There's no place like Houma!

Pictured above: Gas Station in Houma LA where the eye of Hurricane Gustav passed over.

Hi Yall!

I feel like I've been going non-stop for the past 8 days and with Ike approaching I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother unpacking! This time last week I was packing up things at Trinity and headed to Pensacola...now I'm staying with the Lewis family and hopefully helping the Symmons today unpack their uhaul.

My Very Own Checkpoint Story:

So Wednesday night, me and Mary Held were on our way to Houma at around 5pm. After making some stops and finally getting to Houma, we didn't realize that the parish could be under a curfew. So as we pull up to the checkpoint entering Terrebonne parish, the officer tells us that since we are not emergency personnel we are not allowed in (granted we just drove about 2 hours and got there right at dusk, he wasn't letting us pass.) So we call Mark who met someone that day that could possibly get us an escort into the city. So after about 45 minutes of waiting and calling the Emergency Operations Control and constant prayer, our escort showed up to lead us in. PRAISE GOD!! It just goes to show that God really is in control and when you are doing His work, He knocks down the barriers, He takes care of the details!

Thursday in Houma:

We woke up around 7am and Mark the previous day already had scoped out our job for the morning. We show up at this house where a huge tree had fallen and luckily missed the house but was pretty much all over the front yard.

That morning, the homeowner June and her daughter Mindy stop by and quite shocked to see us chopping down her tree and very very thankful! They immediately run out to get us drinks and offer to provide lunch for us! We didn't even pack lunch knowing that God would provide and He did, He was and is faithful! By lunchtime, the tree was chopped down, and cut up and the logs on the streets. Me, Lisa, and Mary were working 2 houses up and turns out that that was June's mother's house and she was excited to see us cleaning up branches there too!

After lunch, we got back to clearing trees. This one house, Kevin and Prissy's, one of the giant limbs from their tree had fallen on their fence and their awning was blown into their neighbor's yard. After work, we prayed with them and talked with them. They were very glad that that hadn't had more damage. Everyone we helped thus far have been so grateful and it's such a blessing to be there right after the storm to be their first responders.

All in all, I'm very thankful and blessed that God allowed the chance for me to go to Houma to help people in need, to pray with them, to talk with them and hear their story, it's just what I love to do and I'm glad God has given me this passion and these opportunities!

A team is coming in next week of about 4 guys who are going to be working on about 8 houses owned by cops so that should be cool! Please be praying for those who are still without power, water, sewer, etc. God definitely creates a mission field in the wake of crisis and I just ask that we take this opportunity to share the love of Christ to all of those affected!

Love yall!

Katie

"If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:11

P.S. Funny story:

So after a long day's work and getting drenched in the rain, me, Lisa, and Zack jumped (well kind of slowly stepped then fell) in the Bayou by the Children's home where we were staying in Houma...also another God praise because there were beds, showers, a kitchen, and everything we'd need to stay there. And it was all God providing again for us! And the night before, Will, John Horst, and Steve did it too...no worries no alligators that we saw! Let's just say, I'm never doing it again...it reeked and when you put your foot down it was like putting your foot in mush with seaweeds everywhere...grossss! (but hey how many times do you live?)