Category: Personal Reflection

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Reflections from Tom

Tom I, part of the men’s 1-week team

Tom has served on Missionary support groups for Mississippi before, but this was his first time going himself. 

Our church motto is “Loving God, Loving Others, Make a Difference.” I
truly believe that the Lord allowed our team (Mens Only + the 2-week team)
to “Make a Difference” during our stay in Mississippi last month.

There were numerous instances, but one of many instances the Lord impressed
upon me was when He allowed a fellow brother in Christ to cross our path.
His name was Matt. On Saturday, the last day on the Pascagoula jobsite,
we were all having lunch together (Evergreeners as well as the other
Habitat volunteers.) During lunch, the Lord brought to my attention one
of the volunteers just walking around; I felt the Lord say “Go speak with
him.” So out of obedience, (but this also was forcing me to “step out of
my comfort zone””) I went to speak with him and found out that he had just
recently moved to Biloxi about 1-1/2 months earlier after growing up in
Chattanooga, TN . Before relocating, and not really knowing anyone in
Mississippi, he prayed and prayed about this move and he eventually felt
the Lord wanted him in Biloxi. So he took a “step of faith” and moved.
This is a lesson the Lord taught me – to listen for HIS voice (speak Lord,
your servant is listening), being obedient and “step out in faith” as Matt
did.

Matt had a job in Biloxi, but did not have friends or a church home for
support and fellowship. About a week after arriving in Biloxi, he signed
up as an HFH (Habitat for Humanity) volunteer and was given a date 5 weeks
into the future and in addition, he was assigned to our worksite in
Pascagoula. I believe the Lord provided me as well as our team with a
divine appointment.

We co-labored, shared a meal, and had great fun/fellowship and then near
the end of the workday, about 8-10 of us had the opportunity to lay hands
and pray for him and pray a blessing over him. Knowing he didn’t have a
regular church home in which to worship, we extended an invitation for him
to join us at Mosaic Church the following day; a church where the co-ed
team as well as some of our HFH brethren worship.

At the conclusion of service, as we departed for the airport to return
home, one of Matt’s parting comments was that he came to help and bless
others in Mississippi; but he found that he, in turn was blessed many times
over by our team.

For myself and for many others on the team, it was quite a blessing to meet
and minister to a new friend and fellow brother in Christ.

As an addendum to this, after worship service that Sunday morning, a few of
us noticed that Paul, one of the guys we introduced Matt to, appeared to be
taking Matt’s phone number. We found out that Paul later called him and
invited him to Mosaic’s Men’s group and a Sunday evening bible study. In
a subsequent email conversation I’ve had with Matt , he said “seemed as
though I found that home church I was looking for. Love to watch God
work! Tell everyone I said hello and thanks for the prayers……Y’all seem
to have a direct line to Him.”

The Lord had a plan for us to meet Matt that Saturday, and He also planned
for us to attend Mosaic Church Sunday morning. All Praise, Honor & Glory
goes to Him.

Tom praying for Matt
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Note from Lorin: “God Instances”

Chris M, Esther, Lorin at The Shed
God definitely has a plan.   I came to Biloxi expecting-but not knowing what to expect.  This week, God showed me in many ways that He has all the details worked out. 

First, I met Chris M. from Chicago and had a chance to work with her on Wednesday and got to know her.  We both enjoyed each other’s company and as Chris M. was joining the team for dinner on Thurs. someone rearranged the seat “assignments” in the cars so that Chris and I could ride to The Shed together.

Next, Bu noticed that we’d made a “connection,” so he volunteered to trade job assignments with me for Friday so that Chris and I could work together again.  (Thanks Bu, sorry your sacrifice meant that  you had to clean up rat poop.  You were a blessing to your “honorary mom.”)

 

Chris spent the day cutting and hauling siding with me and we had a great time.   We would not have had a chance to bond if:

  1. we’d both chosen not to come work with Habitat
  2. we’d both chosen different weeks
  3. we’d stayed at different camps at night
  4. we had not switched car rides
  5. if Bu didn’t take a “bullet” by making the sacrificial trade

These, along with a few other personal events led me to see that God’s hand had orchestrated all these details and that they were not merely coincidences but were God instances.  In the process of all the sharing, Chris and I both felt blessed by each other’s presence here in Biloxi.  Neither of us wanted to go home and we felt it was the Lord’s divine appointment and provision that we have this time together.  Chris shared that she  felt covered in an unconditional love by our Katrina team.  She even joined us in our worship and small group time.

We loved having Chris join us and she later mentioned how lucky we were to have our church and the love of the people there.  She feels that the Lord is calling her back into a deeper relationship with Him and she credited our team with having a big part in that decision.  Please pray that the feeling Chris experienced will continue to encourage her and that she will find a church group that will bless, support, and continue to encourage her.

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Katrina 2011 Reflections..

During this trip, one of our members wanted to share their feelings, but has chosen to do so anonymously.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”  I John 4:7
This mission trip has been such a blessing in seeing the love of Jesus Christ lived out through our team members.  There have been many “God moments” on this trip where God was doing great things through our team members that we all marveled at and praised God for.  It is so encouraging to see so many team members being intentional in stepping out of their comfort zone to meet and bless others. 
The Holy Spirit is doing a great work through the men and women of this trip.  In addition to being outstanding servants on the job site they have been sharing personal testimonies with people, ministering to people, encouraging Habitat supervisors, building relationships with other volunteer co-laborers, and being great servants on the job site.     
The first day we arrived we visited the houses the teams from last year’s trip worked on.  One of the houses the teams worked on was bought just four months ago and the home owner came out to meet us.  The men were able to share how much it meant to them to meet the owner of the home they had worked on and had actually prayed for the previous year.   The team was able to pray and bless the man and his family. 
 At a later time the team had stopped by a Gulfport pier and met a woman fishing with her son who had lost her house in Katrina and shared how hard it was.  She shared how the church had built a house for her and had been radically changed by the love from the body of Christ.  Her heart is for Christians to live seriously for Christ and help people in need.  One of our team members asked if they could pray for her and she was moved to tears from the prayer and shared how she had never been blessed like that.  There have been a number of other encouraging things God has been doing on the trip.  We give God all the glory for everything.
On Friday the Coed team had finished cleaning and preparing eight mobile homes that would be driven up to give relief to the tornado disaster area.   After finishing the team was able to prayer walk each of the mobile homes.  They prayed for God’s blessings on the families who had lost everything and would occupy the mobile homes.   They prayed they would find  comfort from trusting God.
Thank you for your prayers and support.  God bless you!

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Pretrip Thoughts From Helen


This is Helen’s first time on the Trip. She is one of the 4 Ladies on the Coed team.

Hello everyone. I’m really excited for our upcoming Katrina trip next week!

For many of you who do not know me, I’m a 3rd-year PhD student at USC studying pharmaceutical sciences. My everyday task consists of testing the thousands of chemical compounds we have in our lab in human cancer cells. I do a lot of pippeting (mixing small amounts of chemicals together), plan different experiments, make proteins and DNA and sometimes spend months writing grants asking for funding.

I’m glad I will be taking a break from all that and doing something very different in Katrina. Though building homes is not part of my training as a student, I know that it is part of my training as a Christian.

When I was talking to a coworker about my upcoming trip and what I’ll be doing, she said jokingly, “now if this PhD thing doesn’t work out, you have other trades to consider.” I was thinking about that and I’m reminded that it’s not about what I’ll be doing, but rather about who I will be serving. I’m not going because I’m qualified, but because God is using this opportunity to teach me humility and complete trust and dependence on Him.

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A Note From Art F

Art returns to Biloxi, including having served in the inaugural team. He will be once again doing double duty as volunteer/worker and team photographer. (which is why you may not see many pictures of him….

Returning to Biloxi

This year will mark my third time joining a team of men to help build homes in Mississippi for those whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It’s been five years since the hurricane and people are still without homes. During our stay, we will be working with Habitat for Humanity to assist in whatever construction work is needed.

I had previous experience volunteering with Habitat on local, one day projects through my workplace and enjoyed it immensely. The thought of going to another state to help build Habitat homes over a one week period never crossed my mind until Evergreen wanted to send a group of men to Mississippi. My reservations and doubts were assuaged when my friend, Dennis Cho, team leader of that inaugural 2007 trip, shared that God wanted my availability, and not my abilities, to minister. So, I signed up and it was an awesome trip! We built a house from the ground up, got to meet some great people, and ministered to a few others. In the end, I was enriched by the experience and blessed to be used by the Lord as His servant.

Before my second trip in 2009, Dennis lost his battle with cancer. This time, I felt the Lord prompting me to go, so I went in memory my friend, and Dennis’ presence was with me throughout the trip. I could hear his quips and anecdotes as we ministered to each other and the people around us. Some of us even used the “DC Hammer,” a present to him after the inaugural trip, as a way of honoring his life and ministry to the people of Mississippi. One of the many blessings from that trip was when we got to meet and share a meal with one of the Habitat families — a family that would be a recipient of a Habitat- built home. What a blessed time.

This being my third trip, I have a different reason to go, one more compelling than the other trips I’ve taken — I even get choked up just thinking about it. I’m going not only to help those people I just mentioned, but to honor Dennis by continuing the ministry he helped lead and encourage others to do the same. And I’m sure if he were here, he’d be going along with us! Will you join us too? God wants your availability not your abilities!

Art nailing away last year….

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Katrina 2009-Reflections from Team Leader Craig


With the trip over and the dust settled, Craig made some notes about the team.

On behalf of the team members, thanks once again Craig. Great job!

As I reflect back on this year’s Katrina Gulf Coast Relief Team experience, I thank God for his faithfulness and care over our entire team. I was truly impressed at the way God took 21 guys and formed one cohesive unit. During pre-trip planning meetings, we focused more on building team unity via small groups and less on logistics. I know God honored our planning because we were fully prepared to do the work required, and then some. On our last night in Mississippi, the Lord gave me a verse that sums up the collective attitude of our team:

Matthew 5:16:
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Through seemingly routine acts of helpfulness, kindness, and plain old hard work, our team lived out this verse and I’m certain that it caused others to praise God.

Here are some thoughts from fellow team members further supporting this:

1. “Each of our site managers made comments that they had never seen a group with this much camaraderie and mutual support. We received a note from the kitchen staff at the site we stayed at (SUMA) thanking us for continually cleaning the dining area. I bring this up not to sound boastful about our accomplishments, but as several of the guys said, we were just being ourselves, doing what we do at home. ‘This is who we are,’ one of the guys humbly said.”

2. One joyful moment was when I was with my small group and we were gladly interrupted by a man who just wanted to talk. Before he left, James So, Jeff Leung, Eric Jue and I got to pray for healing to his back and for him in general. We were all blessed to have prayed for him.

3. This “band of brothers” accomplished a great deal in only one week. We made a lasting impression (a good one!) on our supervisor Brad and his two assistants, Curt and Vic, as well as two others that worked together with us (Al and Dick from Rochester, NY). Seeds of faith were planted and in the end, we DID make a difference for the Kingdom of God. When I first signed up for this I didn’t really see how signing up to build houses could be considered a missions trip (it should have been considered a service), but after seeing what happened, this truly was a missions trip with “building homes” as inroad of introducing the gospel to those we came in contact with. And it wasn’t really difficult. All we had to do was to live out our lives as Christians and the individual lights of our group came together to become one big unavoidable light for all to see.

I praise God for each man’s humility, sacrifice and commitment to others. What a rich experience it was to serve the Lord with this team. I’m proud of the work they accomplished and the difference they made for the kingdom of God. Men of Evergreen SGV, is God are challenging you to join us next year?

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Katrina 2009-Reflections by Keith

From Katrina 2009 Team

Keith was one of our four (Chris, Craig, Keith and Tommy) co-leaders on the team. He worked with Chris on the team that saw the most dramatic work, from cinderblocks to four raised walls.

We cheered them on as they saw the fruits of their hard labor. Keith also was one of the cornerstone teachers for our devotionals.

My final thoughts from the “Go with the Mo” group

This week was a real testament to God’s provision and power. To be able to take a group of 21 individual men and transform them into a loving and caring support team was an incredible sight to see. The construction aspect of this trip seems insignificant in contrast to the building up of the relationships that occurred and the example of Christ’s love that was displayed. Even though we sweated through the heat and humidity, pounded a gazillion nails, and finally came to that point of utter exhaustion, I would sign up for this mission trip again in a heartbeat!

This “band of brothers” accomplished a great deal in only one week. We made a lasting impression (a good one!) on our supervisor Brad and his two assistants, Curt and Vic, as well as two others that worked together with us (Al and Dick from Rochester, NY). Seeds of faith were planted and in the end, we DID make a difference for the Kingdom of God.

When I first signed up for this I didn’t really see how signing up to build houses could be considered a missions trip (it should have been considered a service), but after seeing what happened, this truly was a missions trip with “building homes” as inroad of introducing the gospel to those we came in contact with. And it wasn’t really difficult. All we had to do was to live out our lives as Christians and the individual lights of our group came together to become one big unavoidable light for all to see.

Truly a wonderful mission’s trip that I will never forget. All glory goes to God and much thanks for the support and prayers of those behind us, we couldn’t have done it without you!

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Katrina 2009-Reflections by Art

From Katrina 2009 Team

On this second trip, Art once again worked hard on the roof (and this roof was steeper), but also pulled double duty by shooting most of the pictures you see in our photo gallery.

His real character showed throughout the week, with his honest, humble sharing in the devotional times, and taking the time to talk and care for the people he would meet

This being my second trip to Katrina, I knew what the job entailed in terms of working on the job site. I wasn’t looking forward to the hard work and aching muscles afterwards, but knew in my mind that a deserving family would be living in the house I helped build. On occasion we would work alongside family members putting in their hours towards home ownership. Not much socializing went on because we were focused on building a house.

During dinner one night we heard that a Habitat family would be joining us one evening during the week. Habitat staff tries to invite future homeowners to join volunteers for dinner. It’s one thing to see family members on the job site and quite a different thing seeing them in a social setting. That put a face to a house, maybe not the house I was building but a Habitat house somewhere in the Mississippi area. This was my divine appointment with this family…my epiphany. It made all the sweating in the hot sun, body aches, and seemingly endless trips to Walmart (our second home) worth coming out here. We even got an impromptu serenade by one of the daughters who even sang happy birthday to Uncle Roy! Before leaving and after our birthday ice cream, we circled the family and prayed over them. It was an emotional God moment after a long day.

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Katrina 2009-Reflections by Steve

From Katrina 2009 Team

Steve, Steve, Steve…
Steve was one of the four men that has worked on the Katrina Missions for all three of our trips. His energetic and enthusiastic work ethic, combined with a sarcastic wit and a caring heart when he wonders if his words went too far, make him an integral part of our team. If you’re ever wondering who writes the funnier and sometimes oddly worded captions for the photos, it’s probably this guy.

No matter what the situation on these trips, he’s always kept on target with our goals, helping people, leaning on God for assistance and serving people with God’s help and led by His spirit.

KATRINA SHORT TERM MISSIONS OVERVIEW

Even though we are one team of 21 guys, we were split into two main groups, Keith/Chris’s Team and Craig/Tommy’s Team. And within these teams, depending upon the task, we were divided again and then reconstituted when the job was complete and re-divided and reformed for the next. It made for a quite diverse and ever changing organism.

Keith/Chris’s Team started with just a raised cinder block foundation on an otherwise empty lot. We laid a wood sill all the way around the perimeter to hold the floor joists. After the joists were nailed down, most of us were tasked with installing a plywood sub-floor, a strong but heavy material referred to as OSB (oriented strand board). On top of that, another group measured, cut, and nailed 2 by 4 or 2 by 6 wood studs that provided the framing for all the exterior and interior walls. And another group of guys laboriously sheathed the outside walls with more OSB.

Simultaneously an intrepid or idiotic gang of four, depending upon your perspective, crawled under the house across the street to staple on fiberglass insulation. For those that don’t know (like the guys above), crawl spaces are usually dark and muddy and installing insulation throws off tiny particles that are extremely irritating to the eyes and skin. I personally give kudos to these guys. Another bunch did touch up caulking and door and trim painting on this same house to make this home the nicest on the block.

Meanwhile, down the same street, Craig/Tommy’s Team raised heavy trusses on a third house to form the attic and support the roof. Then they nailed down OSB over the entire roof. This team definitely did more physical labor than the other, took more breaks, ate more food, even ordered a dozen Domino’s pizza to be delivered, and drank more Gatorade. After laying down tar paper, we shingled the entire roof. At the same time, other guys were busy nailing up a Styrofoam house wrap barrier, hanging a bunch of windows and doors, and helping build a back porch.

Literally, between our two teams, WE BUILT AN ENTIRE HOUSE.

It is amazing to me that as you construct a house you see all the myriad components and materials necessary to build it strong, durable and comfortable. All the parts are necessary and no one part is more important than the other. Christians in general are just like parts of a house. God’s house. And in particular, our Katrina team is the same way. We are all different, in sizes, in ages, in skill levels, in conditioning and in experience. But we are all part of one team under God.

We had regular daily devotions and at one of them Tommy shared that he went to Mississippi the first time to follow Dennis Cho. The second time he went to honor him, and this time, he went in memory of him. I pretty much did the same thing as Tommy and consider Dennis the cornerstone of our Katrina missions experience. Now the cornerstone is the first one set when you construct a foundation and is important because all the other stones are laid in relationship to this first stone. Plus the cornerstone determines the position of the entire building. In this same way, those that have followed Dennis on subsequent trips have seen him as the cornerstone and have referenced as their own, his leading and spirit and attitude and direction. Although Dennis is gone, his vision and legacy have grown even stronger. And that is the unique nature of a house built by God.

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Eating with Alex and PJ

From Katrina 2009 Team

This is Mo’s 3rd of our (so far) three trips to Biloxi. This time, at SUMA, the temporary home for habitat volunteers, he had an interesting encounter.

At the construction site we were told that there was a possibility that a future Habitat for Humanity homeowner might be eating dinner with us. They told us to be a little considerate and not bombard them all at once. I hoped to be able to shower before dinner, but we got back after 5 and dinner was at 5:30 (others were already using the shower). So, I did the best that I could to wash my face and make myself presentable in the dirty clothes I was wearing. I figured there would be little chance that I would be able to sit with one of them anyway, but God had other plans.

When I got my meal, surprisingly there was a seat next to a little boy and a woman who apparently was his mother. So, thinking that God had plans for me to sit there I put my tray down. Eric, Chris and Gary were already at the table sitting opposite them. The woman was Alex and the little boy was PJ her 2 year old son (who will be turning three on May 19). Alex was very friendly and more than willing to answer questions of us curious Asians. She also brought her two older daughters ages 9 and 4 and her sister. They sat at separate tables so they could be accessible to more people who came to dinner.

Alex is working towards qualifying for a Habitat for Humanity home. She has to put in 250 hours in working on Habitat for Humanity homes in order to qualify. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, Alex lost her home, but her sister’s home was spared. Out of a desire to help Alex get into a home, her sister helps Alex put in the 250 hours of sweat equity. So far she is about half way to that goal. She is going to school to become a nurse and should be complete with her classes in July. She has even been able to have some of her classmates help her to put in the sweat equity.

Alex was just married two days before Katrina hit and her home was destroyed. She didn’t say what happened to her husband and none of us wanted to pry into that part of her life. It was clear that she was looking to start a new life and having a home of her own was part of that plan. For now she is living in a FEMA trailer and doing what she can to raise three young children while trying to make a better living for all of them. Because of where she wants to live, none of the homes we have directly taken a part in building will be what she is looking for, but it was quite a privilege to meet with her and her young son, and to get to know them.

During dinner her 4 year old daughter came to Alex and said she wanted ice cream. The kitchen staff and her Mom convinced her that there was no ice cream, but providentially, Brent Kajikawa walked in with ice cream to celebrate Roy’s birthday, so we all had fund eating ice cream and sharing it with Alex and her family.

Before we left the cafeteria, we were all able to surround them and pray for them. Meeting the Barnes family was a wonderful opportunity to put a human face to the ministry we came to Mississippi to do. God bless the wonderful time we had tonight.