This letter was Mike's report from the field. He has so faithfully come to help in all situations! His drive and excitement cause me to want to help. Yesterday we were between food trucks and out of vegetables so I took a loving offering from one of you faithful supporters and went to Sams and bought about 6oo dollars worth of canned vegetables to get by. Thanks to all and please support Mike and Roxy as well!
Dear Friends of Blood N Fire,
I hope this note finds you doing well. I am writing you this note to give you an update of our relief efforts on the Texas Gulf Coast after Ike.
We are currently based in Texas City which just across the causeway from Galveston. We are serving over 1500 meals a day and giving away thousands of dollars worth of food, water, cleaning supplies as well as helping people gut out their houses. Just today one of our teams went to the home of a elderly couple, both in their 80’s, on oxygen and no insurance. They couldn’t believe that someone come and help them for free. After one more day of work, their house will be ready for further cleaning and preparation for repairs. This is just one of many stories of how God is moving touching the hearts of people who everyday are striving to find hope for a better tomorrow.
Today, Mark Roye and I went to Bridge City to take over 120 Ice chests to our partners who are leading the efforts to help those with their homes. All but 22 of the 5000 homes in Bridge City had from 2 to 8 ft of water rush into their homes. Imagine that, 5000 homes… and only 22 are inhabitable, imagine the needs of all those people left homeless. As we drove over from Texas City to Bridge City, which is over 100 miles apart, we could not believe the path taken, and the force of destruction Ike created. When we arrived, we were taken on a tour of the city and could not believe our eyes. We saw home after home which had the entire contents of their homes on the curb. Everything was lost, furniture, appliances, beds, and personal belongings were soon on the bottom of hundreds of pounds of ocean water soaked sheetrock.
SMALL DEEDS, BIG BLESSINGS
One story that brought tears to my eyes was the story of Kevin and Tracey Mott. Kevin is a city councilman and upon the destruction of his home, has been living at the local city hall trying to help a city he serves. Tracey had been working to help get her elderly parents home livable. Both of them had not even thought about dealing with the destruction of their own home. One of the teams in the area that we are working with heard of their story and went to begin the process of cutting about 36 inches of sheet rock out of the entire house. As they were working they saw a on the door frame the marks made by their parents of the height growth of the their children. The team felt this was important and gently pulled the frame and set aside to give to the Mott’s. When the time came for them to show them what they found, the Mott’s broke out in tears and wept. You see, their 21 year old son had been killed in a tragic motorcycle accident just a year ago. Tracey had done her best to get anything that held memories of her family, but had forgotten about the growth chart. They were so thankful for the thoughtfulness of the team and said that they wanted to do the same for others. I hope you get the picture of the impact of what is being done by Christians in what seems to a lost news story of pain and loss of people still caught in the undertow of Hurricane Ike
The Need is Getting Greater
As time rolls on, we hear of different major, and smaller relief organizations leaving towns that still have great needs. Most of it is because the lack of funding. Some have even stated that the reason is “the media is gone”, it seems, when the media stops showing the pictures and telling the stories of how it really is, everyone thinks it is all ok. But please believe me it is not o.k. down here. The needs are great, but because the medias focus elsewhere, people are unaware. There may not be as many that lost their lives in this storm, but there are thousands more affected by the widespread destruction. People are still in desperate need, and ministries cross Country have forgotten, thinking the Government is dealing with it.
We are so thankful that many of you are helping support our efforts to show the Love of Jesus in acts of kindness and compassion. We have made a commitment to the end of October and your prayers and financial support is still greatly needed. We have found great favor with local churches, and local government. At the end of last week we were surprised to get a letter from the Mayor of Texas City thanking us for caring for their city. We love being here, touching people with love and hope that only Christ can bring.
Kevin Herrin the pastor of The Fellowship of Texas City, where we are based, just printed 5000 cards that read, “Ike is gone…but do you still feel like you’re in the storm?” This is a good question to ask and the usual answer we get is, YES! Jesus is the only one that can bring peace to the storm.
Thank you so much for your prayers and your financial support of our efforts.
Mike Lynch
BNF/Compassion Alliance
3101 Bloomington ave so
Mpls, MN 55407
Today I have many balls in the air.