Feeding Others with Food & Faith

Today our church provided food for the Mission of Hope, a fantastic downtown Cedar Rapids ministry that began by helping men and women go from prision back to society and now has evolved to something much bigger. When the flood took out 28 churches and non-profit ministries last year, the Mission of Hope was one of the few still standing. And guess what? If you build it, the people will come. People in need flooded the well-kept building by the hundreds.

The people First Lutheran kicked into high gear and responded in kind. We provided lunch and supper every week for the months of June, July, August in 2008. Since then we've settled into a groove serving lunch every 2nd Thursday of the month. Today was our day, and yes, the need is still great. The dinner bell rang (literally - they have a dinner bell - I love it!) and men, women, and a few children lined the walls for prayer. I was blessed to say grace and we sat down and broke bread with one another. I got to meet a few people and hear their stories. It was a wonderful hands-on experience where you can feel Christ's presence in the midst. I told the Mission that I will organize about 6 people to return with me in August and help serve the meal. Will you be one of them?

Check out a related story by our member, KCRG-TV9's Justin Foss:

Free Lunch Programs See Need Double, Even Triple

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/49648652.html

Break Bread with Flood Workers

We have been asked to serve a potluck dinner for young flood volunteers from Washington, New Jersey at 6 P.M. on Thursday, July 16. Please come and eat! Bring a side dish or dessert to share, join in the fellowship, help serve food, and/or clean up after the meal.
PLEASE CONTACT: Vicki Hughes 365-1494 or recept@firstlutherancr.org if you can help. Vicki will have details of time, and other arrangements. There will also be a sign up sheet at the Information Desk in the narthex this Sunday. Let’s show them how much we appreciate their help in our flood recovery.

Make Your Home an Ark for Camp Noah!

We will be hosting a National Team of volunteers July 20-24 for Camp Noah. We are looking for people who would be willing to host them in their homes during the week they are here. The team is arriving on Sunday the 19th in the afternoon. If you are willing to serve as a host home please let Barb Hanson know at 365-1494. We are also looking for people to help with preparing and serving the lunch for the kids each day. Thanks.

God's Gift from Michigan Pushes Project Forward

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you," says scripture (Matt 7:7). It couldn't be more true this week. God sent a skilled crew from Grand Rapids to Cedar Rapids to put our schedule at the Gruhn's right on track. Eight talented drywallers and mudders skillfully worked today to finish - that's right FINISH - the prep work for us to paint this Saturday. What seemed insurmountable just a few months ago is now attainable today. To quote former Hawkeye Basketball player Andre Woolridge when he hit a last second shot to beat #8 Michigan State, "If you don't believe in the power of God...there it is."

The crew showed up from Grand Rapids, MI yesterday and went to town on the Gruhn's home inside and out. One crew is finishing up the siding, two strong young men are cutting drywall in the hallway to the basement, two more retired men are skillfully scraping mud, and a lovely, older gentleman named Ken is scraping and painting the trim at the peak of the house. Ken told me, "We are not here by coincidence. God had this in His master plan that you and I would meet." It nearly brought us both to tears. The grand designs that the Gruhn family had, the contractor had, or even my overly optimistic schedule I drew up are being FAR OUTWEIGHED by the power of God's plan. Honestly, the house may be done by the end of this month. I never, ever, ever would have remotely dreamed that possible when I got involved in this venture in May. It just floors me. I hope it does you too!

We shouldn't feel bad that it is not us doing the work. Frankly, this is kind of what Dan Garrick of the Recovery Coalition told us he had in mind, that is, local churches would take up certain houses to be their hosts, then workers would come from out of state to lend a hand. Like many things in the Kingdom of God, we can accomplish more together.

Our hard work (and free labor) at First Lutheran is now paying dividends. For example, the contractor currently framing up the walls in the basement to be insulated and drywalled. Previously, we thought we would just slap up some paint on the cement walls. The whole house is being scheduled to be sprayed with texture by the end of the week. That means we will come in and put on prime on Saturday. I still can't believe it. If we have enough people, Pastor Dan would like to finish putting up a chain-link fence in the yard. Please stop by Saturday to help us paint or just to pray and celebrate God at work in Cedar Rapids! Yea!

Calling All Painters!

**JOB COMPLETED - THANK YOU***

What: We need painters, people to put up siding and finish putting up a chain-link fence.

When: 8 AM-12 PM, Saturday, June 11

Where: 1642 8th St NW

What should I bring?: Yourself, a friend, a paint brush, hammer, and/or cordless drill. See you there!

Cedar Rapids By the Numbers

Here are the results from the canvassing project that First Lutheran helped complete last month of EVERY HOUSE IN THE FLOODED AREA! The statistics will help the city get a better handle on ongoing recovery efforts and will help the Recovery Coalition concentrate efforts to rebuild the city. Here is what we found:

Disaster Addresses visited	3135
Phone number given	474
No one home	1829
Looked Abandoned	592
Rental	175
Owner Occupied	503
Being worked byVRC	0
Being worked by UMCOR	46
Rebuilding
Yes	536
No	90
Need help rebuilding
Yes	181
No	183
Rebuilding steps needed
Muck & Gut	47
Electrical	58
Plumbing	59
Siding	80
Drywall	76
Paint	96
Carpentry	143
Jumpstart
Yes	219
No	103
Declined	27
Undecided	19
2nd interview	30
FEMA THU
Yes	61
No	315
IUNDGP
Yes	217
No	82
Most important flood need
Rental Housing	13
Food	18
Clothing	21
Furniture	46
Appliances	39
Utilities	28
Support systems	16

Missouri Kids Leave Their Mark on Their Peer's Heart

It was a fitting end to a bright and colorful journey from Jefferson City, MO to the heart of the Cedar Rapids, IA neighborhood affected by the flood. Kia Gruhn, 15, asked her new friends to leave their mark (literally) on her newly remodeled room they helped to decorate. Just one year earlier, Kia stood in her old bedroom covered wall-to-wall with stinky flood mud and wrote the word "PAIN" on her door. Today, the Jefferson City kids transformed her door from PAIN to PAINT...purple paint that is. Each kid dipped their hand in purple goo, placed their own print on the door, and then signed their name and hometown. It was Kia's idea.

The girls stood side by side and giggled with each other as they painted their hearts out. In an instant Kia was a 15 year old girl again, talking about music, being goofy, and just chillaxing. For one afternoon anyway gone were her worries about taking care of her elderly grandparents, communicating with her hearing impared father, and worrying about the future of rebuilding her life. No, today's topics were throw pillows and accent colors. Just as it should be. And to top it off, the young people from Jeff City left their mark forever on Kia's door. Hopefully the handprints will remind Kia each night before she goes to sleep how much God loves her and so do her friends from Missouri.