Joplin, MO Disaster Relief - Day 2

Orientation for new volunteers with Samaritan's Purse would not begin until 1pm, so we were invited and encouraged to come early and join Forest Park Baptist Church for their worship service.  We arrived to a packed house that had almost standing room only.  We took a seat on the back wall and listened as the Pastor delivered a very simple, somber and basic message that at the same time was powerfully anointed.  Here is a link to that message:  http://joplin.fpbc.net/media/media_sermon_watch/the_heart_of_god?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

After service, we found out that the response for volunteers with Samaritan's Purse was so great that it would be a good idea to get our paperwork turned in by noon so we could make Orientation. (They were expecting about 200 volunteers on Saturday, but the number exceeded 800), 

Once we were teamed up with a group, where Stephan led us in prayer, we set out to the site where we were encouraged to just love on people, and offer them whatever help they needed.


(To the left is Pastor John with Franklin Graham)

When we reached 'Ground Zero', we found it hard to wrap our minds around what we were seeing.  For blocks, and in some places - miles, everything was totally leveled.  Everything was mowed down.  Houses, trees, cars - everything!  It looked like a bomb had gone off.

The first family that we met, who's rental house was almost totally gone, told us that the 5 of them, along with 3 kids from the neighborhood who were visiting, and 4 dogs all survived huddled in the bathroom.  They had pretty much scoured the area for the last week looking for salvageable and sentimental items, and we resolved to letting the rest go.  They would be staying with family locally, but would need a place to live.  A Pastor who was with us told them he had heard that the local radio station was giving out info on homes that were being donated or made available to families.  They welcomed our prayers and thanked us for the offer to help.

The next home we stopped at already had a team working that had been given permission to help out, so we joined them to go through the last of the rubble for precious keepsakes.  The home was owned by an 87 yr. old man who had been there around 57 yrs.  His daughter was over the day of the storm and he had just enough time to throw her against an inside wall and try to shelter her before it hit and took nearly 1/2 of their home (the 2nd story was totally gone).  They both survived with only minor scrapes and cuts.  As he sat on his front porch which was still standing with the volunteers, he recounted the memories of life there, and was thankful to God for his life and family.  Occasionally, a volunteer would find a picture or a piece of memorabilia and bring it to him which brought a brief smile.  I was surprised to find a page torn out of a coloring book of Snow White that was in perfect condition and colored by his Great-Granddaughter Allie.  It said, "I love you Grampa" on the bottom.  I think this may have meant more to him than the thousands of dollars worth of Baseball Card Collections, and other collectibles that he spent his entire life compiling.  We later heard that a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth was found several blocks away and brought to him.

This is now an 'outdoor' bathroom!

The last home we stopped at was owned by a lady named Josephine.  A group of young people, who joined SP after working with Convoy of Hope earlier in the week, were already hard at work moving what was left of Josephine's furniture and belongings out to some pickups that would later haul it a few blocks over to a home that she and her husband recently purchased to fix up and rent out.  Josephine was pretty feisty and was schooling our young men on church and prayer!

As we would walk the neighborhoods, and offering help, their were groups of volunteers and organizations who would drive around offering cold water and hot meals to the homeowners and volunteers.  At one point, the Red Cross came through and gave us a meal.
It was amazing to see so many who were willing to come and bring the skills and talents, whatever they may be. We saw one man offering to fix flat tires for free in the parking lot of a Dillon's that was totaled.  He had the equipment on a trailer to take the tires off the rims and repair them.  One family was there with their van that had the windows blown out, but were getting a tire fixed.  Another man was going around and sharpening chain saw blades.  The list goes on and on of "Good Samaritan's".  What a blessing to see and be a part of this!

Joplin, MO Disaster Relief - May 28, 2011 - Day 1

I am totally amazed at how God provided for every aspect of this trip - down to even the minutest of details!  

Let me back up. On Sunday, May 22, 2011 around 5:30 p.m. a multi-vortex tornado (now verified as an EF5) made a "direct hit" near 13th and Rangeline Road (a densely populated neighborhood and major thoroughfare) where several buildings - including a Walmart and St. John's Hospital - were toppled to the ground or totaled. The tornado was approximately 1 mile wide, and it tore a path 13 miles long, leveling almost everything in it's path and causing severe to moderate damage to the areas directly on either side.

On Monday, while I was at work, it was so heavy on my heart, that I wanted to go down there and help in whatever way I could.  I immediately felt in my spirit that God was telling me, "You CAN go. There is no reason not to." The thought of it took my breath for a minute, but as I started to consider the possibility of changing a few plans, and cashing in that 'Vacation Fund' from the piggy bank, I started to get excited. At that moment, I made the decision to go, and believed that if God was in it, He would take care of the details.  That first step opened up a floodgate of blessing and provision that was beyond what I could even ask or think. I began to search the Internet for a group to hook up with, and found that the Samaritan's Purse Disaster Relief Team would be there and they were looking for volunteers.  That was as far as I had to look, and within minutes most of the connections and details were taken care of.  I even put the word out, and dared to ask some friends and family to help fill my back seat with supplies and goods for the tornado victims.  They not only filled my car, but all the funds to pay for gas, meals, and even some lodging were taken care of.  I was also looking for a travel companion, which came through just the night before I was ready to leave.  Not only that, but a last minute text by my Daughter-in-law to a friend of hers in Springfield, gave us a place to stay while we were there!  After all of this happened, I recalled a quote from Leonard Ravenhill who said, "If God be your partner, make your plans large!"  (I'm sure going to remember that for next time!)  
Shari and I left around 6pm on Friday, May 27th; stopped for about 5 hrs. of sleep, then arrived in Joplin, MO around 4pm on Saturday.  We pulled up at the Forest Park Baptist Church which had quickly become a Headquarters for several Volunteer groups including Samaritan's Purse.  They directed us to their property across the street where we could empty the car of all the donations, then park and go to work with them in their bus garage which was converted into a Drop-off Site/Store, where the victims could come and shop "free" for all the goods and supplies that they needed. 

 

It was like a beehive where all the workers were simultaneously unpacking boxes, filling shelves and helping people to "shop" all at the same time!  

 It was so wonderful and amazing to see people from all over the country and community coming together to do anything and everything they could to help!

Spiritual Warfare/Spiritual Dreams

May 30, 2010

On Saturday evening, I got home early because business was slow at the Restaurant. I unwound, and then went to sleep around 11:00. Then, at 12:30, my phone rang. It was a friend of mine who was doubled over in pain from some unknown.  It sounded very bad, so I got up and went over there thinking I might have to take them to the Emergency Room (maybe appendicitis?). As soon as I got there, we started praying. I prayed & my friend agreed, all the while writhing in pain, and moving from one place to another. Some time passed and I continued to pray in the spirit. After about 1 ½ to 2 hrs., the pain subsided enough that they fell asleep. I stayed & continued to pray in the spirit until I decided to take a break & sleep a little myself. I slept lightly, but at one point, I must have gone deep enough to dream (it was actually more like a nightmare). 

The dream started out with us in the room; there was a long couch against the wall. My friend was sleeping on one end; I was in the middle resting, and another friend was on the end, sitting on the arm of the couch. Then, the front door opened and shut; we all heard it and got up to investigate. To our surprise, there was a little, “elf-like” man scurrying past us and down the hallway toward the bathroom. We were all baffled at his appearance there, and my friend managed to corral him back out the front door. This little guy seemed more ‘annoying’ than threatening. After he was outside, I locked the door, and put the deadbolt and chain on. We all went back to our positions on the couch, and almost immediately, the little guy was back in the house. This time it felt a little creepy since the door was locked. Once again, we got him back outside where he immediately transformed into something that was unrecognizable and inanimate (non-living).  I broke it into pieces with a shovel & went back into the house satisfied that it was destroyed.

Then, a third time, the door opened and this time a robot-like being came in. It seemed a little more threatening and I don’t remember much detail after that except that we managed to get it out of the house too, and I woke up after that.

Later that morning,  I told my friend about the nightmare and they thought it was weird (no kidding!). I told them that what stood out about the whole thing was how “annoying” the little man was.

I went home, and later that morning, when I was at church, my thoughts turned back to the dream and immediately, the word “menacing” came to mind.  I started to think the dream may have been spiritual or from the Lord to show us something about spiritual warfare, and that my friend’s pain and symptoms may have been related to a spiritual attack.

When evening rolled around, and we were at my house, I decided to look up the word “menacing” and here is what I found: Menace – 1. a possible danger; a threat. 2.  a troublesome or “annoying” person (quotation marks mine).  Menacing – Threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments (i.e. ‘sinister storm clouds’; ‘his threatening behavior’; ‘the situation became ugly’). 

Long story short – we ended the evening by taking up the armor & praying against any future attacks.

Now, after re-writing this (June 7, 2010), I am thinking that this is what the dream might mean:

The little elf-man - I think he represents the effectiveness of my friend’s prayers before I got there. The friend got him out of the house the first time, but he came back again and was a little more threatening. The second time he got in, we got him out together through the power of agreement. My destroying him/it with the shovel may have been representative of my continued prayer in the spirit for him.  This leaves me a little unsure of what the third invasion/attack represents because the pain my friend was experiencing did not return and I don’t know if it should be a warning for future attacks or not.

I met with my Pastor about this, and he saw this as something that was a reminder not to be ignorant of the devil’s devices, and how he makes his way into our homes, lives and churches. He talked about the subtlety of the enemy, and how the first part of the dream, it didn’t look to be too bad, scary or threatening to have this guy in the house; but each time he returned it was worse. We also talked about the power of agreement and warfare prayer.

Eph. 6:12 “This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world.” (God’s Word Version)

Your thoughts?

Yes, Drew..............death is a part of Life.

In these last days/weeks of my Sister-in-Law Mary's life, I started to ponder how I might answer some of the questions that may come from my oldest grandson Drew (He's 3 1/2). Questions that a lot of adults quit asking a long time ago because they didn't like the answers.

Drew is being raised in the church, and he would be prone to asking something like, "Why don't we just pray and ask God to heal Aunt Mary?" So, I in turn would have to say, "We are praying for her, and we truly believe that God IS a healer." But, if she doesn't get healed..............., well, I think Marv answered that one for me last week when we were discussing it. He said something like this, "If God healed everyone, than no one would ever die, and there wouldn't be anyone in heaven with Him!" So, I guess that would be my answer to Drew. God IS a healer and God does heal, but not EVERYONE gets healed here on earth.

This took me deeper in thought to the point of, well, the beginning. God intended for us to live forever and to live together with Him like it was in the Garden. But, when sin entered the world, God could no longer stay here. We will still live forever, but now we have a choice to make. "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them." (Deut. 30:19-20)
For the believer, that 'land that He swore to give us' is our eternal home - heaven.

It also brought me to anticipate his next question, which might be something like, "Then if God wants us all to be with Him anyway, why do we have to live on earth in the first place?" And, my answer might be something like this, "Drew, God gives us the opportunity here on earth to practice loving others the way He loves us, and in most cases, that takes a LOT of practice! Aunt Mary showed a lot of love to a lot of people in the 50 or so short years she had here, and well, I guess her mission here on earth was complete, so God called her home.

It is with great sadness, but also joy that MaryAnn left us this morning to be with the Lord. We will miss you for now Mary, but we will see you soon! <3 Love you, Liz

All dogs go to Heaven? Hysterical !

Absolutely unreal that this actually happened!
These two churches face each other across a busy street.

...to be continued?

Job Opening

Alaskan Job Vacancy

Position: Surveyor

Salary: $200 per hour (tax-free)

Qualifications: Must be fast on your feet!

Isn't it comforting to know that when you are about to become a bear's breakfast your buddy is standing there taking photos?

Cry for me Argentina (Could history be repeating itself?) authored by "Vytautas" a 60-yr. old Father of 6

In the early 20th century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world. While Great Britain 's maritime power and its far-flung empire had propelled it to a dominant position among the world's industrialized nations, only the United States challenged Argentina for the position of the world's second-most powerful economy.


It was blessed with abundant agriculture, vast swaths of rich farmland laced with navigable rivers and an accessible port system. Its level of industrialization was higher than many European countries: railroads, automobiles and telephones were commonplace.

In 1916, a new president was elected. Hipólito Irigoyen, formed a party called The Radicals under the banner of "fundamental change" with an appeal to the middle class. "Fundamental change," (Hmmmm! NOW WHERE DID I HEAR THAT?)

Among Irigoyen's changes: mandatory pension insurance, mandatory health insurance, and support for low-income housing construction to stimulate the economy. Put simply, the state assumed economic control of a vast swath of the country's operations and began assessing new payroll taxes to fund its efforts. (SOUND FAMILIAR?)

With an increasing flow of funds into these entitlement programs, the government's payouts soon became overly generous. Before long its outlays surpassed the value of the taxpayers' contributions. Put simply, it quickly became under-funded, much like our Social Security and Medicare programs.

The death knell for the Argentine economy, however, came with the election of Juan Perón. Perón had a fascist and corporatist upbringing; he and his charismatic wife aimed their populist rhetoric at the nation's rich.

(AGAIN SOUND FAMILIAR?)

This targeted group "swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes, who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated."

Under Perón, the size of government bureaucracies exploded through massive programs of social spending and by encouraging the growth of labor unions.

(ARE WE BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT )

High taxes and economic mismanagement took their inevitable toll even after Perón had been driven from office. But his populist rhetoric and "contempt for economic realities" lived on. Argentina's federal government continued to spend far beyond its means.

(WE KNOW THAT CAN'T HAPPEN IN OUR COUNTRY, RIGHT? )

Hyperinflation exploded in 1989, the final stage of a process characterized by "industrial protectionism, redistribution of income based on increased wages, and growing state intervention in the economy..."

The Argentinean government's practice of printing money to pay off its public debts, crushed the economy. Inflation hit 3000%, reminiscent of the Weimar Republic . Food riots were rampant; stores were looted; the country descended into chaos.

And by 1994, Argentina 's public pensions -- the equivalent of Social Security -- had imploded. The payroll tax had increased from 5% to 26%, but it wasn't enough. In addition, Argentina had implemented a value-added tax (VAT), new income taxes, a personal tax on wealth, and additional revenues based upon the sale of public enterprises. These crushed the private sector, further damaging the economy.

(ONLY HAPPENS IN OTHER COUNTRIES, NOT OURS!)

A government-controlled "privatization" effort to rescue seniors' pensions was attempted. INSTEAD, by 2001, those funds had also been raided by the government, the monies replaced by Argentina 's defaulted government bonds. ( Hmmmmm! )

By 2002, "...government fiscal irresponsibility... induced a national economic crisis as severe as America 's Great Depression." (Nah, that won't happen again. Our Politicians are too smart)

We've seen this movie before. The politician's populist plans NEVER work, because power corrupts and government bankrupts everything it touches. For those that will listen, history shouts over and over that we cannot sustain the wild spending and government takeover of business, banking, health care, and continue to inflate unfunded entitlement programs! Like history tells us, it will be an utter and complete disaster!!!

Today's politicians are guilty of more than arrogant stupidity; they are enslaving future generations to poverty and misery. And they will be long gone when it all implodes. They will be as cold and dead as Juan Perón when your children and grandchildren must ultimately pay for the blind arrogance of politicians!

The author, Vytautas ,is a 60 year old dad of six small children.

He is interested in theology, home based businesses, self-sufficiency, and personal freedom.

THINK AMERICA! WE ARE ALLOWING POLITICIANS TO REPEAT THE FAILURES OF HISTORY!

PS... while working America cuts back... Congress just increased government expenditures by 12% in the "Omnibus" spending bill of nearly half a TRILLION!

Last year there was ONE person in the Dept. of Transportation making over $170,000!

This year that Dept. has 1690 people making over $170,000!

Is your company, or ANY company, doing that well?

AND, this bill has 5224 earmarks totaling $4,000,000,000!

The U.S. unfunded mandates including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the National Debt Now exceed 59 TRILLION DOLLARS.

History lesson over!

America, don't forget to vote in Nov. 2010!"