Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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If you're wondering how you're ever going to be able to keep track of me and my life in the Crescent City, then you've come to the right place. This is a running account of my time spent in New Orleans serving with the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and beyond.
1 comments:
You don’t know me, but I was directed to your blog via Jane’s Journey, via seektheking-pda – Heather is my daughter.
I’ve been to the Gulf Coast 4 times and am planning to return in March – it’s amazing how God works in our lives. In addition to this work, I’ve become involved in a Bible Study at our local maximum security prison. God takes us places we’d never imagined, doesn’t he? I can hardly wait to see what's next.
I’m so glad you will be sharing your Gulf Coast experience with your Mom this week – we’ve had the awesome blessing of serving there with both our son Jason – mucking out Beverly’s NOLA home in Oct 2006, and with our daughter Heather - painting and siding Laura’s home in NOLA last December (I recognize her house in your pictures – so good to see progress continue, albeit slowly!)
My GUMBO moment was the first NOLA trip when I went to help staff a food giveaway at a tiny Presbyterian Church near the Superdome – that church had finally managed to restart its Health Clinic, staffed by Tulane doctors and staff, and PDA volunteers were asked to help hand out food. As we arrived, one church elder sat at a piano and started to play and sing hymns. By the time he finished "His Eye is On the Sparrow," I was weeping – great streams of tears flooded down my face, splashing onto the floor – I was finally crying for the people of New Orleans. Leon and I spoke after that and I told him how his playing moved me – he replied that the Lord has never given him more than he can bear – and I told him, “Leon, I must not be able to stand very much because the Lord hasn’t given me anything like Katrina!" That made this gentle giant of a Black man laugh a great belly laugh! “Who ministered to whom?” I’ve often thought. Leon was living in a FEMA trailer parked in the church parking lot, as his lower ninth ward home was destroyed. But he has a faith and a joy in the Lord that those of us much richer in earthly blessings would envy. He's a wealthy man, indeed. I feel much the same about the men in the prison - they give me much spiritual food for thought.
God’s blessings to you as you continue to serve him,
Kim
Auburn, NY
PS: I'm going to share GUMBO with the guys at the prison - they love to hear of the work being done there, and they LOVE to sing "When the Saints!"
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