This is the thirty-first update for the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief fund for the Lake Pontchartrain North Shore. This includes the Covington, Abita Springs, Mandeville, and Slidell, Louisiana area.

Pastor Michael Sprague of Trinity Evangelical Free Church of Covington, LA, has sent an E-Mail update on the ministry in the North Shore area.

“New Mercies:

This morning fifteen staff, (Trinity and Katrina) joined together for a couple of hours to plan for ministry that is sustainable over the next year or two. The structures we have now cannot accommodate the size of the project so we are seeking God on how to super-size everything, (offices, phones, communication, transportation, equipment, staff, computers, etc). Pray! We all need to pull together for the next few weeks to make this work, and after that, we hope to have additional staff, equipment and structures to get past “organized chaos” to “organized for the long run.” With all the struggles, we are daily amazed what God is accomplishing through our inadequacies.

We started our staff meeting by focusing on celebrating the good work of God. If we go too fast, we will miss modern day burning bushes and the fingerprints of God. We are choosing to identify the sacred places and His divine imprints. If we only choose to live at a frantic speed, we will miss out on awe, wonder, celebration, and the peace that transcends our circumstances. I believe part of the revolution of our souls is to move us out of being superficial consumers, to a people who celebrate.

In our case, the question is not if God is present, it’s simply a matter of our awareness of Him. We choose to see the divine in the ordinary, and sometimes glimpse the extraordinary. Our sharing and prayer time was filled with boasting in the new mercies of God.

Last night, during our sharing service, God showed up again.

1. One work team had cleaned up a home and got to lead a woman to faith in Christ. She was introduced at the services as a new believer. What joy! We all celebrated.

2. Another business man revealed how God has revolutionalized his life. He has been helping a person who lost everything. He humbly admitted that a few months ago, he would not have given a person like this, a second’s thought. Now he looks at people through the Father’s eyes.

3. I read a letter from a modern day “woman with two mites.” The letter read, “I heard you on Open Line tonight and enclosed is a $5.00 shopping card also good for gasoline use. I wish it could be more, but I’m only netting $130.00 per week (approx.) with no hope for advancement or wage increase. I’m sure I have much more than those in your area. I have some bread machines, pots and pans, a slow cooker, etc. I’d like to send to you when I have postage, if you want them…I’m also a pet groomer and if I was down there, I could help…when I can add money to it (the card), I will. I will do the best that I can to add or send another card.”

I am blown away by the generosity of this dear saint. She lives on $130.00 a week, yet is sending what she can to us. Please pray for God’s abundance to be lavished on her.

4. Another woman shared how God has emboldened her to be open and authentic with the baggage in her life. She shared powerfully how God is at work and how living in truth and not in lies is freeing.

5. Another couple in our church boasted in God’s provision of a free fifth wheel to live in. Their home was destroyed, yet God provided.

6. One team member was amazed and undone by God’s ability to provide. He had come to Louisiana without the cord to recharge his cell phone and couldn’t locate the right cell phone store in the area to get a new one. After his team completed a major tree clearing job, the team went deep into some bushes/tree area and oddly, there was a cord hanging from a bush. As they took a closer look, they were dumbfounded that it was the exact cell phone recharger that this man needed. Coincidence, or divine appointment? Had it gone through the hurricane? How did it appear in the middle of nowhere? The fingerprints of God? I say “yes”!

7. Our office staff needed an additional staff person immediately and prayers went up to God. Unbeknownst to them, a volunteer broke his foot in several places and at the moment, all he can do is “office work.” He called his employer back home and the boss said that he had full disability coverage, and he could stay here six weeks and work in our office. God provides.

I trust that you too, are looking for the fingerprints of God. As you see His fingerprints, boast in God almighty. If you get a chance, let me know your story. I’m convinced God is all powerful and is strongly working among His people. Be strong and courageous. Be looking for His miracles.

Please pray for us:

1. Pray for the expansion of our ministry structures. We have a 14-inch skillet right now, and we need to get a 36-inch skillet to handle our enlarged “fishing” business.

2. Pray for a new children’s pastor for Trinity Church. My wonderful part-time children’s director, Suzanne Cole, informed me today that she will need to transition off the staff by the end of November. Suzanne will stay fully engaged in ministry at Trinity, but recognizes that a full-time pastor is needed for the next season of ministry. She built the ministry upon the foundation of Jesus and made Sunday the best part of the week for many kids. Pray for Suzanne and for Trinity as we look to God’s direction.

3. Pray for provision for our new children’s ministry building. This building is going up right before our eyes and is desperately needed for ministry. The completion date is early next year.

The building will be used for our children’s ministry, but God may have known we would also need to use this to house our Katrina staff and volunteer sleeping quarters. Our pledge system has collapsed since the hurricane hit, and we will need to pay the bank about $750,000 over the next few months. This amount seems huge to me, but I am trusting God for His direction. I’m convinced we were led to build this building, so we are pushing full-speed to finish it. Pray hard!

4. Pray for revival. This means renewal in hearts and repentance where needed. Luke 13:4-5 in part addresses the question of how to respond to natural disasters like tsunami’s, tornado’s, or Katrina’s. The passage says, “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were {worse} culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Jesus’ response to this disaster may seem shocking. The amazing thing is not that a tower fell on 18 sinners, but that it didn’t fall on all of us. We tend to put God on trial when calamity hits rather than putting ourselves on trial. God is calling the world to humility, surrender, and repentance. The truth is…God is holy, and it is a miracle that I am breathing. I deserve separation from Him because of my sin, yet the good news is that Jesus did something for me that I never could have done for myself. Because of His substitutionary work on the cross, I can stand forgiven and reconciled to God. This is called, GRACE…God’s free gift that is extended to an undeserving person. The gift of peace with God and forgiveness is offered as a free gift to anyone who is willing to humble themselves and trust Christ. The words of one man in scripture was “Be merciful to me, a sinner.” If you have never prayed to receive this gift of grace, sincerely pray this prayer to God:

“Lord Jesus Christ, I know I am a sinner, and do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in heaven for me. Lord Jesus, come into my life; take control of my life; forgive my sins and save me. I repent of my sins and now place my trust in you for my salvation. I accept the free gift of eternal life.”

If you prayed that prayer, let me know. It will absolutely make my day.

Betting the Farm on God,

Pastor Michael Sprague (12:02 PM 10/14/05 CDT)”

The opportunities are limitless, the work is horrendous. The ministry here is endless, and the joy is tremendous!

Be a part of this exciting ministry to provide for those who need it so desparately, following the devastation of hurricane Katrina.

If you haven’t yet contributed to the combined efforts of this blog and Grace Community Chapel of St. Peters, MO, in raising money for Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Covington, LA, to be distributed locally to the Lake Pontchartrain North Shore area, you will find detailed donation information by clicking here.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 14th, 2005 at 6:19 pm and is filed under Katrina North Shore Relief. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Tags: Hurricane Katrina, Katrina, New Orleans, North Shore, St. Tammany Parrish