From ice to rainbow

When our Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief team arrived in Radcliff, Kentucky on February 8, most of the ice had melted (except for a little you can see in the cedar tree needles above), but the tree damage was everywhere. Electricity had been restored, but lots of people, especially senior adults, had a mess that they could not clean up themselves and could not afford to clean up. That's where our "Rescue and Recovery" unit helped them. It was hard work, but very gratifying, and at every home we prayed with the homeowners and talked to them about the Lord. We discovered several people who had no church but were open to a visit from a local church, and we passed that on to the local Baptist association. Most of all, we gave people hope. How appropriate that after we finished one of our jobs, a beautiful rainbow came out!

Mrs. K's answered prayer

This is a picture of me with Mrs. K, a widow who lives in Radcliff, Kentucky. She broke her arm trying to clean up her yard after the ice storm. The tree behind us split open from the weight of the ice, and the part that remained standing was leaning toward her house.
She had tried to get the insurance company to get it off her property, but everybody was busy. We did not have the equipment to cut down her tree, but we cleaned debris from the drive where we were standing, and she moved her vehicles around to this drive. We prayed for her to get some more help.
I found out that she is a Sunday School teacher at a Presbyterian church. I gave her a New Testament with devotionals in the front, and a Rick Warren CD and a gospel tract. She was excited to get the materials, saying she would use it to teach and encourage others.
After we left, she called our operations center to say that 30 minutes after our prayer, a man came who was able to cut down that tree so it would not fall on her house. She was praising the Lord for answering our prayers.

Before and after

Here's a picture of a yard in Radcliff, Kentucky that was messed up by the ice storm, and a picture after we cleaned it up. While we were working on this yard, a man drove up and asked me, "What organization are you with?" I said, "We're Christians doing this as a ministry. We're with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief." He said, "I'm on social security and I've tried to get my place cleaned up, but I can't afford what people charge. How much do you charge?" I said, "Sir, we don't take payment. We do this for free." He was amazed. "For FREE?" he asked. "Yes," I said, "It's like God's grace. You can't earn it; you have to receive it by faith. Do you have a local church that you attend?" I handed him a gospel tract. He said, "Yes, I'll be there this Sunday." I then explained that he could go to the fire station and fill out an application for assistance from us. When I got back to the fire station for lunch, he was there filling out the application.
I cannot count how many times I had the opportunity to explain grace to people when they were surprised that we take no payment and we do this as a ministry. That is a "before" and "after" that I may never see this side of heaven, but I know it touched many hearts.

Baptists bring buzz

"Baptists bring buzz" was the headline in today's The News-Enterprise, the newspaper in Radcliff, Kentucky where we worked.

This picture was taken of me moving some limbs in the rain. I'm also quoted in the newspaper article, which was pretty accurate. You can read the entire article here.

I'm tired, so I'm going to rest and I hope to post my pictures from the trip later.

Going to do disaster relief in Kentucky

I am going to Radcliff, Kentucky February 8-12 to serve as a chaplain working with a Baptist cleanup and recovery unit that is helping victims of the ice storm. (I had previously thought it was a feeding unit, but I was incorrect.)
About 100 Southern Baptist disaster relief teams from a dozen different states are working in Kentucky and Arkansas, providing food, showers, and chainsaw teams to remove debris.
I will be serving as a chaplain with Rev. Flinn Gregory of Bluffton, Georgia. We will meet people, listen to their stories, provide counseling, prayer, and spiritual support.
Please pray for our safe travel on Sunday and for our fruitful labor for the Lord.

Loving New Orleans

Here are pictures of the Mature Adult Mission Team from our church that went to New Orleans this week and helped Terra, and Regina, two New Orleans homeowners, get their houses repaired so they could come back to their homes. They were helping Operation NOAH (New Orleans Area Housing). Milton and Jason are the guys in red shirts with Terra. Greg, our music minister who led the trip, is holding a level with Debra, our senior adult coordinator.
Great job, guys! You showed what Christian love is all about!

Rick Warren on Hannity & Colmes

I criticized Joel Osteen for failing to mention Jesus in his Wednesday night interview with Fox News' Hannity & Colmes about the California wildfires. Well, on Thursday night they interviewed Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose-Driven Life. (You can watch the video here.) Warren didn't mention Jesus, either, but the focus of his interview was different. The interview with Osteen asked theological questions. The interview with Warren asked him what his church was doing, since three of the fires are raging around Saddleback Church, and Warren told how his church is a shelter, is feeding firefighters, and has sent out 100 chaplains to do counseling.

By the way, on Thursday, California Southern Baptists fed 10,000 people in San Diego who were affected by the fires.