Evacuated

With hurricane Gustav expected to make landfall in less than 24 hours we have evacuated Lakeshore. Last night the 7 of us (Pastor Don, his wife, 2 children, Allison, Zack's college roommate, and I) spent the night at Pastor Don's house to escape the traffic that would probably be flowing slowly Sunday morning. We left this morning to go north to Clifton Baptist Church in Clifton, LA. We are staying up in the church until the storm passes and we are able to make in back to Mandeville and Lakeshore to check out any damage.

I've recently learned there is mandatory evacutation of Hancock County south of I-10, this includes Lakeshore. We've made contact with most of the church members, most of who are leaving. Bob Turner came today and cleared out several pieces of equiptment, housing units, and cook trailer.

Complete in Thee

Complete In Thee
Aaron R. Wolfe, 1821-1902
Refrain, James M. Gray, 1851-1935

Complete in Thee! No work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
The blood has pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Complete in Thee! Nor more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.

Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
The blood has pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Complete in Thee - each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.

Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
The blood has pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Dear Saviour, when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are
Among Thy chosen will I be
At Thy right hand, complete in Thee.

Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
The blood has pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Watching Gustav

As most have heard by now there is tropical storm/hurricane Gustav out in the Caribbean approaching the gulf and the gulf coast. For the past few days we have been watching it closely to see where the projected path (the Hurricane Center's best guess at this point) would lead the storm. So far their best guess has it jumping from one point on the coast to another. Yet Mississippi still seems to be in the middle of it all.

It is far too early to tell where it will actually end up hitting there is still nearly 5 days until projected landfall. And we saw what Fay did - throwing all the computer models off on it's destination. So I am not going to hold my breath on way or another, best thing to do is to watch and wait.

We are making preparations however in case we do have to tear down Quonset huts and move trailers. There is an association of churches in Jones county ready to come tear this place down Saturday if we decide we need them.

Tomorrow is the three year anniversary of hurricane Katrina. Mississippi residents are daily reminded of the devastation Katrina left in its wake, and new fears with this storm are reminding them all over again of what has happen and could easily happen again.

Until it's closer there is no need to panic, but we are getting prepared just in case. Fears around town though are growing I heard Wal-Mart was crazy today, yesterday they ran out of gasoline, and today gas prices jumped 20 cents from yesterday. I'll try to keep ya'll updated or you can also check out rebuildlakeshore.com for information.

Pray like Jesus

This morning I was thinking about unsaved family members of mine and how I pray and hope so much that they would be saved, yet in all my and others attempts to share the gospel they are still hard hearted and the Lord has not yet opened their eyes. I was discouraged. But the Lord brought to mind previous conversations I've had with believers on why we need to continue to pray for lost loved ones and a sermon series preached by Mark Driscoll that I listened to while flying back to Lakeshore last week.

The series is entitled "Pray Like Jesus". The series was good stuff and I recommend taking the time to listen, but I was reminded of one thing that he said several times. And it sounds very simple, like duh I should not have to remind myself of this. But God answers prayer. His answers are yes, no, or later.

I am encouraged to think that as I pray no matter what the answer God hears and answers. But there is still that hope within me that maybe God is saying later when I pray for the unsaved. I don't know for sure and no matter the answer he still receives the glory. But I am less discouraged now as I think there is hope that he will regenerate them and that he has heard my prayer. May the Lord's will be done.

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Driscoll's sermons in the series include:
Pray Like Jesus
The Lord's Prayer
The Gethsemane Prayer

Let Us Love, And Sing, and Wonder

Let Us Love, And Sing, And Wonder
John Newton

Let us love, and sing, and wonder
Let us praise the Saviour's name;
He has hushed the law's loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai's flame;
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

Let us love the Lord who bought us,
Pitied us when enemies;
Called us by His grace, and taught us,
Gave us ears, and gave us eyes;
He has washed us with His blood,
He presents our souls to God.

Let us sing, though fierce temptation
Threaten hard to bear us down,
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conq'ror's crown;
He who washed us with His blood,
Soon will bring us home to God.

Let us wonder! Grace and justice
Join, and point to mercy's store;
When through grace, in Christ our trust is,
Justice smiles, and asks no more;
He who washed us with His blood;
Has secured our way to God.

Let us praise, and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high;
Here they trusted Him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky;
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood,
Thou art worthy, Lamb of God.

It is time for an update...

August is nearly over; I am still trying to figure out where it has gone. This month saw fewer volunteers than the past few months, yet many things were accomplished. Earlier this month a team from Chippewa Falls, WI worked a great deal on my house. They worked on hanging, mudding, and sanding sheetrock, building indoor and outdoor stairs, and building an area for the hot water heater. It is coming along. Still some work to do on the sheetrock, but Lord willing it wont be long before I can texture and paint.

We were also able to get one woman and her daughter into their home, finishing a few details on the home as FEMA pressed to take their camper back.

September is quick approaching Lord willing we will be starting another home for a family in Lakeshore. A church from Virginia is planning to send people down for 5 weeks straight to get as far as they can on the building of the home.

I took a little time away from Lakeshore and caught a ride back to Wisconsin with the Chippewa Falls team. I was able to spend about 4 days at my parents house with my folks, sister and my niece (who I met for the first time!). Following that I spent one night at my sister place and then headed for Chippewa Falls where I spent about a week. It was a grea time away and a great time to reflect on several different things, prepare for the ladies Bible study, and get a lot of sleep.

I know it has been some time since I've posted and there is a lot more that has taken place than I've briefly touched on here. Lord willing I will be writing a little more frequently, but we'll see how that goes as time goes on.

Seeing God work

One of the great things about serving in Lakeshore is the numerous times each week I see the Lord work in very tangible ways. Tonight was no exception. Allison and I were waiting to eat dinner, talking with the ladies from the Bronx New York group when we received a phone call from their men. They were near Wal-Mart when our trusty old blue van broke down.

Allison and I rode up there, then back to the church to get some jumper cables, and back again. When we arrived we found the guys just joking around waiting on us. Once we started to get the hood open, we realized none of us could. Struggling wondering what we would do and local man stopped and assisted.

He had owned an old Ford van and knew the trick of getting the hood open. Then he pulled up and assisted us in jumping off the van. It finally cranked and we were able to get back to the church. I praise God for the attitude of the Bronx group and the help of the local fisherman.

Summer help - Betsy

Betsy left us this morning after a bit of an extended stay and an unexpected delay. Betsy is 16 from Hilton Head Island and a real joy to have around Lakeshore. She's been with her church several times before and came once by herself during spring break, but she devoted a month of her summer to serve in Lakeshore this year. She is a tremendous worker and great friend. I am grateful the Lord has brought Betsy this way and given her a heart for Lakeshore. Lord willing she will be back sometime this fall. Thanks Besty for your hard work! Look forward to seeing you this fall.