Manna Saturday

Manna
Today was a productive day at the church and probably one of the coolest for me personally.  We have been given a generous amount of donations so we decided to pack bags that we could deliver straight to the neighborhoods.  It also gave us a way to check on the families that we had served in the week before to see if they had other needs.

I sent the teams out before lunch and most came back with incredible stories of gratitude, tears, and unfortunately more need.  We were able to then load people up with those specific items and send them back out to meet those needs.  On 4 different occasions, I had someone walk up with an area of great need at the exact same time that someone approached me offering to volunteer to go somewhere.  It was crazy to witness God meet those needs immediately.


Phase 2
From the beginning of this recovery it was clear to us that this would be a fluid process and that we would need to be one step ahead of the change.  Our stationary distribution center has now served everyone who can get to us and we want to transition to a more mobile distribution plan where we deliver products directly to those who need them.  That will help us to minister to families better and meet their exact needs.  We found earlier today that there are a lot of families who don't want to ask for help or are so stuck in their devastation that they can't even process how to go about finding what they need.  We want to reach those people better in Phase 2.

As we finish cleaning out homes soon, we will be transitioning to mold remediation and helping people prepare to put their homes back together.  This will include rebuilding but it will also include some cool projects like building furniture.  We are still working out those details but I am excited about the potential there.  Please stick with us and keep sending teams because we will need you in this phase as well.


My Battle- just a final thought
I was up at the church last night at 9:00 helping to unpack the last shipment.  I was beat and honestly beyond my sanity window.  I walked out into the hall and saw a couple walk in with their bags.  They had just arrived to stay for the night before donating their time this weekend.  I looked in their eyes and I immediately identified with the excitement I knew they were feeling to be there and be able to get started helping.

I have been on several mission trips and I am always somewhat giddy when I arrive.  I can't wait to step into their battle and fight for them for just awhile.  It occurred to me last night that for the first time, I am the resident missionary.  I am the exhausted full timer who needs to hand some part of her battle over to the giddy weekender.  They are entering my battle.

I am grateful for every volunteer, team member, and servant who walks through those doors to back us up.  I have been honored to see family, friends, and former coworkers step in to help us.  We are not alone and neither are the people of this community.  This is a battle for sure, but we are in it together.