Sunday, August 31, 2008

Remember Your People...

Hello fellow trackers of hurricanes!

The title today is from a song we sang in church this morning. Crying out to God that He will remember His people and His promise to us...of course He will but we can't forget to ask and lean on Him during this time!

The drive here took 5 hours when it should've taken 3 but I can tell you that the Lord has gotten all of our team here safely and we can't thank Him enough for that! The church here is nice, its Grace Community Church and the church family has been kind enough to offer their homes to the families on our staff and they stocked our fridge and brought us a sky hookup so we can watch the news on tv! We're staying in a side house they use for nursery and common areas. After church all 28 of us went to Denny's for lunch and then came back and chilled then at 4:45 started our "What will happen when we get back?" meeting. The last 2 people meeting us here arrived and I thought I'd tell you who is here that way you can be praying for them too...

The Lewis family: Mark (our director), Denise, Emily, Kara, and Caleb
The Horst family: John (ministry manager), Chris, Allyson, Abigail, and Adam
The Symmons family: Jack, Becky, Logan, and Nick (new to Crisis Response, just drove down to LA on Wednesday from MA)
The Bogran family: Steve, Dorinda (finance lady), Vaughn, and Marley
The Watterson family: Kevin, Babette, Kendra, and Logan (family just committed to long term)
Lisa and Steve Nelson (former Crisis Response staff that have joined us during this time and have been a huge help!)
Shelby Smoker (here for a year helping with tools and such) and his friend BJ
Zack Yoder and Will Lane (both down here for the week helping anyway they can)

Please be praying for all of us and that we're seeking God's will and His wisdom during this time!

Funny stories: this poor tree in the church parking lot has been hit twice by 2 of our ministry vehicles being driven by 2 different people...of course no serious damage occurred....it was just great because for both instances, we all happen to be outside watching! Laughter is so great at a time like this when all I can think about is what it will be like after the storm hits. I just wanna know what will happen and what will be different but I know I can't know that right now and God has it all planned out!

My job won't really change post-storm, I'm still in charge of coordinating volunteers to get down here but most likely for the month of September, I will be at Trinity. and my days will probably be a lot longer as will everyone else's and you know what...I'M STOKED!! I'm here to serve God and serve the people of the area I've fallen in love with and tell them about God who loves them too! God can use the worst of situations to bring about a mission field that will exalt Him! that will know Him more and know that He is Lord of all! Praise God for seeing the big picture even when we can't!

The storm hits land tomorrow afternoon-ish...keep everyone in your prayers please!
God WILL remember His people! God WILL remember His promise! He is sovereign over all!

lots of love from pensacola!

Katie

Saturday, August 30, 2008

We're on our way to Pensacola...

Hey Everyone,

After our meeting this morning and truly looking around the group and realizing that God has exactly who He wants around this group for a reason, we're getting everything ready to evacuate to Pensacola FL. We are all planning on leaving by 4am (Sunday) because that is when contraflow starts and all roads lead in one direction.

Guys are taking care of the pavillion, loading up trailers with gas and chainsaws and tools, we're getting all of the office stuff ready, food prepared, and vehicles moved.

You can check weather updates at http://www.wwltv.com/.

Please pray for us right now...it can get kind of hectic with all of us running around doing different things so just pray that we can really hold on to God's peace during this time!

I love you! God loves you!
keeping you posted!

Katie

Friday, August 29, 2008

back to the Cov....

Hey Everyone!

I've arrived safely in Covington LA! YAY God! A bigger praise is that when I took my roomy Lacey to the airport today, my tire completely fell off the wheel and Terry Andrus (the finance guy at Urban Impact) came to our rescue! I have a new tire and all is well!

Covington definitely has a different feel to it than before because no one is living out in the trailers in the back of the church parking lot right now. It's weird not to have my summer staffers here but I know God has a reason for me here and for them to be where they are...I just need to really hold on to that and trust Him more.

Today has been just an interesting day. It's weird to go through your stuff, seeing what is worth taking and what isnt...what you're willing to leave behind and perhaps never see again. It totally challenges the materialistic side of you for sure. In my head I just kept thinking of that verse that says:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19)

So you know what, so what if I lose clothes, shoes, bags, etc...my treasure is in heaven with my Father and that's what matters.

Looks like tomorrow we'll be having an early morning staff meeting to discuss where this evacuation might take us. Sounds like Florida is a good bet but once again we're just waiting to see where God wants us and when He wants us to go.

I'll try and keep you posted during this time and I just ask for continual prayer for me, my staff, the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas, the government officials...just pray that we all will be kept safe and no matter what God is exalted above all else!

Love yall!

-Katie

Thursday, August 28, 2008

AuGustav!

Well tomorrow is the 3rd year anniversary of Katrina making landfall and I'm going to be evacuating to Covington LA, about an hour north of New Orleans because of another possible landfall next week of Gustav!

I'll keep yall posted where I go next if another evacuation is needed from Covington. Right now I'll most likely be throwing away lots of food in case we lose power, packing as if I'll be gone for a week, and praying continually for the best while preparing for the worst!

A really great website I've been using is http://www.wwltv.com/ then clicking on the 5-day forecast for both Gustav and Hanna.

I'll be most likely evacuating with other members of staff, this way if need be, we'll be able to return to the area before most residents because we are a part of a crisis response organization.

I just ask for prayer during this time! Prayer for the people of New Orleans who have been down this road before, prayer that the levees hold, prayer for safe travels, and just prayer that God will be glorified no matter the circumstances!

LOVE EVERYONE DEARLY!!!

-katie

Isaiah 41:10: "So don't worry because I am with you. Don't be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you with my right hand that saves you."

Friday, August 22, 2008

It's a Great Day to Be Alive!!

Hello Hello!! (the title provided by our dance party this morning in the kitchen!)

I'll definitely be impressed if anyone actually reads this before I tell anyone that I've updated this. I'm so bad with blogs, please dont hate me. I won't promise that I'll do better but my cell is always on if you wanna check up on me that way go ahead!

I'll start with the most recent things and work backwards! I am in the YELLOWHOUSE! IN THE CITY!! I really do love it! We had 5 teams here this week for a grand total of 44 people in the house. It felt like family! Everyone hanging out in the kitchen, working on puzzles, playing spoons with markers, it's just been wonderful! This week I've been blessed with an amazing lady named Julie! She has been cooking for the teams, laughing with me, joking with me, and just all around an answered prayer! As most of you know, my cooking abilities are few and far between so having her here has just rocked! She's from Hershey PA and considering coming back in January for 3 months! SWEET! Let's be praying she does because Lord knows with the amount of teams in the spring we'll need her!

This week has also definitely been bittersweet because a lot of people are leaving for good. Joe, a construction supervisor who's been here since mid-July, is headed back to Penn state, Alysha, my amazing roomy, is going back to MA for school, the Sherwoods are headed home to Cali, and Zack and Mary D are headed back to PA for our closed week next week. Yes I'm off work next week! Because I'm not much of a planner, I'll be chillaxing in NoLa! Hopefully meeting people in the neighborhood, working on my 4-12 month EFCA application, hanging out with Kaarin (she was on staff but now lives in the city), and doing whatever else I like! Maybe a small road trip will be in order but we'll just see what happens :)

Since coming back from the most amazing wedding ever, love you Mere and Joel!, lots of hanging out with staff and teams was had and good hillbilly memories. The guys made a slip-in-slide in the back field, a hot tub in the back of a truck, and a sled out of part of tin roof...yeah who says you can't have fun in Covington.

Well besides all the fun times, God has really been growing me and stretching me here. The initial transition was hard into the city and realizing that this next part of my NOLA experience would be totally different from the summer was hard to swallow. But I definitely know God has me here for a reason and I'm thrilled to be here and serving Him and those He loves! I've been learning how we can hold onto His peace, that He gives us His peace so our hearts don't have to be troubled or afraid (John 14:27).

Last week, I was apart of the Urban Impact Staff retreat where a guy came and spoke to us about the Poverty Mandate and one thing he said that has stuck with me is once we cross the Jordan, we will no longer be able to take part in suffering for Christ and this is our chance now to go outside our comfort zone, to go outside the norm, and actually step out for Christ, to suffer for Him (1 Peter 4:13). He also emphasized that whereever your path takes you, God has preceded you, He is ahead of you, behind you, and with you! Amen!

Like I said, I'm off next week, so oodles of free time for phone calls and playing catch-up with you folks! Oh and just so my March team knows Rock of Ages is so close to being done that it's not even funny! Hopefully they'll get their pews soon and have their first service I'd say definitely before October! :) Praise God for His faithfulness!

August 29th is the 3rd year anni of Hurricane Katrina and the ground breaking for the Urban Impact Community Center!! woot woot! I'm sure it'll be a day of mixed emotion and I just ask that everyone be in prayer for the city! It's an interesting feeling actually being able to put a face on how much Katrina has affected the community, the countless people I've met who lost everything, lost loved ones, and are still praising God all the while astounds me! It's not about me at all, its about Christ and I'm so thankful that He has allowed me to be here!

So yes this was extremely long but I hope you were able to least read one paragraph and see that you are now connected personally to life here in NoLa! Let me know how school, work, life is going with yall too!

LOVE YALL IMMENSELY!!!

-khooks

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galations 2:20