Next Step STORM

Thankfully Justin took some time off of work to help build his home. The 10 man crew we were expecting....well, that has yet to come to fruition. He and I framed in the floor today and in the afternoon our relief came in the form of Courtney, Kim and Sophie. They saved the day as they put down plastic on part of the crawl space that we had already put support beams in, and they carried all the floor joists! We hadn't installed the plastic because we were waiting on fill which came when we were half done. 

There's always something going on around us that we don't think about as "news", or something to report. I tend to report on the "project" even though we repeatedly say "it's about the people, not about the project. As I thought about this I pondered how often we miss God working around us as we focus on the task at hand. It's kinda ironic....my pictures would give away my tendencies toward "the project" if I didn't force myself to take some pics of people. I've even caught myself getting irritated when someone pops up unexpectedly in my project pic. (That was many years ago of course) :/ 

The photo above tells all kinds of those behind the scenes goings-ons. That's Courtney scolding her dog Reggie who just took a dip in the mud hole dug by her step-dad Lenny with his backhoe which he made because I had gotten his hoe stuck the day before (I was able to push myself out with the loader so I didn't get caught) and the concrete truck had gotten stuck also so Lenny dug the muck out and was replacing it with rocky soil that he got from another hole he was digging to bury some brush and tree debris. All that to say "there is more than meets the eye". "Our battle is not against flesh and blood..."

This was taken at the end of of the day.

Participants were Justin, Courtney, Kim, Sophie and Monte. 

Pictured to the left is our excuse for coming to CA! That's Justin Lord with Courtney and their baby girl Emelia. They lived in Middletown prior to the Valley Wildfire, evacuated and returned to a pile of charred debris. Justin is a mechanic and all his tools were burnt in the fire. He said it was so hot his aluminum car jack was just a puddle. 

Our latest adventure to help build a home for CA wildfire survivors started out with delayed and rearranged flights. We arrived at the Rancheria about 24 hrs after our journey from Birmingham, AL began only to find that the home we're supposed to be framing was just an empty lot; no dirt work, no concrete....

We often say "flexibility is key" so we got to put that "key" in action. Long story short- we met with a concrete contractor the first day (his proposal was accepted) and took the forms off today. In the meantime Monte built a storage shed to unload the packed tool trailer and organized the tool trailer and shed. As you can see in the photo above, we've had to deal with off and on rain. And the COLD! It was 34 degrees here yesterday morning with windchill of 26. Who thinks of cold and CA in the same sentence?!! 

We're learning and seeing new things being in a new part of the country- different building codes and materials, culture of people, bureaucracy and big government, high prices, etc. All the people have been friendly but we're definitely not in the Bible belt anymore. Kim's phone has zero service and the wifi here is sporadic. The nearest lumber yard and Walmart are a good 1/2 hr away and Middletown has no franchises. It's kinda remote in that sense with the locals being at the mercy of the small town convenience store or making an hour trip to a bigger city. You folks who have Menard's don't know what you got! I KNOW you're taking them for granted! You are spoiled! 
 
As I processed the supposed "setbacks", the first thing that came to mind was the reason why we do what we do. It's not about building a house but about building a Kingdom! We want to be about our Father's business. Our desire is make him known; to introduce life in Jesus Christ to those with little hope outside of Him. We struggle like many others with how to do that, when and what to speak, when to keep out mouths closed and not "force it".... Please pray for our testimony to make a difference in someone's life here and that we'll be bold. May the Lord grant us opportunities to share Him with those we come in contact with here. May they see a difference in our lives that is appealing. And please ask for protection and guarding of our hearts as we are surrounded with new experiences and culture. As I look over this paragraph I see a bunch of "christianese" but that doesn't change the realness of the desire! 

     

I know it's been a while since we wrote on here but we're still pluggin' away here in sweet home Alabama. We've been asked about the damage here around us so hopefully we'll be getting some more teams coming because there's plenty to do for sure! There are a lot of trees and power lines down and tangled and quite a bit of damaged homes. I am in a bit of a pickle right now trying to figure out how to fit everything in. You might say I've taken on too much but I'd like to say we're operating in the Spirit and God will provide. Time will tell. We'll just take one day at a time.....

I have been begging for work and now the floodgates have opened and I hesitate to say "no". Projects that we've been trying to put together for some time, all seem to hit at once. And now tornado damage all around us. I'm hoping that we get some new sign-ups so we can work in the new tornado damage areas some. I've been doing some assessing and went out cutting trees with Faith Chapel and the Baptist men disaster team this past week. Shaina and I went to an area today that was just opened up yesterday. Some Baptist men came and cut a path through the road so you could access the people back in there. INCREDIBLE how  anyone could have survived as the area contained a lot of mobile homes that were demolished, and people were in them! You cannot convince me that there is no God because by looking at all the havoc these storms wreak there should by all means be more deaths. We have seen home after home after home completely destroyed with nothing left salvageable  or standing but somehow in the middle, people survived. God is good!! 

We welcome a new team to the Next Step STORM camp this week- Sons of a Carpenter arrived this evening. They asked if they could go out on Sunday in the disaster areas since they were already gonna be here and we're obliging. We don't usually work on Sunday of course cuz that's when we and our neighbors go to church but desperate circumstances call for desperate measures. After all, if we really are about the people, how can we say "no, not today cuz I gotta go to church". (Hmmmm, that reminds me of a story I heard about a guy who did some healing on a Sabboth and was accosted by some disgruntled religious fanatics.) My prayer is that tomorrow will be filled with worship as we're among the trees! Remember, if we don't praise God, the trees will cry out! (ok, so Jesus said the "stones" or "rocks" would cry out so I figure a tree could holler quicker than a rock;)) God is good!

Did I mention that we could use some more folks to book a week or two?! ~monte

I've been reading and thinking a lot about King David and pondering how he could be labeled "a man after God's heart". You know the stuff he did...what sets him apart? I want to be a man after God's heart! How do I get there? This is a rhetorical question, please don't write me with the answer. I want to keep asking the question cuz I figure when I think I'm there, I'm probably farther away from the truth.

You see I'm just starting to figure out salvation. I'm working out my salvation.  Notice that I did not say I'm working for my salvation, though I find myself guilty of the latter at times. And that's my point here...the part I said I'm starting to figure out. Salvation is not from us but from God. I can't earn it....

Yeah, I know...I've been preaching it for years but I don't think I fully understand- "nothing you can say or do will make God love you any more or less". If I believe that, then why do I listen to the lies sometimes when I fail? Satan is quick to accuse me, point out my flaws, tell me I'm no good cuz of what I did. I gotta admit, the reason why I listen is because I don't fully understand, but I'm getting there! Praise be to the Lord, the only wise God our savior! Hey! Don't point your finger at me cuz you do the same thing! That's why I'm putting this on the table! We all need reminded.

I find comfort in David being a man after God's heart. We don't understand the salvation that God alone has provided. We even take the choice to follow Christ on ourselves, saying I chose Him. NO. He chose you! The last time I checked, a dead person can't choose nothing! (Sorry Mom, anything. A dead person can't choose anything.)


Colossians 2:13               Ephesians 2                            Romans 5                                  Romans 6 

Listen to me. I'm not trying to get into an Armenian/Calvinism debate cuz I think I'm a Calvinistic Armenian. My point is, I don't think we understand. We have knowledge, but not understanding. If we understood completely, then we wouldn't get in a slump. (Oh my goodness, I can just hear the comments section blowing up with theology. Listen to the spirit in which I speak, not the words I use!)  Romans and Psalms say no one understands.

I TRY to be good, to do good, to have pure thoughts, to not think negatively, to be humble and not prideful. No matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get there! You're right, dummy, you can't get there! THAT'S WHY i NEED CHRIST! For He in me can! His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Thank God, I'm not the only one. Paul said in Romans 7.....
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Glory to God, this flesh is dying but this spirit is being regenerated! It won't always be like this!

Ok, so, funny story. You think I got it now, right? Oh praise the Lord, Monte has finally been born again again! Well, let me tell you....So I'm in church Sunday and the pastor starts preaching about this very same stuff! I'm thinking "HEY! That's what I'm processing and I wanted to share it! He stole my stuff! Well at least he didn't say anything about David. Hrmph. You see what I did there? Instead of rejoicing in the fact that the God of the universe is speaking, the Holy Spirit is obviously working, His message, because of the unity of the message.....Even when I have a revelation about my works vs God's works, I STILL take it on as my own! O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
                                                                                                                                                    ~monte

Our plan at this time is to continue work here in Birmingham but with our eyes open. That meaning that we are open to changes in our plan. The very nature of what we (YOU and us together) do, helping others in storm situations of life and weather events, dictates that we remain open to movement at the Holy Spirits leading. As far as projects here in B'ham, we are overwhelmed with work at this time, both tornado and inner city. We're the only outside group that remains. NOW, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! We're asking for those that find it in their heart to organize a team to come and serve the good folks of B'ham! Anyone can do it. It just takes a willing heart. Call or email us and we'll walk you through it!
We can't help but notice, the farther away from Katrina we get, the fewer the volunteers. In the Hope City years, on the beach in Gulfport, MS, it was 24/7 non-stop running. (Being on the beach may have had something to do with it :)  The "condition" is the same across the nation it seems; probably a combination of things. Some of which I don't even think of. We (volunteers) are probably a lil burnt out on disasters and there are so many, maybe we're stretched a lil thin. The economy probably has something to do with it also as peeps are having to be concerned with keeping a roof over their own heads. And there are so many "options" out there these days.......Anyway, all that to say that we continue to look for volunteers and are finding we have to be more intentional about seeking them out. Any volunteer marketers out there?  ;)
Birmingham has been a struggle all along in bureaucracy and politics with the Long Term Recovery Committee (LTRC).The LTRC is always set up locally after a federally declared disaster to control duplication of benefits (to those affected by the disaster). Basically, this where the caseworkers, material funders, and construction partners sit at a table and collaborate. NSS is a construction partner and this is where we go to get funding for materials on projects that have been case-worked. Caseworkers get all the pertinent info from clients and pre-approve them. They make sure the client meets the requirements of securing assistance, or fall within the scope of the disaster assistance. As a construction partner, we're constantly juggling between having enough volunteers to complete projects and having enough work for the volunteers coming in and matching the projects to the skills of the group. Let me just say, I find this to be an impossible task but give God the glory cuz He does a perfect job of supplying all our needs. He consistently does perfect match work! AND I am constantly amazed at the body of Christ at work and what we can do in unity!
A perfect example of this was how we started out the New Year. We had a great group of youth from Rebel Ministries in camp over New Year week. We had a family that needed some work that included a roof tear-off, siding, flooring, door replacement, drywall repairs.... This is tornado damage from April 2011 and the family with 4 kids has been living in the home since, doing what they can and living with what they have. An odd concept I know.... anyway, the Rebels completed the roof but we didn't want to start the siding because we didn't have a group scheduled the following week that could complete it. And because the group completed the roof quicker than I anticipated, I was wondering what we would do next. Not worried, mind you, cuz I have experience with the Lord coming through, just wondering. It was about that time that I got a call from Christian Service Mission (a local partner and part of the body unified that I was talking about above). They asked if I would help them run a crew of volunteers next week? Uhhh, let me think about it.....YYYYESSSss! We then started the siding with the Rebels and got to finish it the next week with a wonderful group from Redeemer Lutheran Church, Damascus, MD! God is good! You know, I heard somewhere ;) that "He will supply all our needs according to His glorious riches"!

We have decided not to respond to set up a NSS volunteer camp in OK at this time, though we are not ruling out the possibility of some type of response. We have made connections with a church on the ground that will house volunteers but they are not coordinating work. There will be volunteer opportunities for several months to come for clean-up and numerous agencies have set up. Others are waiting on the dust to clear, for more in-depth assessments by emergency management agencies and the local V.O.A.D. (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) to see what the long term needs will be. I just spoke to a F.E.M.A. V.A.L. (Volunteer Agency Liason) in Moore and they are strongly asking that donations of goods be put on hold as the area has been inundated with material donations. She happened to be at the church talking to the Pastor when I called, and they are trying to find warehousing to get all the donations in one area. The churches in the area are using their space for warehousing and this would relieve them of that so they could have their facilities back. I asked her about the percent of the insured and she stated that it is a "heavily insured disaster". They are saying "between 80-85% are insured because they've been hit before and people know they better be insured." She also stated that they "have more diapers than they have babies". Just threw that in there because as I've stated before, we've got to get better at this long term recovery thing. We're good on the front end of a disaster, to the point of waste, but then the survivors without a home are soon left to fend for themselves!

NSS has received calls from some individuals interested in giving to the relief effort. It is my recommendation that you wait and see what the long term needs are. We often get caught up in the moment and then soon forget the disaster and survivors. Whatever you wish to give, set it aside as designated funds for OK at a later time. Then commit to giving it for long term needs and DON'T FORGET THEM when the next storm hits somewhere else. Remember, we're packing up here in Birmingham because of this very thing, the same reason we left Gulfport and New Orleans.

Please let us know if you or your team would like to respond to OK. This would help us determine our involvement there. 

From the Moore City Website:
"The State of Oklahoma, FEMA and VOADs (Volunteer Organization Active in Disaster) are putting a system in place to better manage the goods and material donations that are coming in from all over the country. Your generosity and thoughtfulness have helped Central Oklahoma region  and other areas through these challenging days and will continue to help as we begin to rebuild our homes, businesses and community.

At this time, we are asking donors to hold donations until we have a long-term system in place to get each item to the people that need it most. We also urge you to think about long-term needs for those who have lost their homes and businesses as you decide on ways you are able to contribute. There will still be a need in the coming weeks and months for donations. Additionally, we are working to compile a list of what those long-term needs may be."

 The OK VOAD says "Thank you to all who have given sacrificially to the relief efforts of recent tornados in Oklahoma. Your generosity has been deeply appreciated and needed. At this time we are encouraging all organizations and individuals to withhold unsolicited product donations to the affected areas. Please consider giving financially to your charity of choice involved in the recovery efforts. Thanks again for your continued support!”

I am including some links for your convenience if you're interested in more information.

There were reports of 12,000 homes being damaged or destroyed. Not true according to FEMA...Tornado rumor control (1200 homes)

FEMA Individual Assistance Synopsis
 
Make sure your Donation Counts

We have decided not to respond to OK at this time. Thank you for the prayers! If you or your group would like to volunteer we would be happy to connect you with one of the many groups already there. You can contact us at Info@NextStepSTORM.org. Thanks!

I am amazed at the saving grace of our God! Glory and honor to Him for those that have survived the mass destruction that has taken place through these tornadoes in the past few days. As I view the pictures and video of yet another catastrophic event, and am grieved by the loss of life; I couldn't help but once again be amazed by the fact that people survived. Please don't crucify me for downplaying the loss of life which is certainly not my intent. One life lost is a tragedy and our prayers go out for those that have lost a loved one!  As I look at the scene of twisted metal, broken concrete, building materials and just such a massive field of all sorts of debris....if you think about it, a debris field of everything we use in this life broken and rendered useless.....how could anyone survive where nothing else does? I can't help but worship the Lord for His hand of protection! 

And now you will see God's people once again pour out in droves to help the afflicted! We have been receiving calls, the first one being as the storm was taking place on the ground, of those wondering what our response will be. Please, please, please, do not respond to the scene at this time. It is understandable to want to help by responding right away but all you will do is get in the way and consume more man power (to keep you out) so the rescue workers can perform the arduous task of search and rescue. This scene ain't going away anytime soon. Everyone wants to go to the new disaster but then we soon forget about it and move on to the next "breaking news". Blessed are they that show patience and resolve to get people back in their homes many months or years after the "event". 1st Monte 12:2 

As you know (if you're the one person that reads the irregular and rare website blog) we had planned on closing the camp here in Birmingham at the end of June, and to make ourselves mobile in preparation for where the Lord would lead us next. We have no idea where or when that might be, or even "if" for that matter but felt that this was the obvious "next step". Our plans at this time are to visit the area around Oklahoma City and see if the Lord would move us in that direction. We will be traveling there next week so please be in prayer that the Lord would prepare the way and guide our journey. Only HE can see the details down the road and we're counting on Him to once again "make the connections" and direct our foot steps. There is much involved in relocating; site location, site prep, housing for volunteers and housing for our family.....

There are several things you can do and you already know the first two- pray and make a tax deductible contribution. PRAYER. THE most important thing cuz then everything else will follow. We will have moving costs of course (should the Lord lead in that direction) and just need finances to operate. Right now we're in need of shipping containers. We're looking at 2- 20 footers and at least 1- 40 footer. The 20 footers are around $1900 each (plus shipping) and the 40" is around $3000. This will allow us to be more mobile and we'll use them as the tool sheds and storage when on the disaster site.

You can be in prayer about volunteering or even leading a team in the future! What better time than now to talk to the Holy Spirit and see if that's how He should lead you! Also, IF we were to move somewhere, we'll need help for the process. I don't know if I've ever met anyone that likes to move. Maybe moving someone else....packing, transporting, setting up..... Personally, I enjoy setting up camp but not so much the personal part or household moving. Moving our family is always a concern. Please pray about that also.

Once again, to be perfectly clear; we are going to check out OK. We are NOT saying at this time that we are moving a camp there. Please pray for our family in this once again transitional time. May our lives be used to the fullest extent for the glory of GOD, whatever that entails; and may we be open, hearing and seeing. ~Monte

It looks as if we will be closing the camp here in Birmingham, AL as of the end of June. We are preparing to mobilize so we're ready to move on to where the Lord may lead us next! We are not "out of business" nor will we be having a going out of business sale. :) We're just living up to those two little words in our moniker and preparing to take the "next step". God is good and He always provides. Knowing that, we keep moving, doing what we can, working with what we know.....