Relationships...

GREETINGS!! A great update on our new friend who is moving to Raleigh with her children. She came into the Development Center today and chatted with a few of us a bit more about her plans to move. She is leaving tomorrow afternoon and will arrive in Raleigh in a few days! We have put her in contact with our good friend Bo Roberts who is helping out with her housing situation. THANKS BO! As movers tried to pack up her house today, they realized all of her furniture was infested with cockroaches, fire ants, possum, and other animals/bugs that had come into the house while they had evacuated after the flooding. The movers had other families furniture on the truck already and could not load any of her furniture due to the risk of damage. These men could of just left and proceeded on, BUT they helped her rent a trailer and agreed to pull it behind the moving truck. They also agreed to switch up their driving plans and make Raleigh the last stop on their trip to give her a few extra days to find a place to live. What a great thing God has done to use his hand to put all the right people in the right places at the right times to help this woman! That's some POWERFUL stuff!

Speaking of great relationships, I have failed to mention two great people we have grown to love down here, our new surrogate parents Mrs. Sue and Mr. Jack! Sue and Jack are a retired YMCA couple from Minnesota. Sue was in resident camping for many years in Conneticut and Pennslyvania(where she also served as CEO), while Jack was her Operations guy. They too were in touch with the YMCA of the USA and came down to help as soon as they were called. They have since been at Kamp Katrina for the 3 weeks it has been open. Sue did most of the daily activities (she has since stepped back into more of an admin. role since we arrived and loves us for it!), and Jack still does Operations-cleaning, fixing stuff, and serving up snacks and lunch everyday. Sue and Jack drove down in a Winnebago, and sleep out in the parking lot of our current home. She makes sure we're up in the morning and ready to go, and is always offering words of encouragement! (they have also been our ride to work!)

Over at East Jefferson, John and Kelly once again shared an amazing story about 2 children who are attending the newly opened Kamp Katrina on the other side of the lake. Gabby(4th grade) and Hickman (6th grade) were affected by the flooding, commenting that they were lucky because they only recieved "16 inches of water" in their one-story house. But, in reality, everything is destroyed. They have just rented an apartment right next to the East Jefferson Y where they plan to stay for a few more months. The apartment they currently live in has holes in the roof and cockroaches all over, and Gabby shares an air mattress with her mom at night. Until the new Kamp Katrina opened, they had spent their days pulling up nasty carpet, digging out wet sheet rock, etc. Today at camp, they got picked up around 4:30 to go home and eat an early dinner. But, 10 minutes later Gabby came stolling back through the doors of the YMCA. John thought that maybe she had left a lunchbox, but she came back in to ask if she could stay longer! (She was there until closing time!) What a great escape for Gabby and Hickman-getting showered with love from John and Kelly! (Gabby is in the pic with John, she is on the right)

Back at Kamp Katrina, it was rockin and rollin as usual! The St. Tammany newspaper came around today and took pictures and interviewed the Executive Director and Sue about Kamp Katrina. We also found out that there is a 4th grade girl named Ebony who is in need of prayer!!! She gets dropped off at the Development Center at 6:30am and doesn't get picked up until 8:00pm. During the day, she tells us about her home life-a few siblings who have died(car accident, drowning, miscarriage), and about her Dad who tells her he doesn't want to be her father. The way she causually talks about all of this stuff is heartwreatching. While we don't know how much of her stories are true, we do know that any child making those claims is a child who desperatly needs our love and prayers. (This is Ebony with Richard)

Nick, John and Kelly got to sneak in a little trip through downtown New Orleans today. In a nutshell, here is what we saw-watermarks on houses and buildings so high it was almost unimaginable, minimal power throughout the city, the Superdome's roof and how the outer shell had peeled off, police officers still blocking off a few exits due to current flooding, 3 boats tied up to an overpass in the median of the highway, and a smell of waste and debris that we will never forget.

Tommorow is a sad day...the last day of Kamp Katrina at the Child Development Center (we will all go over to work the new Kamp Katrina at East Jefferson on Saturday). Darrell Johnson, the CEO of the YMCA of Greater New Orleans and other staff are taking us out to dinner for an "End Of Camp Banquet. " It should be a great time of fellowship with our new life long friends. Once again, we thank you for all the prayers and support. TJ always says it so well but it's so true..."WE GET TO DO THIS!!!"