Katrina Grace

EFCA Fact Sheet

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:55:00 +0000

The EFCA has posted what they're doing to respond to Gustav here. Text below:

Hurricane Gustav Response Fact Sheet – 8/31/08 Edition

1) Yes, we are responding.

· EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response Team has evacuated to Pensacola and will be making an initial reconnaissance on Tuesday 9/2. Our current plan is to be ready to start receiving volunteers on Thursday 9/4 at Trinity Church in Covington, LA… assuming it is still there.

· For up to date info go to www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com

2) How can I help? Please organize a team and come!!!

a. We will be using the same process (and for now, forms and paperwork and costs etc. ) as we have been using for Katrina Relief Teams.

b. Go to www.efca.org/katrina/team ,

c. Find the link for pdf Team application

d. Complete and fax application to 985-893-0175 AND!! Email gustavrelief@efca.org

e. We will charge a reduced fee of $120 per person per week for teams arriving in September.

· Churches or individuals who are organizing teams should email Katie Hooks at gustavrelief@efca.org

· WE NEED INDIVIDUALS TO ORGANIZE TEAMS FROM THEIR LOCAL CHURCH/AREA RATHER THAN COMING AS A SINGLE WORKERS!

3) What kinds of needs do we have – prioritized.

· We need MONEY

· We have a needs list started at www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com

See contact info below for more info.

We can arrange for delivery of pallet loads of gift-in-kind from most areas in

the East and Midwest

4) Where can I get more info?

· www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com and crisisresponse@efca.org

5) How can I give?

· Give to TG ‘Hurricane Account’ 21709-3969. Go to www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com and click on giving link on right.

6) Can we give stuff…not just money?

· We are not accepting clothing or shoes!!!!

· See contacts below!

· We will update needs list at least weekly, maybe daily.

7) Who should I contact … about?

· Until we get our office reestablished in Covington – use the cell phones listed. After the office is reestablished, use 985-893-0218 :

a. Volunteer Teams – Katie Hooks gustavrelief@efca.org 704-305-3427

b. $$ Donations – Dorinda Bogran Dorinda.bogran@efca.org 985-705-2416

c. Serving as a part of our staff - crisisresponse@efca.org

d. Donating Supplies/Equipment/ Gift-in-kind – Dorinda.bogran@efca.org and john.horst@efca.org 610-883-1150

e.General Response Quest. - Mark Lewis mark.lewis@efca.org 717-439-3138

EFCA Blog Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Mark Lewis, with whom we've worked a Trinity in Covington, LA, sent us an email letting us know about this blog where EFCA is posting updates.

Please pray for the Gulf Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:48:00 +0000

As of this writing, Gustav is a Category 3 hurricane that's anticipated to hit somewhere on the Gulf Coast between 8 AM and 8 PM tomorrow (the 12 hour time difference is contingent on exactly where it hits on the Alabama, Louisiana, or Texas Coasts.

Please pray for the people of the Gulf Coast, especially in Louisiana. CNN reports:

"Maps of Gustav's path shows it could strike southern Louisiana and other areas battered by Hurricane Katrina."

CNN is covering Gustav on their Hurricanes and Cyclones page.
Wikipedia has a Gustav entry that's being updated.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune is also closely covering the storm on their Hurricane page.
Weather Underground provides various graphics related to the storm on their Gustav page.

KatrinaGrace is reaching out to those who've traveled to LA and Miss. to assist those who were affected by Katrina and Rita in 2005 to ask for prayer and to consider the possibility of going to the Gulf Coast should that be necessary.

graphic is from NOAA available on Wikipedia Commons

A Field Report from the Jimmy Ro Crew

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:42:00 +0000

We just received this report from the KatrinaGrace Team that was in New Orleans this past week:

I set on the plane heading home, glad to go home but my heart is still in New Orleans and Slidell. As you know, there is still much loving to do there. I hope we never forget those folks still need hope and a bunch of lovin'.

Our group was the best! We worked well together. We worked hard, stayed flexible and had fun.

Monday thru Wednesday, we worked on new construction in Slidell. The homeowners became friends to us. The wife/mother, Jessica worked everyday we did, Anthony, the husband/father, worked with us on Monday but had to go back to work building Armored Service Vehicles M117s (ASVs). The very vehicle my son fought out of in Iraq. Nathan, my son, was extremely happy to know that I was working on a house for a fellow who built the ASV that saved his life more than once while he was at war in Iraq. Sort of a payback he says. Small world isn't it or does God just work that way?

When we arrived at the job site on Monday morning, we found a slab and a pile of wood. When we left on Wednesday, all exterior walls were up and dead straight, interior walls were framed, dead straight, top caps were on and 3/4s of the exterior sheeting was on. We were "cooking" on that house but disappointed the rain hindered us from getting the house dried-in. Another group will have the joy to finish the house we started so well.

Wednesday night a storm rolled in with a small tornado that touched down not far from us but Trinity Church was spared. Thursday saw mud and more rain so HH called off our work. Not to be deterred, we connected with a group being housed at the CastleRock yellow house, and joined them in the reconstruction or a small church in the ninth ward. We put up trim, laid laminate flooring, sprayed texture on walls (with telephone directions from my youngest son, Evan, back in Baltimore) and prayed for the men there selling drugs right in front of the church. We served well there.

Friday morning, we connected with Jessica, the homeowner of the house we were building on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We gifted her and her husband a rocking chair for their new front porch, a bike for the little girl, baseball cards, folder and notebook to hold baseball cards for the son crazy about baseball, a small ball and stuffed toy for the baby. We all cried and loved. We had prayer for the family and cried some more. I cried much there this time.

After the gift giving, we had lunch at KCs Bike Shop in Slidell, a place to visit and eat good po-boys. We met a crisis response person at a home in Slidell to do some "weed eating" for an elderly family who had just bought this abandoned home. Weed eating is a loose term in Louisiana. Weeds were more small trees and the blackberry vines were impossible to traverse. All of us worked in the light rain, high humidity, briars, and critters cleaning the 40' by 276' (almost a football field) sized back yard. When we saw it, we thought maybe we could clear only a few feet in the short time we were there. When we left - the backyard was cleared fence line to fence line. The Lord always multiplies effort. We were really disgusting by the end of the day, gumbo mud does stain blue jeans.

Again I say, the Jimmy Ro crew you commissioned was tremendous. When we left Baltimore, some had limited building skills, some had less, some had none. By the end of the week, we all acquired very guilty knowledge of framing, trimming and laying laminate flooring. Each of us came with a skill set and gift; no one failed to fully utilize their skill and gift; what a team! Each of us tried to love everyone we met. We practiced consensus decision making, understood each others' strengths and weaknesses building on the strengths and compensating for the weaknesses. We moved up the latter (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning) of team building faster than any team I have been a part of. Dr. Steve and I, both familiar with HR principles, feel we actually moved to the performing rung on Thursday and Friday. If you are interested, we can tell you more at the de-brief.

Our days started with an examination of scripture from the joy of Paul to the Philippines to the utilization of gifts in Ephesians, and thoughtful prayer. The Lord worked through us and within us. We saw His face in what we did and honor Him with the glory of our efforts. To the person, we come back different. You know what I mean.

I could go on, we are still an hour away from Baltimore but I will spare you. We will have a debrief soon with a picture show.

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this crew and to love on the folks in New Orleans and Slidell.

2008 KatrinaGrace Trips

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:55:00 +0000

KatrinaGrace is planning two trips in 2008:

One is leaving on Sun 5/11 and returning on Sat 5/17. Team members will be working with Trinity Church and Habitat for Humanity on what’s being called Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2008.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please email Beth at beth.shields@gmail.com. She is the Pre-Flight Logistics Coordinator for this trip.

Our second scheduled trip this year is leaving on Sunday 11/23 and returning on Sat 11/29 (Thanksgiving Week). This will be a standard Work Team Trip. We have a number of spaces avail for this trip.

If you are interested in the Nov trip, contact Sandra Clabough, Pre-Flight Logistics Coordinator for this trip, at scclabough@yahoo.com

In 2008, all KatrinaGrace participants will need to either pay their own way or raise their own money. The cost is approximately $650 per person and needs to be raised or paid before the trip. Beth or Sandra can give you more details if you’re interested.

Grace’s Short Term Mission Ministry – with the able help of Patti Hewat and others – are also working with us this year and providing a tremendous amount of help to KatrinaGrace. If you are interested in these trips, we can give you more information about upcoming training dates that they offer, though these are not required. Nevertheless, they are very helpful and highly recommended.

Please don’t hesitate to email me, Sandra, or Beth if you’ve any questions.

Trinity Church's Michael Sprague in Maryland!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:40:00 +0000

from our friend CJ Hart of Forcey:

"Please join us for an evening of sharing by Pastor Michael Sprague on the Katrina relief ministry of Trinity Church in Covington, LA. Many members of our Forcey family have served the New Orleans’ community through this ministry. Michael will be at Forcey on Tuesday, September 18^th at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary to give an update of God’s amazing work in Louisiana. For questions, contact Chris Hart at (301)332-6994 or cjhart@aol.com."

2 Years Ago Today

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:49:00 +0000

It's been two long years and there's still so much to be done. This picture was taken last month by one of our KatrinaGrace Teams. You can see more pics of their trip here.

There's a lot of great coverage of what's going on in the affected areas that you can find at
Yahoo's Katrina News Portal. And, of course, check out the coverage of New Orleans' own Times-Picayune.

If you'd like to go down on an upcoming trip to help build houses with Habitat for Humanity, then send an email to beth.shields@gmail.com. If you'd like to work with Trinity Church, reach out to Sandra Clabough at scclabough@yahoo.com.

And please keep praying.

KatrinaGrace Team XIII

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 01:45:00 +0000

KatrinaGrace Team XIII is traveling to the New Orleans area on Sunday 17 June and returning to us on Saturday 23 June! They will be staying in Covington, LA at Trinity Church and will be working with Habitat for Humanity in Slidell, LA.

The Team is

Tim Hardman - Team Leader (Tim also led KatrinaGrace Team III in October 2005)
Bill Williams
Gerry Walsh
David Lange
Kelly Wolslayer

Please pray for them!

New Orleans Almost 2 Years Later

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 15:18:00 +0000

"Nearly everywhere local freelance journalist Sara Shipley Hiles turned during her springtime visit, devastation loomed.

The end of August marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, yet a large section of New Orleans still stands empty. The Lower Ninth Ward is without electricity. Families still live in Federal Emergency Management Association trailers, afraid to rebuild because the OK to do so hasn't yet been handed down.

It was a heartbreaking sight for the former New Orleans resident, but even more heartbreaking because hardly anything had changed since she traveled there a year earlier...." [links added]

- an article on author and journalist Sara Shipley Hiles recent visit to New Orleans.

Why are we in New Orleans?

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 14:51:00 +0000

Someone just asked us what was spiritual about our work in New Orleans. Some months ago I posted these thoughts on my personal blog that address this question.

on Mark Lewis and Mary Held's Visit this past Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:27:00 +0000

I posted a couple of thoughts on my personal blog related to Mark and Mary's recent visit.

2007 KatrinaGrace Trips

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 02:35:00 +0000

We are currently accepting sign-ups for the five trips we have planned between now and the end of the year. Cost for each individual for these trips is $500 *but* KatrinaGrace has funds available to subsidize or even, if necessary, fully fund individuals for these trips. We do not want money to stop those from going who wish to go and will fund trips as long as funds are available. Details below

June 17th -23rd - KatrinaGrace is partnering with Habitat for Humanity to build new homes in Slidell, LA. Please email Beth Shields @ beth.shields@gmail.com if you're interested in participating with this team.
July 22-28 - This will be a general Work Team in Covington, LA working with Trinity - Church (doing general work, cooking or followup compassion visits. Please email Sandra Clabough @ scclabough@yahoo.com or call her at 410-465-9668 if you're interested in joining this team.
Aug 19-25 - KatrinaGrace is partnering with Habitat for Humanity @ Castle Rock in downtown New Orleans. Please email Beth Shields @ beth.shields@gmail.com if you're interested in participating with this team.
Oct 7-13 - KatrinaGrace is partnering with Habitat for Humanity @ Castle Rock in downtown New Orleans. Please email Beth Shields @ beth.shields@gmail.com if you're interested in participating with this team.
Nov 18-24 - This will be a general Work Team in Covington, LA working with Trinity - Church (doing general work, cooking or followup compassion visits. Please email Sandra Clabough @ scclabough@yahoo.com or call her at 410-465-9668 if you're interested in joining this team.

Opportunity to Work with Habitat for Humanity in Louisiana in April

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 00:51:00 +0000

We have slots open for the team that's flying down on Sunday, April 15th and returning on Saturday, April 21st. You'll be staying at Trinity Church in Covington, LA and working with Habitat for Humanity in Slidell, LA. This will be our fourth trip to work with this Habitat.

Are you interested? If so, please email me - Stephen Shields - at sshields@faithmaps.org.

Thanks!

Team XI Returns

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:36:00 +0000

We're back.

I apologize for not posting earlier.

Internet problems prevented a Friday post.

Saturday travel and nap and semi-consciousness prevented a Saturday post. Water heater replacement took the place of blogging Sunday. And here it is Monday:

Here's a pic of a house several members of Team XI worked on. The roof and wrap are all theirs.

They're next project is to come to my house and build a garage.

Why Go to New Orleans Now?

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 21:05:00 +0000

Sarah Warrenfeltz traveled to New Orleans with the KatrinaGrace Team that left for the area on 14 January 2007. Afterwards she penned this essay:

I was deep in the woods of New York when Hurricane Katrina hit. My Christian high school had taken its students on a week long retreat at Lake Champion, a Young Life camp. There, we had neither cell phone service nor even any radio reception. When I reentered civilization Friday afternoon, I was astounded at the disaster before me. Reports of eleven feet of flooding in homes, twenty foot tidal waves, people trapped in their homes as the water rose to their deaths; all this and more were prevalent on every news station.

I do not believe the magnitude of this disaster hit me until Hurricane Rita moved in to kick New Orleans while it was down. I cried out in anger to God, asking Him how he could continue to destroy these people’s homes and lives. What does God do in a time of crisis? I wondered.

My father’s actions and Pastor Michael Sprague’s words answered my questions—God mobilizes His body of believers. Seven weeks after the storm, my dad flew to Trinity Church with a team from our church, Grace Community. He called my mom and me at least once a day with stories that further shattered our broken hearts. When he returned home after a week of gutting homes and praying with homeowners, it was with an attitude of needing to return to serve more as soon as possible.

My father’s heart inspired me to not just feel sorry for these people, but also to want to act to help them. This trip, January 14-20, 2007 was the first chance my school schedule would allow me to come down. My father returned with me.

I was bombarded with a tidal wave of unexpected criticism. Students from my college in Westminster, Maryland told me that the current news coverage of New Orleans was propaganda. There is no real disaster left, they said. Your passion for these people is delayed. They changed their arguments to fit my worldview—God helps those who help themselves, right?

Wrong. That saying is actually a Puritan proverb; it is not quoted anywhere in the Bible. I vehemently argued with them, and this only fueled my fire to help.

As we descended into New Orleans and started driving through, my confidence wavered. This truly is a gorgeous city. But I had this eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was not quite right. My suspicions were confirmed—the city is wearing a beautiful mask to try to hide the ugly disaster still hurting underneath it. In a neighborhood visible from the highway, I saw a magnificent home. It was in the classic Southern plantation style with huge Romanesque columns supporting the roof. However, as I looked closer, in its shadow was a dilapidated home with a F.E.M.A. trailer sitting in the front yard.

We drove through the French quarter next. I ignored the obvious symbols of immorality—signs for gentlemen’s clubs, etc. and I admired the classic European architecture. I looked down to write in my notebook for a moment, and when I looked up again, we were in the upper ninth ward. The contrast between this and the French quarter was like night and day. The homes looked as if someone had picked them up and run them through a shredder. FEMA “x”-es, marking the dates inspected and number of dead found within the structure, were plain to the eye on what was left of a front wall. Lucky houses had a zero for a bottom number; I saw one that said six. This is when I broke down and began to cry.

On our first day of visiting homeowners affected by Katrina, I met a beautifully selfless and loving eighty-four year old woman. She owned her home herself, paid off her mortgage years before, and as she could not afford insurance, she was not required to have any. She had applied to the Louisiana Road Home federal grant program. Because she did not pay for homeowner’s insurance, they were going to grant her thirty percent less money to recover from the disaster. Had she been rich enough to afford insurance, she would have been granted more money. But because she was poor, she was reimbursed even less. Later that night I learned that in two months, this very grant program had given to eighteen out of about seventy thousand applicants and used about six hundred thousand dollars out of eight and a half billion.

This put me over the edge. Being a passionate writer, I started organizing an essay in my head and thinking of the nastiest polite language I could use to tell off our government. Then I thought, what can one lone person do? Our government is so huge, they will not even notice me, let alone listen to me. That is when God popped the mission into my head—give your time and effort. If the government will not help these people as they need, why can you not? Louisiana residents did rate religious organizations as the most helpful after the storm. I am, in fact, a Christian.

Even after all the debris is cleared away and the people have returned to their homes, there is a much more lasting damage affecting them. That damage is the scars the storm left on their hearts, and that is what I am after. I want God to use me, to be His hands and His feet reaching out to His children to show them His unfailing love. And that is why I am here.

- links were added

Thursday, Day Four: Please pass the Ben Gay

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:29:00 +0000

Team XI had another good day at the site. I think everyone's a bit weary. Our bodies aren't accustomed to construction work. Even David, who's a hands-on construction guy is feeling the accumulated wear of framing and roofing, something he normally doesn't do.

Tried to upload some pix, to no avail. Will work out that bug. Several Team XI members have some good shots.

Soon we go eat. Refuel. Then sleep.

More soon.

Wednesday, Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:19:00 +0000

Pre-breakfast thoughts:
Hope to get some pix up today. All depends on timing and resource availability.
OK, and it depends on rounding up the cameras at the right time and place.
The organizational continuum on which we tred resembles a pile of angel hair pasta: very good, but not something you would want to untangle or trace.

We don't do the Circle meeting this morning. It's straight to the web site. But we do need to remove the stuff from our bedrooms to make way for a service tonight. The space does not return to bedroom status till 9p.m.

On our way to the site, we pick up shims for the door hangers and knee pads for the floor installers. And coffee. The last coffee of the day. Once we're at the worksite, it's Gatorade or water. Which is intereting. I had no idea I could make it through three-quarters of a day without coffee. Hmmmm.

Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 23:18:00 +0000

Team XI (or X, there is some question about the status of our Roman numeral) is on the job in full strength. Add April Dixon to the Team XI roster. April's last minute decision to join the team gives her something like stowaway standing in the group.

The daily routine, from this observer's perspective is this:
Wake up. Rummage through luggage for second-cleanest clothing ensemble (cleanest is reserved for restaurants and any other post-shower activities.
Once dressed, repair to Trinity main building for breakfast, or only coffee for those who can't eat till after 9 a.m. (There are continentals among us. Who knew?)
Next, we trundle into two vehicles. One's a Vibe. The other one's a real automobile with real-life space and marvelous accoutrements. All the cool people ride in the real vehicle. I believe it is a Ford Behemoth.
Following a half-hour ride, about 70 people mass in what's called "The Circle". Here, marching orders are dolled out. Safety is stressed. Coffee is sipped. Tales told.
Then we scuttle off to our worksites. Ours is in Lancombe.
Bits:
Members of our team have painted, put up roof trusses, laid flooring, hung doors -- for a few highlights.
Much red beans and rice has been been consumed.
Our site contains nine houses, all in various states of completion, with a new foundation being poured even as others are being sided, floored, painted.....
The place is crawling with interesting people.
Met two women who stopped in N.O. for a week and stayed for nine or more months. One, Noel, slept in a church set up like ours for three months before buying a trailer.
George is our worksite guru. Most concise description of George: Somebody put workclothes on Patience and Flexibility.
Most the workers we've seen are Habitat volunteers and some (Noel for instance) get a small stipend.
Oh, yeah, temp reached 65 today. Gorgeous day.
Under the circumstances, conditions at Trinity are very good.
Ralph, a Trinity member, read from the Bible this morning at breakfast. His short talk set us up for the day.
The terms "Patience and Flexiblity" take on a mantra quality here. For good reason. Each week a new set of volunteers shows up eager to slap up housing. They soon find there is a good bit of standing around waiting and/or wondering what will happen next. That can be trying. Having to wait to do something because tools or materials or tutoring is not immediately at hand stands as the single most painful privation amongst us, especially we newbies whose urge to accomplish much exceeds the established pace.

What lessons there are here in New Orleans and environs.
What a perfect place to learn them ... especially if you like red beans and rice.
Thank you Jesus.
(And God bless you Beth Shields.)
More to come.

Long Story Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:30:00 +0000

Woke Beth Shields this morning to see if she could help me get a flight to New Orleans. Beth, sorry; I owe you one.
Short version of the long story that led to this rude awakening:
Friday (Feb 2): Came home to find the house without running water.
Cursory check of breakers, etc. revealed ... nothing.
So we have no water and we're supposed leave for New Orleans in about 36 hours.
Saturday: Hoping the problem is in the house, we spend all day checking stuff inside. Replace pressure regulator, certain that is the problem. Nope. We replace fuses in power swich, really believing this would fix it. Nope. Rick stops by, checks wires for juice. Juice good. That leaves a problem outside. It could be one of two problems: the pump is broken or there's no water in the well, which is the greater of two catastrophes.
We decide Bonnie will go to New Orleans without me. Tears are shed.
Sunday: I take Bon to BWI at 6. By noon my friend Hutch and I have the pump out of the well. Judging by the length of pipe attached to it, we reckon it was 3 miles down in Guy Measure. Which translates to something like 150 feet in reality (had to be there).
After much scrambling, a few wrong moves, we sink the pump, turn on the switch -- WATER!
(I realize this is probably not something one gets terribly excited about in New Orleans.)
So immediately, I tighten down the filter collar inside the house and snap off the inbound pipe in two places. We race to Home Depot, get the repair material, race back (careful to obey most speed limit postings), do the repair, fire up the pump -- flush the toilets, yay!
Then we go outside to admire our work and notice water spraying up from the well bunker. Rats.
Shut off water. Readjust connector. Turn water back on. No spray. Yay.
Wake up this morning. Check connector. Good. Call Beth (Again, sorry).

Here's the sitch as it stands at this moment:
Team XI is on its way to the worksite as of this writing. I am packing.
Thanks Rick. Thanks Hutch. Thanks Beth. Thanks Jesus.
And Team XI, thanks for all the prayers.

Also, our heart goes out to Dolores and Marv Garlick who couldn't make the trip due to the death of a close friend. Paul Mooty also couldn't make the trip due to work-related issues.

By my count, Team XI is nine workers strong with one on the way.

Please pray for the KatrinaGrace Team XII (Habitat 3) Leaving tomorrow - Sunday 4 February 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:37:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

I'd like to request special prayer for Team XII. We've sent down around 100 people on eleven teams to LA and one to Biloxi, MS since the Gulf storms - Katrina and Rita - in the Fall of 2005. We've never had one person cancel their trip after purchasing their tickets.

On Thursday, one of our men pulled out because he had a work emergency. Then yesterday another pulled out for the same reason. This morning we were called by a couple who were planning to leave with the team tomorrow. They had already printed out their boarding passes but said they would not be able to go because of the death of very close family friend.

Then within the last hour, another couple called to let us know that the husband would need to drop out because their 100 year old farm house lost all electricity because of a mechanical failure and he needs to stay to either repair it or hire a contractor.

So we've lost four men on this trip to build a house with Habitat and we now have ten folks leaving tomorrow on this team. (We were able to pick up one person at the last minute).

I don't know if this is coincidence or what, but we are asking that folks would bathe this group in prayer for their trip. Perhaps this Team will have opportunities for especially effective spiritual ministry while they're on the ground in Louisiana. Please pray for

their safety,
effectiveness,
trip logistics, etc.
Please pray that all nine would be able to leave tomorrow for the Gulf,
and would not be called back home prematurely.

Thanks.

Stephen Shields

Introduction to John Linder

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 19:13:00 +0000

Hi all!

I wanted to introduce all of you to someone who will be live blogging during his participation in the February KatrinaGrace Team Trip to Louisiana. His name is John Lindner and he's Bonnie's husband who's on staff. John has attended Grace for about seven years. John also intends to produce Katrina podcasts for the Baltimore Sun and Grace. Ironically, the first time John visited New Orleans he also stayed for a week and slept in a sleeping bag!

He's already begun live blogging this team's pre-trip activities! More to come.

Stephen Shields

Katrina volunteers

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 11:42:00 +0000

U.S.News.com has a story on Katrina volunteers.
The article features Habitat volunteers. One woman, an Americorps volunteer, was sent to N.O. for a month and decided to stay for a year:

Maybe the realization came when she was rebuilding houses with Habitat for Humanity and a group of musician homeowners pulled out their instruments and began to play. "I started bawling," Steinman says. "I was just overwhelmed."

Thanks to Bryan McAnally of Spare Change for the tip on this story.

Team XI

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 11:27:00 +0000

Hey, turns out the names enumerated in the previous post have a number: XI
I'm assuming that's a number, Roman numeral, as in Super Bowl XLI.
XI. Hmmmm. Do we like that number? Do we have a choice?
We're going to be sleeping on the floor here. I think we should at least like our number.
Maybe it will grow on us.
Actually, if you pronounce it Team Ecks One that sounds pretty good. Pretty can-do. X-One.
Guys, our team sounds like a rocket.
Kewl.

Note to Katrina Grace Team X-One members: If you want to contribute to this blog before, during, and/or after our trip, email your submission to my gmail account and I'll cut out the whiney bits and post it forthwith. If you want me to cease posting ... tough.

Feb Katrina Grace team

noreply@blogger.com (jd) — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 11:21:00 +0000

Here are the names of the team members headed to Louisiana feb. 4:

Stephanie Schleicher (team leader) (RN)
Rick Schleicher
Bonnie Lindner
John Lindner
Marv Garlick
Dolores Garlick
Doug Flather
Cynthia Garber
David Wilson
Meg Dawes
Dan Dawes
Laura Mooty
Paul Mooty

KatrinaGrace Team X (aka Habitat II)

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 01:40:00 +0000

KatrinaGrace Team X (aka Habitat II) left for New Orleans on Sunday 3 December 2006 and returned to us on Saturday 9 December. Blair and Ann Nordvedt write:

"Here are a few pictures of our trip to Louisiana. We had a truly great week. It was unusually cold for Louisiana, in the 30's at night and some days only in the 50's top. We did not take enough warm clothing for the mornings. We stayed in Covington, LA at Trinity Church, sleeping on the floor and they fed us. We drove about 30 minutes to Slidell and worked with Habitat each day. The stores and roads and infrastructure are basically fine after one year from Katrina but there are thousands and thousands of homes that are untouched. FEMA trailers are everywhere in front yards until the homes can be rebuilt. We learned much about the storm and what God is doing. Clearly the storm and faith based relief has had a great impact on many many hearts. We mostly worked on a house for a lady named Ruby and her family. We hope her home will be ready for her by Christmas. Two of the other homes that Ann helped finish will be dedicated and turned over to the homeowners next week. Habitat has a commitment to build 100 homes in Slidell in one year starting last July. Slidell took the eye of the storm and was mostly under water afterwards" (links added)

KatrinaGraceTeam X was

Bill Morgan
Yvonne Smart
Brad Wine
David Mazzuca
Blair Nordvedt
Ann Nordvedt
Glenn Cook (Team Leader)

A few pictures from their trip