Berean Hurricane Katrina Blog

Gustav Recovery

2008-09-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

We all arrived back this weekend to discover minimal damage here in New Orleans. Our church facility has one tree and one portion of the fence that were damaged. The tree is fixed. The fence will hopefully be taken care of this weekend.

We immediately began assessing the needs in our body after the storm. It seems like we have needs that range from unskilled cleanup to skilled repairs. We asked our body to fill out this form in order to let us know that their needs were as well as how they could help meet other's needs.

This Satuday we will be gathering at church to go out and help others in our city. We will meet at 9am, work until around 1pm and then eat a hot lunch together. If you are a church member, and would like to be involved, please let me know.

Thank you to all of you around the country for your support, prayers and phone calls. They are much appreciated. As I watched Gustav disintegrate in the Gulf of Mexico, I couldn't help but wonder if your prayers had anything to do with it.

exactly what we needed

2008-09-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Tuesday morning. Gustav has moved on. We are all still evacuated and waiting for the OK to come home and see things with our own eyes. While no levees broke, it sounds like we could come home to find downed trees, fences or roofs. Right now, I know that the church property has lost one fence and one tree.

As I think over the past three years, so many faces flash before my eyes. My pastoral heart has been broken to see so many hurting on an emotional level. Those wounds were torn back open by the collision of the Katrina anniversary and the Gustav evacuation.

We gathered on Saturday night to pray. We prayed for our people and for our leaders. We prayed for God to intervene and turn the storm.

We asked God, "why?" Perhaps this is exactly what we needed.

Evacuation forced us to re-live many of the emotions and moments of Katrina. It hurt so badly that it caught us off guard. After all, that was three years ago.

We needed this. We need closure. We are ready to move forward. God has much to do in this city. We as a church need to be ready to dive in and be used by Him.

Maybe this is exactly what we needed.

So many seeds of the Gospel have been planted over the past three years. As many of you who have come down on work teams know, we believe that revival will flood this city. We have been waiting. It it has seemed as if God needed something to occur to trigger the outpouring of His Spirit.

Maybe this is exactly what we needed.

I believe in a God who has a firm grip on the winds and the waves. He intended for Katrina to decimate New Orleans. He intended for Gustav to scare us to death. He is moving us toward the Kingdom of God. I trust Him. He knows exactly what we need right now.

Post-Gustav plans

2008-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

It is noon and so far it looks like the greater New Orleans has by and large been spared by Gustav. BUT, we fully expect to come home to find some houses through the metro area affected by wind damage. I'm sure there will be trees down, shingles missing and perhaps even some wet carpets.

Coincidentally (huh?), we really don't have many work teams scheduled for the month of September. So, if you feel the itch to come down in the next couple of weeks to help out with the initial aftermath, we would love to host some teams!

Feel free to contact me now via email or cell phone (504-975-7570) if you are interested. Obviously, things won't be abundantly clear until we get back into the city to see the damage with our own eyes. We will keep you updated.

Sam Update

2008-09-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Whats happening, well here is a little update from me. We decided to leave NOLA earlier then we had planned. We got on the road about 10pm. We arrived in Jackson, MS around 3am. Not bad. We got to our hotel and saw signs posted everywhere say No pets allowed, NO EXCEPTIONS. As you can imagine, It brought me to tears. They said this last time, when we evacuated for Katrina, then they told us we could bring him in our room. But this hotel opened 5 days ago, and they have white comforters, so mom didn't see that happening this time. I prayed, I know God is in control. I kept telling mom... watch tomorrow they are gonna change the rules. I just know it. I told her not to worry. Dad slept in his company van with Cubby. What a good man. We got to bed around 5am and woke up 8am. Mom and Dad brought Cubby to a vet where they boarded him. I always get sad to leave Cubby and it puts stress on mom and dad when im upset. Around early afternoon the replaced all the "No Pet" signs with "Only pets 25lbs or smaller" Mom went to the front desk and talked to the man and talked to him, Cubby should be around 25lbs, hes just really fat :) He said it was their headquarter policy, it wasn't up to him. Then i punched him in the face. Im just kidding. My mom asked about federal laws, he said yes, if she could find it, he would call him manger and tell him. then she started to tear up and the man told her he could stay with us! YAYYYY. God is good! Just something as small as having Cubby with us has made everything so much better. Less stress, less tears! Im so happy.
I just stayed in bed all day, occasionally dozing off. When I woke up i felt like i was at home, then i heard the tv with the news on. I just couldn't believe this is happening again. its crazy to me.
We walked over to the Bass Pro Shop, really cool. They have a shooting range arcade type game. That will be good if we need to blow off some steam later. haha We are also right across the street from the Mississippi Braves baseball field. They are a AA team. Jon and Dad went to the game last night, they had discounted tickets for LA residents.
Just laying in bed right now watching the news. Everytime they say Westbank or Harvey Canal we turn the tv really loud, and yell at everybody to shut up. Or ill punch them in the face...just kidding.
Im going crazy with my camera being broken, but im taking lots of video, can wait to make a DVD! I took these with my phone at the Bass Pro Shop.

Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-30T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Well we seem to have a little something brewing up in the gulf. I’ll try to update this blog as best I can throughout the next couple of days, or weeks. Hopefully just days. Here is an update with what’s going on with me. I drove in Friday afternoon with my roommate. I left my car up at school in Hammond. Jonathan drove in after the LSU game. We’ve been packing up the essentials and moving things up stairs. Mom, Dad, Jonathan, Cubby and me will leave for Pearl, MS (right outside of Jackson) around 2 or 3am. Our hotel is right next to the Bass Pro Shop, looking forward to that! From the things I’m hearing it not looking to good for the Westbank. Oh well, whatever happens, happens. God is in control. I can’t help to thing about our Africa trip this year and all the kids I met there, and the state of their houses. I’m so blessed to have a nice house, my own car, a computer, all those things. And if I come back and my house has however many feet of water in it....it will be ok. It was all in God’s plan. Just like Katrina was in the plan. And we have seen great things come from that, people getting saved, people growing closer to God. Not to mention the amazing work teams. I personally got the chance to meet hundreds of people from around the country that came here to help the city. I’ve made so many friends in the past 3 years. It’s so cool to see people come to nola and go home changed. Well I’m gonna go finish up my packing, and do some praying. If you need anything you can send me an email SamIam0911@yahoo.com .

Sam

Edgemont Bible Church

2008-07-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

A blog by Lucky Wagner from Edgemont Bible Church…

What a wonderful and blessed trip we had to New Orleans. Berean NOLA was a fantastic host and kudos to Samantha and Pastor Doug for the hospitality and having families ready for us. We had opportunities to witness to a lady where we did some work and she made a profession of faith. The first house where we worked had two girls, ages 7ish and 11ish, and what a delight they were. They wanted to help and enjoyed doing so.

The highlight(s) of our trip was working VBS at Fischer in the evening. All of us enjoyed the interaction with the children. We helped in various classrooms, with the singing by playing guitars and the keyboard, and in counseling. It was a blessing to us to help in that area.

The historical trip Lawrence took us on was extremely informative and eye-opening to all of us. The overview of New Orleans before the trip was very beneficial, the explanation of why the levees broke and which ones broke, and why we heard so much about the ninth Ward.

We enjoyed the interaction with the other groups and being able to worship on Sunday morning with the church body. Hosting other churches that travel to New Orleans to assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans is a great idea.

On our way home we talked about continuing this ministry in the St. Louis area with the elderly and have begun to do so. Other ideas were to have a first and second responder team to help with disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Thank you Berean for “loving your neighbor as yourself”.

Lucky Wagner
Edgemont Bible Church

Fischer 5 Day Club

2008-07-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

Berean Fischer 5 Day Club
June 16-20

For the first time since Katrina, Berean hosted Fischer 5-day Club at Fischer Charter School. We had been sending work teams to the community of Fischer for the past 3 years. So we have stayed connected but had not been involved as a church for a while. It was great to get back out there with our church family. The kids as well as the adults had a blast. Eileen Daspit was the director and did and awesome job! I worked in the 11-year-old classroom as the classroom coordinator. Doug was the Bible teacher and Colin and Rob were helpers. I have some pictures I took, yes I know, they’re mostly all of my class, but you get the idea.

Much thanks to all the work teams that have helped at Fischer, you have helped us stay connected to the community and the children.

-Samantha

Wheaton – Edgemont – Salem

2008-07-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

June 14^th

Wheaton – Edgemont – Salem

This week we had groups in from Wheaton Bible Church in Wheaton, IL, Edgemont Bible Church in Fairview Heights, IL and First Baptist Salem from Salem, OR. We kicked off the week with an orientation with Doug, Lawrence, Melissa and myself. The teams were really pumped up afterwards. On Monday Wheaton headed over to Doug’s dad house and Barbara’s Smith’s home. They also helped by cleaning up around the nursing home. The team was also really excited about hitting the street with Lawrence for evangelism late in the week. Edgemont was over at Diamond Dussett’s home, helping with some skilled jobs he had. For the first time since Katrina, Berean held Fischer 5-day club, and Edgemont helped out. They also helped Pastor Elijah clean up in the 9 th ward. Salem helped out at Melda Clarks house. They built a cover for her hot water heater and various other jobs. Then they went over to Fischer Elementary to paint.

Orientation with Wheaton and Edgemont

Some weeks we dont play any knockout, some weeks we play alot. This week we played ALOT.

The three teams hanging out in the gym

The team from Salem brought down quilts that women in their church had made to give to people in New Orleans, they we so sweet to give one to Melissa, Doug and I.

Wheaton

The team with Barbara Smith

Headed out for street evangelism with Lawrence

The team with Buddy and Debbie

Silly boys on top the nursing home

Gutting the building behind the nursing home, on Lowerline Ave

Edgemont

Working at Diamond’s house

airboat rides

2008-06-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

an email that some of you upcoming groups might want to read if you are looking for something fun to do while you are here:

Hi Doug!

Our church, Highlands Community Church, up here in Renton, WA was down there doing some relief work through your church this spring. Pastor Derek Nelson, Weston Foucher and crew had a blast working with you. I’d like to pass on some information if I may. Apparently the airboat tour that our group took after the work was over has been quite a hit among other groups looking to come to your area for Mission Trips. I just spoke to Harold Busch from Texas about his group going out there next week. Harold called to ask about who we used. Can I just pass on the information to you so you can have that information and save them a call? You can use this for future groups as well.

We checked out a couple of different tour companies via the internet. The one we settled on was Airboat Adventures, LLC. Their phone # is 1-888-GO-SWAMP (1-888-467-9267) and their website address is www.airboatadventures.com. They give group discounts.
Thanks for all the work you’re doing down there. I can only imagine the huge effort all the coordination requires! Have an awesome summer!

Blessings,

Gretchen Bryant

FBC Tulsa

2008-06-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

June 2, 2008
FBC Tulsa

So Tulsa was here the week of June 2nd. And what a week it was! It was a great way to kick off the summer. Fellowship Bible Church from Tulsa made their 8th trip down. That’s no typo I did indeed say 8th trip. This church comes to New Orleans 3 times a year to serve. And every time they are here they impact someone in one way or another. May it be a homeowner, someone in the French Quarter or a member of Berean, they come down to love on the people of New Orleans and share the Word of God.

With Doug being out of town it was left up to Lawrence, Melissa and myself to man the home front. The week started out with an injury, but after that it was a smooth as butter. In preparing for the week and taking with the Tulsa leaders, Coy and Susan, they communicated with me they were feeling lead to work with the Fischer Community. So they worked at Fischer Elementary School during the day, and in the evening they hosted a sports club.

Working at Fischer School

Working at the Nursing Home in Gert Town

Sports Camp at Fischer

The sweet photos were taken by Ben Brown

Summer 2008

2008-06-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well hello there,

So guess what?!?! Sam is back! Yes it true ill be returning to the best job in the world, Berean’s Hurricane Relief Intern. This summer has been great so far. The teams are awesome. I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer, not only for teams, but for Africa. Yep, at the end of July ill be going with Connection Youth group to South Africa for two weeks, and im soo excited!

If ya need anything you can give me a call at (504) 362-3254. Make sure you keep checking back with the blog. We’ll be posting updates along with pictures all summer long.

Samantha

the summer is upon us...

2008-05-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Just wanted to make sure you all knew that we are still alive and kickin down here. We expect this summer of Hurricane Recovery Ministry to be the best yet.

If you are interested in learning more about what our ministry down here looks like, a great site to visit is the blog put together by Highlands Community Church in Renton, WA. They had an unbelievable, life-changing Spring Break trip a couple of weeks ago. Their blog is chock full of stories, videos and pictures. Check it our here.

FYI, we actually have a couple of open spots here and there this summer due to teams cancelling/rescheduling. If you want to be a late addition, don't hesitate to email me. Also, we are starting to book trips for the Fall as well.

Samantha will be working for us again this summer. Hopefully she will have the discipline to do what I haven't done this year: um, update the blog. So check back for more posts soon!

Wanna help rebuild?

2007-08-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

The summer is wrapping up and our focus is now on the Fall. As I look over the calendar, we are moderately full through the month of October and otherwise open.

Have you considered taking a[nother] trip down to help rebuild? In many ways, the doors are just now opening for us to help homeowners rebuild. So many have been waiting for Road Home grants before they can start to put their house back together. Now that the grants are finally coming through, we are getting lots of calls for help.

Right now, the major tasks we are helping people with include:

Hanging/Floating/Taping Sheetrock
Painting (both interior and exterior)
Installing Baseboards, Doorframes, etc.

One of the best things about these tasks are that you don't have to be skilled to help! If your team has 2-3 skilled persons to guide, you can get much accomplished!

The best part of it all is that now is when we are fostering meaningful relationships with the homeowners we help. Almost all of the homeowners we help at this point are people outside of our church. So many need to experience the love of Christ! Imagine spending a week with one family, hearing their story, loving on them and helping to rebuild their house. It has truly been a life-changing experience for groups this summer to help. Be a part of it!

If you are interested in coming down, please contact me at the church office by email or phone (504-362-3254). I would love to talk with you further.

4 teams

2007-07-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hi! Im really really sorry this is really really late!

Who was here you ask?

July 8th-14th
FBC Portland, ME
Immanuel Bible, WA
Akron Bible, OH
Hope Baptist, ME

Check out FBC Portland's blog and photos, and Immanuel's blog, there really good blogs if I do say so myself.

Oakhill-Tulsa-Suburban Photos

2007-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

So as much as I would love to visit every work site, everyday, I just can’t. But its ok, because I made these awesome friends that let me put their pictures on the blog. Thanks to Emily, Kayleigh and Britney. Emily is from Oakhill Baptist in Evansville IN. (check out her church’s blog and pictures). Kayleigh is from FBC Tulsa. This was their 5th trip and they are already planning their 6th trip for the fall. Britney is from Suburban Bible in Highland, IN. Yep, the big week. Check out Suburban’s photo page.

From Emily:

Working at Barbara Smith's house

Fischer block party

Fischer camp

From Kayleigh:

Fischer Sports Camp

face painting?

From Britney:

Fischer Camp

FBC Tulsa-Oakhill Baptist-Grace Baptist

2007-07-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ok so just pictures this week. I’m really sorry, Doug is out of town so I been kinda busy, plus he usually spell checks for me…so :)

Tulsa working at Maddie Summer's house

Eating lunch in the neutral ground

Fischer Bible Sports Camp

Kayliegh and one of the kids

Traci with one of the boys

Megan hanging out with the kids

Spa day for the ladies who work at Berean from FBC Tulsa

Bible studie with the Berean and Tulsa ladies

Cori!

then a luncheon!

Oakhill at Fischer

FBC Tulsa talking with Diane

Working at Diane Radosti's house.

A Big Week

2007-06-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great week! I’m not really sure how we pulled it off. Suburban Bible Church from Highland, IN brought over 100 people down to help with hurricane relief. This is by far the biggest group we have had since we started this ministry. They arrived on Monday morning, put their bags away and were off to their work site by noon.

Suburban Bible Church

Taking a break from gutting a house

I told them to smile, haha

Doug Livingston, a missionary that Berean supports, gave the sermon last Sunday. He was talking about how we have to put our trust is God, with everything. I thought it was so appropriate with the week we had coming up. With over 160 people (including Wilshire Baptist) I was getting worried that jobs would not work out how I planed. We did have some homeowners cancel at the last second but it all work out beacuse it was part of God's Plan. He knew where He wanted these people. The jobs that we had to schedule at the last second ended up working out fine. I had nothing to worry about, I just had to put my trust in God that His will would be done and everything worked out fine!

House gut job in the 9th ward

Taking a second to pose for a picture

Installing doors

This week Bemiss UMC from Georgia, Living Stones from Colorado and Seddon Baptist from Alabama will be helping with Katrina relief. Their jobs this week include painting, removing floors, working at the New Orleans Mission and Fischer Camp. Please keep these groups, leaders and homeowners in your prayers this week.

First Week

2007-06-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

JUNE 9 2007

What an awesome first week. We had 3 work teams in Plantation Community Church from Plantation FL, Cornerstone Bible Church from Terre Haute, IN and Heart Song, a musical ensemble from Cedarville University. The week started off with a concert from Heart Song at Berean, and I must say they were pretty awesome. Early Monday morning the teams all set out to their work sites. Their jobs included sheetrocking, painting, gutting and some of them went to Fischer Elementary School. Now we are getting ready for next week, Suburban Bible Church (check out some photos from the week) will be here. Also Wilshire Baptist will be in NOLA this week but they are staying at UNO. They are coming to New Orleans to participate in various concerts and doing hurricane relief when they are not singing. Please keep Suburban, Wilshire and Berean in your prayers this week!

New Dorm Buildings

2007-05-25T10:35:00.001-07:00

By the end of June/early July we are going to have some new accommodations arriving. They are pre-built houses that are unfinished on the inside courtesy of Davie Shoring.

And that is where you come in. We need your help to finish the inside of these dorms.
Our material needs include:
· wood to make bunk beds.
· 10 “motel-style” air conditioners
· flooring
· sheetrock and paint for the walls

In addition, we also need skilled volunteers to come and help us complete these projects. Electricians and carpenters are on the top of the list!

some photos....

It's Summertime!!

2007-05-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!

It has been quite a while since the blog has been updated but don’t you worry, this thing will have all the up to date news, all the time! (ok maybe not ALL the time, but we try!)

Let me introduce myself, I’m Sam. I was born and raised on the westbank of New Orleans and have been attending Berean Bible Church since I was two. I had just started my senior year of high school at Archbishop Blenk when Katrina hit and had to attend another school while I was evacuated. In a little over a month I returned to Blenk and graduated with all my old friends and a couple of new friends who could not return to their old schools because of hurricane damage. I just finished my freshman year at Southeastern Louisiana University where I am working towards a degree in Graphic Design. But for the summer I’m working as an intern here at Berean and I’m super excited!

That was me if you couldn’t guess. (The picture is from when I went to see Live with Regis and Kelly in New Orleans!!) For those of you who are coming to help but haven’t been to New Orleans yet, you are in for a real treat! And those of you who are returning, you know just how awesome it is to come to The Big Easy, help people rebuild and share the Word of God to New Orleanians.

I’m looking forward to meeting y’all this summer! Can’t wait!!!!!!
-Sam

Last summer was a blast, here are some pictures of us Berean kids hanging out with some work teams.

September and beyond

2006-08-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

We are in the midst of some transitions concerning our Hurricane Relief Ministry. As many of you know, we are in this for the long haul. We are drawing up plans that will allow us to continue this ministry for the next 2-5 years. As long as teams are willing to come down and help, we are willing to house them and help them find work.

With that being said, we would love to fill up our Fall calendar with teams. We currently have lots of openings. One minor change is that we are now asking teams to come "between the Sundays." As many of you know, our back building has been used exclusively for Hurricane relief since the storm. Starting on Sunday, September 10, we will be using the back building for ministry on Sundays. That means that teams should be arriving on Mondays and leaving in Fridays or Saturdays.

That is the tenative plan until we can find a long-term solution for housing. We are in the process of taking bids from contractors to add additional space to our facility that will be used just for housing work teams. Please pray with us as we seek God's will on this matter. If you feel God's leading to help us on this project, please contact us.

Please keep New Orleans in your prayers. As I'm sure you are aware, the anniversary of Katrina is next week. We will be having a special service for prayer, remembrance and sharing this Sunday morning.

90

2006-06-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Wow. I just have a moment to catch my breath. Please keep us in your prayers this week and next week. We have two groups here this week from Suburban Bible Church and Wheaton Bible Church. We have them packed in like sardines and we have the "no occupancy" sign lit up since we are hovering right around 90 people on our facilities!

Wheaton is keeping a blog and photo gallery that you can find here. As you'll see, we are one of a number of different sites in which their youth ministry is serving right now.

I apologize that we don't update this blog often enough. Thanks to all of the groups that have come through our doors this summer. You have all been amazing! I think we have had a total of about 1400 volunteer workers since Katrina graced us with her presence last August.

new summer teams info sheet

2006-05-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

We just put together a new info sheet designed specifically for teams coming this summer. If you are headed our way, be sure to check it out. We are dropping a copy in the mail for each team leader. You can download it here.

I'm also adding a link the the sidebar ---->

Calvary Church, Pacific Palisades, CA

2006-04-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

We are packed out this week! One of the many teams here right now is Calvary Church, Pacific Palisades, CA. They are keeping a blog of their trip that you can view here.

house gutting deadline

2006-04-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

Looks like the New Orleans city council unanimously approved an Aug 29th deadline for all residents to gut, remediate and secure their home. Any home that does not meet this deadline will be declared "a public nuisance" and the city will either bulldoze or repair the home...and send a bill to the homeowner. You can read the whole article here.

What kind of impact will this have on our hurricane relief? Stay tuned...we'll be sure to keep you in the loop.

the Katrina cough

2006-04-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a Times-Picayune article that should catch the attention of you who are coming down to gut houses:

"Katrina Cough" Nothing Serious

By the way, congrats to the Times-Picayune (our local newspaper) on winning two Pulizer Prizes. This one didn't catch us New Orleanians by surprise. Their post-Katrina coverage has been nothing short of outstanding. Major props to Berean's own Tim Morris...an editor for the T-P.

the reopening of Fisher elementary

2006-04-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

Every summer our church hosts a five day club in Fisher Housing Projects. We rent out Fischer Elementary School and put on a VBS for the inner city children in the area. Ironically, a number of our recent work teams have been able to assist the Algiers Charter Schools Association in reopening that same school.

The day that Highpointe Community Church was at Fisher happened to be the day that a Times-Picayune crew was there to write an article on the school. You can read the article online here.

I also scanned in the article so that you can see the pictures of the Highpointe team that were printed alongside of the article. You can click on the below pictures to see an enlarged version.

the new Berean website

2006-04-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

The new Berean website is up and running...so head over to www.bereannola.com and check it out. Let us know what you think.

A new orientation sheet for work teams

2006-04-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Fresh off of the presses, we have an updated orientation sheet for work teams. It focuses on the initial information you'll need upon arriving at our facility. We developed it as a handout to give you when you arrive, but feel free to peruse it before you get here. You can view it here. I'm also adding it to the sidebar.

Calvary Church in Lancaster, PA

2006-03-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

Calvary Church sent a team down here back in January. I (Doug) was very excited about this team...since my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were on the team (along with my two nieces). They did a wonderful job and are sending a second team next week.

They have decided to start a blog that will be updated throughout the week they are here. You can follow along with their adventures at calvarykatrina.blogspot.com.

God's hands and feet on the ground

2006-03-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

If you haven't met them yet, I am pleased to introduce to you Chris and Janette Beebe. While most volunteers come down with a week-long work team, Chris and Janette are smack dab in the middle of a two month stint volunteering here at Berean. They arrived at the beginning of February and will be here until the first week in April, living in their RV.

Chris and Janette are retirees who spent most of their lives in Hawaii and currently reside in Rohnert Park, California. They are passionate about missions and have gone on a number of short-term trips. They found out about Berean from friends who came down with a work team in October.

Their main role is to work directly with work teams. When a new team arrives, they are ready to greet them, give them a tour of our facility and lay out their work for them. I can't tell you how helpful that has been for us. They have freed up our staff to be able to focus on breathing life back into our normal church ministries after months of dormancy.

Chris has also taken it upon himself to tackle some of our long overdue projects. He has completely overhauled our tool shed, adding shelving and brackets throughout. With the help of both work teams and church members, he is in the process of building a shower trailer.

Janette has been a great help both in the office and in the kitchen. She has worked alongside of Julie and Robyn to coordinate the jobs for work teams. The "work team" kitchen stays tidy and organized...well, at least decently tidy and moderately organized...considering how many work teams are using it!

Chris and Janette have truly been a Godsend. We are so thankful that they are here. It has been an honor to partner with them in ministry to New Orleans after Katrina.

Keep Chris and Janette in your prayers. They will be with us for a couple of more weeks before returning to California. Oh, and pray for us as we try to remember how to function without them. Who knows, perhaps God could call you to play a similar role in the future here at Berean!

raising 10 feet

2006-02-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Many of you who have come down have had the opportunity to meet Charlie and Pam Wang. They live within walking distance of the London Avenue levee break. Perhaps your team worked on their home or the home of one of their neighbors...or perhaps we introduced you to them on one of our "levee break tours." Their outlook on this tragedy has been an encouragement to us all.

Last week, Davie Shoring (owned by the son of missionary Pat Davie) raised their two-story house ten feet in the air. It is quite a feat. Apparently our local newspaper, The Times-Picayne, agrees. They published a picture in the Saturday paper. The picture was connected with an article on raising homes. You can read the entire article here.

Keep Charlie and Pam in your prayers...along with all of the families that have to make such major decisions about their homes. They have taken a huge step of faith. Will the rest of their neighborhood rebuild? Will raising their home ensure that they will never flood again? Who knows.

IFCA Pastor's Retreat

2006-02-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

The IFCA is hosting a pastor's retreat for all of the pastors on the Gulf Coast who were affected by the hurricane. The retreat starts tonight (Monday, Feb 6) and ends on Wednesday, Feb 8.

That means that Doug and Brad (and their wives) will be unavailable for the next couple of days. If you need any information on hurricane relief, please contact the church office at 504-362-3254 or office@bereannola.com. Ask for Robyn.

public school opportunity

2006-01-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

We have been given an open invitation to work in the Algiers public schools. Currently, five of the public schools in Algiers have reopened. They are all functioning at full-capacity and are educating students from all over the New Orleans area. There are many needs both in the five schools that are open as well as the eight schools that have yet to reopen. If you want to find out more information about the Algiers schools, you can visit their website here.

If this is the type of need your work team would get excited about, be sure to let us know. We can schedule teams to spend some or all of their time working in the schools.

This is an amazing opportunity to show Christ's love in our community!

Sayrewoods Video Report

2006-01-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

Sayrewoods Bible Church sent me a copy of their video report that they showed to their congregation after their trip. I posted the video so that you can download and watch it. The good news is that it is DVD-quality video file. The bad news is that it is a really big file (about 175 mb). I would suggest that you save the file to your hard drive (right-click on the link and choose "save target as...").

I'm going to try to figure out how to post a lower-quality version. If I can figure it out, I will add a link to this post.

Doug

UPDATE: I uploaded the file again. If you tried to download the video and it cut off about 30 seconds in, try to download it again. Also, I added a lower-quality version for those who don't want to wait to download the bigger file.

house gutting work teams

2006-01-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

Apparently New Orleanians are now ready to start working on their homes. We have been inundated with requests for house gutting in the past two weeks...so much so that we have decided to stop adding to our list until we catch up a bit.

That means that we have a great need for teams to gut houses. So much so, that we have decided add openings into our calendar for more work teams.

Gutting homes does not require much skill...just hard work and lots of love. Almost all of our jobs are for members of the community with whom we have had no previous contact. It is an amazing opportunity to share Christ's love and bring hope to a devastated family.

Here are some weeks that we would love to host some house gutting work teams:
Jan 22-28
Jan 29-Feb 4
Feb 12-18
Mar 19-25
Mar 26-Apr 1
Please pray about whether God wants you to help Him bring healing to New Orleans! If you are interested, please contact Doug at the church office (504-362-3254 or doug@bereannola.com)

JC Ministries

2005-11-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

We have sent two teams (Cedarville University and Grace Baptist Church) over to Gentilly to help out at JC Ministries. It is a small outfit that is tackling a huge task. They minister to hurting women (former drug addicts, prostitutes, etc.) from New Orleans. Their facility in Gentilly was flooded and they are attempting to rebuild so that they can continue their ministry.

Dianne Webber, the director, has a blog that you can find here. She has used it as a running journal of their story in the aftermath of the storm. Be sure to check it out. If you are looking for a ministry to assist financially...they would be a wonderful option. We hope to funnel more work teams her way in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

So far we have had over three hundred workers from over twenty different work teams from:
Community Bible Church - Baton Rouge, LA
David's Church - Millersburg, PA
Pleasant Valley Christian Church - Niles, OH
Calvary Church - St. Charles, MO
Grace Fellowship Church - Johnson City, TN
East White Oak Bible Church - Carlock, IL
Cedarville University - Cedarville, OH
New Hope Community Church - New Hope, PA
First Baptist Church - Walnut Grove, MO
Faith Bible Church - Cincinatti, OH
Calvary Bible Church - Derry, NH
Ada Bible Church - Grand Rapids, MI
Newport Baptist Church - Newport, VT
Christ Community Church - Ruston, LA
Ada Congregational Church - Grand Rapids, MI
Fellowship Bible Church North - Plano, TX
Grace Baptist Church - Cedarville, OH
Community Bible Church - Easley, SC

A couple of our groups have posted online journals of their trip. I have already given you links to some of them. Here are a couple of new ones:

Grace Fellowship Church in Johnson City, TN has been down here twice. They posted reports from both trips on their website.
Cedarville University added some new photos and videos to their hurricane relief site. They also did an interview on their radio station about their trip. You can hear the interview here.
A group from California (a combination of a couple of churches) was here for two full weeks. They posted over 500 photos here. Wow.
Calvary Bible Church did an ongoing online journal while they were here (yes, we do have Wi-Fi onsite).

Hope your Thanksgiving went well. We were treated to Thanksgiving dinner cooked and served by the youth and adults from Ada Congregational Church. It was yummy. Speaking of thanks, words cannot express how thankful we are for each and every one of you who has played a role in helping us rebuild our church and our city. God is faithful. You have been His Hands and Feet showing love to us!

My email to Steve

2005-11-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hello all. I figured I needed to update you all on our work teams. I know that many of you are in the process of planning a work team to come down and help. Currently, we have space for more teams anytime after Thanksgiving. If you are interested and haven't contacted Doug yet, please do so soon at doug@bereannola.com.

We posted information a couple of months ago to help teams. Much of that is in need of modification. I just emailed Steve Foster from Sayrewoods Bible Church some details. He is bringing a team in early December. I figured it was worth sharing with you all so that you can have an idea of what it looks like to bring a team down. I copied the text below:

__________________________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: Douglas Daspit [mailto:doug@bereannola.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 10:05 AM
To: 'stevenliz@juno.com'
Subject: work team

Hey bro. It was good to talk to you last night. I am excited that you are able to come down with the team. Anyway, as for what it looks like, here are some details:

-ACCOMODATIONS: Your group will be staying in our church's back building. The classrooms have been converted into sleeping quarters. We have about 40 military cots that are available. Teams need to bring bedding (sheets, blankets...maybe air matresses or sleeping bags). We have four showers...two for guys and two for girls. Teams need to bring towels/washcloths. As for food...we provide kitchen access. We have lots of fridge and freezer space, a double oven, microwaves, electric skillets, roasters, toaster ovens, and a gas grill w/side burner.

-SURROUNDING AREA: Algiers is in very good shape. All utilites are working...power, water, sewer, internet, etc. The grocery stores, restaurants, Walmarts and Lowes/Home Depots are open. Many have limited hours...but you can basically get what you need. No more checkpoints or curfews here. Needless to say, you will spend a bulk of your time working in areas of the city that aren't as well off. But it is not a third world country anymore.

-JOBS: We have all kinds of jobs for all kinds of skills. Right now we are still gutting a lot of homes. That is a lower skill level job. You basically go in, clear out the house (almost any piece of furniture that was flooded is trash), and tear it down to the studs. We also have need for some skilled workers to hang new sheetrock, roof homes, cut down trees (professional level tree jobs), put up fences and other miscellaneous jobs. Basically, whatever skills you provide, we can find jobs to fit. We anticipate in the future needing electricians, plumbing, flooring, etc. In most cases, the people we help provide the materials (sheetrock, insulations, roof shingles, etc.). We simply provide the labor.

Before a team comes down, we coordinate with them the type of jobs they will do so that we can start planning. We typically book jobs 2-3 days in advance, so you won't know specifically what homes you will work on until you are here. It is good to think in teams. If you bring 10-12 people, then you probably would break down into two (maybe three) teams. You can have one team that guts homes...and one team that puts up fences. Whatever fits your skills. Last week we had a group from PA down. They had 14 total people. They had 2-3 teams...depending on what jobs we gave them. Their key people were a professional tree cutter, a roofer and an interior guy. So they were prepared for three different types of jobs: cutting down trees, roofing houses and floating sheetrock. Those key people were always on the same team...some of the team members floated from team to team depending on how big the job was that day. Usually, one of our leaders (me, Brad, Chris, my uncle Larry, etc.) will touch base with you each evening to see how your day was and to communicate about future jobs. It is a fluid system. We have built a lot of flex into it so that we can tweak as needed. Does that make sense?

-OTHER NEEDS: We have a fairly stocked tool shed. It is awesome! We have lots of tools that teams are able to use when they are down here. We do have some needs for additional big tools. For example, it would be helpful to have a table saw. Some churches will plan on buying one or two major tools and leaving them. For instance, one group that roofed bought a compressor and a roofing nail gun to leave.

We also can use some supplies. Sheetrock, shingles, insulation, plywood, 2 by 4s, etc. Any supplies that would help someone restock their home are needs as well. That would include basic appliances (fridges, washer/dryers, microwaves), pots/pans, furniture, etc. We are asking that these type of things be new or nearly new. Needless to say, our storage space is limited. We only have room for stuff that we are confident will be used by families who are rebuilding.

I hope that is enough information to get you going. Let me know if you have any questions.

doug

Work Team Updates

2005-10-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

It is Saturday. The team from East White Oak Bible Church in Carlock, IL left yesterday. They were a great help to us and to Fellowship Bible Church in Metairie. One fun thing they did was to keep a online journal of their trip. You can check it out here.

The team from SAYSF Bible Church in Lexington Park, MD has been here all week. Part of their team left this morning and the rest will leave tomorrow. They have worked on a number of homes as well as finishing the roofing of our front building.

The Cedarville University team has been working at Ben Franklin High School for the past two days. Today is their last day. You would not believe how much work they have gotten done! The faculty and parents who have dropped by the school over the past couple of days have been astounded by how hard the students have worked and how much progress has been made. If you know me (Doug), then you know that one of my deepest passions is for the church to be involved in the community. We are doing it folks! Hopefully there will be an article in the Times-Picayune tomorrow on this project. How cool is that? Also, Cedarville has a diaster relief page on their site. They have been posting photos of the group working at Franklin. Also, a student named Evan posted his photo album from the trip here.

Finally, the group from New Hope Community Church in New Hope, PA arrived last night. Great drive...dinner at Bennigan's. Today is their first work day.

I'll keep you posted on the happenings here in the Crescent City!

Work Team Wish List

2005-10-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hello all. We have been asked by a number of people for a "wish list" of items that we still need to help work teams minister to people here in New Orleans. Our leadership put together a list today. Some of the items are big...some are small. We would appreciate any help you can provide.

Click here for the list.

facility renovations

2005-10-18T14:43:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to update you all on what has been going on with our church facility. We have had many updates and repairs over the past couple of weeks. If you need a reminder of some of our damage, here is the link to the post with pictures of some of our damage.

Here are a couple of updates...

Two trucks...a U-Haul from Henderson Bible Church and an 18-wheeler from Gospel Literature filled our gym with supplies. We have everything from clothing, toiletries and food for New Orleanians to cots, tools and cleaning supplies for work teams. Good stuff.

Matt Tayloe called me a couple of weeks ago. Calvary Chapel New Orleans is an active and vibrant church that is fairly new to the New Orleans area. They wanted to help us out by purchasing some of the items needed for our kitchen. They bought a fridge, new shelving , a new gas grill and a couple of mini-refrigerators for members to use. You can see the fridge and the shelving above.

Grace Fellowship Church in Johnson City, TN also bought some new appliances for our kitchen. They brought down a double oven, a full fridge, a full freezer, an ice maker and a couple of other miscellaneous items. These new kitchen appliances have been wonderful as we house work teams.

On to the repairs....

Remember the holes in our gym? Well, the first makeshift work team of members of our church and Community Bible Church in Baton Rouge were able to pop the siding back into place. No more holes...and much easier to fix than we expected.

Grace Fellowship also sent down a small work team this past week...and they got a lot done on our facility...including a new fence on one side.

Pleasant Valley Evangelical Church in Niles, OH took on a number of projects. They got some of they guys from Grace Fellowship Church as well as some of the teens from Calvary Church in St. Louis to help them. Here they are...

Our tractor shed is now a full-fledged work shed. It was cleared out two weeks ago by David's Church in Millersburg, PA. The three work teams teamed up to put down a concrete floor and fill it with tools. Now we only need to build in some shelving...

The old portable building is also being used to house supplies. It now has a new roof, a new front door, a new window AC unit and some new exterior walls. Slap some paint on that baby and it'll look good!

The big project that the boys tackled was cutting down the peaks on our main building. The storm blew many of the shingles off of these peaks. We knew that we did not want to reroof unless we did the whole job. Well...it's almost done! The peaks are cut off...new decking...new felt paper...we only need to shingle it now. Wow.

On the inside of the main building...the missing shingles caused some water damage in our nursery. The teams worked to repair the nursery. We could sure use that room on Sunday morning ASAP.

So that is what is going on! We'll keep you posted...

busy, busy, busy

2005-10-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

I must apologize that we haven't updated the blog lately. The truth is...we are so busy we just haven't had the time! This week we have had three different groups (about 45 people) stay in our building: Pleasant Valley Evangelical Church (Youngstown, OH), Calvary Church (St. Louis, MO), and Grace Fellowship Church (Johnson City, TN). Boy, have they gotten some work done! Anyway, if your church is planning on sending a work team anytime soon, here are some things we have learned:

We are assigning jobs a day at a time. Your team will be given enough jobs to fill the day. Your leader will meet with someone from our church each day to discuss your jobs for the following day.
As you are planning your teams, try to focus on splitting up into teams to handle different types of jobs. For example, if you bring a team of 15, you could have an exterior team (chainsaw work, lawncare, etc.), an interior deconstruction team (tearing out floors, sheetrock, ceilings, etc.), and a specialized team (depends on your skills...roofing, carpentry, floating sheetrock, etc.). Of course, your teams might shift a bit each day depending on the jobs.
A SBC church right down the road, Calvary Baptist Church, is hosting a Red Cross feeding center. Right now, the plan is for this feeding center to stay open for the next couple of weeks. They are providing hot lunches and dinners for free. You can walk right up and get as many to-go boxes as needed. Your group is more than welcome to take advantage of this opportunity if needed.
If your group is driving in from the East, then I'm sure you are aware of the section of I-10 that has been closed due to Hurricane damage. Detouring around this route has added 45-60 minutes to the drive. Good news. It partially reopened today. Click here to read a news article about it.
Flexibility is the key!

We have had some amazing opportunities to reach out to the community this week. We have helped neighbors, family members, friends, small businesses and church members. Also, a door open for us to play a role in rebuilding a public high school. Wow. I have been amazed at how God has worked...and this is only the first week!

Feel free to contact me (Doug) if you have any questions. My cell number is 504-975-7570 and my email is doug@bereannola.com. I am busy, but I want to talk to you!

Keep praying. God is working to heal New Orleans. I can't believe that we get to play a role.

Please come by and get some stuff

2005-10-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Just wanted to let you know that we just unpacked an 18 wheeler full of stuff from the Baptist Children's Home and Gospel Literature Services. It had lots and lots of stuff. We have:

tools (circular saws, reciprocating saws, drills, shovels, wheelbarrows, ladders)
tarps & roofing nails
cleaning supplies (bleach, windex, mops, bug sprayers, gloves, masks, etc.)
hygiene items
food
bottled water
clothing
baby diapers

And we have lots of it...and lots of other stuff. If you or anyone you know would like anything (although you can only borrow the tools), please come by the church office. We are here during the day (9am-5pm). You can call us first at 504-362-3254. Please come by and we will fill you car with stuff.

Adopt-a-missionary

2005-09-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

Many Pastors and church leaders have contact us about "adopting a missionary." We are asking for churches to help us recover from Katrina by pledging to support of our our missionaries for a year in our place. If you are interested, click here for a list of our missionaries.

join us this Sunday

2005-09-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! The good Lord willing, we are going to have our first worship service (post Katrina) at the church this Sunday (October 2nd) at 10:30! Everyone in N.O. now and everyone within 250 miles is invited to attend! We will sing together because...we need to! We will have communion together because....we need to! As far as the worship, I can play the drums but anyone else who can play anything, and will be there, let me know asap. The Lord has burdened my heart to preach on who HE IS! I'm tired of hearing about Mother Nature and the personification of Katrina. I actually heard one commentator say it was a living "being"! People need to worship the Lord of creation, not the creation. God sent Katrina and Rita because He purposed to and is sovereign! If you can, bring a lunch and some work clothes and we can clean up some after the service. I know it's the Lord's Day but hey, if your ox is in the ditch...and believe me, ours IS! Hope to see you there, if at all possible. Can't wait to hug you! See "ya' all" real soon, again....the Lord willing!

All our love,
Pastor Brad & Julie

a couple of random pieces of information

2005-09-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of random pieces of information you might need to know:

Last weekend's chainsaw brigade was a success. We had about 10-12 of us each day...a mix of Berean and Community Bible Church people. We pulled up wet carpet, tarped roofs, cut up trees and did some other repairs. We worked on the church property, the Randazzo's, Wofford's, Davis', Saliba's, Guthrie's, Olschner's, Stan Wallace's and my home. I hope to post a couple of pictures in a day or two. I accidentally left my digital camera in Kevin Avery's vehicle.
Kevin Avery, Chris Burton and I are planning on doing some work on homes this weekend as well. We would love for you to join us. Call me on my cell at 504-975-7570. We will probably arrive in New Orleans sometime Friday. Of course, all that is dependent on what Hurricane Rita does in the next 24 hours...
We are beginning to schedule work teams starting the first week in October. In order to adequately support them, we really need to acquire two refrigerators and two ovens (without stovetops). If this is something that anyone would like to help us with, that would be appreciated. Call me on my cell and I can give you more details.

Doug

PLEASE READ: we want to hear from you!

2005-09-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

We are ready to move forward with our plans to start rebuilding our homes and our families. In order to do that we need to hear from two groups of people: (1) our congregation and (2) churches that want to help.

If you are a member of our congregation...
We want to know your situation. Please let us know what kind of damage you have sustained to your house. Let us know where your family is at....what other needs you have...what your job situation is. We want to provide as much support as possible for you. People are opening their arms and want to help. Let them.

Also, let us know if there is anyone you know who is in need right now. We want to take this opportunity to reach out to our community...and the best place to start is your friends, relatives, co-workers, neighbors, etc. This is perhaps an opportunity like none we have ever encountered to reach out and show the love of Christ.

Please email Doug or call him on his cell: 504-975-7570. We want to hear from every family at Berean. Please pass this info along to anyone you are currently in contact with. We want to hear from you within a week if possible.

If you are a church or individual that wants to help...
As we have shared, there are three ways you can help: (1) by providing finanical support, (2) by providing supplies, and/or (3) by providing work teams. Our focus is on rebuilding homes. Most work teams will be laying carpet, floating sheetrock, patching roofs, cutting up large tree limbs, etc. BUT we understand that every church has a little bit of a different personality and passion. We want to work with you...and we are open to anything at this point...so let us know what you are thinking and we will see what we can do.

We are ready to accept work teams as early as next week.

Our goal at this point is to gather some basic information on your work groups so that we can schedule accomdations. We want to know when you want to come...what kind of work you want to do...approximately how big your group will be. Once we have this information, we can begin to access our needs and let you know prior to your arrival exactly what projects we anticipate you doing and what families we anticipate you helping.

Please follow the below links to letters and forms that you will need in order to plan your trip:

Letter for Work Team Leaders

Work Team Information Form (.pdf format) or Work Team Information Form (.doc format)

Work Team Waiver Form

Please fill out the information form and return it to us ASAP. You can email the form to Doug or "snail mail" it to:

Doug Daspit
c/o Community Bible Church
8354 Jefferson Hwy
Baton Rouge, LA 70809

Additionally, if you need more specifics on our financial situation, please read this letter from our Senior Pastor, Brad Davis.

Oh, and special thanks to Keith Boyer from Faith Bible Church in Slidell, LA. We were able to use his information as a starting point for all of the above letters and forms. We are all trying to figure this out together!

Thank you all so much. I am genuinely excited right now. I firmly believe that God wants to heal New Orleans and make it a place like it has never been. Pray for revival in our city!

Doug

pictures of our damage

2005-09-15T15:48:00.002-07:00

Lawrence and I visited the church facility this morning and took some pictures. We figured you guys might be interested in seeing what kind of damage we have sustained. Overall, it is not nearly as bad as it could be...I guess. We can get our facility to a place where it is usable fairly easily, but we will still have a good bit of work to do. So here is an overview of what we found:

Front Building
When you drive up, the first thing that you notice is that the fence on both sides is pretty badly damaged. Most of it is down. I don't know how much of the fence is actually our property and how much belongs to our neighbors. Here is a small slice of what it looks like:

The trees in the front are in fairly good condition. Here is one small tree that is down (as you can see from the below picture) and some fairly sizeable limbs. Both of the front lightpoles are down:

The gate that leads into the children's play area is damaged, as well as the fence on that side:

As you head over to the back side of the front building, you see some trees down:

It appears that someone tried to break in. A window was broken out with a brick as you see below. Nothing was taken. Clayton took the initiative to cover up the glass last week (yeah, Clayton!).

The major water stain inside is in the corner room in the nursery:

On the outside, you can see how a ton of shingles are missing right above that room. The two "peaks" are the only part of the roof with damage...and they are the only parts that were not part of the major roofing project that occured a couple of months ago.

Back Building
As you move to the back building, you see a couple of trees down there as well:

Some of the siding is torn up pretty badly. You can see the light coming through the holes on the inside below. This is probably the biggest immediate need...to cover up these holes so that water doesn't get into the gym.

On the other side of the building, there is a large piece of rubble that appears to have flown off of one of the next door apartment buildings. You see that big dent in the side of the building? It appears that the rubble hit the building there and then fell into these four AC units, knocking one of them completely over:

In the kitchen, there is some water damage to the ceiling. We could not figure out where this water got in:

Well, that is the "highlights." Needless to say, there is more damage than this. It seems that the first project for the "chainsaw brigade" will be to cut up all of those trees down on the church property. I think I counted six in all.

Keep us in your prayers. I think that we will have the building in good enough condition to start housing work teams before the end of the month. Yeah!

Doug

Planning to REBUILD

2005-09-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

We have been thinking about you and praying for you. The Lord is sustaining us all by His grace and He will provide what we need at this trying hour. We look forward to worshipping our great God with you all very soon! It will be a tremendous blessing to get together and share our stories as to how the Lord has watched over and cared for us, His people. There are so many things to tell you about and we are anxious to hear from each one of you as to your whereabouts presently since we seem to be moving around from time to time! Do you feel like the Patriarchs or Moses trekking through the desert sometimes?

I wanted to let you all know that our meeting (Staff & Elders) last Saturday was a good start as far as planning for Berean’s near future. We were able to begin a strategic recovery plan that involves a number of teams. The response has been overwhelming so we really needed to sort of eat the elephant one bite at a time! We divided the teams by focus and decided to use the theme of “rebuilding” for obvious reasons! We hope you will consider on which team you might serve to help us get back on our feet as a faith family.

The teams are as follows…

R (Resources). Supplies and services to help our families and the community get in and get to some semblance of normalcy.

E (Evangelism/Outreach). There are going to be incredible opportunities to share the gospel!

B (Business/Finance). This is really going to be a need because everything is up in the air at this point but once we get all the generous offers from churches coordinated it will be amazing how the Lord is going to provide in the year ahead! We believe our ministry staff, missionaries and mortgage obligations are going to be provided for in ways we know only God could have put together.

U (Undershepherding/Ministry). We will have to do a great deal of counseling, comforting, caring and praying as we depend on the Lord in the months and years ahead. Our ministry staff will need your ministry gifts to be operating in the body at the fullest capacity!

I (Intercession). A team committed to prayer and intercession for the church families, the community, and the great city of New Orleans!

L (Links/ Communications) We hope to stay in touch and keep you informed in every way possible so this team will be invaluable as it already has been during our hiatus from the city.

D (Discipleship/Direction). The Lord has called the church to make disciples, so as we are providing physical relief and aid we will be focused on our discipleship task. We certainly are going to be a different church so we are going to be doing a great deal of future planning and vision casting. Well, that’s the summary of our first meeting “after the storm”. Where can you plug in so that we can do the best job of rebuilding for the glory of the Lord?

From Texas,Pastor Brad

Chainsaw Brigade...more info

2005-09-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

We have firmed up some more details concerning the Chainsaw Brigade this Friday & Saturday. Here are some details:

According to Ray Nagin's press confernce about an hour ago, we won't need work permits. The dry parts of Orleans will be open like Jefferson for people to come in and work on their property in the next day or two. If you haven't come home yet, this would be a great chance to see your house for the first time with a whole bunch of friends who want to help you clean up!
We will meet at 7am in the parking lot of Community Bible Church in Baton Rouge. We will squeeze into as little number of vehicles as possible. This will be on both mornings...although...
If you can come both days, we would like as many people as possible to spend the night in Algiers. Sounds like most houses already have power. We'll find a place to put you up. Just bring clothes, toiletries, etc.
If you can only come one day...that's great! We'll make sure that you get out of New Orleans before the curfew is in effect.
At a minimum, be sure to bring some work gloves. Bring a chainsaw if you have one. If you don't...that's okay. We should have more than enough stuff for you to do between moving wood and tarping roofs. Speaking of tarping roofs, some tarps would be helpful as well...
Don't worry about food. It will be taken care of.
Please RSVP to Doug ASAP. You can call at 504-975-7570 or email at dcdaspit@cox.net or just post a comment on the bottom of this message! We need to know how many people so that we can get the right amount of food.
If you know there is a tree in your yard or that your roof needs to be tarped, contact Doug or comment. He can be sure you are on the list.

Thanks!

Chainsaw Brigade

2005-09-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I am chomping at the bit to begin restoring our homes. We want take the first steps towards normalcy...so this weekend on Friday and Saturday (September 16& 17) we are organizing a chainsaw brigade to starting cutting up the fallen trees in people's lawns. We also plan on tarping roofs while we are there.

We are going to try to get as many people together from the Baton Rouge area to join us so that we go as many houses as possible. If you can come, bring whatever supplies you can get your hands on. We will try to locate as much supplies as possible here in Baton Rouge. We will provide more details later this week, but I can tell you that we will meet here in Baton Rouge, drive into the city for the day and then come back around nightfall. We are not planning on spending Friday night in New Orleans.

If you are evacuated to another city and want to join us for the weekend in Baton Rouge. Let me know, I will be happy to find a place for you to stay in Baton Rouge for a couple of nights.

Please contact me (at 504-975-7570) to let me know if you can join us.

Doug

tithes & offering

2005-09-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow Bereans spread all over creation! Some of you have been asking how you can continue to give your tithes and offerings to the Lord through the church. We contacted our new and very helpful banker in Baton Rouge and he said that the new “Berean Hurricane Relief Fund” and our regular giving operating fund are one and the same, at least for now. We have already posted the information for you to give in one of three ways, so if you need the account number or electronic funds transfer (EFT) routing number, please contact me or Pastor Doug and we will get you set up promptly!

Julie and I plan to continue to give regularly to the Lord’s work in obedience to His command and we hope you all will join us in faithful stewardship, if you are able and have any income at this point of course! We are working on those who will be in need and hope to help in whatever ways the Lord directs us to do so in the near future. The Lord has blessed us and we are alive, (although we are still awaiting word on others we know and love) and it therefore behooves us to honor Him with the first fruits of His manifold provisions. God bless us all!

Pastor Brad

News on the Chuch Facility

2005-09-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

I just got off of the phone with Chris Burton, our children's pastor. He was inside of the church building. There is no damage to our building. Not only that, but we have electricity!

The only damage he could find was some to the fence. He also mentioned that the phone lines appear to still be down.

Art & Blondell Avery's house & Artie's Printing appear to be in good shape. They did sustain some wind damage, but nothing severe. They will headed over to check on my house and Brad's house in a bit.

One other thing, for those concerned about looters in Algiers. There was security everywhere. Armed military patrols walking the streets. Police are stationed throughout Aligers. Helicopters are patrolling from overhead.

I am even more convinced that God has a great plan for Berean. It appears that we can have the opportunity to really focus on helping others who were really impacted by the storm. Keep us in your prayers.

Doug

Prayers from all over the world

2005-09-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

I had to share this. Below is the text from an email I received this morning. -Doug

Hello,
I am from Turkiye. Especially I want to say I am so sad for Hurricane Katrina. I watched pictures about hurricane katrina and I am bad now. sorry my english is not good so I cant explain in my heart. but I know God hear us so I and family will pray for people in the N.O. Because I know that no one returns empty-handed from God court.
I think and hope that died people are in paradise now.
and I know and I dont forget that prayers in the USA when earthquake in turkiye 1999. if we are human we must pray for blameless people.

again sorry for my english. I want to share my emotions with you.
Kemal
Turkiye

Berean Hurricane Relief Fund

2005-09-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you who have visited this blog have expressed interest in contributing to Berean and our efforts at helping people recover from Hurricane Katrina. We have been able to work with our bank to set up a special fund to which you can contribute.

The money that is contributed to the fund will be used for:

Helping familes rebuild/repair their homes that were damaged.
Providing any support needed for these families while they are in the process of rebuilding their home.
Making sure that the initial major costs of our church are paid so that we can keep ministering to the hurting and needy of New Orleans. This would include our missionary support, ministry staff and mortgage obligations.

If you would like to contribute to this fund, there are three ways to do so.

You can transfer money electronically to the fund. In order to do this, you will need our account number and the routing number. We would be happy to provide that for you. Please contact Doug or Brad.
You can visit your local Hibernia bank and make a direct deposit into the fund. Again, you will need our account number to do so.
You can mail a check to this address:

Hibernia National Bank
Attn: Keith Jordan
P. O. Box 3597
Baton Rouge, LA 70121

Please make your checks payable to "Berean Bible Church." Write "Berean Hurricane Relief Fund" on the comment line.

It looks like Crystal and I will be moving down to Baton Rouge in the next couple of days. Community Bible Church has graciously offered to put us up in an apartment. We are planning on praying and planning this weekend about how Berean can play a role in rebuiding New Orleans.

Thanks!

Doug

a message from Pastor Brad

2005-09-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

We are now in a Best Buy borrowing their internet! Hopefully, we will have it hooked up in my parent's home on Tuesday so we can get connected with all of you "refugees" ( I prefer evacuees, don't you?). We are so very thankful that we have heard from so many of our flock who are safe. We are praying that God will do a great thing in New Orleans very soon. Many of the pastors and people I have spoken to on the phone for the last 4 days have called this a "God moment". Truly, it is that. We are poised and ready to get back and help the hurting and minister to the needy, as God has called us to do. You will not believe the number of churches who are ready to partner with us, help us get back on our feet, and start again for the glory of the Lord. They are all over the country. Please don't put your roots down too deeply, because the Lord may want you back in New Orleans soon! :) I know, however, that realistically we may be a mission church after we get past the relief and rebuilding stage. We are excited that the Lord may use our facilities as a staging ground so we can share the gospel with those who have seen the brevity of life up close and personal. Keep praying for the Lord's will for Berean Bible Church to be clearly known to the leadership team. We need clarity now, and short term planning in a big way! Blessings to all.

Aerial photos of the church property

2005-09-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmopheric Administration) has a website where you can see aerial photos of New Orleans after Katrina. It is kinda hard to navigate, but if you are willing to take your time, you can probably find a pretty good picture of your house.

I found the church property. I went ahead and cropped the picture so that you can see it. Look at it here. The property looks pretty good. No major roof damage. BUT, it looks like many trees on the back half of our property have fallen over on our neighbors on both sides.

Information Overload

2005-09-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

So this blog is starting to get a bit cluttered. I guess we are going to have to find a longterm way to connect as a community. It seems like a great option is a message board.

Now, I know that many of you maybe aren't familiar with a message board. Don't worry, we'll figure it out together. A message board will help us to organize all of the information, and they are a lot easier to use for ongoing conversations.

So, with that said, follow this link: http://bereannola.proboards55.com, register a username and begin posting!

Once again, email me if you have any suggestions or comments!

Do you need a place to stay?

2005-09-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

It looks like we all should be looking for a place to stay for at least weeks if not months. I know that some of you are in hotels. I have had many people contact me with offers of places to stay in Birmingham, Atlanta, Tennesee, Dallas, New Jersey, etc. Do not hesitate to contact me if you need a place to stay. Needless to say, these families are willing to house you, feed you, perhaps help you find temporary employment, perhaps help get your children enrolled in school.

If you are not from New Orleans, and would like to provide housing, contact me as well.

Call me on my cell (504-975-7570) or email me. Yes, you should be able to get me on my cell. It might take a couple of tries.

doug

Info for homeschool families

2005-09-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Kelly Driggers wanted me to pass this message along to any homeschool families. Note especially the paragraph that is in bold text:

From: "Home School Legal Defense Association"
To: "Mr. and Mrs. Michael Driggers"
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 14:39:07 -0400
Subject: Home School Foundation Hurricane Response
======================================================================
From the HSLDA E-lert Service...
======================================================================
Dear friend of homeschooling,

In response to the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina, the Home School Foundation has established a Hurricane Emergency Response program to help homeschooling families who have suffered great losses.

We will use contributions to this program to assist families with replacing lost or destroyed curriculum and meeting emergency needs.

If you know of homeschooling families who need our assistance, please have them call us at 540-338-8899 or email info@homeschoolfoundation.org.

If you would like to make a gift to help these families, here's how.

Donate online at:
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=2553

Send your check:
-Payable to: Home School Foundation
-Memo: Hurricane
-Mail to: Home School Foundation, PO Box 1152, Purcellville, VA 20134

Long after the winds and rain have stopped, many families' lives will still be in upheaval. Please continue to pray for these families. Our prayers and gifts can minister God's grace to them during their time of great need.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith
President

Tidying up the site a bit

2005-08-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

Woah! This thing looks totally different than last time I visited! Yeah, I just totally changed the look. I know that this whole "blogging" thing is new to some of you, so we are trying to make this as easy and user-friendly as possible. Let me know if we you have any comments or suggestions on the site.

Here are a couple of tips if this is your first time visiting:

Browse through all of the posts. The newest posts are up top, not necessarily the most important. Be sure to scan the whole page, not just the top.
Check out the links. We have listed the websites that have provided the best information on the Hurricane. If you want us to add any websites, let me know.
Post Comments. We are all eager to find out where everyone is! Your posts will mean a lot to us all. Even if it's just, "I'm alive. I'm in Baton Rouge."

Thanks!

Doug

Starting the long process of getting help

2005-08-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

I had to copy the entire text of this email from Sharon Kelley. It has some extremely helpful info:

Greetings again!

I hope this day has gone well for you. I've spent the day on the phone trying to get "stuff" going for Ernie's services as well as our survival "stuff." I found out some information I wanted to pass along, as far as things you can be doing now instead of staring numbly at yet another horrific scene from the homeland.

1. Call your insurance company, or go on line and find a website. There are often FAQ sections that will prevent you from waiting on the telephone indefinitely, and you can often submit a claim via the internet.

2. Call FEMA, at 1-800-621-FEMA (or 3362). I was on hold for less than 10 minutes, submitted a claim over the phone to an extremely nice and compassionate gentleman, and even got connected to the SBA to request an application for a small business loan. Lots of good info also on the FEMA website, at www.fema.gov. Regardless of your insurance situation, go ahead and call FEMA. There is loss of wage reimbursement and some other aids available.

3. Some car finance companies, like GMAC, are offering deferred payments. There are numbers online to call to request this service, but I don't have the web address.

4. Call your mortgage company if you want to request a deferment on your mortgage payment. FEMA told me that some companies will do that in these situations.

5. Disaster unemployment assistance is available through the LA State Unemployment Office. The fed. govt. makes this service available, even if you are self-employed and do not pay unemployment.

6. Another helpful website is www.SBA.gov/disaster for small business loans or information. The interest is deferred for 1 year, and is less than 3% when you begin payments. Loans are usually processed in about 45 days, and you will probably get a check before the insurance pays up.

7. One more website....www.irs.gov. Publication #2194 is a Disaster Loss Kit. You may be able to claim some of your losses on taxes next year. The toll-free number is 1-800-829-3676 if you don't want to get the information online.

Please forgive me if I have insulted your intelligence by mentioning these options, but they are all new to me! I told you the gentleman at FEMA was very helpful! I've been on the phone or the computer most of the day. We're still trying to get info from LA medicaid for Ernie, so that he can get the meds and supplies we will need for an extended stay abroad.

I do hope you all are feeling better today; I've had a better day, possibly because I've busied myself with these business issues, and partly because I heard from so many of you after my email yesterday. Thanks for the messages. We'll all get through this by sticking together and lifting each other up.

From Birmingham,

Sharon

Post your support here

2005-08-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

If you are not a current member of Berean, and you want to let us know that you are thinking about us, then please post a comment on this message. Maybe you know someone from Berean, maybe you are a former member of Berean, maybe you were just looking for information on the storm. Regardless, we would love to hear from you.

Post your damage reports here

2005-08-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

This post is for us to share information on how bad the damage is. I talked with Lawrence today and he actually was able to get onto the Westbank for a bit yesterday. He took 90 into the city, got on the Westbank Expressway, took the Stumph exit and checked out his house. He said that he did not see any standing water on the Westbank (He drove through parts of Marrero, Westwego, Harvey, Gretna. He did not see Algiers). He said that there were huge trees down everywhere. His house was okay. He told me he took some pictures. I will try to get them and post them on the blog.

All of the reports that I have gotten seem to indicate that the Westbank is in good shape, especially Algiers. The Eastbank, on the other hand, is devastated. Any parts that did not take in water initially are filling with water due to the levee break. All areas of the Eastbank (St. Bernard, New Orleans East, Lakeview, West End, Metairie, Kenner) have serious flooding.

Post your prayer requests here

2005-08-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

This post is for people to post prayer requests related to the storm. Just click on the comments to add a request to the list...or to read the prayer requests.

Here are a couple from me (Doug):

Pray for my Dad. He did not evacuate. He lives in Gentilly and I am sure his house is under water. We have not heard from him. Please pray for his safety.
Pray for our students, especially our high school seniors. Pray that God will give wisdom to families as they try to figure out how what to do about their children's education. I know of a couple of families who are seriously considering enrolling their children (Seniors) in school in other cities so that they can graduate on time.

Welcome / Post your whereabouts here

2005-08-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We wanted to come up with a way to communicate information to everyone in our church in light of the Hurricane...and this is what we came up with. This is a blog (or a weblog) where you can come to get information and to communicate with other people from the church. Pastor Brad and I (Doug) will be the two primary people to post here. BUT you can contribute by posting comments on our messages. In fact, post a comment on the bottom of this message that lets us all know who you are and where you are so that we know you are okay. As for Crystal and I, we are in Birmingham staying with good friends.

Doug