One Year Later, we remember the
devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
In
August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the US gulf coast. Listen
Up brought you the story of Waveland – a small town of 8000
residents.
Amidst the tragedies, the stories are remarkable –
communities and
churches rallying together to provide emergency aid. Today, Waveland is
on the rebound. We’ll speak with people on the ground to find
out more
about the changes that have taken place from one year ago.
Welcome! Thank you for taking the time to learn a bit about
the Christian Life Center. We're excited to have the
opportunity to reach out to the Mississippi communities of Waveland and
Bay St. Louis with the love of Jesus Christ.
Hurricane Katrina devastated the area destroying 80% of the
community. There was such destruction that some homes only
have a driveway that leads to nowhere and there isn't even
debris... 64% of the homes are gone, and 36% are still being
investigated to see if they can be occupied.
Our mission is to reach out the the community with a reflection of
Christ's love by using volunter resources to staff reconstruction
projects throughout the area. We started by serving over 5000
meals a day out of a local parking lot, and have evolved to the point
where we are now sending out skilled construction teams to assist the
community in ther rebuilding efforts. This is a long term
project and we've promised that we will be here for the
duration…
Sincerely,
Your Friends at the Christian Life Center
How
to Volunteer:
Our church initially started as a food service outreach for the
Waveland/Bay St. Louis area after Hurricane Katrina. As the
community has recovered we changed our focus to cleaning up the
community. We are now excited to migrate toward
reconstruction efforts. If you are 18 or older and have
construction related skills and would like to volunteer please contact
us:
Contact
information to Volunteer
To volunteer, please contact Shannon Lenox at info@clcgulfcoast.com or
by phone at 228-222-8073. Email is the best form of communication for
scheduling.
How
to Help:
Thank you for your willingness to share in our efforts to share the
gospel of Jesus Christ in the most personal way possible.
Your contributions will be used to reach out to those devastated by
hurricane Katrina.
Donation
of Goods:
Please contact our center's administrator during business hours to
discuss current needs and shipping arrangements.
Financial
Contributions:
Check
We try to make it as easy as possible to contribute. If you
would like to make a cash donation please make your check out to the
'Christian Life Center' and mail it to:
1201 Highway 90, Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
Update On Veronica Gill &
Family Reflections
on Hurricane Katrina recovery
David
15 Alex 14 Gabrielle 8 and Gregory Jr. 3
We left for the hurricane, did not plan on staying away for more than a
few days. The next day our lives changed forever, Never to be the same.
For the first time in my life I didn't know what to do. I watched my
kids go through a lot of changes, not having a home base ruined our
lives. We went to Georgia for the Hurricane. When we were able to come
back we did. I've never seen anything like this, it was so hard dealing
with the aftermath.
The children acted out a lot and still do. I was so tired just after
seeing our house gone. It was getting dark the kids were dirty, tired,
hungry. We tired to leave Waveland getting back on the interstate. We
didn't know where we were going we just knew we had to go. We drove for
a while leaving then stopped. I just couldn't drive any more. I said
lets go back and park at Kmart then we will decide on something
tomorrow. Well we stayed there for a week in my van and then in a tent.
It was very hot. I didn't know what was going to come of us.
We went to Alabama where we finally found a hotel. We stayed there a
long time coming back to Waveland sometimes. My kids were not in
school. They wanted to go back to their schools. We finally got a FEMA
trailer in Perkinston, MS. We stayed there fro a few months spent all
our FEMA money driving back to Waveland. I put in to have the camper
moved in October then again in December to our property. Our paper work
kept being put aside or in the wrong hands. We were all ill with each
other everyday driving all the time, in a small place being in the
camper. Trying to find a place to wash clothes was so hard every week.
I was played out and very tired in every kind of way. I put in for an
apartment in Waveland by my daughters school. Thank God I got it and
have been here about a month. I had enough FEMA money left for the
first months rent.
Me and my daughter and 3 year old stay here and the 2 older boys stay
with their dad in the FEMA camper. The boys come here in the morning to
catch the bus. I have been going to our property almost everyday since
the hurricane cleaning up. It looks good now. Its hard every time I go
there and leave. Were trying to start over and except things that have
happened. I don't make plans for the next day. I never know what I will
be doing. I try to think positive about things but its hard. For the
longest time we couldn't sleep or eat much and have bad headaches and
feelings of despair and depression. This was so hard on everyone.
Trying to find a direction. Things are a little better now. We do want
to go back to Sandy St. We had a very good life there. The hurricane
took our things and home, The aftermath took everything else. Its
really hard to think straight sometimes. Thank you Joan
Waveland
Update 08-06 [Wed,
9 Aug 2006 13:27:34 -0600]
Dear Friends and partners:
I just received a glowing report from Art Baruffi, our Director for
Relief Ministries in Waveland Mississippi. As you know Gulf Coast
Disaster Relief, turned over to the CMA and Christian Life Center, the
continuation of ministry in Waveland and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. We
were convinced that the best thing for long term healing for that area
so devastated by Katrina, was not an organization 3 hours away
directing its recovery, but a local group. Thus the formation of CLC
Gulf Coast Inc. I will continue to serve as a Board Member on the
Transition Team and will help guide the team as we continue to minister
to the many needs on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.
This new organization will
soon have its own building and will continue to help meet the needs of
the local people for many years. Not only will Life Skills be taught to
help train people for jobs, etc, but a continuation of building
projects through the end of this year and then as needs arise.
Pastor Art and Pat
Baruffi are heading up the transition team that will continue to
rebuild homes as they rebuild lives. I am forwarding Art’s
letter to you as well so you can get a picture of what has happened and
what God is still doing.
Yes, we are still
there, almost a year later, the CHURCH is still there, doing what God
has asked the CHURCH to do, meet the spiritual, physical, and emotional
needs of hurting people. It really doesn’t get any better
than this, being the very heart of God for needy people.
A praise note as I
close this update, a Pastor of a very missions-minded church in
Nebraska called me a few weeks ago and said, “Pastor Don, our
senior pastor and I would like to come down and visit with you and the
team in late August. We have sent teams and funds down to Waveland for
several months and every time our people come back, they are deeply
moved by God. Now that you are starting Christian Life Center that will
remain to meet the needs of people so devastated by Katrina, we want to
be a part of the “New Beginnings.” We want to see
how we can partner with you to build a spiritual foundation that will
last through the storms of life. We are ready to help in a substantial
way!”
When I got off the
phone with that pastor, I was again reminded of how God has always
worked in the C&MA. He touches people’s hearts,
births within them a vision, and then empowers and equips them for
service.
Partners, you have a
chance to be a part of the “New Beginnings” in
Waveland, Mississippi. We still need volunteers, we still need
finances, and more than ever, we still need prayers. Thanks for holding
the ropes with us. Now together, we will hold the ropes with Christian
Life Center.
I can feel the smile
of our Lord. We are still doing what He has asked us to do.
In His Joy,
Don Young, Genesis Church
Gulf Coast Disaster Relief
Waveland
Update 6-28-06 [Thu,
29 Jun 2006 08:12:48 -0600]
It’s
a boy! No, it’s a girl! No it’s both! Well what is
it? It is a church plant! Camp Katrina has given birth after nine
months of intense labor to a new church. On July 1, Camp Katrina will
be turned over to Christian Life Center (CLC), a ministry of the
Christian and Missionary Alliance in the Southern District.
What a
transformation! Pastor Rick of Christian Life Church (non-C&MA)
and I decided that it was time to see a church started from our early
Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. We have been praying and seeking God
for the right pastoral couple to take this ministry to a church-plant
level for several months. Every time we thought we had a couple,
something would change in the last minute, and we would be a ground
zero again.
As we continued to
pray, it became evident that the C&MA has been a prominent
partner in helping us get the needed relief to so many people in
Waveland, Mississippi. Over half of the volunteers that come weekly,
are from Alliance churches throughout the United States. More than
$300,000 has been donated from C&MA sources. The current
leadership team of Art and Pat Baruffi, along with Shannon Lenox, are
all Alliance people. So it became evident to us that God was leading us
to turn over the leadership and coordination of Camp Katrina and this
new church plant to the C&MA.
The Baruffis have
been ministering to about sixty people for the past several months.
They still have 400 projects that need to be completed and from those,
many more people will come to the Lord. They are expecting twenty kids
at the three-day VBS on site.
Art and Pat are
scheduled to stay through August and are seeking God about living her
for another two years in order to help plant this new church. Shannon
Lenox has been asked to stay to coordinate the volunteers that will be
needed to continue the ministry. Pastor Rick and I will be available as
coaches and mentors as needed. We do not want to walk away from this
new birth. We will be aggressively seeking funds to keep the ministry
going. It will take at least $12,000 per month to operate. So please
PRAY with us as we seek God for the financial needs.
Since we are changing
leadership from Gulf Coast Disaster Relief to the Christian Life
Center, we are asking that all volunteers coming to serve be prepared
to help with the daily expenses of operations. It is for this reason
that, beginning July 1, all volunteers will be asked to bring $25.00
per day, per person to help with the expenses. This will cover their
room and board as well as help with operating costs.
Many of you know Meg
Wilson. She has done a tremendous job coordinating the volunteers. She
has been on staff at Christian Life Church. She will be moving to
Auburn, Alabama to take another ministry position in media. Meg has
turned over the volunteers to Shannon Lenox, and he can be reached at
the same address,CampKatrina @gmail.com. We at Gulf Coast Disaster
Relief are so grateful to Meg for her sacrifice of love. Pray for her
during these days of transition.
With the changing of
the guard at Camp Katrina, we will focus our efforts on getting ready
for the next storm. We are building a large warehouse in Orange Beach
that will store our equipment and tents. Thanks to you, we have come
along way from a back yard grill and a tarp. Pastor Rick and I have
come to the conclusion that we are better equipped to be a
first-response team rather than a stay-a-year-long team. We want to
come alongside churches and help them to respond to their local needs.
So we continue to prepare for the next crisis. We realize that Waveland
was different. After the terrible storm, there were no churches able to
do the work of the church. So we responded and became the Church in
action. Now God is raising up a church, and others that we have helped
are now strong enough to continue on. What a blessing!
What
can you do? Glad you asked! Here are a few things:
• Pray for the transition between Gulf Coast Disaster Relief
and the Christian Life Center of the C&MA.
• Pray for the needed volunteers to do the continued relief
ministry of rebuilding homes and lives. We need fifty volunteers per
week. Pray for Shannon Lenox as he takes over this ministry.
• Pray that God will provide the needed funds, $12,000 per
month to cover operating expenses.
• Pray for Art and Pat Baruffi as they seek God about
continued ministry as lead pastor of this new work.
• Pray for Pastor Rick and Pastor Don as they prepare for the
next storm or crisis.
• Pray for the 400 families that have applied for help from
Camp Katrina. These families represent a tremendous opportunity to
serve a broken community and share Christ.
Until we get a bank
account set up under the name of Christian Life Center, please continue
to send any gifts to:
Gulf
Coast Disaster Relief
c/o Genesis Church,
3100 S. McKenzie St. Foley,
Alabama 36535
I can never thank you
all enough for all that you have done in helping the many thousands in
Waveland. What a blessing you have been to them. Eternity will tell the
whole story, but we see the many chapters daily. Without you, little
would have been accomplished. With you great things God has done! Thank
you.
A year later the situation for victims of Hurricane
Katrina is still one of need. Our website at Listen Up TV.com will
direct you to the churches we saw step in to help who are taking
volunteers and donations for the people of Waveland that we featured.
It’s a life changing exercise to help. Weather experts warn
of a
frigthening hurricane season ahead this year. Our question for you this
week is “do our consumption habits affect weather patterns
?” give us
your thoughts at listenup@listenuptv.com. We ask that question because I
like to connect the dots on just what it does mean to love our
neighbors, the great command Jesus gave us. If my consumption is part
of global warming, and global warming is affecting weather patterns,
using less energy is loving my neighbor. Not quite as heroic as going
down to Waveland and shoveling out a destroyed home, or donating to
rebuild, but all part of living out the great command of Christ that we
love our neighbors. There’s more on this at my blog at
listenuptv.com
and write us your views on today’s show at listenup@listenuptv.com.
OUT OF THE RUBBLE
(from the Alliance ‘Call to Prayer’ Newsletter
– August 2006)
“I can’t tell you how precious [it is] to see people who
lost everything now find much more than they ever lost through a
personal relationship with Jesus,” says Alliance pastor Art
Baruffi. He is heading up ministry and rebuilding efforts in Waveland,
Mississippi. What began as an immediate response to victims of
Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 developed into a yearlong outreach by
the Alliance family.
Pastor Don Young from Genesis (C&MA) Church in Foley, Alabama, had
experienced the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in his area the previous
summer. He knew nearby Waveland residents would need help. Young
partnered with Pastor Rick Long, from Christian Life Church (non-
Alliance), and together, the men coordinated Gulf Coast Disaster
Relief, an entirely volunteer effort to minister to hurting people and
rebuild homes in Waveland. “We’re in it for the long
haul,” Young said during the initial relief operation. He
promised Waveland residents his team would not leave until the work was
done. Since then, more than 4,000 volunteers from across the country,
mostly from Alliance churches, have given their time, support, and love
to the people of Waveland.
Recently, it became evident to Young and Long that the time had come to
take the ministry to a church-plant level. Today, Christian Life Center
(CLC) is the Alliance Southern District’s newest church plant.
Baruffi and his wife, Pat, have coordinated construction work as well
as ministry efforts since February.
The couple will lead the congregation of nearly sixty people who have
recently put their faith in Jesus or rededicated their lives to Him
through the compassionate care of the volunteers. The Baruffis have
been “on loan” from Vineland Alliance Church in New Jersey,
but they are seeking God’s leading about staying in Waveland for
two more years to help with the CLC church plant.
“Life centers” have been started in Baton Rouge, New
Orleans, Gulf Port, and Waveland. “In each of these places, the
Alliance has acquired buildings for community outreach, with pastoral
teams meeting spiritual needs, and people are coming to Christ,”
says Young. “What a tremendous thing we have been privileged to
see during the past eleven months.” “I will turn their
mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy”
(Jeremiah 31:13b). “I can’t tell you how precious [it is]
to see people who lost everything now find much more than they ever
lost through a personal relationship with Jesus,” says Alliance
pastor Art Baruffi. He is heading up ministry and rebuilding efforts in
Waveland, Mississippi. What began as an immediate response to victims
of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 developed into a yearlong outreach
by the Alliance family.
Pastor Don Young from Genesis (C&MA) Church in Foley, Alabama, had
experienced the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in his area the previous
summer. He knew nearby Waveland residents would need help. Young
partnered with Pastor Rick Long, from Christian Life Church (non-
Alliance), and together, the men coordinated Gulf Coast Disaster
Relief, an entirely volunteer effort to minister to hurting people and
rebuild homes in Waveland.
“We’re in it for the long haul,” Young said during
the initial relief operation. He promised Waveland residents his team
would not leave until the work was done. Since then, more than 4,000
volunteers from across the country, mostly from Alliance churches, have
given their time, support, and love to the people of Waveland.
Recently, it became evident to Young and Long that the time had come to
take the ministry to a church-plant level. Today, Christian Life Center
(CLC) is the Alliance Southern District’s newest church plant.
Baruffi and his wife, Pat, have coordinated construction
work as well as ministry efforts since February.
The couple will lead the congregation
of nearly sixty people
who have recently put their faith
in Jesus or rededicated their lives
to Him through the compassionate
care of the volunteers. The
Baruffis have been “on loan” from
Vineland Alliance Church in New
Jersey, but they are seeking God’s
leading about staying in Waveland
for two more years to help with the
CLC church plant.
“Life centers” have been started
in Baton Rouge, New Orleans,
Gulf Port, and Waveland. “In each
of these places, the Alliance has
acquired buildings for community
outreach, with pastoral teams
meeting spiritual needs, and people
are coming to Christ,” says
Young. “What a tremendous thing
we have been privileged to see
during the past eleven months.”
“I will turn their mourning into
gladness; I will give them comfort
and joy” (Jeremiah 31:13b).
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