Mid week blues

I dropped Yvonne off at the San Diego Int'l Airport this morning around 9:15 a.m. She was returning to Modesto to be with our girls. (Maya and Ani were ready for Mommy to come home...they were getting tired of not sleeping in their own beds. Mid week blues.)

Got to the work site around 11 a.m. and found the cutting crew getting finished up at lot 17 with the help of a bulldozer and dump truck. The rest of the crew was at Lot 5, the home of Victoria, a Hispanic lady who had lost everything and who had no homeowner's insurance. I saw her yesterday as we were leaving the mobile home park and I jumped out of my truck to talk to her. Peter, a young man who was with her was going to help her remove the debris from her burned down home (by himself!). I explained to them what we do and how much we charge. We would clear the debris and do it for the nominal charge of nothing. Free, nada, nunca. She said "Really?" because free sounded suspicious to her. Once I finally convinced her that we would do the work at no charge, she looked at Peter and asked him "What do you think?" Peter thought about it for about 0.1 seconds and said with a big Cheshire cat grin, "Yeah, I think that's a good offer." Smart young man.

Lot 5 is about 83.4% complete, give or take, after just one half day of working on it with our crew, bolstered by the addition of Rick Kelley and Krista Gray. One was additional muscle & one was additional brains...I'll let you figure out who was which. Rick and I took apart the incredibly large aviary cage and the metal shed that was blown off its foundation and thrown over the chain link fence into the small ravine behind the lot, Oleta sifted ash for valuables, Max and the guys (Paul & Art) worked the metal cutting chop saw, and the rest of the crew shoveled, lifted, and wheelbarrowed debris, metal and otherwise, close to the front of the property to be picked up. During one of the breaks, I found a bike and rode it around the block.

Toward the end of the day, the injuries started to mount. Tina scraped her leg and reinjured her back, making it difficult for her to move. Max's arms were getting torn up by touching sharp metal. (I asked Max to stop working around 3 p.m. to rest his body. 10 minutes after sitting down, he was back shoveling ashes and debris. Go figure. The oldest guy here happens to be one of the toughest.) Krista's back stiffened up and required prescription medicine to help unstiffen. Art often asked, "So how much Ibuprofen can I take?" We were going through Ibuprofen like candy. The aches and pains were definitely taking its toll on our crew. Must be our collective advancing age.

The last hour or so of the work day dragged on and on. The dust from the ashes was more than usual. Everyone's patience was a little shorter than usual. We were getting kind of punchy with each other. Low energy coupled with extreme fatigue and body aches makes for a testy crew. Just in time, 4:20 p.m came around and it was quitting time. Loaded up the trucks and headed for the showers. Nothing helps the mid week blues like a hot shower.

Everyone's been sleeping like bricks. Well deserved sleep, I'd say.

What

More Pictures. . . .

Maui shower

Dr. Glen and Yvonne
Mad Max and his cutting crew
Tina and Yvonne hauling steel

Black Canyon Road, Ramona, CA Day 4. . .

Max cutting some I beam













Max, Tina and Edwina working













The Tide Trailer - free washing of clothes













Looking down Black Canyon ST.













Saving a carport roof to move to camp.
We had an awesome work day today. We went back to Oak Tree Ranch, where 41 homes in one area burned down. Everyhone of the homes in this section burned completely. Jewelery in boxes was reduced to molten metal. Dreams of the future there have ended and new dreams have to be made.
We finished our first job today. Mary Ann's house is now complete. Max, Arts, Paul and I joined together and cut the I- beam structure apart. We used a 14 inch gas powered grinder. It was indeed a manly job. Glen could not operate the heavy duty machine because he had on his girly looking capri pants. Max's pant caught on fire at one point, no real flame, just alot of smoke. Max had some hot pants on, Jeanette knows what I mean.

Shelley's lot is almost complete. We have about six more cuts on the I-beam and then we will be finished. We sifted more of her property today and found several former pieces of gold. Shelley is ready to move forward. May God bless her.

Sue's house is next on our list. I walked the property with her, she is still in shock as she looks around at what she thought would be her retirement home. Her husband and her have made some of the most beautiful landscape features I have ever seen on one small lot. There were water falls, plants park benches and many other items that made the place their dream home. Now they are looking at moving to a senior mobile home park in Ramona, in town, not in the country. Sue could not believe that we would do the work for free. She kept commenting, how much is this going to cost? She also would ask what the catch was. I told we were here because Jesus Christ had sacrifed life and blood for each of us, we felt it was the least we could do to clear a lot full of fire debris for his glory. She started crying and sobbing. She composed herself and said she knew Jesus and God, and knew that better days were ahead and someday she would be able to see the good God had brought to Ramona through all of this.

We actually got a referral today from a group of Chaplains with Billy Grahmn's Crisis Group. They had visted us earlier and came back with a job that Samaritan's Purse could not do. We will help a boy's and girl's club position themslves to rebuild.

We shower at night at the Maui shower. These showers come out of Minnesota. This is a big rig, full of stainless steel showers. Normally the cost is $5 for five minutes, we are using them for free. What a blessing to have a good shower at the end of the day.

Yvonne leaves us tonight for the airport, we will miss her useful therapy of massage, and her hard work behind shovels and wheelbarrows. We all prayed together, she cried and I had a moment of eye watering allergies. We have jobs to do for God tomorrow. Pray for Him to use us and for us to be willing to do it his way.

Buddy Gray

RAMONA RESPONSE DAY 3. . .

Today was a great day of work. We finally got into the field doing the work we came to do. The first house we worked on was Mary Ann's house. Mary is single and has lived in her house for several years. This was the fifth time her and her family have been evacuated for a fire, this time the fire came with vengence and destroyed all 41 homes in this small subdivision. All the homes were manufactured homes, all were burned up completely. In fact nothing was left but the I- beam frame. Mary Ann gave her 60 day notice to the landlord at the park today she never wants to live there again. Like many other disasters I have worked, she has the defeated look in her eyes, her eyes say that it is time to move on and be free from the pain of the present. The only thing we were able to salvage was the melted gold from her jewelery box. We sifted through the ashes on the ground underneath where here bedroom used to be to find the remnants of many good memories.
Shelley's house was around the corner from Mary Ann's house. Shelley works at a local bank in town, she will not return to live in the subdivision again. She has lived throught the evacuations and now the fire has consumed the last eleven years of her life's possesions. Her attitude is positive, she will someday move to Oregon and be near family, right now she has to stay and negoiate with insurance companies for her nestegg that is due her. Shelley walked me around her property and described the beauty of her property, at one time she was caught up in talking about how she had her morning coffee on her back porch that opened out her bedroom. As she described this vividly she was holding her hands as if she was sipping the coffee one last time. Next she walked down the ravine and described the way the fireflighters had explained how the fire consumed the neighborhood. There are two 3ft diameter culverts for the ravine waters to cross the road when it rains. The people in the park were called by reverse 911 and told to leave within five minutes. Shelly's daughter was leaving as the fire was arriving. The fire raced down the ravine driven by seventy plus mile an hour winds. The flames came down the hill in less than five minutes and consumed all the houses in less than fifteen minutes. The charred area by the cluverts shows that the fire was coming through the tubes like fire through a rocket engine. The fire shot out over 150 feet. I prayed with Mary Ann and she asked us to sift her bedroom where her grandmothers jewlery was kept. We found the charred box of jewelry with everything in it melted. Sheila Smith and I took the box to her at the bank. She thanked us for our effort and said she would always keep the box to remind her of these days after the fire. We found one other keepsake for her. 18 years ago her daughter made a vase for her in third grade. I dug it out of the ashes for her, she already had it on her desk at the bank.
We prayed with and for both families today for God to heal the hurts that only he can heal. Later tonight I will post pictures of both sites.

Pray for God to use us . . .

Buddy Gray

All in a day's work

Excellent day today. The team was ready to roll at 8 a.m. after getting our work orders from Corky, the Hilltop camp "El Jefe." We were assigned to an area where 40 plus mobile homes bordering a ravine were completely burned to the ground. The fire came down from the ridge above, and when mixed with the 90 mph Santa Ana winds and the drainage pipes that were at one end of the ravine, it made for a turbo like effect, shooting a torrent of fire through the 3 foot diameter pipes a full 150 feet. With a firestorm like that, it makes total sense that 41 homes were lit up and burning to the ground inside of 15 minutes. The homeowners were given the 911 call to leave and within 4 minutes the fire was down the ridge and starting on the first homes. Twisted metal, melted glass, and remnants of people's lives lay on the ground like scattered leaves. It was quite a sight.

Our assignment was to clear the burned debris close to the street so that it could then be hauled off. After seeing all the burned nails, screws, and metal I'm glad I insisted that everyone get their tetanus boosters! The homeowner, Mary Ann, wanted us to save as many of the paver stones as possible...she was going to rebuild her life somewhere, just not in Ramona. A few months prior to the fire she had invited one of her loved ones to come move in with her...she agreed, moved all of her belongings into Mary Ann's house while she awaited her move and then the fire struck. Mary Ann said to me in tears, "I asked her to come live with me to have a better life and now look. What kind of life is this? I'm just so hopeless."

Hopelessness? That was the opening I was looking for. As she went around to each of us to thank us for all of our help, I asked if we could pray for her. She agreed and we prayed for her. Prayer for not only a place to live, but for hope, support, and something better. The something better we know comes from a saving relationship with Jesus. When the final amen was said, she said "The best thing in all of this is finding out that there are people out there who care. Thank you." She walked off slowly, clutching the bust of a china doll covered in soot, softly crying.

After lunch, we went back to the mobile home park to clear off another homesite. While there, one of the crew members stepped over the metal frame of the home and cut the inside of her knee. As a physician, I'm tasked with providing medical care to our team of volunteers. As it turns out, the one who cut her knee was Yvonne, my wife. I washed her bleeding leg off with some cold water, put some neosporin on, bandaged it, and told her to take it easy until we got back to camp. What I didn't tell her was she needed stitches. (She doesn't really like needles so I didn't want to unnecessarily freak her out....what a nice husband, huh?)

Back at camp, I took off her bandage and told her of my plan. Word got around that I was going to suture Yvonne's leg so Tina, Edwina, Christie, Chrissy, and Sheila all eagerly asked Yvonne's permission "to watch." I've been in medicine for nearly 2 decades and have taught medical students, nursing students, resident physicians, and other medical professionals and I have never had a bigger audience for a procedure than I had today. All for a whopping 2 stitches! Oh, I failed to mention that Gary, one of the other Hilltop volunteers, kept me company talking my ear off as well. (Buddy asked if he could learn how to suture...after some thought of about 0.2 milliseconds, I said no, possibly because this was my wife. More likely, I didn't want to incur the beating that Yvonne would inflict on me had I said yes. He pouted, went in to the dining hall, and refused to participate in the growing debacle...I mean minor surgery.)

So back to the procedure. The lighting in the building was bad, so I did what any sensible physician in the field would do...I lay my patient down on the tailgate of my Toyota Tundra and operated on her in the parking lot. Given that our medical supplies are mostly donated, it shouldn't surprise me that my glove size is 7, but the gloves I had were a 9. Who ever said fit was important? I anesthetized her wound with some 1 year old Lidocaine (she'll never know), sutured her with 4-0 Vicryl, slapped a bandage on it and called it good. After taking a bow, I waved to my impressed gallery of 10 viewing members, including my patient Yvonne and yours truly, and rode off into the sunset.

All in a day's work.

More Pictures

Ramona Pictures

Ramona Response Day 1

After arriving yesterday we went out to eat at Mama Rosa's Restaurant, which I had pegged for a fairly nice place for Mexican food. To my surprize it was Italian. While at Mama Rosa's we met a couple who were still recovering from the previous fire here a couple of years ago. I told them what our group was doing and they nodded and thanked us for caring and being here in Ramona. They left soon after that and within a few minutes we were told by the waitress that the couple was paying for our meal and that we could add anything else we wanted. What a blessing for us. A couple we had never met decided to pay for 12 meals. It was cool and we all were greatly blessed by the event.
Today we made the obligatory tour of destruction as we traveled to Escandido, CA. The fire swept through the valley and burned most of everything in its path.
When arrived in Escandido we helped offload a 53' trailer from the Disaster Relief Effort of Nashville. I was extremely happy to see the back wall of that trailer when we finally finished.
Tonight we ate at the Mountainview Community Church, they are hosting a group called Christ in action(CIA). CIA is from VA and is currently providing our morning and night meals. CIA also has shower trailers that are out of this world. Tide detergent is providing a trailer of washers and dryers.
Tomorrow we go to work at our first site. We are eager to go work and be the hands God wants us to be.
Glen (Dr. Glen) was wearing his capri pants that he wore during the Katrina relief effort. The only thing missing was his robin's egg blue crocs that he wore as we arrived in Slidell. Funny how he seems to fit in so well in CA.

Ramona Response

We arrived last night after an eleven hour journey on the road. We arrived safely and all is well. Today we will help unload a truck load of items from Disaster Relief out of Nashville and set up camp at the Ramona Church of Christ. We have homeowners ready for us to work at their places and we are ready to roll. We will blog more later today.

we seek your prayers,

Buddy

Homeward Bound. . .

I walk away from San Diego tomorrow morning and head home. For the most part SD seems to be moving forward well. We are eager to move on to the next phase of service delivery. Going home to home and making life a little better for people who have lost a lot.
I was out in Ramona today with Savita and Corky from Hilltop. We had a very good meeting with Dave Ash from the Ramona Church. We had 50 cots delivered by the Red Cross along with blankets. We are in need of a shower trailer if anyone knows someone with one.

I will post more tomorrow. . .

I am ready to see my dear family and my brothers and sisters in Christ.

may the lord bless you,

Buddy Gray

San Diego Fires Day 6

We (Wayne and I) continued working at HQ today. It is apparent the Red Cross has plenty of people on this job. Today the Damage assesment crews hit the road to determine the extent of the relief dollars to help the people of San diego County.

Ramona, CA is the site of the Hilltop Rescue and Relief push to help in this event. The Ramona church of Christ is the staging area. This little church of 30 is ready to reach out to their community. They have opened up their building and their lives for the next 90+ days. Hilltop has a video interview on their website. Wayne and I visted the area where the interviews were conducted. There is a great need for the hands of Christ to arrive in this area and work. Look at your hands and see if yours are the ones some person who lost their home needs to help them recover from the loss of a home and then find Jesus Christ.

Here is a copy of the list from Hilltop that are their and ours needs for this effort.


VOLUNTEER AND LEADER FACILITIES
Trailers for long term volunteers 4
Sleeping cots 50
Hand washing stations 2
Port-o-let facility 4
Large garbage cans 7
Large dining table 8’ 2
Folding chairs 50

COOKING FACILITIES, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
Large ice chests 4
Warming oven 1
Garbage bags 70 ct. 10

OFFICE FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
Office trailer 1
Printer 1
Copier 1
Computer and monitor 1
Leadership notebook computer 1
Portable hard drive 1
Badge machine 1
Satellite equipment 1
Wireless router 1

VEHICLES
15 Passenger vans 2
Full size work truck 1
Covered work trailers 2

OPERATING EQUIPMENT
Washing machine 1
Dryer 1
Computers (for volunteers and victims) 2
Printer 1
Telecom software and equipment 2
Power supplies and misc. 2
Chain saws 2
Shovels (scoop) 8
Shovels (square) 8
Hoes 2
Sledge hammers 4
Wheelbarrows 8
Tool Boxes 2
Misc. tools to fill boxes 2
Large crow bars 2

MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Large first aid kit 1
Fire extinguishers 2
Fire hose 1
Small first aid kit 2
Power strips 4
PA equipment 1
50’ extension cords 5
Video projector 1
Jacks and spares for vehicles and trailers 5

MISCELLANEOUS MAINTENANCE AND REFRESHMENT
Chains saws (sharpen/oil/replace) 2

The needs can be met by in kind donations or with cash sent to Hilltop.


Buddy Gray

Firestorm work day 5

Today I worked out of headquarters with Wayne Smith doing special assignments. The nature of this emergency caused some mass confusion and alot of information was lost. Wayne was put in charge of finding the information and bringing it back to headquarters. Once that was completed we went to the closed staff shelter and helped close it down. The cots were scrubbed, rinsed, dryed, folded and boxed for future disasters. All 800 of them. Luckily we had 25 other people helping.
We surveyed the damage in Ramona today and conferenced called with Hilltop. What a great group they are. Ramona will be the target of the work the response team now we will establish where the work camp will be. If you can take time off work start looking for time off, we will try to be in Ramona from Nov 3- Nov. 10th.
The damage there is much different from Katrina, but from the sounds of things was frightening in its own way.

Buddy Gray

San Diego Firestorm Day 4. . .

The community of Poway is getting back to normal. Most of the people at our shelter were gone by the time we arrived at 5:30 a.m. this morning. Today we spent the early part of the day cleaning and saying good bye to our friends in Poway. We develop a bond with the LDV's everytime we enter a community andwwork at a shelter. Sheila the tireless worker, whose kitchen we used in the shelter was a great volunteer with a lot of heart. Her boy friend has cancer and is undergoing chemo, pray for him when you can spare the time. Greg, Crystal, and June from the City of Poway were great to work with. Greg and his family were displaced for three days and finally found out their house was OK. Belinda also with the city was great to work with. All in all the City of Poway people were great to work with. Their outpouring of love and service was overwhelming. One day we had over 300 volunteers while only having 120 shelter residents. Right now I am working with our own Wayne Smith. Wayne got me and nine other people a job working with HQ this afternoon. Wayne is a great asset, today he wore his Team Red T-shirt.

We are going to try to go to Ramona, CA to check out the need for a response. We are going to meet with Kevin Wise and attempt to come up with a way to honor God in this community. Pray for us as we prepare to bring the message through hands on service. I am worn out and need to get some rest.

I miss my wife, my son and all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I am praying for all of you.


Buddy

Community Response Team Alert

If you are interested in doing relief work here is some information.

We are considering a trip the starting the week of November 3 - November 10. If you are intereted please email me. I am somewhat busy before 6 pm if you call call after 7:00 p.m.

We have talked to Hilltop and are trying to gear up. More Info tomorrow.

Buddy Gray

San Diego Fires Report 3 . . .

Tonight I am writing from a hotel room. I feel guilty about leaving the shelter people behind and coming to an ocean side hotel. This is just a reminder of how it is so real for the individuals who have lost so much, and yet just a temporary event for me. We have seen many great acts of kindness and blessing during this event. People offering all kinds of aid, from housing to catering food for the whole shelter. We have also seen the other side of the coin. The City we are working in gave us 48 hours to vacate their senior center today. We still have over 100 people staying with us with no place to live . Our hope is that the city will rethink their position tonight and allow us to stay until the people from Ramona can go home. I beseech your prayers for God to change their minds.
Dr. Bennie Cisek has put together an excellent medical facilty at our shelter. He was waiting at Qualcom to find some people to help. He came and put together a fully functional medical triage place in a matter of hours. My hat is off to him. He has blessed many lives with his work at the shelter. Its 10:30pm, I have been up since 430am. Pray that God will continue to energize me for His work.

Buddy Gray

San Diego Fires Report #2

The transition from city shelter to Red Cross shelter was the work of the day. We rearranged the set up and added some more services. Poway did a great service to their citizens with the shelter. Alot of excitement with two heart attacks by clients and one slip and fall. Three trips to the hospital in one day for our clients. Everbody survived. Thanks for the prayers. . . It looks like this will be home for a few days.

Hilltop is gearing up and has asked us to partner in a project to be named in the near future. Start lining up vacation and get ready to roll. Team Red is on stand by.

Only 2 hrs sleep in two days. Time for bed. Pray for the fires to end! Pray for God to Reign in the hearts of the people.

Buddy Gray

San Diego Fires

I am writing from Poway, CA just north of San Diego about twenty miles. The shelter that is operating is being run by the city. The Red Cross has flown me in and I am already at work. Pray for us as we figure out what the needs are for the people in San Diego. Hilltop is trying to assess and figure out whatt their response is going to be in the next few days. As they make decisions I will keep you informed. They may be in need of using some of our equipment and we may need people to work with them in the near future. Everything is very fluid and changing as we speak. The coming days will tell what the needs will be. Pray for the people of San Diego County.

Buddy

Family Promise

We are past half-way on this turn for Family Promise. The families are good people trying to get past a bd place in their lives. The program is a no-brainer for a church group. We get to live out Jesus' for these people for one week. We provide food, shelter and drink, 24/7 for a week. We have had over seventy members invloved in the program so far. Most of the people are here for there small group and provide support service from a distance for the people. 5 couples stay over night. The night portion is the easiest, you show and sleep. Have you ever thought about serving God while sleeping? These people have a roof over their head for a night because a few people leave their homes and come to the church building for a night. The sacrifice is not much, but the benefit for the people in the program is great.

serving Him,

Buddy

The Cross and the Towers/ Family Promise

The movie night was an overwhelming success. We had a good crowd for The Cross and the Towers and The Wizard of Ha's. It is always incredible to see so many guests in our building at one time. Many got to hear an inspiring message concerning the Living Message of Jesus Christ. Over 30 visitor families were in the Veggietales premier. Pray that we continue to have fruit from events like this.

Family Promise, a coalition of local Modesto Churches that provide services to displaced familes has come to Davis Park. We are having our first rotation since the re-start a couple of months ago. We have 3 great familes that we are working with this week. Pray for them to find jobs. . . and housing.

Buddy

The Cross and the Towers . . .

On September 29th at 6:00pm we will be showing the movie "The Cross and the Towers". This movie is a documentary that tells of the story of how the Cross impacted the workers at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001. This movie demonstrates the power of Jesus and God to work through the hate and sin of men and provide lives changed for the good of the Kingdom. More on this later

Buddy

The People of the Park. . .

The first book project of the Davis Park Church of Christ is now complete. We have published our first 250 copies and have ordered our second printing of 500. The book is a compilation of Christ Stories specific to the people who are members at the church where they allow me to minister. These stories have a broad range of struggle, from children who have wandered into homosexuality, children lost in a rafting accident, a little girl who had to deal with the molestation of her and her sister by their father. These stories allow us to demonstrate how non-perfect we all are even though we put on a grand facade for Sunday morning. I cannot wait to see the impact for Jesus that this book has in our community. If your reading this and desire a copy please contact the Davis Park Church of Christ, 209-522-7226 and we will send you a copy.

Suicide. . . .

Of all the things that I do not understand, suicide is very high on the list. To be so very far down in the hole of despair and surrounded by darkness that the only way out is to kill one's self. My last four chaplain calls have been suicides. Suicide knows no boundries and and seems to not care about gender or age. I have seen a young mother, a young teenage boy, an older man and a man who was in his thirties. All of these had one thing in common, the people left behind were left wondering what they did wrong and they felt like they could have done more to stop the event. Guilt mixed with grief = horrible pain. Pray for those who have lost loved ones to suicide today. Pray that God will grant them peace.

The Worst Is Over. . . .

I am presently reading a book by the same title as this article. It is a book about ministering to people in crisis as the crisis has just occured or in the midst of crisis. The book is exciting for me because it helps with the language to use and not use. Words are important in the face of crisis, words can cure and words can crush. Still, presence is the most important part of ministering in times of crisis.

I just finished my week as Chaplain on-call with MPD. Two call outs and one service project. . . Both calls were extreme trauma calls, on the death of a young mother and the other the death of a teenage boy. The same question always arises "why". I do not have the answers, I can only tell people that I will help them throught the moment. Sometimes I wish I had more answers, but I am not sure if I could handle the answers, so lack of knowledge is blissful.

The service project was to provide a respite center for officers working X-fest. X-fest is a night that Satan declares war on Modesto and for 8 hours makes an attempt to own downtown. At the end of the night Satan is driven out to the shadows once again. X-fest is pure debauchery, nothing more, nothing less. It does provide a good way for me to have more time seeing and meeting officers that I will sometime work a call with.

The Movie night is coming up on August 11, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.

Buddy

Back in the saddle again . . .

Much has happened since I last blog, all of which is mostly water under the bridge. Some of the events are still unfolding and only the future holds knowledge of what they will mean.

Outreach is fast and furious with many events on the horizon. VBS is coming up this week and then on Aug 11 we will have a movie night at the church. The last Sunday in August is our annual Back to School Bash. These events are designed to invite our neighbors and friends.

I would like to set up an Outreach Committe for planning future events and deployments. If you are interested please contact me.

Buddy

Homeless Count 2007

On Friday we had a great day at Garrison Park here in Modesto. We helped the local county with their bi-annual homeless count. We set up shop in the middle of a park and offered free food(chilli and hamburgers) and comfort kits. It was a day of blessing for me, the outreach minister who watched as the people of God reached out to the homeless and less fortunate neighbors of our community. We served over a hundred meals from our post and gave out numerous comfort kits. We also had food items with us and made up special bags of food for those who were willing to take them. The biggest blessing to was watching the care that each individual on the team gave to precious people who came by for what we had to offer. Many times during the day we had multiple people being served at the same time and being guided through the surveys we had to fill out. All of us were blessed to here the stories of how or why these individuals live where they live. We have many great plans for this year. Our next event for outreach is Feb 10 when we host a night of comedy. The word for this event is invite, invite, invite. Then we will need to follow-up . . .

share the love of Christ

Buddy

It's a New Year!!!!!!

It is our turn with Family Promise again. So far things have gone on without a hitch. We presently have one family, a mom and her two kids with us. Pray for them as they look for a new home and mom looks for a job.

Two calls for the recent month with Modesto P.D. Both were tragic accidents of sorts involving Children. Nothing worse for a hard nosed first responder than a lifeless child. Even worse is a Chaplain trying to help make sense of the tragedy and not having words to soothe the situation. Loss of a small child hurts worse because it looks like they have been cheated out of the time they need to experience life. Maybe God has spared them from the pain we all experience living in this world.

Pray for our community as we bring Christ to it!

Buddy

Outreach . . .

We are in a very busy month for outreach in Modesto. The Nativity Story event has come and gone and we are still glowing over the success of this event. The way everyone embraced this event made my heart feel good. Individuals young and old invited their neighbors to the movie. To see our congregation name above the door of the theater was cool. My hats off to all those wo were busy inviting but unsuccessful in getting someone to say yes. It took a lot of no answers to find all the yes answers that filled the theater.
The push to help fifty familes has begun. We are adopting fifty families with needs for the holidays. Help is meal boxes and presents for the kids. Over 200 kids will get presents for Christmas because of this program. All of these families are touched by the hands of someone extending Jesus to them for the holidays.
We launched our "book" program this past Sunday. Davis Park is heading toward publishing book concerned with how Jesus has touched the lives of our members. We are seeking your life story, and how the path has changed since you bumped into Jesus. This book will be used as an outreach tool for people in our community. We want people to be able to see how active Jesus and God are in the lives of people at Davis Park.
Family Promise is coming!!!!! December 31 the Families will be here. We will bring in the New Year providing care and serving families in a special way this New Years Eve. If you want to celebrate the New Year with us at the church building let me know. It should be exciting!!!!

make a difference for Jesus today

Buddy

The Nativity Story . . .

All of the planning is over, most of the tasks associated with the project are about complete and now we sit and wait for the event. This is one of largest evangelistic efforts we have attempted. Tomorrow we will pack in 355 people into the Riverbank Galaxy theater. 250 of these people will be our guests. Most of these guests are not Christians. Neighbors who are close enough for our members to ask to come and watch the movie with them. We will invite them all to our services on Sunday. We hope and pray that many of them will come. We hope and pray that many will hear the gospel message for the first time in a way that will cause them to act on it. Pray hard for them, that God will start working on them today for tomorrow and Sunday.

Parents Tears . . .

I was called out to a scene yesterday afternoon that broke my heart. A house caught fire and a young child perished. Two of us from the MPD chaplaincy were there to serve the family for a couple of hours. Both parents are torn up as you might guess. Pray for them as they begin to feel this loss and recover from it. Pray for the first responders, police, fire, paramedics and chaplains as all of us deal with this loss. No words of wisdom, today only thoughts about promises of the hope of glory that awaits all of us. May God grant this family peace and comfort in the coming days.

The Nativity Story . . .

We are excited about the release of the movie "The Nativity Story". This story has the ability to impact our community for Christ, like no other movie since the "Passion". This story is told from Mary and Joseph's point of view. This story line is developed very well and is the best quality.
Davis Park Church of Christ has purchased the seats of an entire theater for December 2, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for guests of members are free, members cost $6.00. Make sure you invite your friends and family. The trailer for the movie may be seen at www.thenativitystory.com. If you live in Modesto and would like a free ticket to this screening please contact, Buddy at 209-522-7226.

NOC 2006 . . . National Outreach Convention

The national outreach convention has come and gone. Three days in gorgeous San Dieago. Lots of vendors with good outreach stuff/ideas. Classes that fire you up and make you want to slap yourself for not thinking of the idea sooner. No heavy theolgy to contend with, just practical ideas how to get people to Jesus for the first time or to learn to share him.
Good ideas . . . The Nativity Story will be coming to a theater near you, why not get excited about it and bring friends to see it and then invite them to church.
Publish a book with the great stories of transformation from you congregation. We will be work on this in the near future. Work on your stories now, be ready.
Comedy night! Christian Comedians come to the church to put on a show, we invite people who want to come and laugh. Many other great ideas were shared by those attending. It was good to be involved in the convention and to learn so much more about outreach.

Harvest Festival, aka Trunk or Treat

Our largest outreach event of the year has come and gone. Awesome! What a night, over 1000 visitors were on our property. This year we had many incredible stats, like 1000 meals served, 500 hot dogs and around 500 bowls of stew. The food crew did a great job of keeping the food coming until it all ran out. Candy, around a half ton of candy was handed out by the 38 decorated trunks. The most decorated trunk was Frank Munian's Pig house (three little pigs), he actually built a house that went over his car, 2x4's and shingles. Our 6 kids games handed out over 1200 prizes plus candy. Our goal of course is to win souls for Christ. This year we added invitations and goody bags to hand out from our info booth (250 were handed out), which was the only place to get hot chocolate and coffee. Over 10 gallons of hot chocolate and 3 gallons of coffee were given out.
All of this took alot of effort on the part of the whole congregation. Thank You Davis Park for Reaching Out to your neighborhood!

An unmistaken sound. . .

Sunday evening a few minutes into Dave Ramsey' FPU, a phone rang in the auditorium. My eyes rolled back in my head, thinking about the disturbance that had been created(much like the one I created on Wednesday night with my phone). The disturbance was followed by a look of tragedy on the face of the one who received the call. Pam Gonzales had just been notified. Notified that her son had been in an accident and not survived. Tragedy visited the meeting place of the Lord's people.
When I saw her face I new something bad had happened. She yelled to Lorenzo that they needed to go. I got there and grabbed her and hugged her. She looked me in the face and said, He's seeing God's face now. I nodded and said yes. Then the sound happened, a sound I have heard as a chaplain many times, the sound much like a wail and a sob combined. A sound that comes from deep within a mother's heart. A sound that means a part of the mother has left this world and gone on, thank goodness for Pam and family, gone on to be with God.
I was proud of the response of God's family Sunday. Many wept for the loss of Pam and her family. Many associated this event with one they had experienced in their own family. Many asked what we needed to do. We have to let Pam and Lorenzo experience the loss, that's what I repeated over and over. There are no words that fix this, all words seem trivial or even trite. We held them, hugged them, paced with them. We took them to a private room and let others come and speak their condolences. We called their family for them. Finally, we helped them get home, make arrangements to go to their son's and daughter-in-law's home in the mid west. We washed their dishes and helped them pack their clothes. By the way I did not do this alone, many people helped them in this time of need. Thursday we will lay Sean to Rest, then,Pam and Lorenzo will try to sort it all out. Thank God for the church who will support them through this tragic event.

I do not look forward to hearing that sound again, I am sure I will as I serve God and this community as a law enforcement chaplain.

Family Promise final comments for this Rotation. . .

A seven day stretch is all each of the visits lasts. Sometimes it seems shorter, sometimes longer. Our guests this time were very subdued. One family has the routine down pretty well and were very helpful. One family seemed to follow well. One family overwhelmed as they were just entering the program.
The families left a thank you note on the fridge in the multi-purpose room thank us for our hospitality. I hope they saw Jesus at our building. I cannot imagine what it like to go home to a different church building each week. But the church building is better than a place by the river or sleeping in a car.
One of the families left a prayer on the whiteboard in one of the rooms. A lot of fear eminated from the words of the prayer. I pray that God will give them peace.
I want to thank the 7 couples/families that stayed over as night hosts. Also, I want to thank those who provided the meals. Glenn's group, the Cowan's group, the Natzke family, Corey Long, My Wed night fellowship/dinner group, the Higganbotham Family, the Cobleigh Family and any others who provided food.
This is a great team effort to pull off. I thank God for everyone's continued interest in serving the homeless population through the Family Promise Network.

Give God the Glory,

Buddy

Family Promise . . .

So far we have had an uneventful week. Uneventful from the coordinators point of view that is. For the families involved in this process/program it has to viewed as an adventure. The rooms that they call home will be classrooms tonight and then later their home again. The dining room will become cluttered with many people looking for their classrooms for this evenings bible study. I am sure its difficult for them, however, they are not by the river or in some alley. In fact they are in God's house, a place where we attempt to create a safe haven of rest for them.
We have had two different small groups provide evening meals, both smelled and looked wonderful. Thank you to the Cowans' group and to Dr. Glen's group for a job well done. Sheila and Jennifer have done a great job, my thanks to them.

We have three familes and a total of ten people. 5 Children and 5 adults. One family just entereed the program yesterday. Pray for all of these individuals. Pray for them to find jobs, housing and that they will find or remain faithful during this struggle that they are in.


Buddy

Family Promise Rotation # 4

It always seems like yesterday we were delviering the beds to the next congregation and then here the beds are being delivered again. Here is how it really happens . . . Two weeks out from when our new guests arrive I notify our food and overnight coordinators that FP is coming. They start recruiting so that we will have all our bases covered. One week out I always wonder if it will be covered. Then it happens, everything fills up and we wait for people to show up. I am always excited for each rotation to occur. Pray for the seven individuals coming our way. Pray that we will be a blessing to them. May Christ be seen in us.

Buddy

Sister Holly. . . .

The greatest gift God gives is eternal life. Ranking next to that is how He lets His followers to work in that process. What an awesome blessing it is to be a part of the birth of a "new" Christian. Holly has been seeking God for a long time and has lifted up many of her families struggles to God in the past few years. Last during our opening prayer time she requested a prayer for her bosses' wife who has been stricken with and aneurysm. She asked after services why she (Holly) was not addressed as Sister Holly. The discussion that ensued ended up with her wanting to become a sister in the faith by putting on Jesus in Baptism. Praise God!

Welcome to the family Sister Holly!

Buddy

Change for China

Martin and Marcus Rodriguez brought the word of God in tandem this past Sunday at Davis Park. These young men are on fire for God and spreading His message in multiple languages. Just 3 years ago they left Californinia to "go and teach" in China. Even when their Chinese skills were limited God's word convicted people of their sin and many come to know Jesus as their savior.
Their work continues, as they spend time in language school learning more and more about China and the language of the people there.
The message was insightful and direct to us in the American Church. The China Team is approaching evangelism through the use of stories. Each person is changed when they come in contact with Christ and must decide how He will impact their life. Will Jesus be your savior or your judge? The new Christians in China are taught that it is OK to tell your conversion story. They are taught that the conversion story will be upsetting to some and hurtful to others. However, no matter how someone reacts to the story, you still tell the story. Martin's comment, If it means going to jail for telling the Christ story, thats OK, because God wants His story told. Arrested for the gospel means only one thing. Prison Ministry!
Here is some information regarding telling your story. Learn to tell the story of how your life is different because Christ has become a part.

Remember when God came to you in your deepest need and reconciled you to Himself. Forgiveness and Salvation were given to you, this message that changed you, will still change the world. God calls you to bear witness about Christ in everything you do so that the truth of the Gospel of Christ may go out to the rest of the world.

What should my story include?

Gratitude to God for His ability to reach you.

A brief bio sketch about yourself.

Talk about how you bumped into God or how he bumped into you.

Learn meaningful scripture to include in your story.

Talking about what it felt like when you realized you were saved.

Make a brief statement of belief.

Remind people that God helps people survive the problems of this world.

Thank you God for changing my life and allowing me to have Christ in my story.


Buddy

This Week. . .

So far we have no activity in our as on-call chaplain this week. One of the items brought to light by being on call is how active our police are in keeping us safe. This aint Mayberry, Andy and Barney would not be able to keep up in Modesto. My hats off to all the officers everywhere who are "just doing their jobs". Even though doing the jobs may at some point put them in danger, they still do it. In our city calls are qued up and waiting for the officers to work them. Higher priority calls when safety and welfare at risk are pushed to the top of the list. A lot of good men doing good work for all of us.

Family Promise is coming up! Don't wait make sure you have signed up for a night at the church as a host or come and enjoy a meal and an evening with our guests.

Phillips, Craig and Dean were at Big Valley last night. These guys lift their voices up to the heavens and praise God. Many of their songs touch your heart. BTW, this group did not hurt my old ears. It was also good to hear the sweet sounds of Texas dialect. Two of the group members are from the Great State of Texas. Amen.

Highlight of the week this week. Covers Apple Ranch. I went with Matthew's Kindergarten class to the apple ranch. Matthew loved the train ride. Matthew's comment, this was not like a regular day at school.

make a differernce for God today,

Buddy

Local Ministry is Community Response . . .

Sorry for the dry spell in posting to the blog. I may have had blogger block. Last Saturday I was allowed to lead a celebration of life for a dear friend. I have only known Rubye Long for 6 years, butn in that time she became very dear to me. She was a Christian wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great grand mother. Her family will miss. The Ladies who meet on Thursdays will miss her too.

I am presently on call with MPD. Pray for peace in the city. Pray that if peace is disrupted I can bring God's light to it.

Coming to a church near you. Family Promise is going to be here Oct. 8. What a great time we will have with the families that arrive.

Congrats to Leonard Higginbotham. He earned a promotion at work. County Probation has a new Christian Supervisor. Praise God!!!!!!!

The tropics have been quiet, what a blessing for the Coast(Gulf) to have a year to rebuild.

A lot of scattered thoughts. Keep working for God.

This week in my Sunday class we will talk about listening. I know I can improve my listening skills.

Family Response . . . Wedding in Central TX

I spent the better part of last week in central Texas with my sister and her family for the wedding of my niece. The wedding was different than most weddings that I officiate. Usually, when I perform a ceremony it is in a Christian context. Sadly, my sister and her family are only nominal Christians. It hurts to think about it or talk about it very much, so I pray about it, that is their relationship with God.
I was raised in a non-Christian home, one very committed to alcohol and its ability to numb the senses. Watching the events of the wedding unfold reminded me of why I worked so hard to not follow in the footsteps of my father in regards to drinking. Helping the newly married groom to a sofa to pass out on, reminded me of carrying my father to bed when he had too much to drink. Driving the bride and groom reminded me of doing the same for my father, once I learned to drive at 12 years old.
I love my sister and her family. If they read this post I want them to know how dear they are to me. However, I am forever grateful for God and Jesus taking me away from the drinking and all the ill affects it has on one's life.

9-11 remembered

I remember answering the phone and Kareena Campell telling me that I would not be taking Mike to the airport for his family's trip to Argentina. I was stunned to see the building on fire when I turned on the TV. Katie(Couric) was already miles away broadcast from a safe vantage point. I still get quite emotional when thinking of that day. I was so ill prepared. I was naive, I did not realize the radical islamists really wanted me and you dead. No matter what anybody says thats the fact. But thats not the point of this blog.
I look back and remember how we responded and how we have responded since that day. We responded with prayer and lament. We put on resolve to make the best of this moment in history. We preached Jesus and a peace that passes understanding. That was all we could do.
Since then we formed our response team. It was birthed in the ashes and in the wake of 911. The Red Cross called for chaplains and people to be ready to go to "ground zero's" of the future. We have trained to provide shelters, we have had WMD training, we have many other types of training so that we could respond to emergencies of all types. Our team wants to take Jesus to people affected by disaster, natural or otherwise.
911 remembered. . . tears on my cheeks . . . hands raised. . . looking up to God . . . Lord come quickly!

American Diabetes Association . . .

The smell of coffee in the morning . . . this morning Leonard Higginbotham and I got up at 2:30 and started working around 3:00 a.m. to prepare 800 cups of coffee for the ADA Walk around the Capitol Building in Sacramento. 32 gallons of coffee is a lot of coffee, coffee time is over just before lunch, so the prep time is compressed. We were able to keep up with demand. Lots of happy coffe drinking consumers. It was a beautiful lcation on the North side of the capitol. Only glitch was the sprinklers going off near us for 20 minutes. We meet a lot of people and spread a lot of Good News today.
This is the longest road trip in the ERV so far. Thanks to Kevin, Randy and George Woodward, the ERV is a vehicle to be proud of!

Buddy

Today's Response... A Single Mother

Divorce is the #1 cause of poverty in my opinion. Every year I meet women who struggle with trying to make ends meet after their men have left with all the money and most of the woman's dignity. Today I met "M" for the first time. The rent is due, she owes for utilities there is little food in the cupboard. The car insurance is due, she has meds that need to be filled. Mostly she feels hopeless, hostile towards her man and cannot see a way out. She knows Jesus but has taken much time to talk to Him lately. Her biggest question is, why? Why did God let this happen? Why did it have to happen now?
We listed things she has to be thankful for. 2 Children who love her more than anything in this world. A job as a secretary with the state of CA. A car that runs. Tuition paid at college this semester. All of these are positive. Everything is not bad. Afterall, she knows Jesus. Today we talked to Him for her. We asked Him to comfort her, help her and for Him to be with her. Tomorrow, she is coming back for some more conversation. Pray for her right now, she needs to feel loved. Pray that we can help her in ameaningful way tomorrow.

Buddy

Response Team Update. . .

I have just started a new class on Sunday Morning, titled, Uncomfortable Ministry for an Uncommon God. Here is a blurb about the class and the lesson titles :

God has called us to be His hands in this world during times of crisis and struggle. Most of us feel uncomfortable or ill-trained to serve others during these times. This class will provide information and skills training to equip Christians to serve family and friends during times of struggle and Crisis.

Lesson 1
Practical Needs Ministry part 1

Lesson 2
Practical Needs Ministry part 2

Lesson 3
Essentials of Visiting part 2

Lesson 4
Essentials of Visiting part 2

Lesson 5
Learning to Listen Better part 1

Lesson 6
Learning to be a Better Listener part 2

Lesson 7
Providing Emotional First Aid

Lesson 8
Ministry in Times of Crisis

Lesson 9
Ministry in Times of Grief part 1

Lesson 10
Ministry in Times of Grief part 2
Lesson 11
Ministry When Cancer Strikes part 1

Lesson 12
Ministry When Cancer Strikes part 2

I am excited about this class. Please attend if you can. The class will be placed on the Davis Park Church of Christ website. Amazing my class will be podcast on the www.

This Saturday the ERV and I are going to the Capitol Plaza Area of Sacramento where we will dispense coffee for the 800 plus walkers for the American Diabetes Association annual event. Should be a lot of fun.

More News later. . . .

Buddy

Labor Day Weekend . . . Thoughts about the past few Labor Days

This marks the first labor day in three years that I have been at home. The last two years have been spent in wind torn and water battered areas near the Gulf of Mexico. The summer of 2004 trip to the GOM was interesting in a lot of ways because it was the first Red Cross deployment for me. It was also interesting because I ended up being in close proximity to several storms. Never in any real danger, but the storms were lurking around and causing chaos for us. Flexibility and patience were the lessons from these storms.
After developing relationships with people on a route, it was certainly hard to evacuate and leave them behind, many had run three times previously and were not going anywhere for the fourth storm of the season. They did not have any "run" left in them. It was strange staying 35 miles away from ground zero of the "Charlie" strike. It became much like a morning commute, see the same cars and drivers at gas stations, stoplights and fast food restauraunts. The transition when I came home was difficult, it seemed surreal that we did not have blue roofs and piles of debis on our streets.
Last year I left for Louisana on the 27th of August. After a few days on the road I ended up in Baton Rouge, LA. We arrived after Katrina, amid a population that for the most part was still in shock from the storm. We, too were in shock at the unusual events that were taking place. American citizens trapped by water on roof tops, trapped in shelters of last resorts, trapped in relatives houses because their houses were gone. Part of the shock was the lack of accomadations. Only by the grace of God had I purchased a sleeping bag and a tent at a Walmart along the way. Additionally I had purchased a good quality air mattress. The tent became my home for over a month, part of the time in Bogalusa and part of the time in Slidell. If you had told me I would live in a tent when I was 49 years old, I would not have believed it. Fuel Trucks and food trucks had armed escorts. People in Bogalusa were hungry when we brought the first meal and subsequent meals to them. People responded well to the Red Cross and when we went to Slidell they responded to the Real Cross. Exciting times to be a minister of the church and a soldier for Jesus. Well my son Matthew wants to go swimming this afternoon, I need to spend time with him and Krista. I know I value them more because I have met people who lost wives and children in the storms of life. Pray for those who were hit by the storms of life and pray for those who responded to them.

Buddy

Katrina,May She soon Rest in Peace

C
Vaults in the streets, Group with a homeowner

Life's possession's after the storm, A Home now floating in canal.

I am still working through the grieving process from Katrina. I will forever be changed by experiencing the devastation of the storm, and the personal devastation of so many lives. Spending time with homeowners, while we slammed sledge hammers into there once pristine walls, or as we carried load after load of possesions out to the street. Spending time with good people and fellow christians from all over North America and beyond will never be forgotten. I pray that we continue to do this great work of Disaster Relief. What a moment to let someone see Jesus!

Back to School Bash

School does not start till you have had your Bash. Well, we have had our "Bash". The 3 bounce houses and the 2 interactive games went almost non-stop for three hours as did the feeding line. We served over 350 meals and served up over 100 gallons of lemonade. The event was a great success. The new addition this year was an information booth promoting Mike's new sermon series, "Final Destination". Additionally the info booth handed out info packets with info on the Davis Park Church of Christ and the ministries we serve the community with.
The joust is always fun to watch as fathers and sons square off with the extra-large que-tips to demonstrate their affection for one another. Many of our teen boys demonstrated affection for one another as they swung the jousting sticks at one another. Several members of the local community came by for the fun and games.
These events take a lot of manpower to make sure it all happens as it is supposed to happen. I want to thank all of you who took time out to volunteer for the event. It was all of you who made it a great success. If I named the volunteers I know I would miss one. You know who you are. Thanks a million.

Thanks for making a difference,

Buddy

Ernesto is on Track for US coast

It will be real hard for this storm to miss the US. Pray for weather to not be favorable for intensification. For those in the Central Coast of Gulf Region, please begin preparations as soon as possible.

Tropical Storm Ernesto

Here is the latest cone of uncertainity. Preparations should be underway if you live on the coast. Mid week we should know the general direction. By Friday we should know specifically.

Tropical Depression 5

This storm my become the first real threat of the season. Pray for Dissipation.of this storm. If named this storm will become Ernesto. Those who live on the GOM make sure your plan is updated and ready.

Buddy

Faith Night At the Modesto Nuts Game

I went to my first ever Christian Rock Concert tonight before the Modesto Nuts baseball game. I can tell you that I felt every bit of my fifty years old. The music was loud, hurt your ears loud. The crowd was different than what I am used to. The whole Contemporary Christisian instrumental music world is foreign to me. People sang along with the Band as their words challenged "us" to worship, be evangelistic and Holy. The words to the songs were lifted up to God as prayers as people sang with their eyes closed and raised their hands. BTW the concert was on a black asphalt parking lot at 5:oo pm. Temperature on the asphalt had to be 100+. This was not a fair weather crowd.
After the concert Paul and Sarah Sale had arranged for our church group to have tri-tip and pork sandwiches and for the kids to have hot dogs. Drinks were included. We had an area with picnic tables on the first base side. Great for fellowshipping and enjoying each others company. The kids all got wristbands and were allowed to use the jumphouses and slides all night long. Needless to say we did not see much of the game.
Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomatoe were at the game. Matthew spent a lot of time with both of them and Wally and Al the Nuts mascots.
My hats off to Paul and Sarah Sale for making Faith Night at the Ballpark happen, it was a wonderful event.

My only regret - I didn't bring anyone with me. What a good time for people to meet family, that is eternal family. May God open my eyes to events like this to bring my neighbors and friends to so they can get a glimpse of Jesus.

Family Promise Week Completed . . .

No real news to report on the final morning of Family Promise. Our family helped pack the beds in the truck and then after services we transported the beds to St Paul's Episcopal Church. In the neighborhood of sixty volunteers were involved in this project. Tasks such as cooking, cleaning, conversation and sleeping over for the most part were what needed to be done. Thanks to the small groups who were involved this time (Kelley, Cobleigh, Fox). Each time is different from the previous. One of our volunteers who was at the building nearly everyday commented that most all in the coming week, fellowshipping would be missing. Reminds of Acts 2:42-45; they came together everyday to break bread. Breaking bread is a lot of fun. I cannot wait till next time.

Buddy

Family Promise Day 7

Tomorrow morning we pack up the beds, pile up the linens and blankets, then move the beds to the next church. What a great feast we had tonight. Leonard, Cary, Jim, Holly and Krista did a tremendous job on supper/dinner. Marinaded Tri-tip, Melon, Chile Beans, Chinese Chicken Salad and Peach Cobbler. Did I mention fried Okra, too. Everyone was full of food.
During the meal a family arrived looking for assistance. They had been looking for work in Barstow, en route to a promised job that never materialized. They were hot and hungry. These folks had come to the building earlier in the day, just after I had left the building. Tina and Edwina talked to them and relayed a message that I would be back after 3:3o pm. The church provided them with a food box for them to have when they arrived home and the Church filled their gas tank after the meal. Additionally, we invited them to supper with us. All four of them seemed surprised for the invitation. All of took turns showing them hospitality, trying to let them see Jesus through our hands. I know Jesus would have given them peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. They ate a couple of helpings of everything. They smiled and waved as they were leaving the gas station. Their thank yous were gratifying. We were blessed that they came by today, they reminded me how important hospitality is. Any other Saturday we would not have been at the building. God's timing is great!

Buddy

FAMILY PROMISE NIGHT #6

Things continue to go well for the FP week. We have finished up six days and are into our final day. Last night Jim and Delores Greff stayed the evening, they brought Jadyn and Jordan their grandchildren with them. What a great way for the kids to see faith in action, by being a part of helping with this minsitry. The meal provided by Theo and Carol was great, what a blessing for two of our seniors to feed the family and my family. The mexican casserole was great. The corn was like it was fresh off the cob. Brownies and Peanut butter cookies mmmm. The kids were restless last night, so Krista took them to Block Buster to pick out some movies. They had a blast. Matthew (my son ) has had a blast with Isaiah the five year old family member.
One more dinner, one more night and one more breakfast and we move the beds to the next church. I'll have one more entry on this FP adventure.

Buddy

Response Team Activities. . .

One week from today we will be cooking and feeding the participants in the training institue for the American Red Cross. We need to have the food on the table at the Red Lion by 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Call me if you want to help.

One week from this Sunday will be the annual Back to School Bash. We will be cooking several hundred Hot Dogs and Hamburgers, plus managing 5 different bounce house and interactive games for the kids and teens. It should be a great time of fun. Paul Sale will be seating a sound system up and bringing the music to us. Invite people and volunteer to help.

Buddy

Family Promise night #5

The time with this family has been trouble free. The four boys have a lot of energy as teenage boys should. Last night the Cobleigh family group provided the evening meal. The Lasagna brought by Christine and Veronica was very good. They shared the leftovers with me. The evening humor came when we had two couples show for night hosts. Jim and Delores went home, Jim and Jackie Cole stayed for the evening. Tonights meal is being brought by two of older saints, Theo Roberts and Carol Ellis. It is great to have our senior members taking part in this program. It shows us that there is a job for everyone in this. People of all ages can minister the way Jesus told us to minister. Tonight the family of five will come hungry and they will be fed.
This particular FP time has been enjoyable with all the fellowship that has occured in the evenings. I thank God for each of you who have been a part of this great ministry.

Buddy

Family Promise continued . . .

Night # 4 has come and gone without incident. Nikki Pena and her son Owen were the evening chefs. The Papa Murphy's pizza was good. We had a lot of good fellowship and laughter around the table. Deb Scott and her son Eric hosted the night for us.
It always does my heart good to see her giving back like she does. Just a few short years ago she could have been involved in the program. She's trying to go to school and is working hard to make life better for her children.
I am tired but happy, thanks to all those who stayed to closing time last night.

Buddy

Family Promise night #3

We are on our third night for FP. The last three nights were amazing nights of service by our small groups. The Kelleys groups did an awsome job as did the Fox small group tonight. Sunday night I invited several people to help after 5:oo class. I believe so far we have over 50 servants working on this project for 5 members of one family. I have invited the family to church tomorrow evening, I will be speaking on a New Testament discussion of the Old Testament Law. Should be a good evening as we talk about keeping your word so yo do not destroy relationships. I love the way we respond to people's needs. Let us keep letting the love of Jesus flow out to this family in crisis.

The Greffs, the Higginbothams and the Grays have each spent the night at the building with the family. This morning Krista and I let them sleep in a little because the Day Center opens after 8:00 am. The air mattresses are pretty comfortable, Matthew likes the sound of scooting around on them. 4 nights to go

I will write more as the week develops.

Buddy

Family Promise Week is here

We have one family to serve this time in Family Promise. Two families scheduled to be with us found housing on Thursday and Friday. It is great to see the families getting back into regular housing. Thanks be to God for Him placing them in new homes.
One of our elders John Greff and his wife Nadine stayed overnight last night, I cannot wait to get the overnight report. Four famiies stayed after Church to help with welcoming the New Bunch to "our place". The kids seemed to be welcomed in pretty well. Matthew and Ryan played with the five year old. All of them were sweaty and stinky from plaing in the building for a couple of hours.

Thanks to Sheila and Jennifer for setting up, scheduling and doing the many details that it takes to make this go seamlessly

Gary Geist put up the back to school bash banner yesterday. Invite people to come celebrate the end of summer and beginning of new school year. BTB is August 27 5-8 pm. Free Food and games on the lawn at the church.

peace to you today,

Buddy

Local Response continued. . .

Responding to the problems of the community can be burdensome at times. Families torn apart in so many ways, its hard to comprehend or even understand. Imagine being left single by your mate who decided to leave this world early because life was too complicated. Left behind with four children ages 4 to 12. Left behind with borrowed electricity, unpaid rent, unemployed and no prospects of life getting better. I took her a box of food and made offers for the congregation to help her. I prayed with her and have cried with her, hoping that she can catch a glimpse of the Jesus I know. Two nights and a day left on this tour of on-call duty. Pray that we can take Jesus with us when we get called.
Two funerals in two days . . . One for a great woman of faith who was nearly eighty and one for a baby who never breathed his first breath. One we were able to shout praises of victory of a life well lived, the other we just stood there wondering. Wondering why it had to happen this way for this couple, who now have an empty nursery and empty dreams left of son they will never know. I stand amazed in the presence of God for He is Good and Holy and Just. He is my deliverer and my rock and my fortress. Tonight I will lay my head on His bosom and ask Him to console these families and me.

My good friend and minstry partner Walter Leonard is in the hospital tonight with some sort of neurological problem. Stroke, maybe? We will know more on Monday when all the tests finally are in and judged by the doctors. Pray for him.

Local Response. . .

This week has turned out to be busy. Not a record pace by any stretch of the imagination. One of the dear ladies in my Thursday bible study passed away and another had surgery for cancer . Both of these are great Christian models for their families. Betty Scofield life's celebration will be tomorow at 10:00 am. Rubye Long remains in the hospital today recovering from the surgery. Keep her in your prayers.
So far I have been on a few Chaplain calls this week each of these calls presents difficult situations and future difficulties for all the ones involved in very complicated situations. No names or descriptions of events at this time, maybe in the future after some reflection we will be able to talk about these life situations that seem to ensnare people.
Great news, Leonard Higginbotham was baptized into Christ last night after evening services. Leonard was baptized as a young child and did not have peace with how he had lived his life afterward. Leonard is excited and ready to dedicate his life to God. His wife Carey was baptized a few months ago. What an exciting time for them and their families.

God is awesome. Read His word. Live by it.

Go make a difference today!

Buddy

Family Promise next week/ Chaplain on call this week

Our next response possibility for everyone is a week from today. Family Promise families will cycle through for a week at the building. It is always a fulfiling week with plenty of challenges and minstry to be done. Make sure sign up for a sleep over/ host night or for meal host.
This is my week as on call chaplain, pray for peace in the City of Modesto this week. Pray for me to exploit opppotunities for God's Kingdom this week.

make a difference

Buddy

Chris is finished . . . maybe

Here is this mornings discussion from the NHC:

"THIS IS GOING TO BE SHORT AND SWEET. SATELLITE IMAGES AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT CHRIS IS BECOMING A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE DEVOID OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. THE LOW WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO MOVE WESTWARD UNTIL DISSIPATING LATER TODAY.GLOBAL MODELS WERE CORRECT INDEED IN FORECASTING DISSIPATION OF THE CYCLONE OVER CUBA. THIS WILL BE THE LAST ADVISORY ON CHRIS UNLESS REGENERATION OCCURS."

Buddy

Chris may be dissapating. . .

Here is the latest info on Chris :

DATA FROM THE LAST AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE MISSION SUGGESTED THATCHRIS MAY HAVE ALREADY DROPPED BELOW TROPICAL STORM INTENSITY. IF IT HAS NOT...IT WILL LIKELY DO SO VERY SOON UNLESS SOME DEEPCONVECTION REDEVELOPS NEAR THE CENTER. THE FORECAST RETAINS THESYSTEM AS A DEPRESSION THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. THIS IS APRECAUTION THAT ALLOWS FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF REGENERATION...SINCETHE SHEAR COULD RELAX AND THE THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT BECOME MOREFAVORABLE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. HOWEVER...IF PRESENT TRENDSCONTINUE...CHRIS COULD DISSIPATE AS A TROPICAL CYCLONE FAIRLY SOON.

Keep praying that this will continue and that Chris will not inflict damage and hurt lives.

Buddy

2 pm cone of uncertainity . . .

More info can be found at the National Hurricane Center.

Buddy

Tropical Weather Heating Up . . . .

A new blog to monitor for storm info is http://crisisresources.blogspot.com. It is run by John Dobbs of Pascagoula, MS. He has info on the storm soon to be Hurricane Chris. It is time to make sure deploy bags are packed and ready yourself to go to gulf coast to help people who will be in neeed if the storm hits. If you live on the coast, make preparations now and avoid the lines at the stores that will occur around Monday. Let us all pray for wind shear to tear up the tropical storm before it comes ashore.

Buddy

An evening at the park . . .

The Cobleighs, the Kelleys and the Grays (my family) decided to meet for some fellowhips at Graceada Park on Saturday evening. We set up the grill and carried in all the gear and kicked back for a while. As we began to cook a bunch of kids (5) were hanging out near us. It turns out they were some kids from Family Promise, whom we had hosted a few months ago. I was recognized as the guy who cooked them pancakes. OK, guilty, every Saturday at Family Promise, I cook everyone their favorite breakfast. The kids were at the park so their mom and dad could have some quiet time together, age range of the kids was 13-18. Finally, I ask them if they were hungry and if they wanted to eat with us. They were hungry and we fed them.
Sometimes God places you at the right place at the right time to minister, this was the time for us (three families) to step up to the plate. At first glance they were kids with another group at the park, upon further review they were kids in need of food and safe company. I thank God for placing us there at that time. We went there to have a good time of family fellowship. God wanted us there for other reasons. Pray for these kids and their parents. They are living in a motel. My guess is the room is full there with five kids and two adults. Pray for their safety, the Inn they are living in is a rough place.
Remember, to be open for the service that God places near you.

make a difference for Him today,

Buddy

Cooling Centers Close. . .

The cooling centers of Stanislaus County are closed as of this morning. Tempuratures dropped into more normal like ranges today. This morning at my house it was a crisp 60 degrees. What a blessing that the heat wave is taking a break. What a mixture of weather events we have had so far this year. Floods, Fires and now unrestrained heat. Jesus tells us to be ready to provide a glass of water to the thirsty. . . What a great opportunity to go and do His work this week.

Buddy

Heatwave continues but the Delta Breeze is helping

Since my last post we spent two days in the cooling centers set up by Stanislaus County and the American Red Cross. I was allowed to be the lead at the King -Kenedy Memorial Center. The two days I was there we had about 130 people come through and get water and take a break from the heat. So far in the county we have had over 15 deaths, with more people who have succumb to the heat waiting to be found. As Red Cross gigs go this one was pretty laid back. Our center saw a lot of latch key kids from the neighborhood. Normally they spend their days hanging out in the park doing City Recreation classes. Thank goodness they could come in and get out of the heat for a while.
My hats off to Pam Gonzales, Art Turgeon, Jim and Jackie Cole for volunteering to make a difference for God in this event.

Pray for a few weeks of cooler weather, we need a break!

make a difference

Buddy Gray

Modesto Heat Wave . . . A need for volunteers!

The extreme heat is causing problems with many in the central valley. Several nursing homes and assited living facilites are on the brink of losing their a/c. The Red Cross is opening up several places for people to come for respite from the heat. These centers will be open from 10 to 10 daily through Friday. This is a great potential for many to in distress by tomorrow afternoon. This is an urgent appeal! If you can help, call me after 8:00 am in the morning.

Buddy - 380-3851

Veggietales. . . .

We premiered a veggie tale movie on Friday. What a hoot. 211 people at the building mostly kids to watch a bunch of vegetables make a good point about temptations in life. BTW the temptress in the movie is an apple. We fed about two hundred fifty hot dogs, chips etc. and gave away 150 goodie bags with church info. Additionally alot of kids from the neighborhood were signed up VBS.

make a difference

Buddy

The Costs of Law Enforcement

I spent a few hours with Bob (not his real name) yesterday. Bob is retired from law enforcement work and from California Dept. of Corrections. Yesterday, he was contemplating checking out, that is moving on from this world to whatever is next. Bob carries a lot of burdens, a sick wife, a terminally ill daughter and a bunch of grand kids that need a male figure in their life. Bob has many illnesses that plague him also. During the course of the conversation Bob reminded me what a price our police and correction officers pay for keeping us safe from the criminals who want to prey upon us. Bob talked of graphic violent things that haunted him and how some days he cannot get away from these images. Bob needs peace. A peace that passes understanding. The kinda peace that only Jesus can give you. Pray for Bob and all the people protecting us from the bad guys. Pray that God will extend his hand to them and they will accept it.

make a difference by praying today.

Buddy

Training Institue

The American Red Crosshas asked us to cook a meal for them on Friday, August 25 at their regional training institue at the Red Lion Hotel. We will need 4-6 volunteers maybe more to prepare a meal for 150 + people that day. We need to clean equipment, load it and get ready to roll to the Red Lion. If you are interested, talk to me.

Buddy

Chaplain for a week. . .

Today started my week tour as a chaplain for Modesto P.D. Last weeks car vs. van was filling in for someone else. MPD has purchased a new Chaplains car for us to drive. Its a hybrid "prius". I spent my first ten minutes in it trying to figure out how to turn it on. It has no key! There is a power button like on your computer and a little gear shift on the dash. It is a cool tool for MPD and I am greatful to the city fathers for purchasing this for us.

Pray that God will allow us to do great things for him this week. Pray for peace in the city!

Buddy

Personal Response . . .

Today is the anniversary of my father's death. As a grief professional, minister/chaplain/spiritual care advisor and hospice grief group moderator, I always thought I had it together and under control. The last few weeks since dad's birthday have been miserable, in fact the last year has been melancholy at best. Today will be a day of reflection and a time to make decisions on how to get out of this funk or cloud that has enveloped my being. I am ready to move on, I hope I can get my emotions to follow. Today pray for me to be a better husband, father, minister and friend to all that I contact. Pray for me to stop procrastination. Pray for me to be mobilized in the war on Satan.

Car vs. Van . . .

I had a reminder today about how fragile life is in this world. A car pulling out of MMC failed to see the oncoming traffic and thus they collided. Somebodies Aunt/Uncle,sister/brother, son/daughter, dad/mom, left this world for the next realm.(Two fatalities) I do not know their next destination, I pray that they knew God and His son Jesus. One moment your day can be planned with all the details of life, the next moment your gone. Remember today what is important, Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, mind and soul and second like it, Love your neighbor as yourself.
Hug your wife, tell your kids you love them. Stop right now and pray, let God know how great it is to be His child. There are no guaranties of endless time, only the moment that you are currently living in use the moment to the fullest.

go make a difference for Him

Buddy

Del Puerte Canyon Fire . . .

Tonite Wayne Smith and I responded to the ICP(Incident Command) of the Del Puerte Canyon Fire. Their coffee maker went offline and the firefighters were in need of coffee. We scrounged up as many pots as we could and took them out to the command post. The ICP is a portable city of 2000 people. Shower trailers, kitchens and air conditioned tents. It was an amazing operation to see. Tommorrow morning the firefighters will have coffee with breakfast. . . .

Fire! Del Puerto Canyon

The Del Puerto Canyon fire is getting closer to subdivisions near Patterson, CA. We have been placed on standby for feeding and sheltering. The fire is a 3000 acre fire 20% controlled. I will keep everyone updated as I hear more info.

Buddy

DAT TEAM Meeting / Kitchen Training

The American Red Cross Disaster Assitance Team will meet at Davis Park Church of Christ tonight at 6:30 p.m. I have another engagement this evening and cannot make it. A couple of people will make sure the building is open and cool.

I will be scheduling a Disaster Kitchen Training Class in the near future if you are interested in being on the Kitchen Team let me know so I remember to include you in this activity.

No more news to report at this time.

Buddy

Scotland Mission Wrapping Up

Krista sends her greetings to everyone from across the pond. She and teammates have finnished the Holiday Bible School. The were having approx. 20 kids in the HBS. The campaign that work along side it with the adults has been met with good success also. All in all Krista's says that the trip has been a good experience. I can not wait for her to get home to me and Matthew.

Red Cross Appeal. . .

The American Red Cross is looking to deploy individuals to NY or PA for two to three week tours of duty. They will pay expenses to and from and cover your meals and lodging while you are on assignment. Think about. pray about it. This is a good oportunity to take Christ to the Crisis!.

Buddy