Hurricaine

Carbondale, Illinois

6:26 am:  It has been a particularly stressful week, though not at work.  I feel helpless- Hurricane Katrina hit on Monday and things are in shambles.  New Orleans is completely evacuated, and several cities in Louisiana and Mississippi (including Slidell, Gulfport, & Biloxi) have been completely leveled.   Bridges have been destroyed.  Buildings have been destroyed.  Thousands have been killed.  It is already being called the most costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.  I mean, New Orleans has been destroyed  by flood, fires, and rioting.  New Orleans!  The scale is unfathomable.  About 1/4 of the population of Louisiana is presently homeless.  Two hundred fifty thousand refugees have gone to Texas- church camps have opened up at Benton just south of us, and they are asking 2,000 homes in Missouri for refugees.  I just can't even imagine.  
     I want to help in some way, but I don't know what to do or how to go about doing it.  I talked to Shannon about going down and helping this week, but it isn't possible for me to go down there and her to get the kids.  I just have this overwhelming desire to do something.  I've never wanted to help so much before.  We will be giving extra at church this week- it'll go to the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief fund, but I want to do more.  I can't help but think if our house were destroyed someone from our church would take us in.  But those people down there- I mean nobody in their churches have homes anymore.  Who will help them?  I keep praying.  I will have to see what I need to do.
     I got an e-mail from Mark Strickland this week, and I think I will be helping organize people for the fair.  (Mark is director of Missions at the church, and our "Jerusalem" project is at the fair.)  There's just so much going on right now that I don't think most people even think about it.  I'm not exactly sure how things will work at the fair.  I believe we are going to have a booth, and my understanding is that we will be handing out items and doing opinion polls (a FAITH staple).
     But over the past two weeks, I have been asking that God would use me.  I've been asking around to see where I might help, and that people may contact me.  Well, Julie Staples called us last week, so I'll be helping with the 3rd grade boys in AWANA (at least, every other week).  
     I just feel so helpless right now.  I just want to do so much, but can do so little.  I pray that may change.