June 13th Update

Hope City Update – June 13, 2008

The summertime weather has definitely swept through Mississippi.  Hot and humid are the two most common words connected with the weather these days.  When you head south this summer, please remember to drink lots of liquids while working at the home sites.

We’ll kick off the news today with a celebration: Client Mr. Rushell W. accepted Christ as savior this week. This man in his eighties is one of our clients who is waiting for funding to be available to rebuild his home.  He shares his property with his elderly brother, who is blind.  Right now both men live in MEMA cottages, but they are looking forward to a home together.  Volunteers have been visiting Rushell and taking cookies and snacks to his home, even giving out goodies to his neighbors.  His property is a neighborhood gathering place, so many more lives are being touched.  A pastor was visiting with him over the weekend when he accepted Christ.  God is working in such great and mighty ways in Mississippi!  Mr. Rushell is one of the client prayer requests featured on WBCL this month.

A separate note of thanks to WBCL: I so appreciate being able to tell the story of Hope City through regular updates on the Morning program with Jim and Phil.  Thank you for allowing me to share again this week!

The teams in camp this week are from The Chapel in Fort Wayne and Olive Branch Church of God from Roann, Indiana. They have all been working to insulate and drywall at several of our building sites.  Thanks for being a blessing with your service!  The teams heard from Doug DeSilvey this week, who came and shared about his loss from the storm and the affect on his life.  Four family members died and he spent three hours in a Magnolia tree after the flood water collapsed the house.  Doug gave the team from the Chapel a Magnolia tree to take back to Indiana.  A team from the Chapel was one of the first groups to work on repairing his home after the storm.

The volunteers also tore down the damaged home of Joe Lewis.  He lives in a FEMA trailer.  More than 6,000 people in Harrison County, Mississippi are still living in FEMA trailers as temporary housing.  August will be the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  So many families still need volunteer help to restore their lives and people willing to share the love of Christ through their service.

Next week, a teen team from Emmanuel Community Church from Fort Wayne will be in camp.  35 eager teenagers is a recipe for God to work in great ways in their lives.  Please pray especially for our teen teams coming in this summer.  Service trips like this can be life-changing!

Floods, tornadoes and swollen rivers have wreaked havoc in Indiana this month. The HCRN disaster team has been working diligently with state leaders and other volunteer organizations to begin the recovery process and to position volunteer crews to work effectively on the clean-up.  Counties across the state have been declared disaster areas and thousands of families have been affected.  Kevin Cox, Jordan Cox and Kevin Moss have been working there.  Volunteer workers are needed beginning this weekend and continuing for the next few weeks, check our website for volunteer centers.  Thank you to those churches and contacts who have already assisted with individual needs.  We appreciate your help!

In Nappanee, volunteer work is set to begin Monday on the New Beginnings Church. Jeff Fater is coordinating the recovery work in Nappanee.  The team next week is a portion of hundreds of teens and leaders working all week in Northern Indiana.

On a personal note: A classmate of my son, Travis, was killed this week along with another young man in a tragic car accident.  Please pray for these families who have just celebrated life and achievement in graduation and are now a facing deep grief and loss.

A good friend of mine would always end her day with this admonition.  “Tell somebody about Jesus.” I can’t think of anything more fitting today.

We love you!  Your prayers, your gifts and your service are great blessings and they are a testament to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ.

“I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:13

Be blessed today!

May 29th Update

Hope City Update – May 29, 2008

Wow! Has this been a busy week on all fronts or what? I hope your schedule is under control at this time of the year, with school ending, graduations, summer plans, etc. Lots of really great ministry to report this week!

A team from Inland Hills Church from California is working and sweating their time at Hope City this week. Temperatures and humidity climbed this week, but they are still accomplishing so many great things. They installed a roof and deck at Ira Rowell’s home. Miss Ira was off from work this week, so the team talked and visited with her on several occasions. Her granddaughter even came over to camp for supper one evening. The team also worked at Lois Parker’s; Dwight White’s and Orlanda Booker’s homes. The team at Dwight’s was treated to some southern BBQ on Monday and ended up meeting many of his neighbors over lunch. They had so much fun!

Richard and Linda Morse visited one evening for supper and the team enjoyed visiting with them as well. Work on their house is moving forward again, after a pause because of a funding hold-up.

The plumber, Kevin Beck and his team and the electrician, Darren and Annette Schrock are back in the south, working away on a number of homes. We so appreciate their dedication to travel and work in Gulfport as our licensed experts.

It’s also been a week of challenges: Construction coordinator Monte Brenneman had the front of his truck clipped by another driver on Wednesday. (It was the other driver’s first day to drive the company van and he managed to hit a bright red truck! Minor damage and no one was hurt, but still unnecessary.) This week is also marks a year since the death of Kim Brenneman’s father. He died suddenly last year in Ohio, just weeks after the Brenneman family had all moved to Mississippi to work at Hope City. They have also lost two other family members in the last year.

Another reminder regarding hurricane predictions for this summer, forecasters are calling for a higher than normal number of storms to strike the U.S. We would ask that you pray now that Hope City and the Gulfport community would be protected from storms.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Hope City. You have made a huge impact on the community and individual lives have been changed forever because of your faithfulness.

HCRN staff has also been busy this week working in the wake of tornadoes. Tornadoes this year have already been more deadly than usual and very prolific as well. The HCRN disaster team, including Kevin Cox, Jeffrey Fater and Kevin Moss spent the week in Colorado. The Windsor Community Church, a Missionary Church, was destroyed by a tornado last week and three of their congregation members also had homes damaged. The team worked with church leaders on planning and using volunteers to help with clean up and emotional care. Two other Missionary churches are in the area and they are all working together. Their focus has truly been one of service and help to their neighbors and friends. These churches are located in one of the fastest growing areas of the country and they are ready to show Christ in their community. Pray for their continued strength and direction.

Flood update from Indiana: One homeowner who received volunteer help and support from a church in her community is now a believer and excited about her new life in Christ.  An HCRN volunteer helped connect her to the church and they offered her help and restoration.  Now that’s good news!

Summer teams heading to Gulfport, your trips are just around the corner, if you have any questions or need any information please call or e-mail anytime!

In other news: Our son Travis turns 18 and graduates from high school on Friday. So we’ve had a busy week of prepping for an open house. Our other son, Jordan, was recently selected as a drum major for next year’s marching band at school. In Mississippi, Josh Brenneman will celebrate his 16^th birthday on Sunday. I imagine we’ll have plenty of cake in both Hope City and Indiana.

Our verse today comes from Windsor Community Pastor Dan Harty who sent this verse in a note of encouragement to his congregation following the tornado. Psalm 46 is a wonderful passage; I hope you can take a moment to read the entire chapter.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2

Have a great week!