The Narrow Gate: Day 159

The Narrow Gate

Welcome to the continuation of my blog, post-seminary. Ministry and evangelism have brought me back home to Chattanooga. I welcome your company on my journey.

The original blog, Down In Mississippi, shared stories from 2008 and 2009 of the hope and determination of people in the face of disaster wrought by the hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, of work done primarily by volunteers from churches across America and with financial support of many aid agencies and private donations and the Church. My Mississippi posts really ended with the post of August 16, 2009. Much work, especially for the neediest, remained undone after the denominational church pulled out. Such is the nature of institutions. The world still needs your hands for a hand up. I commend to you my seven stories, Down in Mississippi I -VII, at the bottom of this page and the blog posts. They describe an experience of grace.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Day 159 - Lost in Time

It is hard to believe that in the last eleven days we have struggled with three hurricanes, Fay gave us a glancing blow (see Day 148). Gustav (see Day 155) spared us what should have been a deadly blow. Now Ike lurks in the Caribbean moving towards the straight between Florida and Cuba, the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps the worst is yet to come.

Everyone in our camps has been in constant motion, packing, evacuating, returning, cleaning and rebuilding and now facing a probable second evacuation next wednesday or thursday. Tomorrow we arise and try to leave by 7:30AM to go to Houma to clean up and to help Kevin's family salvage what he can from his home and belonging. We are looking for a bed/mattress for his wife who has muscular dystrophy. I went out and purchased 16 moving boxes at WalMart about 8:30PM. Sunday at 11:30AM, after church, we will meet and discuss Ike.

Everyone is on edge from the stress.

I have so many stories to tell you but I am so exhausted I can't really organize my thoughts to do it well, so you are going to get more real-time reportage for a while.

About Ike

Ike is a serious storm, fluctuating between a category 4 and category 3 storm. It is wandering due west towards the Florida-Cuba area as I said above. Some time between now and wednesday it is going to take a turn northward. If it enters the Gulf of Mexico it can get out only over land and we look like a good target. Ominously, as I remember it, Ike is on a path very close to Katrina in 2005 one of the worst hurricane on record.

Gustav has dramatically changed a lot of people's minds. I was driving around with a Red Cross First Responder in Pearlington trying to find Ani's house, a seventy year old woman who came by in tears asking for help. Driving around in one of the few areas I've only been in once looking for her house, I passed a couple of women who had a yard full of belongings spread out in the yard from their garage. Most people who rebuilt houses were ok but their garages sitting on slabs were not so lucky.

I roilled my window down to ask directions. I started the conversation remarked that her garage looks like it took a lot of water.

"Yes, we did. I've had enough, i'm not going to do this again. We are leaving."

The woman told me where Ani lived and we stopped by. She only needs to have part of a chain link fence put back up. She is stressed but there are many people who need so much more help. I am not sure when we will get to Ani's fence.

Later I dropped by the Pearlington Recovery Center and talked to Larry. He told me he took on about 6 or 10 inches of water in his house.

"Larry, I can't believe it. You told me yourr place had never taken water before Katrina?"

"Yes that's right, but I got hit again. My wife and I have been talking, maybe we fix it up and sell it. This is just too much to go through again."

The recovery is going to be different this time, and who knows what we face if Ike hits us with the strength it has now.

Keep us in your prayers.

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Gates

The gate pervades the Good News. Peter entered the temple gate after the Jesus’ arrest to deny him. Poor Lazarus lay at the rich man's gate, longing for the crumb's from the table, while dogs licked his sores. The blind, lame and paralyzed lay at the Sheep Gate at the Jerusalem temple waiting at the pool with five porticoes for healing water. Jesus warned of the easy road and wide gate to material ease and spiritual destruction and calls us to the hard road and narrow gate to the waters of life.

necessary disclaimer

This blog is created solely to communicate to my brothers and sisters how one person sees adversity bringing out the greater character of humanity. It's early part relating connection to the volunteer relief effort in Mississippi after Katrina and later work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program and the Presbyterian Church(USA) is solely through my participation in them; this blog does not carry any sponsorship from these fine organizations or purport to speak for them. All original content is that of the writer who holds the copyright to all original writings and art or other works (See Creative Commons License above). Every effort is made to identify content from other sources which have been obtained from open internet sources. It's more recent content contains sermons and lessons used in preaching and teaching. The url to scripture are obtained via http://bible.oremus.org unless otherwise indicated.

Texts quoted from oremus bible viewer are from "New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved." and "New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved."