New Year, New Direction for Flood Recovery at First Lutheran

We are on the cusp of some exciting changes at FLC in the way we do flood recovery! In 2008 we helped people flee to safety, we mucked and gutted their homes, and we held their hands and cried with them over their tragic loss. In 2009, we rolled up our sleeves and went to work! We reached out to our members and beyond to the community to help three families rebuild their homes and their lives. We celebrated the one year anniversary by holding a community picnic and helped kids recover through Camp Noah. We canvassed flooded neighborhoods to help the city assemble a massive flood recovery map. Now it's 2010 and we have a new mission.

The Holy Spirit is at work, my friends. Due to the success of this blog reaching throughout the country and our daycare recently vacating space in our building, a number of out-of-town work groups have expressed to me their interest in wanting to come and stay with us to help. Ask yourself, how might you fit into that plan? Could you help cook meals? Could you provide rides? Might you provide some summer entertainment for our guests or even be a friendly face greeting people around the church? Would you like to roll up your sleeves and do a little rebuilding alongside of them? Do you or someone you know have a house that needs worked on?

We have the space to house groups at our church. I am also working with a group in Wisconsin who would like to move their shower trailer from an area affected by Hurricane Katrina to our church parking lot for this summer only. In addition, we have a couple of key guys who recently retired in our congregation that have approached me about leading rebuilding teams. I still feel called to be a host and help co-coordinate flood recovery, even if it's in a reduced role this summer as I feel out being a first call pastor.

I've contacted the teams coming in and encouraged them to sign up with First United Methodist in Marion here: http://fumcmarion.org/Flood/index.html to get involved in the block-by-block program. I'm also praying heavily for the Holy Spirit's guidance for additional work for them if we need it and asking for your help in every way that you can offer it. Bring on 2010! Let's be the hands and feet of Christ in our community.

Construction Nearly Complete at Gilpins!

The Gilpin's newly poured cement porch, beautiful cedar wood posts, new front door, new foundation, and a lower graded and soded front lawn.

God is at work my friends through the life of First Lutheran Church. Mike Cutter of Cutter Construction is set to button up the Gilpin's home this Saturday and call for final inspections. The insulation goes in Friday, but the house is already 10 times warmer due to Mike's tremendous job of sealing up the basement with new blocks and new windows. The contractor was able to nearly double his efforts due to our church lobbying Jumpstart for more funding and Mike's kind-heartedness in providing free upgrades. Shawn and Mariann are very grateful of everyone's efforts! We are in conversation with the young family to find a time to have an open house and house blessing. We'd love to see you there!

This whole project has truly been a joy for me this summer and fall of 2009. It's a year I will never forget. At the start of the summer there were many tears and little hope. The Gilpins, the Boardmans, the Gruhn's, and my "Little Brother" Marcus' family sat in shelled out houses down to the studs (or worse), they faced a mountain of paperwork, they were filled with frustration at the process, and some wondered where God could be in all of this.

As you read these words, just a few short months later, ALL FOUR FAMILIES are back living in their homes. Isn't that amazing? The Holy Spirit filled the hearts of dozens of our church members to pitch in. You roofed, made lunches, scraped carpet, hauled junk, prayed fervently, and moved boxes. (Gosh, we moved a lot of stuff this summer! Let it be known I hate moving.) The Spirit sent us every thing we needed just when we needed it including angels with hammers and paintbrushes from cities around the country. The Spirit gave me strength and wisdom to do something I've never done before - coordinate building a house! I am so grateful to God for all of you. May you be filled with blessings beyond what your heart can hold this holiday. To God be the glory!

May All Who Enter This House Be Blessed

Thanks to Tom Olmstead, Dave DeWolf, Jim Jahnke, John Shaw, Scott Gerhold, and Greg Young for putting in two beautiful new and secure doorways at the Gilpins! The crew headed up by Big Tom (the hardest working person with the biggest heart I've ever met) worked for 5 hours to hang a beautiful new entryway on the front of the house which was purchased by the church, and move an existing storm door to the back of the house.

The Gilpins recently graduated Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Class, which says the most important part of real estate is a good first impression. A good looking front door will do just that. Hopefully when the Gilpins are ready to move into a new house someday due to their wisdom gained from FPU and to meet the needs of their growing young family, a buyer will say, "Wow, what a great entryway," and buy the place.

After hanging the doors, the volunteers put up new brick mold trim which really cleaned up the appearance and added lower trim aluminum at bottom of door plus seals. The front door was tricky because the old door was slightly wider than the replacement and the opening was not plumb. They were able to reinstall the nice historic interior trim and John made a couple of small trim filler blanks because the new door was slightly taller than the old. They also filled the nail holes for now so it will be okay for winter.

Help Needed Hanging Doors

Do you have an hour or two you can donate Saturday? Tom Olmstead (and his big heart) is heading up an effort to hang two doors at the Gilpin's. Due to the nice weather that keeps hanging around, he'd like to do it

at 8 AM TOMMOROW, Sat. Nov. 21. Call Craig at 310-6888 if you can help. Bless you!!

How Firm a Foundation

Work continues to go strong at our third flood family we are helping, the Gilpins. The young family's house is jacked up while the contractor, Mike Cutter, continues to build new basement walls, replace leaky windows, plug holes, insulate drafty floors, level up the house, and give a firm foundation for the family to stand on for years to come. I'm working with Jumpstart to extend the money available for the family and expand Mike Cutter's work at the house. We are currently waiting to hear back from Jumpstart on our request. Next up, we will have people from our church hang a few front and back door we bought them with our flood fund. Then we will visit their home to see the good work we've done and bless their house! We are waiting for the contractor to finish to set a date.

House Repairs Underway for Flood Fam #3

Bulldozers whirled, saws zipped, and and hammers pounded today symbolizing a giant leap towards the end of First Lutheran's flood recovery efforts in 2009. Workers from Cutter Construction tore off the porch and cut up and removed a giant oil tank that the flood waters uncovered behind a hidden wall at the Gilpin's. Contractor Mike Cutter said he would wrap up in about 10 days. Check back for a time and day for Gilpin's house blessing.

Construction Set to Go at Gilpins!

This has been a fun week full of good stuff and God's surprises. Mike Cutter of Cutter Construction and I just met to discuss a work schedule of repairing the basement at the Gilpins home! Both the contractor and Mariann Gilpin have signed a contract which is required by Jumpstart to officially begin the project. Cutter Construction was selected during our "bid meeting" with Jumpstart officials earlier this week. Thanks to recommendations from people in our church, we were blessed to find three high quality, highly recommended contractors to bid on the job. Thank you all!!!

We have agreed on the following dates to repair the Gilpins home:

Oct. 19th Probable start date
Oct. 26th Definite start date

Oct. 31st Probable end date
Nov. 6th Definite end date

We are also planning a house blessing on-site and a celebration at the church once the work is completed. Stay tuned for a date and time on that one.