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Dear friends in Christ,
Psalm 130 begins with the words "Out of the depths I have cried to You, O
Lord."
I am writing to you from Houston, where I'm traveling with Mark Minick
(LDR-Texas disaster coordinator) and Dale and Jean Peercy (LDR Construction
Coordinators). On this visit I have encountered persons in the depths of
despair.
On June 9, Tropical Storm Allison left a long trail of death and
destruction, from Texas through New England. Over 36 inches of rain fell
in Houston, producing over $4 billion of damage. The storm was responsible
for 43 deaths. Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod) is working through Lutheran Social Services of the South (Kurt
Senske, president), which is managing LDR's response to Tropical Storm
Allison in Texas and Louisiana.
Reyna Perdira spoke to us from the depths of her heart. With tears rolling
down her cheeks, she told us nothing works as it should. The "system"
requires endless phone calls, filling forms, dead ends. She and her
husband had just remodeled their modest home, "and now," she said, "it's
all gone away." Now they and their three children sleep on the floor,
doing repairs as they are able. Reyna was distressed as we spoke. She
spoke "out of the depths."
In Houston over sixty Lutheran congregations had members who had flood
damage. More than 800 Lutheran families have been affected, but they
represent only a small portion of the total population! Conservative
estimates figure over 20,000 homes were impacted. Harry Nofzinger and Joan
Lewin, FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaisons, told us over 35,000 applications
have been made for individual and family grants. 581 FEMA trailers are
providing temporary housing. The scope of the devastation is almost
incomprehensible. You can travel 50 miles in each direction from the city
center and see flooded houses.
Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church had 44 families affected. "It's
overwhelming," Pastor Michael Snow told us. "As a pastor, I feel helpless.
But the ministry of presence means a lot to the members. Although the
water is gone, the people are going through a grief process." Members are
reaching out to support one another. The mood is "quiet, somber, but
positive."
Pastor Lawrence Kelm, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, said, "I've never seen
anything that affected people is so many ways." Here, 53 of 200 families
had flood damage, 10 losing everything. "Many are no longer in denial," he
said. "It's reality now: you have to rip up the rug and tear up the
wallboard." There are a lot of emotional reactions and frustration."
Psalm 130 continues: "O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there
is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption." Roy and Flo Harkson spoke
of the Lord's abundance. Roy, 89, had just had surgery. In the middle of
the night he got out of bed and stepped into a foot of water. After the
flood, Flo said, "the house was full of people, ripping this apart." The
people were volunteers from Advent Lutheran Church, where 15% of the
members sustained flood damage. "We felt guilty about being helped, but it
didn't last long!"
Lloyd Zuehlke coordinates volunteers from Advent Church, "Advent Action
Team." He introduced us to Fritz and Doris Warnke, where volunteers were
busy hammering new wallboard. They had 2 « feet of water in their house.
"When I looked out the patio door," Fritz said, "It looked like an
aquarium."
Melvyn Adams, 79, and his wife Ocie showed us their house. Floodwaters
stood nearly 4 feet deep in their home, and they lost most of their
possessions. Now living in a travel trailer in their driveway, they're
waiting for their repairs to be completed. "We're still blessed," Ocie
smiled. "Our nephew told us, 'you just lost a lot of stuff.'" They are
thankful for the hope they have found in the Lord's mercy.
Relief efforts are coming together slowly in the Houston area. The Peercys
have been helping coordinate repairs and rebuilding in eastern North
Carolina since July 2000. They are now preparing to move to the Houston
area on behalf of LDR, to use their construction skills by working with
interfaith volunteers, matching skills with the needs of the people.
The promise of the church is to be involved for the long haul, to bring
help and hope to those who cry out the depths of their despair. But the
church can only be involved and remain involved with the support of its
members.
Your support is needed. You can help by your prayers, for the tens of
thousands affected by this tropical storm_and for those who are present to
help. Especially hard-hit are the elderly, the disabled, and the
non-English speaking population.
Your volunteer support is needed. When the Peercys are in place (September
10), I will provide you with additional information. Meanwhile, you can
indicate your desire to volunteer (individuals or groups) by calling
1-713-647-9860.
Your contributions are needed to provide for emergency needs, repair and
rebuilding supplies, and to deliver spiritual and emotional support to the
survivors and the caregivers. There are still people living in
storm-damaged, moldy, houses. Please give generously to
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "Tropical Storm Allison"
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 Thu, Aug 23, 2001,10:30 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
