A Church That Keeps Giving

New Orleans, U.S.A. - September 15, 2005

Waiting for the call to go to New Orleans with a truck load of supplies, we felt compelled to go to the disaster area to see how we help in the relief efforts.
A mother and child sift through the many donated items.Our drive took us first to the city of Slidell. According to our GPS, we were miles away from the water yet in addition to all the wind damage we saw, it was clear that the storm surge flooded everything. A stench of dead fish, stagnant water and mold filled the air. We stopped at a church that looked more like a flea market. Swarms of people on foot and in cars were flowing into the property to pick up clothing, food, water, baby diapers, soap and other supplies. The members of the church were seen in food lines handing hot food to cars driving up, sorting heaps of donated clothing and hauling mud out of their sanctuary. When we spoke to the pastors, it was clear they were ecstatic about tomorrow. They had just told that their church was considered a priority location to receive power. Having power not only means having air conditioning for the volunteers but power to cook in their kitchen and refrigerators to keep food cool and unspoiled.