Family Promise Update. . .

It has been an uneventful week with the Family Promise guests at the church. We have had two families all week long. Both are unique in their own way. The children have been a joy to have in the building. I appreciate our volunteer corps who have been serving throughout this project. I know that this stretches many of us. Sleeping at the building is outside our normal routine, especially when there are nine other people in the building with you and you do not know them very well. The food has been good all week long, I appreciate everyone who has been involved in the food process. Today we will recieve 5 new guests into the program. Tonite we will have nine children and 5 adults as our guests. It is exciting for God to allow us to do His work.
Sunday the guests will move to a church in Ripon for the next week. The building will be quieter at night, however, I think I will miss the laughter of the children. In ten weeks they will be back . . .

make a difference

Buddy

Pic from Hilltop volunteer in Chalmette - January 9, 2006

I found this picture at a Hiltop volunteers blog. The ADT van is still on a house 4 months later. Hard for me to comprehend. . . the amount of damage there, even though I have been there.

Buddy

Poem by Lucie, a Hilltop Volunteer . . .

Lucie a volunteer at Hilltop penned these words after going to St. Bernard Parish the other day.

There wasn't a bird in the sky;
no children laughing;
no cars running;
no train whistles;
no dogs barking;
no cats meowing;
no lawn mowers running;
no one washing their car;
no TV,
or radio;
no music;
no sirens;
no fire engines blaring;
no one talking;
no sound at all.......

Katrina won't let go. . . 4 months later . . .

pray for Hilltop and its volunteers,

make a difference

Buddy

New Link added. . .

Notice the new link added. Out Here Hope Remains. Go there and read today's post

Buddy

How to evaluate success of a Church . . .

Charles Roesel (68) pastors First Baptist Church of Leesburg, FL., was recently profiled in "World" on August 20, 2005.Roesel says, "For too long we've evaluated a church by how many people stream in the front door on a Sunday...Evaluate a church by how many people serve the Lord Jesus by serving the hurting all week long."

make a difference,

Buddy

A New Year. . .

Some would say that it is good that 2005 is behind us, some would say Good Riddance to what seemed like endless tragedies lined up back to back. I guess I am glad that we have a new year to work with, but not because of the bad that happened last year. I like the idea of a fresh start. Approach the tragedies from another angle. Look at all the good that has happened because of the tsunami and hurricane season. People who would not have thought about it before have taken a leap of faith to respond to people in crisis. How great is that! Many people left the comfort zone of home and spent time in tents. Many people at home helped raise funds for others to go the hot zone. I feel renewed starting a new year . . . I am excited to move forward with more opportunities to respond.

let us all continue to make a difference,

Buddy

Post from Another Blog. Out Here Hope Remains . . .

John a minister in Pascagouola, MS shares his thoughts after returning home after a few days away. Listen to what he has to say.

Still There
We made it back from Birmingham safely this evening. What a great time we had! We had the energy of over a thousand teenage believers joining their voices together in praise. We enjoyed staying in a beautiful hotel. We laughed and cried and made new friends. I saw old friends and even some blog friends! The preaching and singing had my spirit soaring!Tonight when I drove our church bus into the lot at the Central Church of Christ, I must confess there was a bit of a sinking feeling. It's still there. The needs are still there. The scattered vans from various places are still there. The tools and piles of supplies are still there. The people who are spending the night in the church building are still there.Please don't get me wrong. I rejoice in how God is using us. I am truly amazed and humbled by the grace that is being lavished upon us. I can't believe the workers who keep coming, and I continue to praise God for their compassionate hearts.Still there, though. The piles of rubble along the street tell me that homes are being gutted. The featureless white campers that line our lanes tell me that entire families are crammed into aluminum boxes and trying to live there. The makeshift stairs and porch landings on the campers tell me of the crippled and elderly who struggle to get into their government provided shelter. And the tears ... yes, they are still there. They are the gritty reality of people who's greatest wish for 2006 is to walk through the doors of their own home and sit down on their own chair and know that it is all over.Because of those of you who are coming, praying, sending supplies and money - that dream will be realized. I hope each of you is fully aware of what an incredible impact is being made when you serve the strangers of our community. It is hard work. It is exhausting work. But one day an elderly lady ... someone's grandmother ... will lay her gray head down at night on a pillow in her own bed and thank God for you. A child will climb up into his father's lap in a chair in thier den and he will not know to pray for you. His heart will simply be content that all is well again. In this effort to restore, we also hope that a good word for Jesus will take hold and heal the broken life even as we rebuild the broken walls.The workers are still there. The mission is still there. And so we return from the mountaintop to the valley. Even in the valley, His light shines and He carries us in His strong arms.

Amen! John has a sermon for us in his blog today. My prayers are with him today because he is still there!

May we seek to help change our community like John seeks to change his. . .

Buddy

Family Promise is coming. . .

The past ten weeks have flown by. Thanksgiving, Christmas and now the New Year are soon to be in the rear view mirror.

Our week to host family promise is the week of January 8th. We will need lots of volunteers to make this project a success. What a great way for us to make a difference one person at a time, by helping a few families at a time.

make a difference,

Buddy

Texas Fires, California Floods

The idea of catatrophic events unfolding around us makes me feel kind of strange. On the one hand I know that people's lives are changed because of these events. Life is never the same after one sustains great loss. However, because of this event these people are seeking a new normal for their lives. That's where the strange feeling comes in. Opportunity occurs for the void to be filled by Jesus and His love for them at this point. Strange feeling because I sit poised to minister when people's lives are upside down.

The strange feeling is ok for me to experience and for our team to experience. We don't just sit and wait for bad things to happen, we are busy trying to make preemptive strikes before the tragedy occurs. It is always better to have Jesus and God on board before the crisis.

I wanted to add a picture to today's post to remind us of a family that experienced God's love by using the Response Teams Hands. May god continue to bless each of you.

Buddy

Christmas Boxes. . .

It was my priviledge to deliver to a family yesterday. The family was a family of nine. It was a blended family with 7 kids who are spread out over a lot of geography except for the holidays. Dad had recently moved to Modesto because of work. Last week the company closed its doors still owing Dad a couple of pay checks. The family came to us via Red Cross duty officer Rod Booth. On Wed night they asked for a little food to get them through the holidays with the kids. After talking to them we huddled with others and collected funds to purchase a lot of food and presents for all the kids. When we brought the boxes in we filled their living room with gifts. The father a very muscular tattoed fellow buried his head in my shoulder sobbing with gratitude. Something got in my eyes and they started tearing up also.

Thank you God for letting me be your hands and heart in Modesto yesterday, it was an honor to serve for you. In Jesus Name -- - Amen

Buddy

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish any of our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The challenge of 2006 will be to continue to Respond with the love of Christ. Let us all dig deep and give of our time and energy to serve the one who given us an "indescribable gift." See 2 Corinthians 9:15!

later

Buddy

Spencer Ave.

Last night God allowed me to go on a Red Cross DAT Team call. A garage fire that displaced a family from their home. Thanks for your prayers! God has put me back on the playlist. The Red Cross is a great group to work with. A family displaced by a fire needs time to reassemble their lives and figure out the basics, like where they are going to live and how are they going to eat now that most of their food is going to ruin. The local Red Cross provides a few days in a motel and groceries from a local grocery store. What a relief for the family! It was affirming to help provide food and shelter in a time of need. Additionally and maybe more importantly the members of the team let the family know that people that do not know them care about them.

Buddy

Quote from Servants Unite Blog: Tammany Oaks Affiliate

"I don’t want to go back to church and dress up and everything be nice and pretty. What we’ve been doing here is real church, it’s getting dirty and helping people." --Angie G.

Maybe Angie has hit the nail on the head for me. I have been meloncholy since returning from Slidell and Bogulusa LA. Somehow, as Christmas approaches I dont have the spirit this year. Maybe it is the knowledge of knowing that there are hundreds of families still desperate about living conditions. It is hard to ignore the needs of fellow Christians and others at this time. But I recognize that this is an immense problem and I sit in Modesto without a plan to help even one more person in LA. I remain overwhelmed...I seek your prayers for God to grant me peace with this or have God kindle the fire with in me so that I will act on in some way.

I guess I want to experience real church. Church that seeks to bind up the broken hearted, Church that seeks to clothe the naked,Church that does not hesitate to give shelter to the homeless, Church that is willing to get dirty when the need arises!

Buddy

Christmas for Katrina

Here is a letter I recieved from Robert Machen, Please consider this giving opportunity:

Buddy

Dear Buddy,
Christmas for KatrinaHurricane Katrina has created a humanitarian crisis unseen in America since thegreat depression. The children of the affected region have especially sufferedgreat loss. In fact, Hilltop Rescue volunteers have had to remove thousands ofdamaged and mold- stained items from homes including toys, baseball cards, sportsitems, dolls, video games, clothes, trophies, books, crafts and much more. Thesepersonal, treasured items are gone forever. At Hilltop Rescue and Relief, we realize that this will be a particularlydifficult time of the year and the personal loss will be most evident. It’s aperfect time for us to put a few toys back into these children’s empty bedrooms. This will greatly assist in restoring hope in these families’ lives. We need your help! Over the next several weeks, we’ll be collecting “wish lists”from the children of Slidell, LA. Santa’s helpers will then shop, wrap anddeliver these gifts to the children. Our desire is that we can spendapproximately $50 per child to make this a very special Christmas. We employ you to join with us with this special project. You can donate in one of the followingways:(1) You and your family can donate one or more Toys-R-Us, Wal-Mart, or Targetgift cards in denominations of $25. These cards should to be received byDecember 15th to expedite our shopping. Please send cards to the Hilltop Field Office at:Hilltop Rescue–Field Operations Center1241 MagnoliaSlidell, LA 70460(2) Click on this link: http://hilltoprescue.org/christmas.html and donate $50 for one child or any denomination that you feel appropriate. Please reference “Christmas Fund” in the “Message” area of the form. All of your tax-deductible donations to the Hilltop Christmas Fund will be usedspecifically for purchasing gifts, wrapping paper or other necessary costsrelated to this project. Thank you so much for being a part of Hilltop and participating in the Christmasfor Katrina project. We also ask that you take this opportunity to forward thismessage to all of your friends and family members, so they may also help thechildren of Southern Louisiana giving glory to God our Father, who hasimmeasurable compassion for these little ones. (Please read the attached messageby Ray Baca’s-Hilltop Volunteer)May God bless you and fill you completely this holiday season. Robert MachenExecutive Director.

Thanksgiving Baskets . . .

Calling all members of Team Red. We need a few volunteers to deliver baskets on Sunday afternoon. If you can volunteer for this please call me. First Team Red member to volunteer gets to drive the ERV.

Buddy

Celebration of Lights . . . Modesto

Calling all members of Team Red. We need you to deploy to the Celebration of Lights, December 3, 2005. We are submitting an application to have our vehicles in the parade all decorated in lights. Members can volunteer to walk alongside the vehicles (or drive them) to hand out candy canes , etc. This will be an exciting venue to display our new vehicles to the community. All we need are willing volunteers. There will be no muck involved on this assignment unless it rains. . .

Buddy

Hilltop Rescue. . .

Hilltop has added a blog feature to their website. I have added a link in the sidebar for anyone to see whats going on in Slidell. It is exciting to see God working mightily in the lives of the people in LA through people from allover the US. I feel very grateful for having been part of such a great work.

Buddy

Wish List

We have had inquiries as to a wish list for tools, equipment the team needs or may need for future deployments. Here is a list that is a work in progress. In the near future I will formalize this list by type of equipment/ tools needed and priortize the list. But for now here is the needs/ wants list:


Satelite Internet Dish system

A/C Unit for Trailer

110 electrical hook-up for trailer

ToolBox (large drawers on rollers)

18V power tool set

Commercial Stove converted to propane

3 Sink wash system for dishes (retrofitted)

Hotwater Heater 30 ga or larger(propane)

Awning for Trailer (16-18 ft)

10 ea. Shovels, Rakes, Brooms (push),

2 Doz pair of Safety Glasses

3 turkey fryer burners

6 Commercial grade chainsaws (asst sizes)

3 PAIR OF CHAINSAW CHAPS

3 Chainsaw operators safety helmets

6 Doz pair of leather gloves

2 Doz pair of rubberized work gloves (orange)

40 ft of e-rail for trailer interior



Pray for God to provide for this work

Buddy

National Outreach Convention

Greetings from San Diego . . .

The NOC started tonight with a talk from Rudy Carasco, a hispanic evangelist in Los Angeles. He reingnited some fires within me tonight. He challenged us to stay in our communities and build bridges from the church to the community. Great point! That's what it is all about. On Halloween night, several hundred from the community crossed the bridge onto our church property. Over 50 info packets were given out and 520 meals were served, not to mention a couple hundred pounds of candy handed out.

We live in an exciting time for ministry.

keep building bridges,

Buddy

Katrina Relief Trip Report

This Sunday we will give our report to the congregation on Sunday Morning and Sunday Night. Sunday Glenn and I will tag team as we look at numerous slides of the trip. on Sunday Night we will use the video we shot as a springboard for the class. Wayne and Sheila are firming the dates for the next trip, which will be some time in November, most likely the second or third week. I have had conversation with Hilltop this week and the work is progressing well in Slidell.

The Machens are extending their carport to provide a larger assembly area for the anticipated weather change. People from all across the nation continue to show up to help. What great work God is doing through that family.

Keep on responding with God's Love,

Buddy