The Halloween Party

Apparently the Halloween party was a success. Lots of kids, lots of candy, and lots of fun.

The caption Chris sent with this pic says, "have you heard the one about the pirate,the monk and the vampire ... ask Brian" Hmmm .... I guess we'll find out later.


I had also planned Mummy Races where the kids are set up in teams of 2, one armed with a roll of white crepe paper (streamers) and they race to wrap their partner up like a mummy. Well, apparently the kids didn't get it to that too much but they DID get into putting Rick in the middle of them all and useing ALL of the rolls of crepe paper to wrap him up, and wrap him up some more, and then wrap him up some more. They loved doing that and the parents loved watching it. In the end Rick burst out of the wrapping and scared them all.

Did I mention that Donna has been arrested 3 (that's right THREE) times! For those who don't know the story behind that - on our last trip to Grand Isle we slept in Town Hall just outside of the mayor's office. Donna found an ink pen on one of the desks in the office that said, "This pen has been stolen from Town Hall, Grand Isle, Louisiana". So, Donna took her que and took the pen. We teased her .... a lot, about that and jokingly called her our "looter". It seems that this team has let the Grand Isle police in on the joke and they are "arresting" her every time she turns around.

They also had a hayride around the island that was awesome. Everyone got tons of candy, cookies, shrimp po boy sandwiches, cake, and chili with Fritoes.

Tomorrow is another work day .... look for more updates.

Oct - Nov Grand Isle Trip Update # 3

Here are some pictures from the first day of work in Grand Isle. It looks like there was still a lot of clean up to be done. I can only imagine how it must feel to walk along the beach and find remnants of people's lives. Click on any of the pictures to see a larger version of them.















This was a prayer from a child sent to the Town Hall.















Brian reading a portion of the Wizard of Oz that was found among the rubble. Many personal items were found including someone's wedding pictures, a teddy bear, and a freezer with food in it.















This is a man from Exxon asking our group for help. I'm not sure what kind of help he needed.

Oct. - Nov. Grand Isle Trip Daily Update # 2

Creepy Halloween!

It's Halloween in Grand Isle and apparently, it will be a creepy one since they are staying in the Bates Motel! OK, not really. They are staying in the Sand Dollar Hotel, which is probably pretty nice since Grand Isle is known as the Cajun Bahamas and is, under normal circumstances, a beautiful vacation spot.

BUT, Brain being what he is, put up an electric sign that reads "Bates Motel" just to add some fun?? to the trip. (someone emailed me the pic I've posted here)

Halloween is also known as All Saints Day. In Grand Isle they are a bit concerned because typically on All Saints Day the priest will go around and bless the graves BUT when Katrina hit many of the graves were opened and many coffins are now missing - no joke! That would definately make for a creeeeepy Halloween.

Today they work at the community center and then will have the Halloween party for the children on Grand Isle this evening. Brian is supposed to call with an update after the party so check back later for more ....

And here's one last pic they sent. Cute ain't he??

Oct. - Nov. Grand Isle Trip Daily Updates # 1

I will attempt to post an update daily or at least as often as I hear from Brian so that you can keep up to date with what's going on with the relief team and their efforts there.

All 9 of them got off safely and without incident last night. As they posed for a team pic someone said they looked like they were ready to take off on Apollo 13 or something. And they did! Those orange vests .... I dunno.

This morning (Sunday, Oct. 30th) Brian called at 7:40 to say that they were making good time. They were in Meridian, MS at a Cracker Barrel and were enjoying a good breakfast. They plan to go to Sunday School at the Northpark Church of God (that is where the first and second relief effort was) and to visit briefly with Pastor Earl Wheatley. It must bless the people there to physically see a group from Ohio (or anywhere) coming back on such a regular basis. This will be the third time in MS since Katrina hit although there is no direct relief effort in Meridian this time, just seeing the team back again and knowing that they have not been forgotten will be an encouragement I'm sure.

Back to Grand Isle

Well, when I started this blog it's purpose was simply to share the story and some pictures of our trip. I thought it would be a very temporary blog, but it seems the adventure continues ....

We'll be going back to Grand Isle soon! After being devestated by Katrina, Rita came and dumped another 2 feet of water and mud over the island. In early November a group of up to 12 people (first come, first serve) will be heading back to Grand Isle to assist in clean up and do whatever work we find to do there. You can sign up for the trip beginning this Sunday, Oct. 3rd.

The Trip Itinerary looks like this:

Departing WRCOG 9:00 AM, Saturday, Oct. 29
Arriving Grand Isle 5:00PM Sunday, Oct. 30

Work days - Monday, Tues, Wednesday, Thursday

Departing Grand Isle 4:00 AM Friday, Nov. 4
Arriving WRCOG 11:00 PM Friday, Nov. 4

The Mission:

To serve and share Jesus through light duty clean-up work in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Qualities Needed in Volunteers:

Adult women and men with valid driver's slicense, good driving record, flexibility, courage, endurance, strength of heart, a testimony, ability to pack everything you need in one small (carry-on) suitcase and a willingness not to whine when yo'ure hot, tired and uncomfortable - or when things go wrong or when God changes our plans.

It is an exclusive privilege for our group to be welcomed back by the public officials. Expect to live and work in real-time Hurricane survival/emergency situation conditions. Don't expect electricity, running water, A/C, or flushable toilets (ask John L. of Hamilton, OH). We will sleep under roof, but on a floor, eat Red Cross food, drive long hours and work long days - a week of sacrifice to ehlp those who've lost so much!

To Be Included on the Volunteer List Do These Things:

Pray. Talke with the Lord. LIsten to Him. Seek His will regarding your participation. Everything about this journey will be God-directed.

Time Off. Talk with your employer and family. Be sure you can get the time away before you make a commitment to go.

Driving Record. Our church requires drivers of it's vans to submit a BMV driving record statement. If you don't already have one on file with Steve Morgan, please talk with Steve or call your local BMV for more information on obtaining a recored. We must have this on file before you can be included to go.

Emergency Authorization Form

*** Remember - First come, first serve. Spots on the team will not be "held". The firs 12 who do and turn in the thigns above will go.


What to Pack

Only what is absolutely necessary.
Everything must fint in one small airline size "carry-on" luggage bag. Included in the bag whoudl be 2 rolls of toilet paper and 2 small emergency meals that require no refrigeration or cooking - ready-to-eat, wilderness style - just in case the Red Cross meals fall through.

Also pack:
A small pillow and sleeping bag
A flashlight
Between meal snack (no cooler chests)
Food money
A camera
Work gloves and appropriate owrk clothing, shoes, etc.
Emergency grocery money
Small Bible
Insect repellant, sunscreen
A willingness to do anything we may be asked or required to do.

Benefit Concert

Sunday, Oct. 2nd at 6 PM there will be a benefit concert featuring many of our Winton Rd. singers and our Choir. A freewill donation will be taken with all money going directly to hurricane relief.

Many of the families affected by Katrina were military families. Some of these families have men currently serving in Iraq while their families at home lost everything. The concert will have a patriotic theme and we will be honoring our military.

Please help us get the word out.

Trip To Meridian, MS

The second trip to Meridian MS will be to take furniture and household items to the families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Trip dates are Oct. 9 - 15

Drop off your donations on the following days:

Monday, Oct. 3 - Saturday, Oct. 8
10 AM to 6 PM

Below is a partial list of needed items:

Pots and Pans
Dishes
Cooking Utensils
Flatware
Glasses
Bed linens
Towels
Furniture
Electronics (TV, Video/DVD players)
Toys for the children (Playstation, Gameboy, games, etc.)

God's Grand Diversion to Grand Isle

Forty-four thousand pounds of meat and nowhere to put it! That’s what our Hurricane Katrina food relief convoy faced while sitting in the parking lot of the North Park Church of God in Meridian Mississippi.

Just three days prior, confirmed arrangements were made with the Red Cross to deliver and 18-wheeler packed with donated pre-cooked meat products and another truck packed with non-perishables. But upon arrival of our convoy from the Winton Road First Church of God (Fairfield, OH) the best of plans quickly began to unravel. Because the emergency needs and relief efforts in this disaster are fluid and daily changing, the Red Cross had just received another shipment that had packed their cold storage facilities to capacity. After hastily placing phone calls, we found that this was also the situation in other major relief organizations in the immediate region – even as far as Jackson, Mississippi.

With the help of Pastor Earl Wheatley, we were fortunate to at least make small food drops off at the Aldersgate Retirement Community and the Poplar Springs Nursing Center – both sheltering elderly hurricane victims who had been transported from flooded nursing homes. We also packed a church van full of boxed frozen meat to be delivered to Love’s Kitchen – a charity organization in Meridian, MS. However we were still desperate to make a food drop of the remaining 43,500 pounds of meat.

Then someone from Ohio called who had learned of our plight and had been making dozens of phone calls trying to help us find a place in need of food. It so happens that one man who answered the phone said, “Wait just a minute. My daughter from Grand Isle just came up for a visit and she may be able to help you.” Through this connection she forwarded the phone number that linked us to a councilman from Grand Isle, LA. Grand Isle is a fishing community on the southern most tip of Louisiana, a few hours south of New Orleans – six hours south of where we were. They said, “Come”. On the way there we learned that the island of Grand Isle nearly out of food and that they had just learned that morning that the Army Corp of Engineers had informed Grand Isle that Wednesday morning the severely damaged bridge (their only land link) would be close for three weeks for repair. Officials were scrambling to figure out a way for their relief workers and the 200 residents to survive. Then came the call telling us that they not only wanted the food, but that they were now in a position of dire need and were counting on us to deliver the food.

God’s grand diversion to Grand Isle was now in progress. We were concerned about road blocks near New Orleans but the police and National Guard freely granted us passage past road blocks.

On our last stop for diesel fuel before going any deeper into the destruction area, our situation became increasingly urgent. Something was wrong with the refer (refrigerated trailer). The temperature gauge showed a severere increase inside. There was now no turning back. Our shipment had to arrive and get unloaded quickly.

En route, Pastor Early Wheatley stayed in contact to monitor our progress. He also passed along the news that the food we loaded in his church van was gratefully received by Love’s Kitchen and that it had filled their eight empty freezers perfectly with no room to spare. It was just the right amount – something we could have not known when we were loading the van.

Upon arriving at the damaged bridge we unloaded half of the 18-wheeler by hand. A portable cold storage unit was waiting for us. We wondered why they didn’t take the entire 44,000 pounds over to Grand Isle, but that question was answered half way across the bridge. The national guard took the lead as they gave us an escort and recommended that we go very slowly and keep at least one concrete span of bridge distance between each of our trucks and car. A paramedic followed us over – just in case.

The bridge we were crossing was indeed severely damaged. Some of the damaged sections has shifted as much as 4 feet while others had broken apart and sank as much as 12 inches. Planks of wood has been placed between the sections to act as ramps between the sections.

On the other side we first unloaded the five pallets of food at the fire station where a crew of guardsmen were waiting. Then the officials cried out instructions – “take the rest to the church.” At the church, the National Guardsmen swarmed our trucks and quickly unloaded everything. As the last pallet of frozen meat was loaded into their storage unit, we noticed that it was once again a perfect fit. Like the shipment to Love’s Kitchen in Meridian earlier that day, this shipment to Grand isle was just the right amount. That could have only been orchestrated by a perfect God.

That night, the National Guard allowed us to bunk down with them at their Town Hall – one of the few structures that was not completely destroyed and that had generator power. We slept on Arm cots with Army sleeping bags just outside the door to the Mayor’s office. They kindly gave us their lunches for supper that evening and allowed us to eat breakfast with them the next morning before making what would likely be the last passage of civilians back across the damaged bridge.

Two days later, a city council member expressed his ongoing appreciation saying in a deep Cajun accent, Thank you so much! You fixed us up real good! We didn’t know what we were going to do but now we have enough food for a whole month!”

- Pastor Brian Buriff / Winton Rd. First Church of God / Fairfield, OH

Our Mini-Convoy

Loading The Van in Meridian, MS

A Convoy of Busses Transporting Evacuees

Damage on Grand Isle

Damage on Grand Isle

The Check Point entering Grand Isle

Unloading the Truck at Grand Isle

The Fire Station in Grand Isle

The Fire Station in Grand Isle

Our Friends in the National Guard

These guys were just back from Iraq for about 3 months when they were called to Grand Isle to help with security and clean up. They were SO grateful for us. The put us up in Town Hall with Army cots, gave us their lunches to eat, their sleeping bags to sleep in, and watched over us through the night. I am especially grateful to Major "T" since I ate his lunch and slept in his brand new sleeping bag. I hated to be the first one to stink it up with my sweaty body and stinky feet. Sorry Major "T".

Damage on Grand Isle

The Bridge Going to Grand Isle, LA

This was the bridge going to Grand Isle that had been severely damaged by a 12-20 foot surge. Look at the double yellow lines to get a feel for how shifted the broken sections were.