to a Catholic Church somewhere. The church had no electric or water. They slept on the pews, but the animals had to stay outside. From there they were transferred somewhere else. Then they were brought to Austin, TX, after which they were transferred to where they are now at what Sue calls the wagon train camp.

Sue said the water level did not recede for over 4 weeks. During that time their home had been looted by thieves in boats and on jet skis. Everything was in a shambles when they were allowed to return.

We were able to remove what was left and gut out the first floor of their house. Sue and Ray were so full of joy that we were there doing work that they could not. Sue talked to me for long periods at a time. She needed to tell her story and have someone just to listen. I was able to pray with Sue, give her hugs and let her know how she had blessed me. Here is this 71 year old woman who went through this traumatic and most horrific experience of her life. In the end her home and material things are gone, but she and her family are alive. Sue was a special woman, an awesome woman. And she thanks Jesus for bringing her through this.

I can’t even imagine how I would react if something so horrible like this happened to me. Sue was a blessing to me. An inspiration. I thank God for this opportunity to serve Him. To be able to show love and compassion to another human being. And all I did was give my time and my muscles. It cost me nothing to give hope to Sue and her family. That’s what the people here need it hope for a new beginning. Thank you Sue and Thank you Lord.

God Bless!

Barbara

Team 13 Tuesday Update

Well we made it through our first day. Boy am I getting old! The first house we went to today wasn't too bad. The owner Eric was there. In his neighborhood which is on the same side of the levee as the French Quarter had only about 5 or 6 feet of water. His house is up about three feet off the ground so the water damage was only to about our knees. The thing is we still needed to gut the house because everything was still in it and there was so much mold. We were done there about 2pm. Eric was a retired gentlemen who suffers from cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. He is out at Austin, TX where the city has put him up for 18 months at no charge. He came back to Louisiana since he knew that we were coming to work on his house.

Then we came back to headquarters and got our next assignment. This house was in Chalmette just east of the 9th ward where all the houses were under water. It was a two story duplex and the water had gone about 3 or 4 feet into the second level. The drywall was still wet. One side of the duplex has been started and I worked on that side, however the other side of the duplex had not been started. When they moved the fridge there was still water in it. What a foul smell. We were only at the duplex about 2 1/2 hours but made a lot of progress. We will be headed back that way tomorrow.

I have to tell you again, you would not believe the devastation. It’s like a war zone. There are no words to explain what we have seen. We need to pray for these people. In these neighborhoods we see maybe 5 or 10 FEMA trailers in a neighborhood of 100+. How depressing it must be. My heart goes out to the people down here. The debris along the streets makes it surreal. As we gut out these houses everything gets piled along the street waiting for FEMA to come and clean it up

I will write again tomorrow.

God Bless!

Barbara

Team 12 back and Team 13 in the field

Team 12 returned Saturday around 4:00pm after a successful week. They demucked 7 or 8 houses, somebody lost count :-) That's 7 or 8 more drops out of the tub, but much appreciated by all the homeowners they are helping.

Team 13 also left on Saturday. We're claiming them though they are self funded and organized completely of New Life people. Here's their first report Cindy Schmidt forwarded me this morning

Latest Hurricane team in New Orleans, starting work today. Pray for health & safety, good team dynamics, heart & hope for the people involved- representing New Life are Luke Sutherland, Barbara Kempton, Mark Kieffer, & Laura Friday!

We arrived at Hilltop at about 3pm Sunday. The devastation is more than you can imagine. Unfortunately, I can't email pics but I will get a CD printed up for you when I return. Chalmette is just east of the 9th ward. The entire parish of St. Bernard was under water for 3 weeks. The houses in Chalmette withstood the water, however, some were washed away foundation and all (until they hit into another house).

We drove through the 9th ward and it is total devastation. There is one family in their house though I believe all the homes in that area are condemned. We went to where the levee broke and the force of the water splintered the houses. You just can't imagine.

There are two FEMA trailer camps right here at the school. They are surrounded by 12 foot fences with barbed wire at the top. There are guards at the gates and the people have to stop and checked in. They have not only lost their homes but they have lost their freedom as well. We are SO blessed. I will try and send you notes daily.

Barbara

Team 12 Work in Chalmette

It has been soo hard to get online here UGHHHHH! But I have I have a chance now so I am going for it!

We arrived here on Sunday after noon, after spending the night in Nashville. There had been 20 folks killed by tornados the on Saturday. We did see some damage and, some pretty severe damage.

As we arrived here in New Orleans, it appears that many things have not changed. Within 15 miles of us, only a Walgreens is open...and almost bare.....The Home Depot is operating out of the garden center...and it is open as well....There are a couple of tatoo/bars open....but we have not been to those.

On this trip we are working in a city called Chalmette. It is the famous St Bernard Parrish area that we have heard so much about. Our headquarters is the Hilltop Rescue Relief Mission, based out of California. It is in an elementary school that sits in the middle of an area that had about 8 feet of water. The school has been gutted and cleaned. The have allowed the mission to operate out of it to serve the St Bernard Parrish. There is devistation all around us. There is a trailer city right in front of the school...some with folks in it,,,and some that are ready for teachers and responders when/if they come back.

On Monday, we were assigned two houses to de-muck..they were across the street from each other. the water had been to the ceiling and both houses had stuff in them. One of them was full of belongings and the other was not as bad. Both of them had to have everything taken out, then the carpet, the walls and the ceilings. One of the rooms was a babies room. Our teens were moved by the toys and clothing that had been left behind. There was 6 inches of mud in that room. Another room had the same amount of mud, and lots of family pictures and heirlooms that had been destroyed.

Our job was to take everything to the curb...and I mean everything. Carpet, belongings, drywall, glass, appliances, dishes, furniture, everthing out on the street. We had to rip the drywall out. It was all moldy and stained with water, mud and oil. The piles at the street were high and into the neighbors yards. Of course, there was no one at all living in this neighborhood. One of the homeowners, did have a FEMA trailor in their drive and were living in it.

The stories were very sad. The people had very little hope and were very happy to see us. Many folks stop at the work sites and let us know how happy they are that we are there to help them.

One man stopped by in a dump truck. His name was Dale, and he had lived in this area all of his life. His four kids grew up, married and all lived with in ten miles of each other. He shared that now, they were scattered all over...the daughter, a single mother, was transferred to Texas, the boys were in Oklahoma, Baton Rouge and Atlanta. He was very sad that they were all so far apart. He was very distraught that at the age of 62, he and his wife would have to start all over again. Every thing, in their home was lost. His daughter had taken pictures with her when she evacuated. No one else had any....He was teary as he shared that.

We finished up, and returned to the compound for dinner and a devotional. It was very good.

On Tuesday we got up at 6:30 am, had breakfast and a devo and headed to our assignment. It was a 8 room home, that had had water to the ceiling and once again, everything was destroyed. The couple that owned the home were there and worked with us. The man several times would sit down and cry as different items were removed from his home. The wife loved on the teens and adults who were helping. She and he were so greatful for everthing we did. The had recently done some remodling on the home you could tell that they were devastated by the storm and and the destruction of their posessions. They were greatful for their lives, and today, for the teens and adults who came to rescue them from this mess. We were joined today by a cool group from California. 4 teens and 4 adults. They were a welcomed addition to our team. We divided up the house and went to work. It was not long before there wa! s a pile out front, 10 feet wide, 75 feet long. I am not sure that I have ever seen teens (or adults for that matter) work soooo hard in such horrible conditions. The mud smelled. The mold was up the walls to the ceiling, it stunk. There was a refridgerator that really was, well...it is impossible to describe. Clothing, cookware, christmas decorations, crafts and more were all taken to the curb. Sadly, the wife watched most of it go out and would occasionally pull something back to save. She would stop a teen and tell them a story about an article or craft, and then watch as it was tossed on the pile.

I was so proud of our teens as they worked sooo hard to be of service to this couple. Destruction of walls, carpet, and more they did without a complaint. Girls were (guys too) pushing wheel barrows full of stuff, laden with mold, oil and mud out to the curb. Several of these student have so impressed me with their attitudes, love and hard, hard work. It has been a priveldge to serve with them. One in particular has had a very positive attitude. He has worked and served and talked with every one in such a Christ like manner that, it has been a blessing to me to witness his actions.

We invited the couple back here for lunch and dinner and they so enjoyed being with us. He and she both hugged each and every person on our team after we prayed before we left the house. We just dont know how much we were an encouragement to them this day. I know part of a burden was lifted from their hearts. I know that Christ was clearly shown to them this day. I also know that the couple had a lasting impact on our team..several were in tears as we left and as they spoke of the day.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We have a couple days left to go. I am excited to see what God has in store for us!

love

robin

Robin Weier

Tennessee Update and April 15 trip

We do still need participants to join 4 teens and one woman from New Life in Gahanna. At least one guy who is willing to help chaperone is required for them to make the trip to Louisiana. I'd love it if one of our previous volunteers could step forward and lead this team to work next week in New Orleans.

Our current team continued from the Nashville area Sunday and spent the day today mucking out 3, three, III houses! To be fair, they said one didn't have a lot left to do, but 1 is a good day. That's some crew!

I spoke with Mark Bryson in Hendersonville just now. He reports that there has been a lot done in that area hit hard by tornados Friday night. In fact he had a group of 30 from his church who couldn't find work to do. It seems the tornado storm damage is going to be like this; spotty enough that it is well handled by local governments, volunteers, and contractors.

I have a couple of quick response volunteers, but need to have 40 or so individuals that can go quickly to a new disaster zone and help setup relief operations. Servants Unite's mission is to help volunteers get where they are needed. We will be partnering with other groups to provide labor to distribute supplies they secure and love on those hurt by tragedies like Katrina.

We also need volunteers who can man collection stations at local churches to collect supplies for the next Katrina like response we are called to. We need to pray we don't have anything of that magnitude while planning for the possibility. Water and ready to eat food can be collected months before it is needed to ship quickly into a needy area. Even if that is our own backyard when we have severe storm damage.

God has laid this path in front of some of you, or those you forward this information on to.

Servants Unite!

John McGuire

Team 12 lands in New Orleans!

Our team of spring break teens and adults rolled into Chalmette at 6:00 central time. Brendan already has them 2 houses to muck out in the morning. They promise to keep us up to date with what they are doing.

Team on the way to Louisiana

Team 12 left Hendersonville at 9:15 eastern this morning headed on down to Louisiana. They should arrive in Chalmette around 8:00 or 9:00 tonight.

Check back for updates!

Team 12 at their overnight stop in Hendersonville

They had a good run down yesterday, arriving in Hendersonville (north side of Nashville) around 8:30 eastern. Robin reports the only damage they could see on their way in were two churches, but that they were badly damaged. They were having dinner at the mexican place next to the church, hitting the hay, and will head on to Louisiana after early service there this morning.

Team 12 on the road to disaster ;-)

In a real way! Team 12 left the Spring Road Church building at 2:00 this afternoon 19 members strong. As of 6:00 they had cleared Louisville Kentucky on their way to Hendersonville Tennesse, a northern suburb of Nashville.

Last night Hendersonville and neighboring communities were stricken by some powerful storms and tornados. At this time there is not a need for the team to stay in the Nashville area to help there, but options are open. In the morning, they will make the decision to stay and help if areas of need are opn to them or head on to Louisiana where we know work waits for them.

Two people have expressed interest in spending a few days this week in the Nashville area and we have chainsaws lined up. If you can help out when severely damaged areas are opened up, call or email to the information on the right. We'll keep you informed of specific plans and needy areas.

Remember also that Western Tennessee hit last Sunday evening is still in need of volunteers and assistance. Tell your neighbors, friends, family, coworkers, and church family about the opportunities available with Servants Unite. Many are available and only need to know of an avenue to volunteer in these efforts. Servants Unite's focus is on getting them there.

Keep monitoring this blog for Team 12's activities and information on any teams we send into Tennessee.

Tornado damage tonight team 12 overnight stop for tomorrow...

Irony of ironies, we chose to continue with the plan of sending this Servants Unite team to Louisiana because some of the teen's parents were concerned about sending them into the new disaster zone in Dyer County Tennessee. Tonight there was major storm damage around Nashville including a tornado touchdown in Hendersonville, the suburb where the team is scheduled to stay tomorrow night, though towns east and west of Hendersonville sustained the most damage. [CNN Story]

I just spoke with Mark Bryson who is our contact at Hendersonville Church of Christ. He just came from the church where the Red Cross has set up a shelter in the Gym. Many homes have been destroyed all around Nashville and at least 11 are reported to have died in the storm.

Please be in prayer for this area and the families grieving tonight.

Mark says our team is still welcome to stay overnight that there is no problem getting into the church and there is plenty of room for them in the Gym. I've left voicemails or talked with the adult members of the team and asked them to get with the teens they are taking. For Northland and Spring Road kids, I left messages from Robin and Troy. For Northside kids I have talked to Beth. I've also informed the team lead, Gary Sargent.

As this is fresh news our plans to leave at 12:30 Saturday are not yet changed, but it is inevitable that some adjustments will be required. I will check back with Mark at Hendersonville in the morning and be able to get more information out then.

The Hendersonville church has hosted most of our teams on their way home from Katrina Relief trips and many other groups. They volunteer weekly and contribute heavily to the Nashville based Churches of Christ Disaster Relief who has sent so many truckloads of food, water, supplies, and now appliances and furniture.

I believe we need to rise to the opportunity God has given us here to help them in their area's time of need. I expect there will be an immediate need for volunteers to help in the area. There is also an immediate need for water in neighboring towns where all electric and utilities are out. Verification of the safety of working in the area will be of primary importance.

• We should expect to leave the scheduled team at Hendersonville as needed.
• We should supplement their effort with more volunteers who read this email as they can be assembled and equipped over the next few days.
• We need a few tools to send with them:
• Chainsaws with Gas, Oil, extra chains (4 adult use only)
• Wheelbarrows
• We need people to volunteer to man donation stations at local churches to collect water. I'll check with Master Provisions and Convoy of Hope for availability of shipping to move the water down economically.
• We need additional donations to cover expenses of this unplanned, though anticipated need. Servants Unite currently has $10,000 with $2,000 planned to cover this trip. Shipping and transportation costs of more volunteers will further deplete our limited funds.

Anyone who can serve this need, please contact me ASAP (info in signature at bottom).

Again please be in prayer about this new calamity and also for our team and leadership and for wise decision making while following the path God has laid out before us.

____________________________________________
Mark 12:30-31, Mathew 9:36-38, Romans 12:4-8

John McGuire
www.ServantsUnite.org
614-523-3996 home
614-404-8610 cel

Several Updates including Tornado Relief

Wanted to keep you up to date on what’s going on with Servants Unite. We have several trips scheduled out through the end of July. These are continued relief for the New Orleans area and on standby for a new area in need of urgent relief should one come up. If you have a group for a summer mission trip to the gulf coast check out that schedule or request a date.

We’re also looking for first responders. Doctors, nurses, and EMTs are certainly needed, but anyone who has quick availability, teachers and bus drivers in the summer, homemakers, or anyone who can leave on short notice are needed to make our first run into a new relief situation. Tasks will include transporting and distributing relief supplies and initial cleanup.

Along those lines I have made a contact in Dyer County Tennessee about the relief need there. This area was badly damaged in Sunday night's storms. News reports last night talked about over 1000 houses destroyed. They have had many such inquiries and are planning on hosting volunteers for the upcoming weeks in the West Dyersburg Church of Christ building. They will provide food as well. Most roads are open today and areas are being secured for electric and other hazards. Primary work is cleaning up brush.

Servants Unite can organize a team of volunteers to work in the area if there is interest. Tentative departure would be this Sunday April 9 at 12:30 returning Saturday evening, April 15. In addition to the recommendations on the volunteer link at www.servantsunite.org, the team will need chain saws, wheelbarrows, work vehicles (trucks), and trailers. If you can join that team or lend tools, please email john@servantsunite.org or call 614-404-8610.

We also have Team 12 for Katrina relief departing at 12:30 Saturday, April 8 from Spring Road Church of Christ. This is a large group of high school students on spring break with some adult volunteers and sponsors from 6 different churches. Over the course of today, this team grew from 16 to 27 volunteers! Come out to wish them well Saturday and lift them up in prayer this week!

Finally, watch for the new web site coming soon! Todd and I have been fiddling with this for a month or so now and I think you’ll find it an easy resource to use once complete. Thanks for our continued support and interest. Together we are growing Servants Unite!

John McGuire

Team 11 returns!

Welcome home to ma dear mum in law Nancy Michael, Susan Stingley, Kathy Kar, and Larry Hunter from the Xenia area. They had some vehicle problems on the way home yesterday, but made it home around 4:00 daylight savings time.

They mucked houses this week, one with 6 inches of mud. Nancy has pics and stories to put up which I hope to get to you in a few days.

Surviving Katrina

Bill Niess sent this link to me. time.com/katrina. It's a pictoral essay with the stories of the people in the pictures done mostly right after the storm. Good reminder of who we're helping and how much progress we have made.

Pics from last week

Well, I finally got Bill and Meghan's pictures up from last week's trip to Louisiana. You can find them by clicking the photo album link on our web site or at these links directly:
Bill
Meghan

Nancy McCoy and Susan Stingley from Xenia Church of Christ, Kathy Kar, and Larry Hunter will be heading down Saturday for a week. Pray for their safe trip and a productive week.

John McGuire

Jennifer Levanduski, Buffalo NY

Having been back into the swing of things for a few days in cold and snowy Buffalo, I wanted to collect my thoughts and send you something regarding our recent trip to warm, sunny LA.

First, leaving Chalmette on Friday, I felt selfish because what I was taking away from Louisiana was about 10,000 times greater than the work I had done while I was there. Never before have I had an experience so spiritually moving. It was obvious that the Holy Spirit was pouring out of each of the 400 volunteers who stayed in the school with us that week and for that, to have been part of that, gave me a blessing greater than I can even describe.

Next, it is awe inspiring to hear the stories of the people who lived there. While demucking our first house, we met the daughter, JoAnn, of the homeowner who is one of the most interesting, engaging, and courageous people I've ever met. Her story of driving north through Louisiana with her mother, daughter, and menagerie of pets wowed each of us. That night, JoAnn, along with her mother, daughter, and neighbor, joined us for worship at the school and a nice chat after that. The next day, as we worked on another house, JoAnn and her mother pulled up, told us they had been driving around looking for us, and unloaded a cooler full of cold drinks and snacks! That they would be so gracious and giving absolutely floored each of us. Their gratitude for our being there was overwhelming especially given that I feel like we should have done more for them.

Another homeowner we met, Janie, was a paramedic and her tales of heroics through the storm were also awe inspiring, as was her gratitude and cheerfulness, especially given that she had not yet received her FEMA trailer.

Another blessing I received was that my life was a musical for the week! I have always wanted my life to be a musical. The group sang worship songs all week; we would be working in a house, everybody doing different tasks and someone would begin a song...and everyone would join in! This bursting forth of song also happened in the vans, playing cards, and even in the showers. This spirit of constant praise and worship inspired each of us and grounded us in the fact that we truly were doing the Lord's work.

One other thing that struck me was the unwavering dedication and phenomenal leadership of Brendan, Brad, Tim, and Lisa. They expected nothing but the best from us all and exhibited a spirit of selflessness in everything they did.

One last note is that it was clear that the Lord was with us all week. The weather reports before we left indicated that it would be 80-85 and humid all week. I was concerned that, as Yankees, we would melt working in that heat! However, the weather was gorgeous, blue skies and breezes all week. Additionally, despite many nails through boots, scrapes on a daily basis, sunburns, and a hammer head that fell off, everyone made it through the week safely and there is no doubt that was purely by the grace of God.

I could go on forever (and I kind of have...) but I hope this helps with your account of UB's experience. I have found it difficult describing the experience (both here and to folks in Buffalo); it truly was the greatest thing I've ever had the privilege of being a part of.

Additionally, as president of my student government here at UB (the Graduate Management Association, the student government of the MBA program), we have one last charity event coming up and I've convinced the other members of my e-board to donate the proceeds to Hilltop Rescue.

Thank you,
Jennifer

Jennifer Levanduski
President - Graduate Management Association
University at Buffalo School of Management
MBA, Class of 2006
http://wings.buffalo.edu/mgtclubs/GMA

Some Great Stories from Spring Break Work Last Week

Thought this was interesting. 270 articles on spring break hurricane relief work! Amazing turnout from college kids and quite a bit of press coverage to boot.

You should checkout an article I posted to the WhereISawJesus blog from Mark Elrod. It's a great synopsis of the week a group from Harding University had working in Louisiana last week. Mark has day by day coverage on his blog. The stories he tells are exactly why we go and serve. What an awsome God that gives us these opportunities to work in His kingdom.