Update from Baton Rouge!

Greetings friends and family!

We finally got more pictures posted to our site! More still to come, too. It may be difficult to see some of these, so we'll try to explain as we post. Thanks to all for waiting patiently for us to provide some online updates.

We spent all morning today cleaning out, organizing, moving stuff, etc. in the church in order to better prepare it for more construction. Church services are being held right now in a local Baptist church on Sunday afternoons because the church bldg here is still under construction. A team is coming in a few weeks to sheetrock it.

We did a large food distribution on Th (4/19) and it went very well. The people were grateful and kind. We came back feeling great that we'd put in a good day. Even Andrew & Melanie got involved, passing bread from inside the van to us, outside the van. :->

During Melanie's nap time on M & W, Andrew is in home school down the hall, I (Chris) help lead class sessions for a Jobs For Life job training program, and Karen works on researching and writing grant proposals.

We are thrilled with how Andrew's homeschooling is working out. It's every day from 1:30-4 down the hallway with his friend Avery, taught by our friend, Krista, and he loves it. As you can imagine, he's counting down the minutes to 1:30 every day, starting around 1:10! Krista's doing a great job and he's already learning hand-writing. Meanwhile, he's also thriving with our own informal America curriculum, which focuses mostly on the American states. He can already point to and name 20 states!! :-> !!

For Krista, Andrew's participation is also wonderful because he helps get Avery acclimated to schoolwork. We're paying Krista for teaching Andrew, which helps with their adoption costs. Larry & Krista are adopting a 3 year old from Vietnam.

We love hanging out with Larry & Krista too and both A & M love playing with Avery. They had us over for dinner Fri night and then we all went to the Farmer's Market together on Sat. We talk, laugh and have a great time. Larry, Krista, and Avery are avid rock climbers. Larry prefers outdoor climbing, but they also do a lot of indoor climbing at a gym in Lafayette, LA (about an hour from here), where they know and reach out to a lot of the regulars. We have yet to join them for an outing. Chris has warned Larry that he's a walking injury, and prefers to stay on the ground, to prevent self-inflicted wounds. Larry is still pressing hard, so we may join them sometime soon.

Blessings to all our friends and family near and far, and check back often!

Settling In Down South

First of all, we promise to start post pictures as soon as we can! We're the kind of people who hold on to our 20th century items (like non-digital cameras) until they simply cease to work. Some friends gave us one of their digital cameras toward the beginning of our trip, but unfortunately the camera didn't work. So, we still have 3 rolls of camera film to develop into CDs. Now, we just need to remember to bring the film to the store!

We are truly excited to be here, and grateful for the Baton Rouge Ministry Center (BRMC)team. The pastor, Randy Knighten and his wife Maya, live just a few blocks from the Baton Rouge Ministry Center building. They have 2 sons...Kaleb (whose 3rd birthday is April 12th), and Dylan, who was just born in early February this year. I have yet to meet little Dylan, and Maya, who has been sick. Karen visited with her and brought her a care package yesterday. She got to hold Dylan, and apparently both the kids warmed up to her right away!

Randy has such a down to earth look on life, and a genuine heart for the people of Baton Rouge, including the many evacuees. We're so privileged to be working under his leadership and vision.

As we've gone out in the church van together touring the city and visiting the trailer villages, Randy has passed by old neighborhoods where he grew up and telling us whose lawns he used to mow. Randy delivered a beautiful sermon on Easter Sunday at a nearby Baptist church. This is where the BRMC is holding their Sunday worship services, while the downstairs of the Center is finished. They have had quite a few delays finishing up the building, particularly with obtaining electrical permits and having access to workers to finish the work.

The other couple serving here as relief workers/associate pastoral staff are Larry and Krista Lain. They have been all over, but more recently from California before getting selected to serve on the BRMC team. That is an interesting story in and of itself, probably for a future post. Larry and Krista live just down the hall from us, and have been here for 1 year now. We encourage you to check out their blog site as well. They are an inspiring young couple. They have one 6-year-old daughter, Averiana, and they are in the process of adopting a 3-year-old Vietnamese boy. They will most likely finish their home assignment with the C&MA church here in Baton Rouge in the Summer of 2008, and they hope to move on from here to serve in the Phillipines as a missionary couple. Their blog site is: www.thelains.blogspot.com.

The day we arrived (last Tuesday...WOW, it's already been one week since we arrived!), Larry's dad Billy was here from his home in Indiana, finishing up a lot of the electrical work that has been delayed here at the Center. Later this month, a team from Moses Lake, WA is coming to do more construction work on the downstairs, which is to become the new BRMC sanctuary and church location.

We had a great staff meeting with Randy and Larry this morning. Karen has done considerable research already into granting agencies that could greatly benefit the BRMC in carrying out its many visions for helping displaced residents and their children. I have also been very honored to be included in the Jobs For Life classes the BRMC puts on twice a week. Randy has asked me to speak at the class next week, to share from my own experience as a radio station manager. Next Wednesday, I will be helping conduct mock interviews for the (currently 5) class attendees who are evacuees now living here in Baton Rouge.

It's gratifying that my career experience thus far can be used in such a practical way. Pray that God truly speaks through me, as I am just the mouthpiece! Many of the evacuees such as these 5 class attendees are isolated, have limited transportation and access to decent jobs, and many have limited educational backgrounds to begin with.

Our children, Andrew and Melanie, are also doing very well. Andrew is homeschooling with Averiana at Rainbow Academy, the school taught by Krista Lain down the hall. Many of you know Andrew thrives on routine and structure, and Krista says having Andrew in class is a true answer to prayer, as it helps keep Averiana on track as well! Praise God that some of his obsessive-compulsive tendencies that drive us crazy are a blessing to someone else! I can totally see Andrew looking at his watch, which he claims is atomic, and saying: "Two minutes until math!"

Melanie is also doing well. Karen and I take turns watching her (and Andrew, when he's not homeschooling), and the schedule has also been flexible so we often have more family time together than back at home in Ellensburg. Andrew has appointed himself the teacher at the home school that he has created in our apartment. He gets Melanie and the neighbor children together and teaches lessons. The neighbor girl, Maggie (who is 10) serves as the school principal, and both Andrew and Maggie have posted the school rules on the closet door, so all the students can maintain proper order!

There is much more to tell, but we will go in spurts, as this particular spurt is more of a downpour as is. We will keep the blog updated. Thanks to all of you who have visited, posted replies, and have indicated your interest that we keep the site updated. Your support is truly recognized and appreciated!

Notes from the first day

I (Chris) attended a job training class put on by the Baton Rouge Ministry Center on Wednesday (4/4/07). Class attendees included 5 evacuees still living in FEMA trailer villages. This particular class session was fun and interactive. Using the movie "The Pursuit of Happiness" as a frame of reference, the class attendees were overall very positive and are definitely working hard to get their lives back on track. It's humbling to witness them sharing their stories of all they've lost and been through, yet in the same breath proclaiming that "God will get us through this," and "tragedy doesn't last forever."

When the church van was giving everybody a ride back to their homes (trailers), I got to ride along. One of the class attendess, named Billy, was entertaining and full of conversation! From this point on, I wish I had our video camera with me, because we toured several FEMA trailer villages, including the apparently famous "Renaissance Village," in which nearly 600 trailers exist in tightly-packed rows. Rosie O'Donnell contributed significant funds to establsih a charter school inside the grounds of Renaissance Village, which we also got to see.

It was striking to be in the village, seeing numerous security guards, and seeing families with young children all around. I couldn't help but think of my own children while on this tour, humbled to realize how much our family has in comparison to these evacuees, and imagining how we would all cope if we were ever thrust into such conditions for several years, as these victims have been. Then I thought about what it must be like for these families in tight quarters during the sweltering summer heat in Louisiana.

We drove past Billy's trailer...one of the smaller ones in the park. Ironically, it says "Weekender" on the side of it. Better make it a long weekend! Billy decided to stick in the van with us a while longer, as he needed to be dropped off also at a store. As he was exiting the van, he pointed over to a woman across the parking lot who had two small children with her. He told Randy (the pastor of the Baton Rouge Ministry Center who was driving the van), "if you have time, could you please pick them up and give them a ride home?" He gave directions as to where she lived.

We picked her (Alisha) up, and we told her that Billy gave us the heads up that she and her kids needed a ride. She looked at us inquisitively and asked, "who's Billy?" She put two and two together and realized he must be someone that normally rides the city bus with her, but she still didn't know for sure who he was. She was overcome with amazement and gratitude, and had a hard time speaking for a moment. Then she simply said "God sure works in mysterious ways...yes I DO need a ride," and she stepped on board with her two kids.

That's when Randy introduced us all and told her about the Baton Rouge Ministry Center and its outreach. Randy got her contact information, and gave her his, and let her know that if she needs food or clothing for her family, to let him know. The Baton Rouge Ministry Center has received so many donations, and is connected with Angel Food Ministries to acquire quality food for distribution to evacuees, and it turns out to be an incredible way to reach out to people and build new relationships.

Alisha told us on the ride that she was originally from Baton Rouge, but had moved to Mississippi before Hurricane Katrina to "get a fresh start." Well, she lost everything in the storm, and has since returned to Baton Rouge. After we had dropped her off, I told Randy and Larry (the associate pastor who was also with us) how amazing that was to me. Randy said divine appointments like these are a daily occurrence for us around here!

More later as things continue to unfold for us here.