Dear Scattered Family Members of Crown of Life:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

You’ve heard the old story. They say that if you try to throw a frog in hot water he will just jump right out. But if you put him in cold water on the stove and gradually heat him up he will sit right there until he dies. I don’t know if that is true or not and please don’t try it to let me know unless you plan to eat the frog. I’ve heard that example used in a lot of different ways but in a way it applies to change. Just think about the changes that a person goes through in life, from the time he is born to the time he dies. In a way that is what our lives are all about, change.

Some we look forward to: getting off on our own, making a life for ourselves, maybe having a family, owning a home, having a career. Some changes gradually overtake us that we are not happy with: losing your hair, losing your memory. Some we are just so happy about: being born again, being washed in Jesus blood, going from this life to life in heaven.

But what is difficult is when we get thrown into the hot water of change all at once. Then change becomes the enemy. I know that is what has happened to many of you in the last month. For many of you it might seem like nothing is the same.

Even though life is a series of changes, gradual or catastrophic, we know that one thing never changes, our God. He is the same yesterday today and forever. So if we build our lives on the unchanging rock of ages, it doesn’t matter if things change and crumble around us, our foundation rests secure. How does that song go? “Change and decay in all around I see. Oh thou who changes not, abide with me.”

News:

1. I got a nice e-mail on one of the devotions a couple of days ago. I’ll share it with you.
"And lurking in the back of our minds is the fear that it will never, ever be the same."

My family and I went through Hurricane Andrew 13 years ago and the sentence above perfectly describes what was on my mind during the aftermath of Andrew. Especially hard is that the losses seem to go on and on as you sort through soaked photo albums and say goodbye to long-time friends who decide that they can't stay to rebuild. To the extent that you will always have this experience in your background, your fear is correct, things will never be the same.

But on a more reassuring note, things will return to a comfortable normalcy. The muck will be shoveled out, stores reopened and homes rebuilt. Many of our members in Miami rebuilt even better than what they had before thanks to the overwhelming generosity of others. The church will also be put back in good order.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your members,
Kathy Saracione

2. Carol and Seth got into the church yesterday. She was able to rescue the communion ware, and our orders of service. They didn’t have much time because they were told that someone had compromised one of the levees and the water was coming back in. It was rising quickly in the canal, but I didn’t hear about any flooding. She was also able to rescue my old Bible. It is now wearing a hair shirt of mold. I’ll try to resuscitate it tomorrow. She also got the Choir CD Master and it works. Some of the CDs she brought back worked and some received some strange damage and didn’t work.

3. Linda Hall, her parents and Chris went over the help the Kionkas clean up and dry out. Thanks! We hope their insurance will pay for their repairs.

4. Robin called, they have moved back to Houston after Rita. They have been suffering with illness lately. Keep them in your prayers.

5. Rumor has it that we will be allowed to go back and visit our houses next week. At least you should be able to get some of the valuables out if they survived.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered members of Crown of Life:

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Philippians 4:14

His name is Dave, he came from Corpus Christi Texas and spent the last few weeks cutting trees and hauling wet carpeting. Then there was Mr. Blievernicht from Illinois who came and hooked up electrical stuff for people. There was a lady who sent gift cards to the people of the church and Mark who sent me a box of his ties, the people we have all stayed with along the way and so, so many others. Why did they do this? Christian love? Yes! Showing support? Yes! But there might be something else here.

St. Paul was a prisoner in Rome. He was under what we call house arrest. It didn’t allow him to earn a living so he needed help. The Philippians sent him some money for his support. He says that by their gift they shared in his troubles. Now who would want to share in someone’s troubles? Share in their joy, maybe, but troubles? We see one of our friends struggling under a heavy load so we put our shoulder under that load. Are we looking for something to carry? No! But we know that it might make their load a little lighter. We “share in their troubles.” What is that old German proverb? “Shared sorrow is halved sorrow.”

So my friends, a lot of people have put their shoulders under the load with us. They have actually volunteered to share in our troubles. It makes it lighter, doesn’t it?

News:

Beverly Boczon will move to the French Quarter while she rebuilds her house.

Arva called from Shreveport. It was good to hear her voice.

I talked to Joy who is around Macon Ga. They are doing OK.

Robin and her family are doing better.

Dan has been working on our Choir CD.

Next week they will allow us to go in to our homes and take stuff out, but we can’t stay.

Reports are that there has been good progress in the city.

Carol has been brushing the mold hair off my old Bible. The duct tape I used to hold it together is still strong. There is hope.

Pastor Dietrich is back in town, tomorrow the first cold front will make it through and I noticed that the trees that had all the leaves blown off them were growing new ones.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but in the one to come. Ephesians 1:19-21

Whose fault was it anyway? Was it Governor Blanco’s fault that things were such a mess? Was it Mayor Nagin’s fault? FEMA’s Fault? Bush’s fault? If you have listened to all the talk in the news, that has been the big question. I tend to think that we have this big mess because of a hurricane call Katrina. It doesn’t matter who you choose to blame, what it demonstrates is that we can’t trust “powerful people” to protect us. Sometimes they are not trustworthy; sometimes they just aren’t powerful enough. The Psalmist writes, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.” Psalm 146:3

That is why it is good for us to know that we have someone else in charge, someone who sits in authority over all these people, it is Jesus. This is the same one who defeated death, forgave our sins, promises to take us to heaven. So we know how he feels about us. And we know that he has the power to get the job done. I feel a lot more comfortable trusting him with my life and my future than the mayor, the governor or the president.

News:

Arva called, she is moving into an apartment in Shreveport. They doing OK but it looks like she will lose her job.

Joy is living with her niece in Warner Robin, GA. That’s close to Macon. She now can get e-mail at ttlyles9@aol.com.

Robin is looking into getting a FEMA trailer.

We continue to get cards, calls and e-mails of encouragement.

Next week, I’ll be out of town at the Board for World Missions meeting in Milwaukee. Carol will take one of the Builders for Christ into the city to assess the damage to our church and fellowship hall.

Worship service on Sunday at 11:00, Hall’s house. Those with Choir music, please bring it. We were able to rescue some of our orders of worship. I’ll bring those. I’ll also bring the Thrivent request forms. Those of you who are far away, don’t worry someone will be in contact with you to fill those out for you.

Be strong in the Lord.

Dear Scattered Members of Crown of Life,

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:13 [sic - Webmaster]

Chris “sneaked” in and saw our church last week. We really weren’t supposed to be going in but they let him go. If you were in church yesterday, you would have heard him describe with a lump in his throat what he found there. The organ had floated and tipped over as had the piano. All his musical equipment had been submerged. The pews had been submerged in water for two weeks and looked like it. And everything was covered in mud and mold. He said that it looked like a place people used to worship. Everyone sat there in silence. It was good to get started with the worship service because we sang, “Praise to God immortal praise.”

St. Paul is talking to the Philippians. He tells them not to complain or argue, to be blameless as far as the world is concerned. The reason is that they lived in a depraved world. And this was their opportunity to shine like the stars. The darker the night, the brighter the stars shine. The more depraved the world, the brighter God’s people will shine.

I think that is also true in other things. People who are cheerful, helpful and hopeful in good times certainly don’t stand out as much as those who are all those things in difficult times. Winston Churchill told the people of Britain that the way they responded to their worst time during WW2, would turn out to be their finest hour. As we stand in the midst of the destruction of our homes, our church and our city, we will have the opportunity shine as God’s people. The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.

News:

1. For those outside the city, we will be allowed to enter our area of town beginning Wednesday through Friday, but only during the day.

2. George Armstrong is back in Baton Rouge. His son will be returning to returning to California to find him a place to stay.

3. Be sure to fill out the Trivent grant requests. Those of you outside, should be getting a call requesting information so they can fill in your request for you.

4. Kris Smith was trying to make it home and his car broke down in Alabama.

5. We received more clothes from our bothers and sisters in Christ. If you need clothes or shoes or you know people who do, please take them with you. They are stored at Halls for now.

6. We had 45 people in church yesterday and new record for Crown of Life Diaspora. It felt good.

7. I have to go to Milwaukee for a Board for World Missions meeting this week, Tuesday – Saturday, so Carol will be taking the Builders For Christ leaders in to assess the needs of our church on Friday. When the time comes for us to be able to get in and start cleaning up please let me know when you will be coming in. We might be able to help each other out.

8. Don’t forget Family Day on October 16th. Michael and the Spice Boys will prepare the entrée and we ask everyone else to bring a dish to share. There will be a Baptism at the service, Angel Noland’s son. We will remember those from the congregation who are in glory. And afterwards there will be a spacewalk for the kids (and maybe the adults too).

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Philippians 3:9

You see some strange things in times like these. I’ve told you about the rocking chair hanging from our ceiling fan …. On the second floor! That’s high water. Or the boat hung up in the telephone wires? I saw one the other day that I thought of again as I read the passage above. Carol had gotten my preaching robes out of the church. Of course they had been soaked in flood water for a couple weeks so she laid them out on the grass on the side of Trinity Lutheran church here, to let the sun kill the mold. I wish I had taken a picture. They were laying there is such a way that it looked like the preachers in them had been snatched out of them as they walked to church. (Like some kind of bizarre rapture.) Of course they were later taken to the cleaners in hopes of getting the dirt out of them. I guess what made me think of that when I read the passage above is the common picture of wearing the robe of Jesus’ righteousness.

St. Paul talks about not having a righteousness of his own but a righteousness that comes from Christ. Who would want to go through life wearing a robe of his own righteousness? All our sins stuck to us like mold on those robes. All the things we shouldn’t have done but did. All the things we should have done but didn’t. It would be a pretty nasty robe. But thanks to Jesus we have been snatched out of that moldy robe and dressed in his robe of perfect righteousness. That is how we now stand before our God. I’m glad that there is a moldy robe some place without me in it.

News:

Wednesday through Friday New Orleans residents can finally get in to see their homes, take what they want and leave. The water, sewer, electricity, phone, etc are still not working so the city does not want us to stay yet. Ramona asked about Saturday. We are not sure. I think they will allow us in those dates too, but we are not sure. The next week they are inviting insurance adjusters in. Church Mutual is coming.

Mercadels are still in Austell looking to come home.

Jeffersons are in Centreville, MS. The home they were staying in with a brother in Lake Charles has received severe damage also. Keep them in your prayers.

The people in Metairie are getting back to normal. They are complaining on the news of the long waits (three hours) for the few restaurants that are open.

Sarah Greenlee checked with Children’s Hospital. Margie Thomas is not listed among the missing. So we can assume that she is OK. We still don’t know.

Be strong in the Lord

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:19-21

The only one in our neighborhood today was an animal control agent, walking up and down the streets looking for animals in distress. He had been sent in to rescue animals that had been left behind. He said he found two dead dogs on our block. People left their animals behind because they thought they would be coming back soon. When he found out that we had taken our dog with us he gave Carol a hug. Chris went into someone’s home and found their cat, alive but pretty skinny after two weeks without food. Along with all the rubble from the storm surge in Slidell were the bodies of 3 dogs and some other kind of animal. We human beings aren’t the only ones who end up suffering from a hurricane.

St. Paul talks about nature as if it were a single “person.” He says that nature too has been frustrated and made to suffer because of sin in the world. Nature waits for what we wait for, the time when our world will be free of sin and there will be no more dying, no more decay. The wind was so strong in the hurricane that it blew most of the leaves off of the trees in some areas. I noticed lately driving over the Pearl River bridge on I 10 that the trees are starting to grow new leaves…. in October! The Creator has given his creation the ability to rebound from these kinds of things. Nature will and we will but we both wait for a time when we won’t have to anymore.

News:

1. The good news is that beginning Wednesday we will be allowed to go into our area of town and that will continue from that time on. It would be good if we could set aside a day in which as many of us a possible could go into the church and begin the clean up. I’m thinking about Saturday Oct 15th. I know that is a couple of weeks away but I’m trying to find a date we can plan for where most of us could be there. If we all worked together, we could make a pretty good dent in it. I’m also going to be asking Kingdom Workers if they have anyone that they could send down to help in a clean up. The folks in Abita Springs said they could house some. They would need to have their own transportation into the city. Stay tuned. Let me know what you think.

2. Beth is back at work full time.

3. UNO is starting October 10th. Not the main campus however.

4. Major cuts in city workers this week. Hope Kathy Mercadel and Horace survived.

5. I’d like to have choir practice at 10 AM on Sunday Morning. I think if we could practice a little ahead we could sing for church. Also we need to have a song or two for Trinity’s 100th anniversary on the 30th of Oct. They would like us to come and worship with them. District President Guse is preaching the sermon.

6. Got this information from Patience I hope this note finds you well. I just spoke to Mrs. Ison and she said
they will be moving into an apartment on the 14th. Their new mailing address
will be:

2704 Shed Rd Apt. 167J
Bossier City, LA 71111

Mrs. Joyce said they will be going to New Orleans on Friday to see their
house. She also said they will try to make it for family day. They also have
another cell number to be reached at. 504-909-1557
This is Mr. Ison's cell. They will be getting a house phone when they get
settled in.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Go into all the world and peach the good news to all of creation. Mark 16:16 [sic - Webmaster]

It hasn’t turned out like I expected it to, this world mission thing. As you know, I’m on our synod’s Board for World Missions. Right now I’m sitting in a hotel getting ready for the kind of meeting I never expected to attend, a meeting that will decide which missionaries we will have to bring home and which mission fields will close. I thought being on the BWM would mean planning new places and sending new missionaries, I didn’t envision this day. I’m not prepared. Some things happened when I was a missionary in Africa that I didn’t expect either. I never expected that so many people would come to faith through the preaching of the word. I never thought I would be baptizing 20 people on a Sunday, but it happened routinely. I also never thought I’d be telling people, “Sorry we can’t start a church in your village because we already have more churches than we can serve.” How do you prepare for things you never thought you’d see? I was unprepared.

But it doesn’t stop there. When I thought of being a pastor I never thought of serving a church in the city of New Orleans. I couldn’t prepare for it because I didn’t expect it. I certainly didn’t expect to be serving a congregation that is now located in five states. How do you serve a church like that? And the questions that some of you are asking, “How do I attend a church like that?”

But Jesus said to his disciples and us, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” It is an extremely simple command to understand. But it is also extremely vague. I guess it should have been a tip off when we read what Jesus said next. He mentions speaking in other languages, handling deadly snakes and drinking deadly poison…. all apparently part of preaching the good news to all creation. You could probably add to the list, baptizing 20 people on a Sunday, pulling a missionary off the field, praying with people 5 states away and pulling the moldy pews out of your church. Also apparently part of preaching the gospel to all creation, but I’m not really prepared for any of those things. But the one who gave the command is. It is His church. He gave his life for her. I guess we can trust Him.

News:

1. Pastor Warnecke is working with Kris Smith to arrange a group of people to come down and help us clean out our church and fellowship hall.

2. Many people I’ve talked to say that are keeping us in their prayers.

3. We are still planning on a general clean up on the 15th.

4. Family Day on the 16th.

5. Worship is on Sunday at 11:00 AM

6. Ison’s say they are coming in to inspect their house on Friday.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Family Members:

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. Genesis 9:12-16

A cold front came through here in Milwaukee. The high is expected to be in the 50s. The sky is cloudy with those kind of winter looking clouds. It reminds me of growing up here. Where I lived, a day like this would usually come up at the end of August. There would be these clouds in the sky and a chill in the air and you knew that summer was over. And every year that I’ve been alive it has been the same: summer, fall, winter, spring. God has promised that it would be that way. There is something comforting in that. As unpredictable as the weather sometimes seems to be, there are parts of it that are absolutely predictable.

Noah had just been through a terrible ordeal. He had watched the Lord destroy the whole earth with the flood, everything except those people and animals on the ark. I guess the Lord knew that Noah would need some assurances that the world would get back to normal for him. So God promised just before the reading above, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” And then God put his rainbow in the sky and promised the human beings and the animals that he would never destroy the earth like that again.

In a totally unpredictable world it is good to know that there will be some things that will remain the same every year of our lives, no matter what things look like. Foremost is his love for us. That will never change. His forgiveness in Christ Jesus will always be there. And God has promised us and the animals that there will be a certain consistency in the weather, in the changing of the seasons. This hurricane season will end. There will be spring again. Certain things in life will never change. Want proof? Look at a rainbow. That is God’s proof that there are some things we can count on being the same. What I have always found fascinating about this passage is that God says the HE will look at the rainbow and remember his promise. It is nice to know that when I look at a rainbow and remember, some one else is looking at that same rainbow and remembering.

News:

1. Kingdom Workers is setting up a team of people to come down and help us clean up and throw out the stuff in our church and fellowship hall. Kris is getting it set up.

2. If any of you would like help throwing the stuff out of your house, please let me know when you plan to do that, maybe we can coordinate some help.

3. We would like to have choir practice on Sunday at 10:00 AM. I’d like to sing in the service and we need to practice for the upcoming 100th anniversary of Trinity.

4. At this time we are still planning for a church clean up for the 15th unless the Kingdom Workers finish the job before hand.

5. The 16th is our family day. We are looking forward to a few of our far flung members making it.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Family Members:

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3

I never understood endurance runners. You watch those running a marathon and it doesn’t look like anyone is having fun. Some of them are quite obviously suffering. No one makes them run it. They can stop at any time. So why do they put themselves through it? Is it the prize? Well the vast majority never get anything out of it. In some of those races the prizes have already been given out and they are still out there running and enduring. I don’t get it.

I look at some of your faces and it doesn’t look like many of you are having much fun either. It has been over a month since we were forced from our home because of the hurricane and for many of us, getting back seems even further away. It is hard to pace yourself for a race when you don’t know how long the race is.

St. Paul says that he thanks God for the endurance of the Thessalonians. He says that they got their endurance from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember now, hope is confidence in the promises of God. And since God has never broken a promise, that makes our confidence a sure thing. God has promised us many things that apply to the race we are in. He has told us that he will never give us more than we can endure. He has promised to give us all the strength we need. He has promised to do the worrying for us. Ok, so that helps us with the race. We still don’t know how long it will be but we know we are going to make it. As a matter of fact, in a strange kind of way, we have already made it.

See what St. Paul says our inspiring hope is in? “Our Lord Jesus Christ.” Thanks to Jesus life, death and resurrection for us, we have already received the prize, the BIG PRIZE! We’ve already stood on the podium with the medal hung around our necks. We’ve already taken the victory lap. We are his children; life and glory are ours, forever, the BIG PRIZE. And even though sometimes we say, “We don’t know how this is going to turn out.” We do know how this is all going to turn out! Knowing that, I can run another day. How about you?

News:

1. Had a nice service yesterday with 47 people crowded into Halls house. Standing room only. A record Crown of Life Diaspora attendance. (Of course our numbers were swollen with about ten Builders for Christ.)

2. Once again we received many cards and letters and gifts from people around the country. Having people cheering you along makes the race easier too.

3. A group of people are coming down today to help in the church clean up this week. Kris is spearheading the operation. If you are able to house people, please let him know. We are still planning a clean up day this coming Saturday. I’m sure there will be plenty to do.

4. Family Day is this coming Sunday. Michael and the Spice Boys will be doing the grilling and everyone else is asked to bring a dish to share. There will be a spacewalk for the kids (and adults ?) and a few games. We’ll have to settle for a CD without the Richwell Ison Jazz Experience. Bring your friends and relatives and join us!

5. I’ll be turning in the Thrivent grant papers this week. I’m not sure when the grant money will come. I believe they will give the church a block grant and we can divide it up, but I’m not sure about that.

6. Things to pray about: Miss Kivi fell and broke her nose. Ryan and Pam have new jobs with FEMA (now it will be run right!) Faith is having a hernia operation next week. The WELS had to cut some world mission positions for budget reasons. Our mayor.

Be strong in the Lord

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding. Nehemiah 2:20

The words in our church sign looked something like this. “Ta kecour age! ItisI. Don’t beafraid.” The sign had withstood the hurricane but some how either the wind or the water had jumbled up the letters. It really said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Without realizing it, Dale had put just the words we needed out there before the storm. I wonder how many people drove by those words running from the hurricane and were strengthened by Jesus promise to his disciples who were in the boat during a storm. And he was with us through it all.

Yesterday we began the work on the church in earnest. Some of the members, a man from Brown Deer, Wisconsin, and a couple of guys from Arkansas started knocking the pews apart and taking them out the door. Gretchen decided to change the wording of the sign to the words of Nehemiah above. Of course Nehemiah wasn’t building a church, he was building the wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah had been given permission to build the wall from Artaxerxes the king. He had also prayed to the Lord to make it happen. In spite of all that support, Nehemiah would have a lot of trouble building that wall.

I haven’t received direct word from the Lord where he has told us to rebuild the church. (If one of you has, please let me know) The king hasn’t told us to rebuild. (Who is our king anyway, FEMA or maybe Synod President Gurgel?) But what is important is the last part of the passage, “We his servants will start rebuilding.” If we rebuild our church and once again worship at 11721 Morrison Rd. let it be because we know who we are, “his servants.” If we ever sing, “Just as I am without one plea” in that building let it be sung by people who are there to serve him and serve each other.

News:

1. Speaking of servants, 11 people from various places around the country will join the Builders for Christ here to work on the church. During this next week they will be taking everything out of the church and fellowship hall and piling it on the curb. The Builders will then assess what needs to be done next.
2. A special thanks to the people of Trinity Abita Springs who are housing and feeding a lot of these people. Most of the work is being done for us but they are taking on a heavy load.

3. The choir sang in church Sunday. It was nice. Practice at 10:00 AM Sunday.

4. We are still planning a clean up for Saturday. I guess a lot depends on how much our friends accomplish.

5. Family Day is on Sunday after Church. Bring something to share.

6. Make sure to tell me when you want help clearing out your house, I might be able to find some help for you.

Be strong in the Lord.

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” Matthew 5:13

I have this theory about spicy food, “You know it is spicy enough when it raises up little beads of sweat on your forehead.” Of course there are plenty of people who wouldn’t agree with that. There is an old Latin expression, “degustibus non disputandem est.” (correct me if I’m wrong) It means, “A matter of taste cannot be disputed.” Well yesterday I came dangerously close to disputing someone else’s taste and that is dangerous when that someone else is God. You see as Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.”

We have a group of people who came down to help clear out the church, fellowship hall and parsonage. They are WELS people from all over the country. And they are amazing people. They worked in the mold and the filth as if they actually enjoyed it. But as I thought about it, I thought it odd. Here we had people from scattered locations around the country coming to help a church whose members are scattered about the country. Wouldn’t it make more sense if you members, who would like to be back anyway, could be back here doing this work and these other people wouldn’t have to travel all this distance. It would save on gas money. Maybe the Lord isn’t using “our” resources wisely.

But then I got to thinking that maybe since we are all the salt of the earth, that maybe the Lord is scattering around our saltiness. Maybe you have a spiciness that your new part of the country can use. And maybe the folks who came down are giving us a spiciness we can use. Do you think you can inspire someone with your story? Do you think you can inspire someone with His story? The Lord keeps shaking his salt out over the earth. Why did he shake you, where you are?

News:
1. Talked to Horace yesterday. It was good to hear from him. We were pretty sure he was OK but it was good to hear it from his own lips.

2. Joy called and passes her greetings on to all of you. They are moving into an apartment.

3. By the end of today, we should have the church and fellowship hall stripped. There is a tremendous mound of stuff in front of the church.

4. I read on the official New Orleans web site that they expect to have electricity ready for hook up in a week in our part of town. Of course because we all got flooded we are going to have to redo some of the wiring before they will hook us up.

5. These volunteers leave on Monday. If you would like help clearing your house, let me know.

6. Remember: Clean up on Saturday. Family Day on Sunday. Bring a dish to share.

7. On October 30th Trinity will be celebrating its 100th anniversary at 10:00 AM. They would very much like us to join them. That would give us a chance to thank them for all they are doing for us too. They are housing and feeding many of the volunteers and we are getting most of the help.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:8

It was one of those odd scenes. Pretty girls dressed in big yellow boots, face masks and white, paper, not cut for flattery, jump suits. They had been knocking the sheetrock out of the church and carrying it to the curb. Kris Smith, who is the organizer of these volunteers from around the country, said to me, “These people are really nice to work with.” “I wish everyone in the world were so easy to get along with.” We agree with you Kris. It kind of reminds me of St. Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration. He had just seen Moses, Elijah and the one they were prophesying about, Jesus, all standing together. He can’t help himself, “It is good for us to be here, let’s stay.”

St. Paul was longing to be with his Christian friends in Philippi. If you read the book, you see how close St. Paul felt to them. He longed for them. He wanted to be with them. What was the thing drawing them together? “The affection of Christ Jesus.”

Every once in awhile you see things the way they are supposed to be: people getting along, people enjoying each other’s company, total strangers who are instantly your friends. It is the glimpse of what it could be, a glimpse of what it will be in heaven, and we don’t want to leave. The day will come when the order of the day, the motivation for every action from everyone around us will be, “The affection of Christ Jesus.” Until then we know that we will have to work out there in the world where the “affection of Christ Jesus” is not the order of the day. But there is nothing wrong with “longing” to be with our fellow believers. There is nothing wrong with working hard to make more of those good days.

News:

1. A group of volunteers from around the country spent the day with Kris, Chris, Carol and I working on cleaning out the church, fellowship hall and parsonage. They will continue until Sunday. Its moldy and sometimes stinky work.

2. There are several of our far flung members who are planning to join us for Family Day. Here are the directions for first timers. Take I10 to I12E. Take the Airline hwy exit, north. The second light is Old Hammond Hwy, take it left. Go past 3 stop lights and then watch on the left for Dove Hollow Dr. Take it. Halls house is the 3rd house on the right. 2238 Dove Hollow Dr. Baton Rouge, 70809

If you are coming west on I12 take Airline Hwy north and follow the rest of the directions above. Hope to see you there.

3. Work day is Saturday. You’ll get a chance to meet the folks who have come to help us. Be prepared for a sad sight.

4. Talked to Kelli, Joy, Willie and LeRoy and Horace. Horace stopped by the church yesterday. All are making it thanks to God.

5. Had some questions about the title of these “letters.” So for those of you who were wondering…. Diaspora – 1. the dispersion of the Jews from Palestine following the Babylonians’ conquest of the Judean Kingdom in the 6th century BC and again following the Romans’ destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70. 2. the Jewish communities living outside either the present-day state of Israel or the ancient biblical kingdom of Israel. 3. A dispersion of a people, language, or culture that was formerly concentrated in one place

Be strong in the Lord.

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Almost every day, these days, I’ve been crossing Lake Ponchartrain on the Causeway to visit the church during its destruction. It is famous, as you know, for being the longest bridge in the world, 26 miles. What most people don’t think of is that it is probably one of the straightest 26 miles of highway there is. People who drive the Causeway are pretty dedicated people, speed is everything. Yesterday, though, I set the cruise on 60 and took it easy. Instead of changing lanes and jockeying to gain an extra 100 yards I decided to look around me. There were brown pelicans diving in the lake for fish. The white pelicans were flying in their strange formation. There was some kind of bird resting in huge flocks on the water. The water was clear and blue and you could see a fish jump now and then as the sun went down. Straight roads are good.

Life has its way of making corners. You can be driving along on a path and seem to have things going straight and all at once the road gets bumpy or curvy and it takes everything you have to keep things straight. There are a fair amount of you who know exactly what I’m talking about. But no matter how many twists and turns life seems to take, there is one thing that remains stubbornly straight and consistent, our God. The curve: I no longer have a house to live in. The “Straightener”: Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. (Ps 90) The curve: I’ve lost all my possessions and I no longer have a job. The “Straightener”: Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Ps. 73:25 In spite of all the "changes" nothing has really changed.

So today, set you your life on cruise, watch for the Lord working, leading and guiding. See his hand in all your ways and watch how much straighter the road gets.

News:

1. Heard from a couple more of our scattered members yesterday. They are trying to get in for Family Day on Sunday.

2. The WELS crew from around the US are still working on our church, fellowship hall and parsonage. They are a cheerful bunch.
3. The Builders for Christ have the power on in my camp. In a couple of weeks we should be able to move in. I’ll probably be the first person up and running in Waveland.

4. Take a look at our web site. One of the Builders for Christ is an expert in this and is working on ours. COLNOLA.com He says it is a work in progress.

5. Remember: Choir practice at 10:00 on Sunday. Church at 11:00 Family day thereafter.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

I will celebrate before the LORD. 2 Samuel 6:21

It was a kind of surreal picture. Some of the members and the Faith in Action people from around the country had spent the week wading through the mold and mildew as they threw things of the church into a huge pile on the curb. The pews, the guest registry, the organ all piled together. They had just done the same with things of my house. Pictures of my kids, my grandfather’s hunting clothes, and sheetrock all in a jumbled pile on the curb. But that wasn’t the surreal picture. That picture had become very ordinary. What was surreal was the celebration that we had on Sunday. It was our Family Day that has been our tradition for a number of years.

In the service we sang, “For All the Saints” as I read the names of those who had passed on to glory as members of our family. This year we added Lydia who died in the flood. Afterward we had a picnic in Hall’s back yard. We had a space walk, bratwurst, and squirt guns. What seemed surreal was these same adults chasing each other with squirt guns and jumping in the space walk. Was it just release after a nasty time?

King David was happy. They were finally bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. The Ark was the symbol of God’s presence. So when David brought the Ark to Jerusalem he danced in front of it for all to see. His wife thought it was undignified. But David said, “I will celebrate before the Lord.” The Lord had allowed David to bring the Ark to Jerusalem and now David was reassured that God was near, that God was on his side.

Yesterday we celebrated, jumping in the space walk, squirting each other with squirt guns, because we knew the same thing. In spite of all that we had been through, in spite of all that still lay ahead, we knew that our God was still on our side. Our Jesus was still our Savior. So, like David, we danced.

News:

1. Found! Margie Thomas passed by the church while we were working there. She, her kids and her mom made it out safely. Horace also stopped by. It was good to see them both for the first time after the flood.

2. A new record for Crown of Life Diaspora, 65 in church Sunday. Of course about a third of them were visitors, but we’ll take it.

3. Choir practice before church on Sunday. 10:00 AM. The choir has been singing again, it is nice.

4. On October 30th we will not be having our service in Baton Rouge. We will be joining Trinity in Abita Springs at 10:00 AM as they celebrate 100 years. They are serving lunch and the choir will sing.

Be Strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Revelation 3 [sic - Webmaster]

The people of the WELS have contributed something like a million dollars to help people affected by hurricane Katrina. I was just at a Board for World Missions meeting in which we had to call missionaries back home because we didn’t have enough money to keep them on the field. Someone wondered out loud, “Why is it that the people of WELS respond so clearly to the physical needs of people but we can’t seem to get them to respond to the spiritual needs of people.” First of all, I’m not sure that is true. The fact is the people of WELS give millions of dollars year in year out to do mission work at home and around the world. So it isn’t fair to say that they don’t respond. But let’s take up the question anyway.

Is it easier to unite around a physical need, like a hurricane disaster, than around the spiritual need? It probably is because it is easier to see. Now that the parsonage, the church and fellowship hall have been stripped to the studs there are huge mounds of what used to be inside piled outside. People who see it just shake their heads. “Did you lose everything?” Well of course not! Like St. Paul we have nothing but possess everything, because we have Jesus.

The people that St. John is writing to above looked good, they even felt good about themselves but in fact that were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” But spiritual wretchedness isn’t so easy to see.

What if it were? What if when you walked into someone’s house who didn’t know Jesus, it smelled disgusting like many of our houses smell now? What if his Lexus looked like it had been standing in water for two weeks and all his possessions were piled up on the side of the road? What if spiritual disaster were as obvious as physical disaster? Would we respond better to their need? Who knows? But we certainly can open our eyes and see our neighbor close by and around the world and know that without Jesus he may look like he has everything, but in fact he has nothing. We can give him what we have, everything.

News:

1. The representatives of WELS Committee on Relief and WELS Kingdom Workers are back in town to assess the situation. They would like us to move as quickly as we can to a decision on how we want to proceed. Here is the situation as it stands now.

The fellowship hall and the parsonage may be able to be restored by normal mold killing procedures and then replacing the interior of the building. The chapel possesses a unique problem. It was constructed with sheetrock on the inside of the studs but also on the outside of the studs between the studs and the brick. In order to get rid of the mold the Builders for Christ project leader feels we will need to knock all the bricks off the building, remove the sheetrock, and then replace everything. There are some other procedures that we are looking into including an ozone tenting procedure to remove the mold and or injecting the area with a new kind of foam. If you have any information about these kinds of things, please let me know. The Builders have almost finished fixing up my camp in Mississippi and will be ready to begin work on our buildings if we are ready.

2. The members here at Trinity, Abita Springs, have been doing a marvelous job of providing dinner for the Builders for Christ each weekday. The number varies depending on how many volunteers we have here, about 20-30. If you would like to get in the rotation to provide dinner about once every 3weeks, please let me know.

3. We will worship this coming Sunday at the usual time, 11:00 AM with Choir practice at 10:00. But the following Sunday we are invited to join Trinity in Abita Springs for their 100th anniversary, at 10:00 AM followed by a reception in the town hall. I think we should be there. Voices of Victory will sing. Our members are asked to bring a dessert.

4. Faith Kionka had a hernia operation yesterday. She came through fine. We thank God.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

There was good news and there was bad news. We had been looking for the Johnson Family, Cathy, Robin and Alexis. They had lived just around the corner from us and their grandchildren always came to our church…. Two cute little girls with great attitudes even though their mom was in prison. We knew that they had relatives in Covington so we searched the shelters here to find them but there was no record of them. Yesterday their grandmother stopped by the church as the Builders for Christ were working on it. They asked them to tell us that they were OK but they also said they weren’t moving back. Good news and bad news.

There may be some of you who will be making the same choice. Of course we know why. You may have lost your home and your job and the schools are not up running yet. But I’d like you to take a step back and take a look at the big picture. We know that God has a hand in our lives. He has called us according to his purpose. So now you are living in a different place, either temporarily or permanently. What is our God up to?

God called Abraham to pick up his family and move to another place. He had a plan for Abraham. Through Abraham and his descendants all the people on earth would be blessed. He would live in what is the land of Israel. A great nation would develop there. They would be called God’s people. And one day and angel would come to shepherds in that country and say, “Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” God had a big plan for Abraham’s move.

Why do you think the Lord has moved you to the place you are today? Why do you think the Lord has allowed you to stay where you are today? Don’t be surprised if He has a big plan. It would be just like Him.

News:

1. A group of volunteers are coming down from Minnesota. They will be helping us clean up the yard around the church and do some other things. Thanks to Glenda for keeping some of them.

2. Rumor has it that Katherine Jefferson and her family will be coming into town to look at their house. We may be able to help her clear her house.

3. We need to make a decision on Sunday about the future of our church buildings. That is if we want the Builders for Christ to help us. Naturally they don’t want to be hanging around with nothing to do. So bring your best solutions on Sunday. The real issue is mold and can we get it killed before we rebuild. The Chapel is the biggest problem because of its termite damage and sheetrock next to the bricks.

Be strong in the Lord

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:16

Last night we sat around a table at Trinity in Abita Springs. There were the haggard veterans I call “The People of the Mold.” (Maybe Mold Krewe would be better.) They had been part of the initial wave of cleaning out moldy churches and houses. Some of them were going back home again. There was the new group of volunteers who still had not seen the colorless world we call home. Together we ate and laughed and sang, “God be with you till we meet again.” Then we said goodbye to those leaving. There was no shortage of tears. I had a feeling that these were people whom God would not be ashamed to be called their God.

But in the passage above, God was not ashamed to be called their God because they were people who lived their lives “Longing for a better country – a heavenly one.” Heb 11:16 He is talking primarily about Abraham but also all the other heroes of faith in this chapter. What they shared was that they were longing for a better country. We can sympathize with that. That longing for a “better place” has become much more on our minds lately since many of us don’t seem to have any country these days. But these were still people who lived out their lives, went through struggles, overcame obstacles, raised their families, did their jobs, worshipped their God by living powerful lives of faith. Just because they were longing for heaven doesn’t mean they didn’t live powerful lives here. There was one young lady who became one of “The People of the Mold.” She just wouldn’t stop. I told her she ought to slow down. She refused. She said, “We are only here for a week and then we are going home.” True for all of us.

News:

1. Katherine Jefferson is coming back today to see her place and meet with some people who have adopted her from Minnesota. Don’t be surprised if some of the rest of you get “Adopted” by a church.

2. Carol is going up to visit her mom and our daughter Mary in Wisconsin. Carol’s cousin is planning a “shower” for her. I guess we could call it a “Hurricane shower.”

3. LeRoy Ellsworth is planning to return to their home temporarily next week.

4. We got a building permit for our church property. You know there have been all these rumors that they weren’t going to let us rebuild in the East. So we asked the permit guy and he said that they were definitely going to rebuild the East. The mayor said the same yesterday.

5. Choir practice Sunday at 10:00. Chris won’t be there but we can run through the songs anyway. Service at 11:00.

6. A group of volunteers came yesterday. They will be helping us carry the broken trees to the front of the church. Hard work, but it looks like they are up to the task.

Be strong in the Lord!

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Therefore , the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring – not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God in whom he believed – the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Romans 4:16-17

One of the questions I’ve heard many times is, “Do you think your members will come back?” It is a good question. When you go around the church, you don’t see many people around. You certainly don’t see many members around. You see Carol and me, Kris and occasionally other members but most of the people working on the church have been people from other places around the country. I always tell them that most will return and we will have a congregation again. Of course they can’t see they strong gathering that we have on Sundays in Baton Rouge. They don’t realize that you have been scattered around the country, live far away and can’t be there.

For most of his life, if you were to look at Abraham and his wife Sarah, you would conclude that they were people without children. But God promised that he would not only have children but that he would be the ancestor of the Savior of the world. Abraham was a father even before he had children, because God said so. God calls things that are not as though they were. That same God said, “Let there be light” and there was light, because he said so. That is true of each of us. God said, “You are my child.” “You are forgiven.” We weren’t before but now we are, because God said so. God calls things that are not as though they were. I know that God has called us together as a family at Crown of Life. We weren’t members of this family before but now we are. God said so. And we still are, even if we don’t look like it right now.

News:

1. Joy is happy. She was able to move into a house in Warner Robbins Ga. Their new address is 220 Carroll St. The lady who is renting the place to her is named Katrina.

2. Katherine was coming to town to meet the folks who adopted her family when her car broke down yesterday. Say a prayer that they get together.

3. Carol made it up to visit her mom and our daughter. It should be a good break for her.

4. The group from Minnesota was able to get all the trash removed from in front of the church including the tree branches. If Katherine makes it back, they will be helping her with her house.

5. Sunday: Choir practice at 10:00 worship at 11:00. We will be making plans.

Be strong in the Lord.

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:5

Yesterday I preached on this text. It occurred to me that many of you are already experiencing almost everything new. But it doesn’t really seem like a good thing. Why? Well, new isn’t always better. Not having a place to call your own is a new thing for many of you but it isn’t a better thing. Not having a job is a new thing too, but that isn’t better. Of course we are all holding out the hope that when we rebuild and get out feet back on the ground that it will be better than before. That at least is my prayer.

John is talking about God making everything new. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. There will be a new order of things. Actually God has already begun the process. He has made us new when we were born again. That process will reach perfection when we enter into glory. For a second time, God will make a perfect heaven and earth and put his perfect people into it. Everything new!

How do we know that this “new” will also be “good?” Listen to the description. “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Rev 21 I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait.

1. Had about 32 people in church yesterday. Down from our record the week before.

2. The group decided that we should move ahead with the building process even though we don’t know the answer to every question. We will begin the process with the Fellowship Hall since it has fewer structural questions than the chapel.

3. Garnet and George are coming into town today to pick up some of their things from their apartment. Pastor Koelpin is coming with them.

4. Faith Kionka is recovering from her surgery. She sends her greetings along to all of you.
5. Next Saturday we are having Choir Practice at the Hall’s at Ten AM.

6. Next Sunday we are joining Trinity in Abita Springs as they celebrate their hundredth anniversary. That is at 11:00 If you want to bring something to share for the dinner, bring deserts.

Be strong in the Lord;

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15

They had come from Dallas: Pastor Koelpin, a members of his church, Garnet and George. They had come to take their belongings back to their new place in Dallas. Their apartment was on the second floor so their belongings were not affected by the flood. They are beginning to get their lives back in order and there was a good feeling about it. Of course every one who begins a new life somewhere else is one who will not be coming “home” to New Orleans. But I still rejoiced with them.

It is a deep honor that we should be allowed to share with other people their joys and sorrows. We sometimes get that honor through personal contact and long standing relationships in a church as in the case of Garnet and George. But that relationship also exists between the members of the Dallas church, and the volunteers who have come from WELS churches all over the country. We have a relationship even though we don’t know each other. They are a friend of a friend. They have the same friend as we have, Jesus. For the last 2 months they have mourned with us as we mourned for each other. But now, as we see signs of some beginning to recover, we can rejoice. It is always an honor to mourn and rejoice with each other. But I do know which I’d rather do.

News:

1. Garnet, George and Myraja are doing fine. Garnet is trying to get her nursing license approved for Texas so she can get a job.

2. Eddie Green is coming into town to work on his house on Friday. If you are able to help, let me know.

3. Carol is coming home from Wisconsin Today.

4. Don’t forget about Sunday. Worship in Abita Springs at 10:00 AM

5. Choir practice at Halls on Saturday at 10:00AM

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21

It was one of the poignant moments that I’m not sure everyone there felt. It was Family Day. Many of you were there. We worshipped together remembering that we have been called together into God’s family. We remembered those members of the family that now lived with the Lord in glory. Afterward we met in Hall’s back yard for a picnic and “fellowshipped” with the WELS people who had come down to help us rebuild. Mr. Ison borrowed a trumpet. Do you remember the song he played? “Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?” I do miss it so. Not just our house and the church there, but also the quirky, strangeness of it. The mayor calls it the beat of New Orleans. Sometimes visitors can sense it but it takes awhile. It has something to do with being real, unpretentious and down to earth. There is no place quite like it and I miss it.

St. Paul was missing his friends. He was in prison. But he realized that none of us is really a citizen here. We really belong somewhere else. Jesus has won us citizenship in heaven with our God. There really is no point clinging to any city here because we will leave it some day, one way or another. The more we live as citizens of heaven the less we cling to any place on earth and the easier the transition from living here to living there will be. I know that when I finally go to live where my citizenship is, I won’t miss New Orleans or anywhere else here, at all. I’m looking forward to that day.

News:

1. Some of the members are going to start preparing some of the meals for the Builders. If you would like to help, contact Linda Hall or Evelyn.

2. Check out our web site. Michael from California is helping us with it. COLNOLA.com

3. The Builders have almost completed the renovations on my camp in Mississippi. These people are amazing. They seem to enjoy their work. I enjoy their work. I can’t wait to move in. Then they will begin the work on the Fellowship Hall.

4. Rumor has it that they will be trying to turn the water on in the East.

5. Carol has returned from Wisconsin. She says it is too cold up there. But lately it has been too cold here.

6. Choir Practice on Saturday; Chris says he’ll be there, 10:00 AM. Worship in Abita Springs, Sunday at 10:00 AM, followed by a luncheon and program in which the choir will sing a few songs. See you there.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

What shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

I was talking to Evelyn the other day about the songs that our choir is going to sing for Trinity’s 100th anniversary. Many of our choir members are spread all over the country so it is a much smaller group these days. One of the songs she suggested has as the chorus, “If it had not been for the Lord on my side, tell me where would I be, where would I be?” That reminded me of the passage above. But how do you answer those questions when there appears to be little evidence in my daily life that God is on my side? And in our more challenging moments we might even begin to ask the questions that King David, Job and his friends asked, “Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper?”

But you really have to read that whole section in Romans. St. Paul had just talked about the fact that God chose us to be his people. And if God is for us, who can be against us? Well a lot of people and things can be against us, but (and this is the key thing) it doesn’t really matter. We have the only prize that is really worth having, the only one we get to keep. Then he asks another of those questions, “Who will separate us from the love of God?” Hardship? Famine? Difficulties? Hurricane? No one! Nothing! We might be separated from each other but we are not separated from God’s love.

News:

1. Ladies guild is trying to set up a conference call. Stay tuned.

2. Don’t forget to set your clocks back on Saturday.

3. Greens will need help with their house on Friday. If you can help, let me know.

4. Saturday Choir practice at 10:00 AM at Linda and Randy Hall’s home. Worship on Sunday at Trinity, Abita Springs, at 10:00 AM followed by a program featuring our choir and a luncheon.

Dear Scattered members of the Family:

Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you; “The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.” Joshua 1:13

The Builders for Christ have almost completed work on my camp in Mississippi. They determined early on that they would help us get a place to live so that I could continue to serve our congregation in a place where there are no places to live right now. Chris Smith was excited yesterday because he was able to find places to live for the teachers of his school so that they can start school again. I’m sure they are as excited about it as I am. There is something about living in your own place. And many of us will not be able to rest until we are.

When the Lord talks to the Israelites about the promised land, he tells them that it will be for them a place of rest. They had lived for a long time in Egypt, but they knew it wasn’t their land. They wandered for many years in the wilderness but they longed for their own place, a place of rest from their enemies, a place of rest from their wanderings. Home!

So it isn’t surprising that when the Lord talks about heaven he often uses the picture of the promised land, a place of rest. No more struggles, sickness sorrow or suffering, a place of rest from our labors. Of course this rest is ours right now in Christ Jesus. It is spiritual rest. But we know that we are not home yet. There is a longing in our spirit to be in the place that Jesus died to give us and we can’t rest until we are there.

The day will come when you will be moving back into your home here. Think about how good that is going to feel and then realize that we have an even more joyous homecoming on the way.

News:

1. Today Carol and I will be trying to hook up with Mr. Ellsworth and Mr. Green and help them with their houses.

2. Linda Hall provided a couple meals for the Builders. They loved the potatoes. Some of our members will be trying to help out with the cooking responsibilities which have been carried pretty much by Trinity.

3. Chris is working on getting a Cleaning Krewe down here on Nov 5th for about a week. If you would like to get your house in on it, or if you would like to house volunteers, provide transportation, or give a helping hand, please contact Kris

4. Choir practice on Saturday in Baton Rouge at 10:00. Church council meeting at the church in New Orleans at 3:30, Saturday. On Sunday we are worshipping with Trinity at 10:00.

Be strong in the Lord

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, God help me. Amen.” Martin Luther

We sat in what was left of our church. The church council met for the first time since the hurricane. (We sat on folding chairs in the empty church.) Some of them had not seen the buildings since they had been stripped to their studs. Actually they looked much better now. But it seemed almost too big to do. Nobody had moved back into the community. Only 1 in 4 houses had big piles out front. (signs of activity) How will we get this all done? Will there be any people here when we do? Can we stop the mold? Will our members come back home? How long do we have to drive up to Baton Rouge? Wouldn’t it be easier just to go to one of the nice WELS churches that we pass along the way? These are difficult times for the Lutherans of Morrison Rd.

Yesterday we celebrated Reformation. Martin Luther, the first Lutheran, stood before a meeting of the Emperor and the religious leaders of the day. They didn’t want Luther teaching what he was teaching. He knew that if he stood for his beliefs, his life would be in jeopardy. He had spent a lot of time and effort getting to this point, proclaiming his beliefs and standing for the truth. What would be the future for his people, the ones he had been teaching? Would they survive if he were dead? Such an uncertain future! So many unanswered questions! It was a difficult time for the first “Lutheran.” “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me!”

Are Lutherans stubborn? Or do we just believe that God wants us to proclaim his truth even in difficult times, especially in difficult times? Comparing us to Luther? Maybe it isn’t the same thing. But maybe it is.

1. The choir sang at Trinity’s 100th anniversary. They did good. Many people said so. But we did miss those of you who weren’t there.

2. A couple new guys came to help out with the Builders for Christ. We are hoping to get things started on the fellowship hall soon.

3. We will by trying to get a mold expert in to tell us how best to renovate so that we can kill the mold before we close up the walls.

4. District President John Guse is in town. He came to preach at the anniversary. Good message, by the way. He will be touring our area to see the damage.

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18

Sunday we spent a lovely day celebrating Trinity’s 100th anniversary. District President John Guse preached a sermon that talked about living in the eye of the storm; the peace that Jesus gives us with the storms all around. Our choir sang for church and for the dinner later. It was a time of remembering how God had helped the church in Abita Springs. But as I watched I wondered how many times over the past 100 years that Trinity didn’t face struggles for its very survival. I know of at least two. One time in the 60’s they started a daughter congregation in Covington. Most of the people joined the new church and there was an effort to close Trinity’s doors. But the few people who were left insisted on staying. There was the time in the 90’s when the congregation had dwindled down to a handful of people. They could no longer support a pastor. They asked Crown of Life to help. I began serving both congregations. But they made it through those difficulties and are now a thriving congregation. God watches out for his church.

Peter had just made a powerful confession. “You are Christ, the son of he living God.” Jesus tells Peter that upon his rock of a confession he would build his church and even the gates of hell will not overcome it. Notice that Jesus does NOT say, “The gates of hell will not TRY to overcome it.” Satan and his minions do nothing but try to overcome God’s church. The church will have battles to fight. It comes with the territory. But God’s church will always win. As members of God’s church we know that we will prevail. My prayer is that the way we will prevail is rebuilding our church and bringing all our members back home. At least we are not facing the big challenges to the church, false teaching and apathy. We have the word and we want to proclaim it. I think God and his “hell resistant” church will find a way.

News:

1. Took President Guse around to see the damage in Mississippi and to New Orleans, to the church and parsonage. Talked to two of our neighbors who were working on their houses. Seems like they are coming back.

2. Ate at the Desire Oyster Bar on Bourbon Street. The quarter was so crowded we couldn’t find a place to park. Heard some live music coming out of one of the places.