Today we had the privledge of providing household items, clothing, coats and much more, through the Katrina Relocation Plan Warehouse, to displaced families. Everyone had a story. The first guy was in his late 20's single and moving into an apartment. Red Cross called us and asked if we could give him a sweeper. When he arrived we learned he had a bed and some clothing and that was all. He wanted a sweeper to clean carpet in his apartment. I asked him what else he had besides a bed he said "nothing". I invited him to choose a sofa, chair, and table. He broke down and expressed that he couldn't believe there were people thinknig of him and fellow victims so far away. It was too overwhelming for him. He also recieved everything for his kitchen, bedding for bed, a coat, and a washer and dryer. He was very deeply moved and worked hard when selecting items to be mindful of others especially of families that would soon come. I asked him if he wanted a job and he said yes. We connected him up with a manager of a bowling alley that came to the warehouse last week and offered a job to someone who needed it. After coming for a sweeper he left with a bunch of stuff, new friends and a job.
The second family was a mom and two teenage sons, they have been living in a fire station since the storm. There are no schools that are open and it was difficult to live in a fire station with many others. Her husband sent her to Kokomo to stay with distant relatives that they had never met. Her husband remained at the fire station in LA. so he would not lose his job. This family has been separated so that the young men may go to school. This family have never been out of LA. and they were cold today, high temp 79(felt great to me).
The third family had two small children and two teens. They are living in a motel, th father was hired by a friend here who gave him a job. They want to get into a home soon and came in to see how we could help them. We explained we could provide them with household items, but they did not have anywhere yet to take the stuff. We did give them some dishes, pots, pans etc. to cook in a kitchenette in their room. They all recieved coats and sweatshirts, they too wer very cold today. The children got some toys and the teen children took some books to read.
The last family was a couple that had live in Los Vegas, who were art and antique collectors. They were looking for a quieter town, in a warm climate, that was sort of artsy and cultured. They took two years to locate a town in LA. they built a brand new house and moved into their dream home and town. They only lived in their house for 6 weeks before it and the entire town was totally and utterly destroyed. All of thier art and atinque collection was gone. They came to Kokomo to stay with a sister. They secured a house and traded in their early american furnitrue for early salvation army. They were so cold that they wore their winter coats home.
Please pray for all of these families and for volunteers to come forward to help us sort through the mountiains of bags of clothing etc. We estimate we have 700-100 bags and boxes of things to sort through. For some reason the volunteer pool is low, but the stuff never stops coming in. We had to just start ripping open bags this afternoon to find a coat for a 16 year old boy. We have to find the stuff we need in the piles soon. I am having trouble getting the word out. Once a volunteer arrives they usually come back each day. In the week we have been open we have had about 100 volunteers but that is not nearly enough. The project is large but God is larger. Anyone up for a mission trip to Kokomo? Jeff
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