Iowa Day 1-Hard Work and Ice Cream

It was officially day one for the group from Bay St. Louis/Waveland though they spent two days traveling. From the photos you can tell the similarity of the relief work on the MS Gulf Coast though for everyone on the team it was much different. Bringing God's lagniappe to those in need gives energy that motivates through the muck and the mire and the smell and the heat. Sewage came into every home and the smell can only be described as profound. Well, it was a great day. What a wonderful group of people desiring nothing but to serve. As I write this blog everyone is taking showers, cleaning the mess off. I am once again amazed at God's grace in calling each individual to come and serve and love doing this kind of work. Talking with Carol we agreed that we have a much greater appreciation (if that is possible) for the volunteers who come to the Coast. As a side note a really cool thing happened today. One of the residents was unable to come to the house to sign a release waiver because she had to take her daughter to the doctor. Instead she sent a note with her ex-husband (who was amazing to help all day) giving him authorization to sign on her behalf. She also included a $20.00 bill and a word of thanks. We were amazed at her generosity but what happened next blew us away. You have to remember that the area in which we are working is like the 8th and 9th ward in New Orleans after the storm. There are blocks and blocks of abandoned homes, resembling a ghost town. Within 10 minutes of opening the note we heard the sounds of what appeared to be an ice cream truck. We were astounded and dumbfounded to discover that it was actually an ice cream truck. The $20.00 was used to buy everyone an ice cream. Wow. God is good giving his grace of great fellowship and work and ice cream from nowhere. What it inspired in each of us was worship to the God of heaven who delights to delight his children and bring them joy in the midst of challenging circumstances. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, even ice cream from nowhere.