tommy with a devotional and a yoga studio. Millie says she can nap on the mat
After a gate change
And a visit to the fancy lounges they have here… steve and millie ….. relaxed
Got chances to meet a few people including an airman on his way from calif to training at Keesler. Keep him in your prayers as he had some strange encounters in his visit in Calif and suffice it to say, I think it had spiritual ramifications. But on the lighter side, hope he can join us for BBQ at the shed. : )
On a side note, Peter felt he was supposed to pray for the airman back at LAX, but didn’t make the most of the opportunity. It was nice to find out he was on the same flight and Peter could bump into him during the layover. God always has a plan.
Something from our departure…
It’s a little raw, but here’s some video from our departure.. words from our leader Craig, who will be joining us next week..
thanks Gary for doing the video editing… 🙂
thank God for youtube video editing… and a team effort from Los Angeles and Mississippi
2012 Last Team meeting, Children’s message and commissioning
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| Millie, James chowing down on Stonefire grill that Mo and Carol picked up so the team wouldn’t have to scurry around for our dinner |
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| Pastor Kyle stopped by and gave an impromptu devotional (mini bible lesson) while we ate. It inspired and focused us |
This is a busy time. Easter was just a week ago, taxes are due, our church is having a conferencing on parenting next Saturday. Oh, and yes, we’re flying out in 8 days, April 22nd.
So when Tommy reminded us that we had a team meeting, Friday night, the question was “what are we going to discuss?” “Team Bonding Time,” was his reply.
Friday night, our last team meeting
It’s the last time before we depart to go over some practical matters, make sure the newbies know what to expect….
We shared a meal, Pastor Kyle (Katrina alumnus) stopped by and gave an impromptu and timely devotional (brief bible teaching). We prayed for each other and blessed the first timers and the women on the team.
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| Craig had the “vets” pray for and bless all the women and the first timers |
But more than anything, it focused us as a team in purpose, unity and prayer. We are representing God and our church members to bless others, whomever they are. As Kyle put it “before telling people about Christ, we’re trying to BE Christ” to them. The big picture for this project is to combine efforts with the ongoing work of Habitat for Humanity to provide low cost housing.
Sunday morning, Children’s message and Commissioning
Instead of having a separate church service for children, we like to incorporate them into the general service. One of those ways is to have a special time of our service for a mini-message just for the kids. This Sunday, Gary M led our team in a fun and informative teaching.. (Video below)
Pastor Victor prayed for the entire team, and our MSG (support groups) stood with us and blessed us.
It’s touching having family and friends stand with us, and reminds us we do not make these efforts on our own.
We’re one week away!
I don’t know why I liked the comment about the finishing nails so much… 🙂
Last Day, we’re back, and there’s more..
Thanks, we’re back and hit the floor running..
We have some notes coming, but we’re jumping back into playing catch up from over two weeks of not working…
Hopefully we’ll be editing down the bucam videos too..
In the meantime..
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| Katrina 2011 05 21 |
Gary H’s note from the second night
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| Gary H at the Chop Saw |
After arriving to Biloxi in the morning of 5/9 we took a drive in the Mississippi gulf coast to see the devastation aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was an eye opening experience to see so much damage that Hurricane Karina inflicted on so many people’s lives and so much property damage.
We made a stop at a pier and at the end of the pier we approached a guy named Brian who happened to be fishing. I sensed from God that he wanted me to talk to him. Although I do not really know a lot about fishing I struck up conversation about fishing. Then the conversation became more personal about his work and his life. Although we didn’t “officially asked if he has accepted Jesus”, we told him why we were here in Mississippi. Our feeling was that when we had to leave, we planted the seed. My hope and prayer is that we planted the seed and that somebody that he will encounter later would reap the benefit of him someday receiving Christ. I emailed my MSG to pray for him. I thank God for taking me out of my comfort zone and approaching individuals I do not know and striking up conversation with them. I pray and hope for other opportunities like this
Bu Breakfast Day 2
Bu’s Breakfast notes..
And we’re back!
Sorry, but yesterday, blogspot had a glitch and we were unable to post anything to the blog.
Today was the second day of us being split up into two groups, the CoEd going to the trailers today, and the Men’s 2Week team going back to the site (the previous day we had switched roles)
It rained in a pretty brief, sudden and cold windy storm, and then within an hour, it passed. Some of our crew was down at the beach to see the water turn rough and the oceans tremble. It was an eerie reminder of Katrina.
There’s more to say and talk about, but we’re about to head to dinner. More later, and more about a great dinner at The Shed (last night). And it wasn’t just because the food was good. It was just a great time of fellowship
Day 3-Splitting the teams
Today, the CoEd Team will be returning to the Pascagoula site to continue work, possibly with St. James.
The 2-week team will be going to clean up some FEMA trailers for repurposing. We’ll be going just north of (what used to be) Lookout 49 (closed restaurant that we went to year 1), at 16041 Hwy 49, Gulfport, MS 39503. We’re not sure what to expect.
Day 2-Working with St. James
If anyone ever ever ever gives me (Peter) a hard time for going to Walmart again… I will remind them of this day.
I actually needed to go to Walmart for … something… and was going to have Tommy drive me. But it turned out they needed two cars because there were over five people going. When everyone gathered to get in the cars. There were over nine people, so I declined, but over nine people? We only have fifteen on the team.. 🙂
St James
St James is a church from Pennsylvania, that we’ve met before while serving here. Today we had the privilege of working side by side with them on site. Our siding and paint crew got to work with them closely. Cindy was a crowd favorite, as she, normally a hair stylist, proved to be one of the most energetic and height-friendly volunteers, climbing to the top levels with Kyle, Bart and Chris.
Roy was working John and Mike, Gary H was being apprenticed by master chop man Gary M.
It was a good, and productive day. It’s nice to see a house that’s almost to completion, locking doors and all. In speaking with site manager Brad, we found out that Gary M’s video, “All Work, All Pray,” is being considered for a volunteer video competition.
Roles
We continue to understand our role includes exhortation. On the first day, we met several people along our journies, including a homeowner of the house we worked on last year. It’s a rare, but beautiful experience. It’s hard not to take it personally and be prideful, but we turned around and looked at the house that we saw built in three days by contract laborers, and it helps keep us grounded.
Brad and Denise are really like our family now. Not only because of our fondness for them, but also because we share faith. They inspire and humble us, we try to let them know how much we appreciate them. It’s been encouraging to see them grow in faith.
(oh, and click on the photo below to access the slideshow for the day)
Click for some pics from the day
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| Katrina 2011 05 11 |