Dear friends in Christ,
I want to share my experience yesterday at "Camp Noah" in Houston with you. Actually, I attended portions of five Houston-area "Camp Noahs"! I just returned from Houston, where the first round of "Camp Noah" is being offered this week for children affected by the deadly and devastating floods of last year's Tropical Storm Allison.
I traveled with Nancy Fisher, who has been working as Houston's "Camp Noah" coordinator for the past several months. My companions on this trip were Bernice Karstensen (LDR Board Chair), Mark Minick (Lutheran Disaster Response-Texas disaster coordinator), and Jerry Rux (LCMS World Relief).
"Camp Noah" is being provided for over 200 Houston children this week. It is being held in the facilities of one Lutheran, one Baptist, one United Methodist, and two Roman Catholic churches. Local church leaders are coordinating each site. Staffing includes members of the Houston Junior League, congregational directors of Christian Education, school teachers (it's spring break time), a parish nurse, and youth group leaders. In each location 4-5 mental health workers are present to support the staff. Also present are Melanie Josephson (Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota), three LSS-MN staff, and a number of Minnesota volunteers.
"Camp Noah," a weeklong day camp for children recovering from the trauma of disaster, is a Lutheran resource offered by Lutheran Disaster Response to disaster-impacted communities. Guided by trained and caring staff, the children and their families gain support by discovering that their peers share similar feelings and fears, and, through Christ, there is strength and hope for the future.
"Noah had a flood, and you had a flood," the leader told the children. "How did you feel when the flood happened?" The children answered, "Scared, sad, afraid, lonely." They wrote their feelings inside a paper plate, and pasted happy faces on the outside. "Sometimes our sad feelings are kept inside and we show a happy face on the outside." They discussed how their parents and family might be feeling, and that it is good to share feelings with people you trust.
"Camp Noah" is designed to help disaster-affected children as they try to make sense out of what has happened in their lives. The curriculum for Camp Noah is based on the Old Testament story of Noah and the flood, inviting children to compare their stories with Noah's experiences.
At one site members of the Houston Fire Department arrived with their fire truck...the same truck used to rescue people in that community from their flooded homes last June. The children had a wonderful time sitting in the truck, being sprayed by the hose, and hearing the sirens. The fire fighters were gracious in working with the children, and talking about how they used this truck to help...and noting they couldn't drive through one intersection because the water was higher than the top of their fire engine!
One local mental health worker excitedly told me she felt privileged to be part of the "Camp Noah" staffing. "So often the long-term needs of the children are overlooked in these situations. It's wonderful to see the church providing for this need." For many of the children this is the first time they have felt free to talk about their flood experiences. One little fellow said, "I love it here. No one fights, and we all love each other!"
Yes, I saw a lot of love and compassion yesterday. Children were praising God with "camp" songs in English and Spanish. One group looked like space walkers as they prepared to tie-dye t-shirts. Children play with a colorful parachute. A variety of crafts are on display. Breakfast, lunch, and a fruit snack provide good nutrition and energy. The staff members demonstrate the love of Christ to the children. The children feel that love, and reflect it in their drawings, their actions, their words.
You can help support Camp Noah as it is brings help and hope to children who have endured something new and scary and who don't understand how a disaster fits into their world.
As this week of "Camp Noah" concludes in Houston, please pray for the children and their families who have been affected by Tropical Storm Allison. Please pray for the "Camp Noah" staff as they provide this ministry. Please send your support for the supplies and expenses of offering "Camp Noah":
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response – “Camp Noah”
PO 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 - “Camp Noah”
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438.
Thank you for you help in bringing a Christian faith perspective and the hope of Christ to children who have experienced disaster.
Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on March 14, 2002, at 6:15 PM
Director, ELCA Domestic Disaster Response (Division for Church in Society),
Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LCMS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2719 FAX: 773-380-2493
Visit our website: www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
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