Today is Saturday...in Louisiana!

Whew! We left early to drive to Houma with some brothers from NGA who came to inspect the damage with us at Friendswood, Chauvin and Grand Caillou. Here is what we found...

Friendswood has much more damage that originally thought. Large sections of the roof have been damaged and will require significant repair. There has been significant water damage to the pews, the carpet (which required removal), the sound system, the choir rooms and the gym. The walls of the sanctuary will require removal and replacement of the wet sheetrock. Insurance will help some but there will be the need to help this church recover. Pastor Earl was encouraged to receive support from the church in Conyers, GA. Please remember this church.

Grand Caillou has some minimal damage to the exterior. Thankfully, no flooding in the area.

Chauvin church has experienced a major damage to its roof. Pastor Naquin and Pastor Brenda's husband are working to get the roof covered with tarps until we can make some decisions on replacement of this roof. Unfortunately, the church has no insurance to cover the damages. We left the first month's income replacement from the Texas congregation who is sponsoring her. Electricity has recently been restored and we are trusting God for improvements soon.

From there we drove to the outskirts of New Orleans...how I wanted to go in...but roadblocks discouraged our courageous thoughts. The city is on my heart and in my head as we consider the unique opportunity God has provided us to rebuild the presence of our churches and the COG in New Orleans. Would you help me pray about rebuilding New Orleans? Strategic partnerships are necessary and available. God's heart for the city is obvious. Can God use you and me to be part of the INCREDIBLE vision for the city?

We returned to Covington to meet up with General Overseer, Dennis McGuire who was able to visit there today but we missed him. The ministry of Lonnie Stewart--Meals on Wheels is set up there and providing hot meals to the people of the parish. At present, only 20% of St. Tammany Parish has power restored, so the meals are greatly appreciated! A medical clinic was set up today with a doctor and LPN to meet patients and help with needs. There has been great response to that. People continue to come in droves. An estimated 400 cars per day are lined up from 3-6 in front of the old state campground.

We did not visit Slidell today, although we did yesterday. Our relief teams are going into Slidell next week to help in some neighborhoods with storm debris. The mayor of Slidell estimates that 10,000 homes have been destroyed in this area. Operation Compassion served 3500 hot meals at the community outreach site which is being staffed by many of the faith-based organizations in front of Wal Mart (exit 83).

Today was a good day for our people...and our neighbors.

I pray tomorrow will be a day of spiritual enrichment for you and your church. Keep praying..

Anticipate!

Bishop Bill