We have had a very windy week. Ike blew thru on Friday and Saturday. Left a lot more signs and tree limbs on the ground and more flooding in the coastal areas than Rita and Katrina did. (This is not good.) As we awaited the arrival of Ike we delivered Humanitarian items to those affected by Gustav. We delivered cots, Hygiene Kits, Food boxes, and Cleaning Kits. It has been a humbling experience to witness first hand the financial loss that many members have experienced from evacuating.
FYI - Evacuating is a very expensive ordeal. First you have to be sure that your car is prepared to travel 12 hours away (on a normal drive) and return without maintenance, except gas. Then you have to pay for the gas that it costs to get you to the evacuation point and back home. Many people went to hotels and have hotel bills, restaurant receipts, etc. If they went to a Church building, they had to bring their own food, cash to purchase gas (the gas stations and grocery stores only accepted cash). Clearly we are seeing the emotional trauma that comes from evacuating. Children hear the word Hurricane and wonder if they will have to leave their home yet again, to sleep in foreign places without the comfort of their own beds.
A lot of people took their rent money and used it to run from Gustav. Thus, there is a large amount of need for support from the Church. Unfortunately, they didn't have money to run from Ike the next week. One sister told us that if Ike came, she was staying put. She didn't have the money to run again. We were genuinely concerned that the people of New Orleans would do as those in Galveston did and say it's just a Category 2 - so was Gustav, we can handle it. We have been blessed to not have a direct hit from Ike. Although we see our friends to the west in Galveston and Houston have seen his fury. We join you in praying for their safety and well being at this extremely difficult time. It is life changing.
We have also had a couple of changes in the Stake here in New Orleans. They have dissolved the Young Single Adult (YSA) Ward and have instructed those members (ages 18-30) to return to their family wards. The had less than 30 members on their roster. We also got a new Bishop, Bishop Steckler yesterday. Bishop Steckler, he was the Bishop of the YSA Ward. We are excited to have him back and all of the new members. His family is also excited to have him attend Church with them. Our former Bishop, Bishop Gomez works for Entergy (electric company) and will be in Texas for awhile. We will miss working with Bishop Gomez, he is a great man.
We love you and pray for you. Please join us in praying for those residents of Texas and Louisiana who have been affected by these Hurricanes, as well as those who are working there to help them.
We are looking forward to General Conference coming up the first weekend in October and hope that everyone will plan to attend, watch or listen - where ever you are. Here is a great story that shows just how wonderful it can be.
During our Zone Conference the Mission President and his wife shared this thought on member missionary work. Talk to people about the blessings of the Gospel in your life. Easy huh? As you are talking to people, throughout the day, the Spirit will whisper to your mind of the blessings of the Gospel in your life. Share them with the people you come in contact with. You will be amazed at how easy it is and how blessed you will feel. Even young children have blessings that they are grateful for. Don't just pray for missionary experiences, talk to people about the blessings and missionary experiences will happen.
We've heard about some great results from our challenge a couple of months ago to have someone over for dinner after Church. We hope if you haven't tried it, you might consider it. It's a great way to get to know people and make new friends. We are grateful for the blessings that have come into our home thru this simple idea.
Take care and remember - Share the Blessings of the Gospel
1 comment:
Our thoughts and prayers have been with you and my own parents as well as the many people affected. Ike hit my parents and they lost power for 2-3 days but were well prepared and had listened to the council from their stake presidency. It is so nice to hear how many people are helping and reaching out to others. Please let us know if you would like care packages sent or other things. We would love to help!
Post a Comment