Ash Wednesday
...
(I'm a little
behind!)
Create in me a clean
heart, O God,
and put a new
and right spirit within me.
Psalm
51:10
Psalm
91:1
The more still my
Inner Voice,
the more still my
mind has to become
so that I can listen
more intently.
The quieter my mind
becomes
the richer
each moment becomes.
~ Marion Wilson-Gruzalski
Things are only
impossible
until they're
not.
~ Jean-Luc Picard
'Star Trek:
The Next Generation'
Mission Trip to
Houma, Louisiana
February 10 - February
17
Some of the still visible
destruction deep in the Bayou Cajun country
where we volunteered (south
of Houma) ...
My job was to take
pictures.
Carl is a retired Montana
contractor who relocated (with his wife) to Houma
after
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to offer his services. He
works/volunteers
with Bayou Grace Community
Services and coordinates the efforts of the
Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance camp where we stayed. He is sitting with
Miss Pauline, a Houma
Indian and one of the four recipients of work from
our Evergreen
group.
Mr. Jake is a shrimper and
owns five boats. His insurance helped
pay to raise his home on
stilts, but that is all. Jake gives much to
his family and neighbors,
but is having difficulty finishing his new home.
Bayou Grace (and
our mission groups) have provided much of the labor
on the home, but Mr. Jake
provides the materials. It took three days
before I could understand
his speech! A very interesting man!!!
Mr. Jake's brother,
John. I didn't have as much trouble understanding
him, but I didn't meet him
until after I could finally understand Jake.
Pastor Keith and his wife,
Sara.
Pastor Keith is
a Cajun Indian who was born on the island down
at the tip of the
Bayou. A member of his congregation paid to
have his home raised on
stilts as a thank you for all he does for
the community. Keith
is using his money to have professional help
in remodeling his kitchen,
but the rest of his battered home is
receiving labor help from
Bayou Grace.
Miss Justine is a Cajun
(French) whose family has lived on the Bayou for
many generations. Her
trailer home is no longer habitable and one
of her sons paid for the
shell of a brand new home on stilts for her
on her
property. He is
providing materials and our church groups
are
supplying the labor to do the
rest. They couldn't use wallboard
because it would mold, so
they used plywood which a future group will
cover with
paneling.
Miss Justine's trailer,
filled with moldy furniture, will have to
be completely
scrapped. Her new home is in the back.
Deb and Jack working on
Miss Pauline's home. Miss Pauline lives
on higher ground and was
not flooded, but the hurricane lifted her
roof. It didn't blow
completely off, but was structurally unsound
and
her home
filled with water. Our
crew scraped the paint and
washed down the front
side with Clorox to combat
the mold
before repainting
it.
Miss Pauline housed 105
people in her two-bedroom home following Rita,
and they used this
kitchen to prepare meals.
Mr. Jake's home. Four
of our people installed insulation underneath
the house and then covered
it with plywood. When they started to
put away the tools at
night, they were told they could leave them out.
"This is Mr. Jake's home,
and no one would take anything from him!"
Pastor Keith's home.
A lot of work still needs to be done!
His church is in the
background on the left.
The parish requires that
all new structures be on stilts. The
minimum height is
determined by FEMA's flood map regulations.
Some homes are prefab
...
... and some are more
elaborate.
Fascinating flora and
fauna!!! More next week!
Some people
walk in the rain, others just get wet.
~ Roger Miller
February 25, 2007
First Sunday in Lent
Previous OPQs may be found
at:
The Temptation:
There were three tests or temptations
in the accounts by Matthew and Luke:
- stone into bread;
- a miraculous rescue if Jesus would
throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple;
- Jesus enticed to pursue glory and
authority through political power.
These temptations are still
common to the human race.
1) People still want free food when
hungry. Bread is symbolic of food and money.
2) People still want God to do “magical
miracles” and rescue us from our foolish decisions.
3) People still want the glory,
recognition, and authority of political power.
http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_the_tempation_GA.htm
3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command
this stone to become a loaf of bread." 4Jesus answered
him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread
alone.'"
Luke
4:1-13
Agnus Day, by James
Wetzstein
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm
91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
