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Walking Through Katrina, Pt 5

Today is Sunday, September 18, 2005. Everyday has new challenges. Everyday I hear more and more stories of incredible unbelievable loss and others of amazing miraculous deliverance.

Where I work is on the riverfront. Our building looks out on the river. When the storm came, the surge drove right up this very same river. Everything around us was flooded. Not one inch of water came in our building. No one tree fell on it. Nothing! Buildings down the street had to shovel the river silt off their floors.

All of here at work have lost our homes. My boss has moved heaven and earth to make arrangements for us to live. I am living in the office on an inflatable mattress so thankful to have a job and a roof. Another co-worker is living in my boss' son's camper hooked up to the side of our building. One other worker has a small travel trailer parked in her driveway while they rebuild their home. And another has trees on ½ his house, but is safe in the other half.

In church, the words of the hymns and the verses of scripture are all the more real to us. There is flesh on those words now; they are not just empty nice sounding phrases anymore.

As we sang, "In your presence I live." I looked out over the congregation from the choir loft and thought.for many of us, "His presence" is where we literally are living now. No one had remained untouched by this storm.

There are so many stories of tragedy that break your heart. There are others that remind you of God's ability to intercede.

My daughter had been praying for a year about moving out on her own. She had tried several times, but the doors continued to close. When we returned home, a neighbor came by to check on us. She has a two-bedroom apartment. She offered to allow Anne to store her stuff until she could find a place, then she laughed, why not just move in! So in the midst of this disaster, God answered a longing of my daughter's heart.

...and the joke around here now, "So Lissa, you've finally got an empty nest, oops, I'm bad.I forgot you don't have a nest!"

As one friend laughed and told me, "Well dear that's one phase of life you won't have to go through!"

God is faithful. I see His hand moving everyday in our area. It is because the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has stepped up to answer the call. The government is doing the best it can. Human relief efforts are working overtime to bring hope to our area.

But when it's all said and done, this is what the Church was called to. This is going to be the Church's finest hour in America.

Joyce Meyer stood with our pastor at the Superdome helping in the relief effort. Her comment to him was, "Let this be the city that God built."

As I write this many of the churches have been destroyed on the south shore and the Gulf Coast. Pastors have left, never to return. Our church, in conjunction with the all the churches in the area - no matter the denomination - have banned together to keep a presence of Christ in that city. We want those people to have a church to run to when they begin to rebuild their lives.

Imagine returning to your home and finding your local church gone.

We don't want that to be the story. We don't want to give this city over to Satan. He has had his way long enough in destroying lives through drugs, poverty, homosexuality, prostitution and all forms of immorality. We want the south shore to be a fountain of life at the mouth of Mississippi River.

Last weekend, a meager wounded congregation of 1300 people took up an offering of $96,000.00 to give to the few remaining churches on the south shore who are feeding the homeless and doing everything they can to meet the needs of those stranded in the city.

Say what you like, I don't see casinos rounding up workers and 18-wheelers from all over the nation and bringing in supplies and money to rebuild lives. Those people only strip and steal and rob from the lives in this city.they only protect their own interests.

Pray for us. We want to see God receive all the glory from this. We want to be faithful to rebuild this city in His image. It will be hard work. Just as Nehemiah had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other, so will we. Your prayers are the greatest blessing anyone could ever ask.

I hope to bring you more news of amazing miracles of lives being changed, hearts being healed and a city that is built the in the Image of God to bless the nations. It is the Church's time. We are the epicenter of the world right now! May we be found faithful!

Blessings and so much THANKS to all of you!

© September 12,2005 Lissa M. Lee

Submitted on : 20-Sep-2005