inside #10/2008 - October 2008

Ike Relief

A report by Felix Wendt

"The house had been nine feet under water and everything was damaged and full of mold. Our job was to tear down and remove all the inside drywall and spray the frame with mold treatment."

As I stared in disbelief at the piles of rubble in this house that had once been a home, I wondered what I had gotten myself into!
On October 17 to 19, our team went to the Houston area where Hurricane Ike did the greatest damage and supported an organization called CORE. CORE coordinates volunteers from throughout the United States for disaster relief and is referring them to owners of destroyed houses.
At midday, we arrived in Nassau Bay, where CORE uses a Lutheran Church as a base of operations. We were equipped with tools and a coordinator accompanied us to a house. The owner was a retired widow, about 65 years old, she had been evacuated before the hurricane struck. When she was able to return to her home, she was obviously overwhelmed with all the damage. She was particularly concerned because, like many Americans, she was not insured. We were able to help her by doing the groundwork for the construction workers, who will repair her house in the next few weeks.
That was really an exhausting job, but at night we had a good time in the camp. We had two other groups were there with us, so this added to the fellowship and fun. One group was from Baylor University (in Waco, Texas) and the other was from Mississippi.
The next day we spent with a family whose house in Galveston Bay had been completely under water. We removed plasterboard from the wall and then sprayed the frame with chemicals. When we finished only the frame of the house was left. It was an amazing transformation down to the bones of the house. Ordinarily, it would seem depressing to see a house like this. However, knowing what the house looked like when we arrived, you would have to say it was a happy sight!
The owner was an amazing man and showed such a great attitude. He is sailor; his boat was about 200 meters away from the house, next to the harbor. It was tossed from the water onto land! He was so grateful to have our help that he prepared some real Texas food for us. In the middle of the construction site with the garbage piled around, he made turned the radio on, listened to his music, and prepared spareribs and beans.
Nassau Bay is very nice, but it is really sad to know that many peoples retirement homes were literally washed away. Some areas in town have been cleared from debris or were not as badly devastated, but other places are totally wrecked. One woman had a jet ski lying in her backyard. When I asked her if it is hers she replied only: "No, this is my neighbors, he lives three houses down the road." The jet ski had been washed over garden fence. Unbelievable!
It has a high impact on me to witness such devastation with my own eyes. This is something you usually only know from television. However, more than the devastation, it is good to witness the fellowship and willingness of so many volunteers who have come to help out. You don't see feel that very easily on the television, either. Our work was a huge blessing for these people, since many will pay $5,000 U.S. dollars or more for the removal of the drywall. And doing the work was a huge blessing for our team. God is good!

Diligent helpers

Reflections by Gina and Marianne Gina and Marianne are students from our School for World Mission and Evangelism in Lüdenscheid, Germany. They are here for six weeks in Austin and to support our team.

We are very surprised by the religiosity among some of the homeless. Many call themselves Christians even though they are destroying their lives with alcohol and drugs. They are very open in talking about God, but they often lack the personal relationship with Him. We are faced with a real spiritual need and believe that God wants to draw these people close to his heart.
A few days ago we were able to pray for a young woman who had broken her leg and had severe pain. The next day she came back to the Cream and Sugar trailer and enthusiastically told that us that her leg had improved and that she can walk further than before, without pain."
Gina and Marianne will return to Germany at the end of October. We shall miss this in our ministry in Austin. We thank God for there diligent service and for their growing love for Austin's homeless young people.