| “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 |
October 2005
Katrina vs God's Children 1
Katrina Cat 5:
NASA satellite photo of Category 5 Hurricane Katrina August 28, 2005. Photo by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA
On August 29, 2005, we at Discipleship Ministries, like so many others, watched on our television screens Hurricane Katrina slam into the Gulf Coast and destroy many lives. Almost immediately Discipleship Ministries began assembling a relief team. On October 7, 2005 our first team consisting of 17 members, all from different parts of Western Pennsylvania, various walks of life, ages, and Christian denominations left the mountains of Pennsylvania and headed to New Orleans. We had one major goal in mind… proclaim the Love and Hope of Jesus Christ thru our work and our actions. As we drove through Central Mississippi we began to see the effect of the storm; trees broke in half, twisted road signs and we all thought this was a “Big Deal”. Nothing could have prepared us for the vastness of the devastation we would see during the next 5 days. After Sunday worship at our host church St Matthews UMC we met Roger and Ellen. Their home in Metairie sustained major roof damage, flooding destroyed nearly everything in their one story home, their home was looted and fire caused by a gas leak destroyed 25% of their house. While we stood in their front yard and prayed we could see the sense of hopelessness in Roger and Ellen's faces as they tightly held each other. Over the next day and a half our team was able to clear the house of debris, temporally shore up and tarp the roof. As we said our good-byes you could see a glimmer of hope in Roger and Ellen's eyes still knowing it would be a long hard road ahead. We left knowing that we were able to start them on that road and offer the Hope and Love of Jesus Christ. Some of our most moving experiences were during our visits to a PRC Compassion Aid Station in Chalmette, Louisiana. The aid station, which was in the parking lot of a destroyed Super Wal-Mart, housed FEMA, the Red Cross and other relief organizations. In conjunction with Christ in Action and the National Guard we were able to distribute several truck loads of relief supplies to God's Children. During one of our visits to this Aid Station we met a young woman Cynthia who after many years accepted Christ into her heart. What an honor to be part of God's Plan. 
Katrina vs. God's Children - The VideoThis video is a documentary of Discipleship Ministries' relief trips to Louisiana. It is narrated by Rev. Terry Collins and produced by Michael Kabay with sound tracks from groups such as Third Day. This video is approximately 18 minuets long. To view use on of the 3 following methods:
December 2005
Katrina vs God's Children 2
The kids receive their Christmas gifts.
Photo by Michael Kabay
One of Discipleship Miniseries' goals for the October trip was to some how come in contact with 100 families and be able to provide Christmas presents to those families. In cooperation with St Matthews UMC, we were able to reach and surpass that goal 9 fold. The day after Christmas a team of 11 left the mountain and by the Grace of God headed south with over 900 gift boxes, 125 flood buckets and nearly 50 dozen cookies. During our whirlwind visit we hosted 2 Christmas parties. During our first party at St Matthews the team was able to meet people pass out gifts and spend time listening to their stories. In one case a member of the team introduced one family to another who wanted to help a family financially. Again, what an honor to be part of God's plan. Our second day was spent in what can only be described as heavenly chaos. Taking our show on the road to Chalmette in St. Bernard's Parish we conducted our party in a government built social hall surround by 700+ FEMA tailors. We where able to show the people of St Bernard Parish that God cares enough to send us to be with them and to share the Love and Hope of Jesus Christ. We did this by sharing the Christmas story using a play and passing out the gifts that many of you provided for the children of Chalmette. As we spoke to residents in the social hall one of the parish councilwomen came up to Rev Terry Collins and thanked us for providing the gifts for the kid. She also said all the work that we and the other relief teams have done has been overwhelming but what has been the greatest joy is just our being in Chalmette and taking time out of our busy lives, showing the people in the community feel like someone cared, bring back the real reason of Christmas. As we reflected on the events of our day in Chalmette one of our teammates said it reminded him of what he thought the First Christmas in the stable would have been like noisy, chaotic, crowded --- Heavenly Chaos. Katrina Lingers
Roger and Ellen.
Photo by Rev Tom St Clair
Discipleship Ministries has been able to keep in contact with several families that we met during our visits to the Gulf Coast. Some are doing well and some are not. So we humbly ask that you keep these families in your prayers. Even now many months after the storm there is still a lot of work to be done in the Gulf Coast Region. If you feel lead to be a part of a recovery team please contact us and we can help you be part of God's Plan. |