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Dear friends in Christ,

Dorothy Wick is a 78-year-old widow with a stroke.  She has not been back
in her Rocky Mount, North Carolina, house since September 1999, when
Hurricane Floyd put her house in 5 1/2 feet of water.  I was in Dorothy's
house last week, along with volunteers busily at work.  It looks as though
she'll be back home in the next two weeks.

"Not many people know there are refugees in this country, right here in
North Carolina," said Mick Shaw, director of Twin County Interfaith
Recovery Initiative, Inc., in Rocky Mount.  Even now, a year and a half
after Hurricane Floyd, over 600 families are still living in temporary FEMA
mobile homes and travel trailers.  And FEMA would like them out by
mid-March.  The North Carolina "News & Observer" reported on January 28
that sixteen months after Hurricane Floyd, "more than 4,100 homes in 30
counties have qualified for (government) buyouts.... But only about 700 (17
percent) of those homes had actually gone to closing as of last week...."
Refugees!

I just returned from several days in North Carolina, where I met with the
LDR-North Carolina steering committee and visited interfaith organizations
in Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, and Greenville.  In these three places, Lutheran
Disaster Response (the cooperative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) is working side
by side with other faith partners, providing financial and volunteer
support.  People of faith are providing help and hope for those who feel
abandoned and helpless - to people who are poor, elderly, infirm, or
vulnerable.

Linda Stewart, director of Greenville Interfaith Fellowship Team, described
the joy of one family moving back into its home.  "They literally were
shouting praises to the Lord," she told me.  One of the family members
said, "It is like going through a long coma, and we're just now waking up."
Cliff Harvel, regional director of the United Methodist Disaster Recovery
Team, said he's thankful for the "opportunities to help people who have
suffered so much."  And people have helped!

In Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, and Greenville, nearly 3,500 volunteers have
come to help from many denominations.  Of these, there were 85 Lutheran
teams from 19 different states.  LDR, through its church and coalition
partners, have contributed over $1.6 million to 17 counties in Eastern
North Carolina.  (In those 17 counties there are only 6 Lutheran
congregations.)

In addition to providing resources and volunteers, LDR is working closely
with the United Methodists, the Reformed Church in America, the Church of
the Brethren, and the Christian Reformed Church - denominations providing
skilled laborers in the three areas where LDR is active.  I spent time with
Bev Abma, who is my counterpart in the Christian Reformed Church.  Bev
expressed deepest thanks for the support of LDR in these three interfaith
sites.

I saw an "LDR volunteer shower trailer" in Rocky Mount.  It was put
together by gifts from the North Carolina Women of the ELCA, LDR-NC, and
Lutheran Brotherhood.  It is parked next to Edgemont Center, a Presbyterian
church that houses volunteers, presently Church of the Brethren.  The
trailer contains three private shower stalls, and a washer/dryer - a
wonderful amenity for those who toil in the dirt, heat, and humidity.

I returned from North Carolina with renewed hope.  Hundreds of families are
being helped.  Thousands of volunteers have come to offer tens of thousands
of work hours.  Hundreds of thousands of grants and assistance dollars have
been provided.  And, I believe, millions of prayers have been offered.

As the church continues to be present for the long haul in this massive
disaster recovery, please offer your continuing prayers and support.

To volunteer: Call George Strunk, 1-888-336-4250.

To contribute:

    ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "Hurricane Floyd"
    P.O. Box # 71764
    Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764.

        Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
        Credit card gifts via the web: www.elca.org/disaster

    LC-MS World Relief
    P.O. Box 66861
    St. Louis, MO 63166-9810

        Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438

Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst

GILBERT B. FURST (written on Sun, Feb 11, 2001,10:00 pm).  Director for
  ELCA DOMESTIC DISASTER RESPONSE (Division for Church in Society) and
  LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS)
  8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631  PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493
Please visit our website:  www.elca.org/dcs/disaster