a busy week

This week has been especially busy with 23 guests arriving from Living Faith Alliance in Vineland N.J. late Saturday. This is Tom and Barbara's home church, as well as Carlos and Lily's.
After church on Sunday, we all went riding along the Beach.Blvd. When we got in sight of the Bay Bridge, we had to turn around: the road is not complete. Some of the group could make comparisons as to what had improved: others were seeing the destruction for the first time. There are still obvious signs of the destruction from Katrina, and probably will be empty house foundations, pillars for houses, and perhaps even steps to nowhere for several years to come, interspersed with rebuilt homes.
We came back for devotions on the beach, then returned to go to Tom and Barbara’s to watch the licensed alligator trapper do his thing. The alligator was small: about 50 pounds est. He trapped it to place it somewhere else. Some of us sat on the porch to watch: others went down closer to the water.
We were shown through the house: it is actually a duplex with an enormous shared living room.
Then we all went to Picayune to eat buffet at Ryans.
Monday I worked the front desk today, filing reports for John and pulling information for Tom, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Tonight, we met for a sharing time because so many had so much to say. The Lord is blessing the volunteers as well as those with whom they come in contact.

It was necessary to get up at 5:30 to fit in my exercise because there were so many early risers in this church. The ladies took over making breakfast so that Barbara could have a break. Everyone worked together very well. The coffee house and other church functions were canceled this week so our pastor and our construction manager could go to council. We held meetings every night with this group, sometimes lasting until 10 PM. However, it was all a blessing as everyone had so much to report.
The Prayer Team goes out to pray for families whose homes are under construction. When this group finished, they started praying for the volunteers from the community who help us daily, then spent their last meeting praying for the long-term volunteers on site.
On Friday night, they took all the long-term volunteers out to a Chinese buffet. The comment was made that they had planned it in their expenses for the trip: something that is definately not expected.

Many of the churches who have worked with the Christian Life Center over the last year or so have fallen in love with Duke and Pat Kuhn, a vivacious couple who loved everyone who helped work on their home. When folks first volunteered, I am told Duke wanted to hear nothing about the Lord Jesus Christ, but as people kept coming to work on thei r home and share the love of Christ, he changed his mind and came to know the Lord.
Duke has been struggling with cancer for several months, and was hospitalized in Jackson for about a week and a half before coming home because there was nothing further the medical people could do. We helped watch him while Pat went to work. Last Saturday night, he went to be with the Lord. the funeral was Saturday, in New Orleans.
Church support had been organized to provide food for the family. After the guests left about 8:30, Barbara and I began receiving donated food from these folks. Later, we went over to the Kuhn home to set up and serve a buffet for her guests. After making sure everyone had eaten, we also ate and joined in the conversation, returning to CLC about 7 PM. (Of course, Tom, our director, came with the other guests He had driven a van to New Orleans to help our guest meet their plane, then attended the funeral.)

I have had to make a room swap this weekend: there are more women coming in the next group than men, so we switch sides. The move was begun in the morning, and finished after returning from Kuhns.