foiled by Rita

I'm sitting in the Starbuck's on College Ave in Baton Rouge. I figured I would take a moment and just let you know what's up...

Well, we were supposed to go down into the city again this weekend...at least Kevin, Chris and I were going to go. Hurricane Rita ruined our plans. Oh well. We are planing on making our way down there sometime this week. There are a couple more families that need some immediate work done on their homes. Plus, we have to start nailing down details on how things will work with these work teams that will arrive soon. We hope to form a team this week that will oversee things for the work teams. It will consist of whatever church leadership is in a position to spare the time and energy. I am really thankful that my Uncle Larry is already on board. We need his knowledge and skills.

My pastor during my college days, Sherman Soileau, is now in Henderson, LA. It's a small down about 30 minutes west of Baton Rouge. Sherman's church has been working overtime to minister to evacuees over the past couple of weeks. They have been caring for them, loving on them and putting them in a situation where they can take care of themselves for the time being. It is really cool to hear their story. Apparently Governor Blanco even sent some men down to Henderson to find out what they were doing!

Anyway, they just packed a U-Haul truck full of supplies for us to take down to New Orleans. That will be the first order of business for Chris, Kev and I this week.

So, if you wanna help out this week, let me know. If you need help, let me know that too!

flooded memories

I walked into Keith's room. In many ways, it looked no different than it had last time I had been here. The piles of dirty clothes scattered around would fool you into thinking that Keith had slept in his room the previous night. Of course, Keith was away at college...and no one had been in his room for weeks. My mind flooded with memories of Keith's smiling face inviting me into his room...proudly displaying his new pet or the latest piece of art he had sketched.

The smell of fresh mold pulled me out of my daydream and into reality. I knelt down and rubbed my hand over the carpet. It was wet...just like every other inch of carpet in the entire house. I peered to my left and my eyes focused on the mold creeping up the bottom two feet of Keith's wall. Splotches of every shade of green, grey, yellow and black covered the bright red door of his closet.

My job was to rip the carpet of out Keith's room. It was located in the back corner of the house...so it just seemed like the best place to start. Our plan was to cram it full of furniture from the other rooms in the house. I walked back to the kitchen and grabbed two plastic garbage bags: one for items that could possibly be salvaged...one for items that Keith would never see again.

As I began clearing the floor, I quickly realized that I was being forced to make decisions that no one should ever have to make. I found stuffed animals, toy baseball bats and handwritten think-you notes. My mind flooded with questions. Why did Keith save this? Does it represent some unforgettable moment he shared with his family? Is it too wet? I desperately wanted to call Keith and ask him about each and every item. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was that this had happened to him. I wanted to tell him how I wished he were here with me so that he could tell me the stories that go along with these memories.

It's kinda ironic that I ended up in Keith's room. I had watched Keith grow and mature in our youth ministry over the past three years. I had grown to love his sense of humor and artistic perspective. I had spent many, many hours on the phone with Keith talking about everything from his unrelenting workout schedule to his job at Marble Slab to his frustrations with our youth ministry. If anything, Keith was always honest with me, and I love him for that.

This moment, though, wasn't just about Keith for me. It was about every teenager that I have grown to love over the past three years. Their lives have been ripped apart by a storm. Their lives, their rooms, their memories have been wrecked. Their innocence has been taken from them. Our innocence has been taken from us.

Then again, Keith is making new memories as I speak. He has just begun a new life in Ruston. I would imagine that his dorm room has fresh paint and dry carpets. His walls will soon be full of new sketches that represent the new chapter in his life. He is probably surfing the internet on his new computer or working out with his new roommate (and old friend) Ryan.

Starting college is a time when you start over. You begin a new life. Youthful recklessness begins to mature into adult responsiblity. New friendships are kindled and new memories are made.

I guess we are all starting over. Our old memories are shoved into a white plastic bag sitting on our curb. God, renew us. Rebuild our lives. Rip out the toxicity in our lives and leave us dry and clean.

entering into the fray

So I finally was able to get into New Orleans this morning. Lawrence and I drove in with minimal problems (via our secret way that is available to those helping to restore the city). Our main objective was to scope out the area to prepare for our work teams coming in tomorrow and Saturday. With that at mind, we started out at church. I took a ton of pictures of the damage to the church facility that I hopefully will have posted at the Berean blog in an hour or so. It looks like we will have more than enough work to do there to keep us busy for at least tomorrow all day. If I counted correctly, there are six trees that are completely down on the main property.

We then headed over to my house, and the neighbors had left some nice signs out to greet us:


Well, at least I know my house has been kept safe!

On to the damage....

The major issue is a tree that fell from my neighbor's yard unto our roof. Man, it was really close to taking out my Jeep! No damage to the car...but it needed a jump
after sitting for two weeks.

Here is a closer look:


We walked inside and promptly climbed the attic steps to access the damage to the roof. The good news is that the structure of the roof is intact and the tree did not break through the roof anywhere. BUT, it did pull of enough shingles and tar paper to spring a couple of leaks. Nothing major, but we definitely will need to at least throw a tarp up there ASAP.

The second major issue is another tree that fell on our back overhang. Here is the best angle I could find to give you an idea of what it looks like:


And here is a picture of where you can see how we lost maybe two feet off of the edge of the overhang:


Yeah, that doesn't concern me in the least. I'm not a fan of that overhang anyway. The inside of the house was fine. All of the windows are intact, the only evidence of any water damage is one small spot in the ceiling right below where the tree is on the roof. We had electricity, water and sewerage. No cable, phone or internet (all provided by Cox Communications). We cleaned out the freezer and fridge (I figured you didn't want to see pictures of that). Yeah, that wasn't fun. We were worried about the trash sitting on the curb for days and days...and lo and behold the garbage men picked it up before we left!

Our house is definitely okay for us to move right back in. Right now, my concern is enough of the surrounding infrastructure being in place. I think we will probably wait another week so that the grocery stores, gas stations and other stores will be up and running.

Overall, the city didn't look as bad as I expected. It seems like they have done a good job of the initial cleanup, clearing the roads, restoring power, etc. I am beginning to believe that everyone will be amazed at how quickly life will be restored to New Orleans. Don't get me wrong, we will be repairing homes and buildings for well over a year...but much of the city should be operational in the next month or two.

So I drove my Jeep out of the city. Oh, it felt good to be behind the wheel of that car again...

learnings

So I am typing this from a borrowed office at Community Bible Church in Baton Rouge. Brad was able to get into the church facility yesterday and he brought back my laptop (hooray). It looks like much of my day will be spent online, making sure that we are communicating well with our church body and with other churches that want to help. So, if you want to contact me, email is always a good option. Also, the office number to reach me at is 225-924-3647.

I can't go through an experience like this and not ask myself, "what is God teaching me?" So I did. No really, I just said aloud to myself, "Doug, what is God teaching you through this?" I then replied to myself, "Thank goodness no one is here to hear you talking to yourself like this."

Okay...anyway...I think I have learned a lot about what grace means. It's really kinda crazy. I talk to others from New Orleans and their experience echoes mine. Over the past two weeks, I have had oodles and oodles of people ask me if I needed any help. Like a good American, I yelled back at them: "No! Who do you think I am? Some sort of charity case? I am a red blooded American and I am gonna pull myself up by my bootstraps and get through this!" Okay, not really. That would have been rude. Instead I just thought those words and politely replied, "No thanks. We are doing okay."

After having that conversation about ten times with people, you begin to wear down. You start to say to yourself, "We could use some help, I guess. What would it hurt?" You start to realize that it is not normal to be evacuated from your house for weeks on end with only three sets of clothes. You watch the news and remind yourself that this is maybe the worst natural disaster to ever hit the United States...and it happened to you.

So then, all of the sudden, this amazing thing happens. You swallow your pride. Gulp. It's gone. You are now free to say YES when people offer you money. You don't feel guilty when you accept gifts from total strangers. (Although you still feel a little awkward.) When people ask you what you need, you actually try to think of stuff you need instead of immediately turning them down.

Once this happens, you begin to find out that the people who are benefitting the most are the people who are giving. You see the joy on their face as they hand you a Walmart gift card. You hear their story about how they prayed all night about what clothes to buy for you. You realize that they not trying to make you feel bad...they are only trying to follow God's leading in their lives.

Then you start thinking about what the gospel means. The gospel means God gives when no one deserves it. You realize that we all live lives that were wrecked by a hurricane. We are all nomads who have been taken from our homes by sin. We deperately need help, and God Himself is asking us, "What do you need? Just tell me, and I'll give it to you."

Do I really understand grace? I mean, I have said the words, "I am a sinner in need of God's grace." Do I really know what that means? Does it affect the way that I live my life? I don't know about you, but I am so puffed up with pride. I don't think I need any help in my life. Not from God, not from anyone. Maybe I believe that I am saved by grace, but I sure as heck don't live by grace.

So...to you who have helped me and my family, thanks for showing me grace. You have been used by God. God is channeling is grace through His people towards us whose lives are affected by this disaster. I love you all!

housing

Hello all. I got a call yesterday from my good buddy Chris Burton. He was in Algiers! He said that the church property was fine...it even had electricity. Amazing. He checked out our house. The bad news...we have two trees down on our roof (actually one on the roof and one on the overhang over the back porch). The good news...they didn't appear to have caused major damage. We'll just have to get up there and see. Clay Schuler visited as well. He told me he took some pictures. I'm gonna see if he can email them to me. I'll be sure to post them.

Also, we are leaving in the morning to travel down to Baton Rouge. Keep us in your prayers. We are a little concerned about road closures, traffic and gasoline shortages. We will be living there until we can move back into Algiers. Community Bible Church in Baton Rouge is providing us with an apartment, funishings, and office space. Nice. It will be good. Brad is coming down to Baton Rouge as well. As many elders, decons and staff as we can scrounge together this weekend are going to meet to pray and plan.

Anyway, our new address will be:

Doug & Crystal Daspit
5850 Jefferson Hwy, Apt C
Baton Rouge LA 70806

What has brought me encouragement

In the midst of all of this, here is what has encouraged me:

• Talking on the phone to just about anyone I know from New Orleans. And I don't like to talk on the phone.
• Churches and Christians that want to help.
• 1 John 4. Especially the verse that says, "if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us."
• Finally seeing the aerial photo of my house on Sunday. Even though you really can't tell hardly anything from the picture. That didn't matter. I saw my house.
  
• Music. Especially Coldplay's "Fix You," Mat Kearney's "Renaissance," Chris Tomlin's "How Great is our God," and U2's "Beautiful Day."
• Partcipating in the live online fantasy football draft on Thursday night with Laura and Keith.
• Visiting my alma mater, Southeastern Bible College last Friday.
  
• Our friends Jeremy & Christa with whom we are staying. They cried with us when we found out that my Dad was okay.
  
• Sleeping next to Crystal.
• Playing Super Tecmo Bowl on Jeremy's NES last night.
  
• Sam.
  

stressed and overwhelmed

Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days. I know that many of my friends and family have been checking the blog pretty often because of Katrina. The truth is...I have hardly had a spare minute over the past couple of days. We are being contacted by churches and individuals all over the nation that want to help.

Yeah, so I am overwhelmed and stressed. I am beginning to feel the weight of the circumstance we find ourselves in. It's kinda funny, my gut reaction was that I would have to put my role as "pastor" on hold until we were able to all get back into the city. That is the furthest thing from the truth. I think I am perhaps having to work harder and longer hours now than I did out of my office in New Orleans! I am excited to say that we have found a way to keep many in our church connected...via the internet. We started a blog, thinking that we would need a place to communicate information to our church, as well as a way to just make sure everyone is okay. Come to find out, we are all starving for community. We need each other so bad right now. I was surprised at my emotional reaction to talking to Toni on the phone the other day. She and Jonathan are here in Birmingham too. I have savored the phone calls I have received from friends and family from New Orleans. Going through an event like this...and not being able to be together for support and encouragement is really hard. The blog is starting to get cluttered, there is so much activity there. So we started a message board. They are much more conducive for the type of connecting that is going on. Hopefully it will become our place where we "meet" instead of 3712 Herschel St.

The second part of my job has become "spokesperson" and "networker." Since I am the one staff member who can be easily reach via cell phone and internet, I have become the person who people contact when they want to help. We have been contacted by well over twenty churches that want to help. These range from "we want to send you a check" to "we want to adopt you as a sister church, send money, supplies and work teams. We want to help you figure out how to reach people in New Orleans as a result of all of this." I have enjoyed contact with church leaders all over the country...including some good friends (Aaron Latina at Calvary Church Mid Rivers, Alf Nelson at Grace Fellowship Church, John Talley at Calvary Bible Church, and Steve Foster at Sayrewoods Bible Church) These are men that I deeply respect and love. I am glad to count them as my coworkers in a time like this. Who knows where God will take us?

Crystal and I are doing fine here in Birmingham. We are very comfortable with our good friends Jeremy and Christa. Our boys have adjusted well to sharing a house with another family with two girls (Harper is five and Liv is three). In fact, we have had the house to ourselves most of the weekend and Sam seems a little out of kilter. He keeps looking around for his new friends! Maybe he has adjusted too well. He might get a little lonely when we finally are back in our own home!

So it looks like Birmingham will be home for a while. It seems that we will stay here until we can get back into New Orleans. If our home is not livable at that time, Crystal and the boys will possibly stay in the Baton Rouge area while I head down into the city to start to get the church facility up and running.

Speaking of our church facility, we were able to find an aerial photo of the property online. I cropped it and posted it here. It looks like we didn't sustain any major damage, although Crystal is a bit concerned about what looks like a car right next to the front building. It would be a tragedy to arrive back to a building with no major hurricane damage, only to find our property looted. Please pray that our building is okay. Many people will be without homes, and we would like the ability to shelter people ASAP.

Talked to my Dad for the first time last night. He is in Houston right now. The long and short of the story is that his house took in about 4-5 feet of water in about an hour. Mind you, his house is raised about 3 feet off the ground...that means 8-10 feet of flooding in an hour. They had enough time to move some possessions up into the attic before the water got to them. They spent the first night in the attic, were resucued by boat, spend the second night in the Superdome, were helicoptered out to the airport, spend the third night in the airport and were flown to Houston. He described the Superdome as "pure evil." Wow.

My cousin Forrest worked with the National Guard on Sunday through Thursday. He manned the Superdome and roamed the streets downtown. He mostly dealt with crowd control and defending against the gangs and looters. It was not fun. He said that there are people down there that are very dangerous. It is as if there is no law...every man for himself. I talked to him last night and told him that over the last few days, his job has let him see the worst of humanity and my job has let me see the best of humanity. He says we should just stick with my people.

I guess that is enough for now. We hope to try to refocus a bit next week. Perhaps we can get our minds off of our circumstances a bit. I need to start reading again. I need to hang out with some old friends who live here in Birmingham. I especially need to play that vintage Nintendo that Jeremy somehow got his hands on. Super Tecmo Bowl, Mike Tyson's Punch Out and Super Marios Brothers. Yeah!