Lake Charles Flooded Again

 

Lake Charles Flooded Again As many of you may have heard already, Lake Charles received 16 inches of rain on May 17th which caused disastrous flooding in many areas.  Cars on the road were submerged within 45 minutes.  Many church members and people in the community were just finishing up repairs from hurricane damage when they flooded again in this thunderstorm.  The entire church property where our response is located flooded, including our office space, tool trailers, bunkrooms, the pastor's parsonage, the trailer Kat stays in, and my room.  Thankfully, Bradley (one of the elders), arrived at the church as the water was starting to come in and he was able to save so many things from getting wet.  We had many church members and teams from Covington and Friendswood that came over to help with initial gutting that first week.  This past week we had a team from Minnesota that continued to work on flooded homes and at the church. They were able to insulate and hang dry wall in my room. I’m so thankful to have walls again so quickly. Three people on the team were here in February and they reminded me that just three months ago when they were here, they were hanging the drywall in there for the first time. This just reminded all of us of how very much the community in Lake Charles has been through over the last year and even within the last few months. For many, this is the second, third, or even fourth time they have had damage to their home and have had to gut. This is the fifth event that caused a declared State of Emergency in Lake Charles over the last year.  Please continue to pray for the families who are just hurting and are feeling worn out- emotionally and physically.   If you would like to give specifically to the Lake Charles fund, click the link below:

Give to Lake Charles Recovery Fund

Right after the flooding last week, Michelle (a church member) started walking her neighborhood looking for people that might need help and didn’t have a pile outside yet. You can read about that story here: https://reachglobalcrisisresponse.wordpress.com/.../... This week, we were able to have a block party at one of her neighbor's that we helped. We prayed and walked the neighborhood the day before and handed out invitations to neighbors. It was so beautiful to see the turn out! Many church members and neighbors came out and listened to each other’s stories, offered a shoulder to cry on, and just enjoyed making new friends. God is so good in bringing so many people together from all over the country to share His love and come alongside people experiencing a crisis.

In the beginning of May I drove home to NJ  for a week of vacation and some time visiting churches and ministry partners.  It was a wonderful visit and over that time I was able to speak in three different churches and give updates about what God has been doing here in Louisiana.  I was also able to do a Facebook live missions-focused Q&A with some dear friends in a Christian women's group.  They did an amazing t-shirt fundraiser within the group and it was so cool to be apart of.  I was able to spend some great time with my friends and family over that visit home as well and even stay with some friends on the road trip to and from NJ.  The last Sunday that I was home I gave an update at my home church and joined the picnic afterwards.  I was able to help lead worship that morning and worship alongside my home-church family which warmed my heart greatly.  Thank you for the prayers for a safe, fruitful, and encouraging visit home!

Financial Information As a missionary, I need to raise financial support to remain on the mission field.  Right now, my budget is 51% covered on a recurring monthly basis.  This means that each month, I have ministry partners that have committed to giving each month and it covers 51% of my monthly budget.  God is so good and I'm so very blessed by all of the support financially, emotionally and through prayer.  Having ministry partners willing to be a part of the ministry through giving monthly or with a special gift is such an encouragement.   If you would like to support me financially and partner with me in ministry, please follow the link below and note if it is a special gift or a monthly gift. Give Here Checks can be made payable to "EFCA" and mailed to: Evangelical Free Church of America 901 E 78th St  Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300 Memo Line: Account #2840- Wierzbicki