Thursday, July 28, 2011

Dave's Movin' In!!

Awesome news! Dave moved into his home on Tuesday. The team from West Shore Evangelical Free Church from Pennsylvania was able to meet him and move him and Bridget and Michael in! It's amazing to see how Dave's life has changed since last summer. Praise God!



The teams this week have made great progress on several houses! The interior of Miss Pat's house is textured and the walls are now being painted. Miss Cammie's house is moving along very well as the team from Nebraska is hanging drywall and mudding. Miss Ruby's house looks great too! The flooring is coming along, the walls are painted and we are working on plumbing. God is doing great things in New Orleans! To keep up with how He is working go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/efcacrisisresponse) where we post pictures and stories regularly!


Thank you and God bless!



Chelsea :)

Friday, July 22, 2011

God is Amazing!!

First off, this week has been AWESOME! :)


We had a great group of teams that came to New Orleans from Illinois, Texas and Michigan. A lot of them are returning teams, so it's always encouraging to see people that come back :)


As the team from Illinois was giving devotions the other morning, one of the members told us a story about a man who came to their block party. He needed a ride to work in the French Quarter and the team offered to give him one. When they dropped him off, they prayed for him. They said that he seemed so touched that they would do that for him. The team is praising God for an awesome opportunity to reach out to someone in need! :)

Also, we received great news this week that Dave acquired his occupancy permit and will be able to move into his house shortly! It's amazing to see what God can do in the span of a year! Everyone on staff in New Orleans is so excited to see how Christ continues to work in Dave's life. Praise Jesus! :)

There are two weeks left for us interns! Pray that we'll finish strong and find rest, peace and endurance in Jesus Christ. Also, please continue to pray the teams that are still planning to come this summer. Can't wait to keep serving Jesus :)



Be blessed!
Chelsea Buffington

Monday, July 18, 2011

Welcome to the Kingdom!!

God is doing amazing things and we feel so blessed to be a part of it. God brings teams from different parts of the country here and seeing them glorify God is a wonderful experience. Last week, the teams from Pennsylvania and Florida really connected!


One of the team leaders from Pennsylvania really pursued spiritual conversations with the kids from Florida. He gave his testimony and then asked the group for their testimonies. A couple of the teenagers admitted that they did not have anything to share. Throughout the week, this leader continued to share Christ's love with these kids and on Thursday night one of the teenage guys from Florida accepted Christ! He is being discipled now so that he fully understands the incredible change that is taking place in his life.

What a wonderful God we serve! :) We are so happy to have the priveledge of seeing people brought to Christ while serving Him on the mission field! Keep praying that we continue to love others to Jesus, whether its the people in New Orleans or the teams that come down :)

God bless,

Chelsea :)

Monday, July 11, 2011





Hey there!


Hope this blog finds you all doing well. We have two teams this week in Louisiana: Cornerstone from Pennsylvania and Northwood from Florida. They'll be working on four different job sites: Miss Cammie's, Miss Ruby's, Miss Pat's, and Miss Vida's. Miss Vida's house (pictured left) had a great start last week and we are already working on the painting there. SO excited to see progress made on that house!


Cornerstone has been here before and they started at Dave's house. Hopefully, they will get to see the amazing progress that Dave's house has made! This is Northwood's first time here and we are so excited to have them!


Keep praying for these teams as they work throughout the week. Pray for fruitful conversations with homeowners and other people in the community and also that these two teams will grow in Christ and take home the things they learn.


This past week marks the last month that the interns will be here! We've been so blessed, working with Katie and the other staff members from Crisis Response. We're so grateful for our supporters and those that are praying for us. Please keep praying for us as we continue on with Crisis Response. That God will work in us even more this month and that we will keep spreading the word about what Christ is doing in New Orleans!


God Bless!

Chelsea :)

Friday, July 8, 2011

Busy Busy!

Hey everyone!

What a week! With 61 volunteers we were able to work on a lot of job sites which makes things busy but that is always an encouraging thing to see! The kids from Grace Chapel were hard workers and we were so pleased to have them come.
On Wednesday, we went on prayer walks as usual but one of the groups had 2 very awesome conversations! One with a woman who told us that she was one of the many people that lived in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. She was so willing to share her story and even invited us to come back later so that she could tell us more!
Another interesting conversation took place with Terry, a man who manages maintenance for an apartment complex located in what used to be one of the most dangerous projects in the country. He told us about how he was raised in the Ninth Ward along with some history of the neighborhood we were in. Earnest, Terry's friend, told some of us about his Katrina story. He was able to leave the city before the hurricane and lived in Colorado for about a year. He told us the thing he missed most about New Orleans was the food. Totally understandable!!
Hearing those stories renews our energy and reminds us why we are here in the first place: To love on the people of New Orleans and let Christ's light shine through us.
Pray for the two incoming teams from Florida and Pennsylvania, that they will come with an energy and passion to serve! Also, please pray for Crisis Response as we are short-staffed in some places and that the Lord will call more volunteers to come and serve!

Be blessed!
Chelsea :)

"Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Monday, July 4, 2011

Chelsea is invading Katie's blog!

Hello Everyone!



We are really looking forward to this week and praising God for the team He brought down from Lexington, Massachusetts! There are 61 senior high kids from Grace Chapel and it is their first time down here with Crisis Response! They will be working for Miss Connie, Miss Delores, Miss Pat, Miss Vida, Miss Cammie and the Reveres.
Last week was very exciting for us as we saw God work through the teams that were here from Ohio and Illinios. Dave is still waiting for an occupancy permit, but the team was able to work on the electricity and plumbing at his house. He came to the block party on Wednesday and he was so excited about the progress and the possibility of moving in soon!

Miss Cammie visited her house twice last week and was able to see the amazing development of the inside of her house. The team last week was hanging drywall and finishing the exterior painting. You can't walk through the walls anymore and thats a good thing!




The porch is now painted and it looks GREAT! :) One of the interns has been able to talk to Miss Cammie on a pretty regular basis and she is excited about the relationship that is being built.



Please pray for Dave and his family that they will be able to move into their house very soon. Also, please pray for the relationships being developed with Miss Cammie, the Reveres, and Miss Ruby along with the other homeowners that we will be working with this week. God is doing amazing things in NOLA and we are so glad to be a part of it!




Have a happy 4th of July and a blessed week!


Chelsea Buffington :)





"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1: 2-4