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Hurricane Katrina /
Rita - New Orleans Vicinity
November 14:
 After 10 weeks of
Hurricane Katrina relief in New Orleans, our ship MERSEA has sailed home to
Lake Charles. Our
ship HOPE will remain in
Gretna, on
the west bank of the Mississippi until late next week. The
management of our outreach site in New Orleans will be assumed by other ministries to continue the work God has
given the Church to do in this city. There is much still to do,
but the initial Disaster Response is now geared toward recovery
and rebuilding. There are still large needs for housing, food,
water and of course, the Good News of Jesus Christ! Many churches
have returned and are beginning to coordinate a response for their
city. We feel that the presence of our ships is no longer needed.
 Time to repair home! While we were serving
New Orleans, our home
base in Lake Charles sustained damage from Hurricane Rita. We
continue to minister to the community in Lake Charles by serving
hot meals and distributing commodities but will concentrate now
on the much needed repair work to our base, Port Mercy so that we
will be enable to be fully ready to respond for future
missions. If you or your group would like to help us prepare and
rebuild God's Naval Base, Port Mercy, please email
info@friendships.org. We can
use your help!
Our team worked briefly
in South Florida to provide hot meals until power was restored to
a community of migrant workers. Now today, a new tropical storm
has formed in the Caribbean and is predicted to become Hurricane
Gamma later this week. It is not expected to threaten the US
coast but could cause damage in the
Caribbean and Central America.
We are keeping a close eye on it. We have also requested
permission from the Cuban government to bring them a load of tarp
for rebuilding their damage from Hurricane Wilma. We await their
response and will keep you posted.
 If your church is interested in preparing to be an effective part
of our disaster relief team for the hurricane season of 2006, we
will be offering a two week training session “Exercise Able
Servant” in early June. You may send a team leader who will be
trained and sent back ready to prepare the others in your team who
would like to be ready, willing and able to respond next season.
We plan to offer training and hands on experience here in the Lake
Charles community. We will teach the basics of our response-food
service, house to house ministry, commodity distribution, chain
saw teams and how to integrate effective evangelism into these
activities. There is no cost and your representative will be
provided with a bunk aboard ship and meals. But there is limited
availability so please register early. To register to receive an
application and notification of the dates please
click here and
email us your name and contact information.
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If you are interested in
serving with Friend Ships at Port Mercy. Please
download the appropriate volunteer application. Groups please
contact us to see what opportunities are available to serve
at Port Mercy in Lake Charles. |
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 Guest
Worker Application
(2 months or less)
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Staff
Application
(Longer than 2 months)
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November
08:
 A new wave of workers coming into
New Orleans and we are
ministering the Gospel to them through music, food, preaching,
clothing, and supplies. These are migrant workers looking for
opportunities. In addition, our mobile evangelism teams are
traveling through the neighborhoods in a systematic manner,
bringing meals and supplies along with prayer to the residents who
are working on their houses.
Much
of New Orleans is still living in
Baton Rouge, commuting
to the city daily. This clogs I-10 in the morning and evening
with traffic. Grief and loss do not go away even two months after
the storm occurred. Jesus never denied the reality of grief, he
experienced it himself (see John 11:32, "Jesus wept."). But Jesus
is "the resurrection and the life." There is a new life waiting
for New Orleans if we listen to Jesus and roll back the stone from
the tomb where it has been laid. Alternatively, if we give in to
the grief and ignore Jesus' command to roll back the stone, we
will never see this Lazarus rise. Our part is to listen to what
he has told us to do; he is the one who will bring resurrection
life into this situation.
 It
is wonderful to see the people from many churches responding in
faith. They are coming from everywhere and they are filled with
the desire to pray for these people and see
New Orleans
saved. Yes, they are bold enough to believe that
New Orleans
needs to be saved. Anyone honest with themselves know this to be
true, the debate will be "who will be able to save
New Orleans?" Let the Church's voice rise clearly in unison that Jesus
is the one who both can and will save
New Orleans from every
situation if they will only believe.
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Receiving
blankets, water and other supplies at the Good News Tent. |
Chief
Engineer Wally keeps the ships in ship shape while docked in
New Orleans. |
Captive
Free Singers performing at the Good News tent. |
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If you are interested in
serving with Friend Ships. Please
download the appropriate volunteer application. Groups please
contact us to see what opportunities are available to serve
at Port Mercy in Lake Charles. |
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Guest
Worker Application
(2 months or less)
|
Staff
Application
(Longer than 2 months)
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Past Updates
November 01:
 We
have now completed our work in the City of Gretna and are
concentrating in New Orleans. Our teams have gone door-to-door to
EVERY HOME IN GRETNA, delivering supplies, sharing the Gospel, and
praying for everyone they have encountered. It has been an
amazing experience to see God working through us over the past 8
weeks. Roofs were tarped, houses cleaned out, and people healed
of deep  emotional
wounds. In all, we tarped almost 200 homes, cleaned debris out of
46 homes, and personally led 74 people to the Lord that we have
addresses for and directed to local churches. Many more gave
their lives to the Lord or re-dedicated themselves to Him during
prayer with one of our teams. Every single home that was tarped
or cleaned out received prayer and even an encouraging song such
as “Amazing Grace” was sung on their doorstep by our team. The
impact of God's love is indeed AMAZING!
The best estimate for the number of volunteers who have been
housed on our ships HOPE and MERSEA is around 800 throughout the
past 8 weeks and continues. Many of the volunteers told us their
lives were changed by being a part of this mission in New
Orleans. To God be all the glory!
October 26:
Some roofing
and cleanup continues in Gretna and Lafitte, but most of our focus
has been in New Orleans at the City Park distribution center. We
are now feeding about 2000 people per day and distributing warm
clothes (the weather has really gotten cooler), blankets,
Bibles (thank you
American Bible Society!), and personal care
items. Teams are leading worship twice a day: lunch
and
dinner. Preaching
and
one-on-one witnessing is
happening at each meal, while evangelism teams are going into the
neighborhoods, finding the people, and blessing
them with hot meals. The
first families came in to receive some food and other items. Up
until now, it has been mostly single men in the city. Elderly
residents are returning next week and we have been invited to come
help them at their residential center and provide a chapel service
for them. The people are hungry for worship and the Word of
God. We thank God that we get to be the ones to feed His sheep!
 Lee
University in Tennessee is sending teams of students down every
weekend now and they are wonderful workers.
If you are interested in serving
with Friend Ships in the Relief Efforts or in the
Lake Charles vicinity, the best way to
contact us is to call (337) 433-5022. You can make financial donations online
at anytime. If you would like to mail a donation or supplies
please send them to Friend Ships Unlimited at Port Mercy, 1019
North First Avenue, Lake Charles, LA 70601.
October
21:
"The work of the relief unit is going well, greatly appreciated by
people coming in for their look and leave visits. In Lakeview,
that's all they can do. Look in despair at the remnants of their
homes, wander around in a haze, dig a bit through the rubble, then
go back to wherever they found shelter and refuge. We can't stock
enough water, bleach, masks, baby supplies and hygiene products.
A tremendous blessing has been the Friend Ship ministry coming to
our rescue. They have two ships docked out on the Mississippi
along the West Bank. A dear old friend is one of their crew
leaders. Every morning we drive across the bridge to load up on
free supplies. A true God-send" Pastor Jerry Kramer from
Church of the Annunciation in
New Orleans a district called Lakeview.
October
19:
The ministry continues
at our distribution site in New Orleans. Three meals a day are
being served, about 500 people per meal. Friend Ships is
providing Breakfast and Lunch, while Bay Community Ministries of
Alabama is cooking Dinner. The people are so appreciative! Many
workers are coming to New Orleans with no work clothes or
boots. The Lord has given us many work clothes and boots, so this
makes them very happy to receive them from us free of charge.
 We
were blessed this week to have a Gospel Music group from Delaware
come and sing in the tent. Sunday, Charles Green, a local pastor
will preach. He had the longest running daily radio program of
anyone in New Orleans: 50 years! He is a well-known figure in
New Orleans and many people visiting the tent recognized him when they
heard his voice. Lee
University in Tennessee is sending teams of students down every
weekend now and they are wonderful workers.
Our cleanup crew did some work in
New Orleans today helping elderly residents, when they got a call from the City of Lafitte with more addresses of people who needed help cleaning out
their homes. The clean-up process is very long and many houses have not even begun yet. The streets in
New Orleans are full of
workers, but not
many residents. One resident
is living in a tent on the 50-yardline of the park stadium. He
has visited his house, but cannot seem to bring himself to make decisions about what to
do next. He is very
humorous, but that humor hides a very deep and very real pain. There
is much pain and bitterness in this city over the destruction of
their lives and property.
 Prayers should be lifted up for residents struggling with this
emotional
pain. In the midst of the pain, Jesus has placed us
to be there with them with a smile, helping hands, and gracious
words. Even the most
cynical people see that.
Our roofing team is continuing to cover
Gretna in heavy tarp material. These cities will be forever changed
by this hurricane season. Our prayers are that the change will be
a move towards God; and it is happening!
 October
18:
So much is happening! We continue to be blessed to have
volunteers come and join us in our efforts to reach out to those
in
New Orleans and the
surrounding areas. The scene around
New Orleans is still devastating to see how much has been completely destroyed. Much has been cleared away from the roads to allow
access but there is so much to do where ever you look around.
 At the Good News Tent at our
New Orleans
distribution site we have had so many people come to shop for free
supplies and get clothes (which we have a great abundance of and
no longer need). Hundreds of free meals continue to be served
thanks to our wonderful cooks. We have had some great
volunteering church teams come to do praise and worship music for
all that come to eat or hear the good news.
Our door to door teams have just completed going throughout the City
of Gretna and
finding out the needs of the people and delivering food, supplies
and clothes they need. The roofing team continues to get calls of
people still returning needing tarping on their roofs. Praise God
for the wonderful volunteers that have come and continue to be a
blessing to the people in need.
October 15:
We unloaded a full
53-foot trailer from
New York
straight into our distribution tent in New Orleans City
Park. Immediately, the host of cleanup workers who have been
hanging around the tent pitched in to get the truck unloaded in
less than 2 hours! This is amazing, considering that the whole
truck was hand-stacked and packed to the gills with food, cleaning
supplies, and clothing. People are beginning to shop through the
clothes and take what they need. Many of the workers here to help
with the cleanup effort left home with nothing but a few sets of
clothes because they were in a rush to get here. They are very
thankful for the clothing (especially underwear!) and hot
meals our team is providing.
One of them, an Assistant Fire Chief in central Illinois, told me,
"I don't know what we would do without you people here. We are
not getting paid yet and we have no money to buy food." This
gives us the opportunity to tell them that God knows their need
and cares for them. Then we can point to the Bread of Life,
Jesus, who is the bread that never ceases to fill them up. We may
be able to feed them for a season as God enables us, but Jesus can
fill them up for eternal life!
Groups of volunteers are leading worship with music in the tent at
every meal. Different people are getting up and sharing the
Gospel, along with other encouraging words from the Bible. Jesus
is being exalted in the streets of New Orleans, people are fed,
needs are met. All of it is happening because thousands of
Christians all over this country are saying "Yes!" to God and
obeying the simple command of Jesus to love our neighbor as we
love ourselves. Glory to God!
October
13:
Our Good News Tent in New
Orleans City Park was visited by Rev. Jesse Jackson and a group he
brought from Memphis. They were amazed at what was happening
here. Rev. Jackson promised to do what he could to help us. More
and more of the people from the surrounding neighborhoods are
joining us for meals and praise and worship now as they are coming
back to their homes. Jerry Taylor of Bay Community Ministries in
Alabama has brought a cook trailer and is preparing lunch and
dinner at the Tent. Our volunteers are seeing people believe on
the Lord Jesus for their salvation.
Back in
Gretna, we continue with the work of roof tarping and praying for
people. The cleanup crew is helping elderly residents of Lafitte
clean out their houses. Tomorrow, they should be finished with
Lafitte and move into New Orleans.
The Lord
is being lifted up in the eyes of men and the words and works of
mercy are displaying the power of His love for all to see!
 October
10:
Yesterday
we began manning a distribution site in the New Orleans City
Park. Many migrant Hispanic workers came for lunch (we fed 400!)
and wonderful worship music provided by a team from Hope College
in Michigan on their Fall Break. The workers told us how they
felt the peace of God in this tent and it was so different from
the problems outside the tent. They are waiting for jobs and not
getting paid until they actually go out to a jobsite. The
contractor they are working for began charging them for meals, so
the free meals are a real blessing to these men. One of the
workers was a young man from New Orleans East neighborhood. He
had returned to find work, but
 wanted
the Lord's direction and guidance about how to rebuild his
life. He is thinking about moving away and starting over.
One of the
contractor supervisors tried to get us to move our tent to the
middle of a golf course, which was totally unsatisfactory for
serving people. We need to be right where the people are. Just
as our Mission Director was telling him that we could not move,
the Director of the City Parks drove up and asked who we
were. When he was told our team was from Friend Ships, he said
that he had spoken with some of our people and he had no problem
with us staying in the City Park where we are because we are
helping people, but the contractors needed to pay some kind of
rent to the City because they are a business. The
 Lord
is the one opening the doors for us to minister to His people in
New Orleans and he is the one keeping them open even when others
try to shut them! There is a HUGE opportunity to minister to the
many Hispanics here in New Orleans. Teams from Spanish-speaking
churches are needed!
Our God is
doing a mighty work in this city and now is the time for us to
follow His lead through the open doors into the hearts of people
He wants to reach.
 October 5:
Today we had people
begin driving up to the Gretna warehouse asking if this was a
Distribution Point for food and other supplies. These people were
not from Gretna, but rather from New Orleans. This triggered
something: it is now time to begin distribution inside the City of
New Orleans.
Our Mission Director and Director of Operations spent much of the
afternoon driving around New Orleans looking for that perfect site
to set up. A ministry partner from Christian World Embassy called
to say he was doing the exact same thing and that we should
meet. In the process of trying to meet him, our Mission Director
got lost in New Orleans. When he called again, he was near the
City Park near hundreds
of large trucks, campers, and tents full of contractors preparing
to rebuild the city. The ministry partner found our team and
began to strategize about finding a site. Then one of his team
brought up a man in a baseball hat. He said he was a Christian
and a State Representative from the 9th Ward, the
part of the city
hit hardest by flooding. When this Representative heard what we
were trying to do, he said that he
 wanted us to come to a meeting
with the New Orleans City Council tomorrow morning! This was a
divine appointment!!! This Representative is bringing back pastors to New Orleans and
helping them find jobs with the construction contractors cleaning
up and rebuilding in the city as well as getting them a place to
live.
Our roof tarping and cleanup crews continue to bless the elderly
and others. Our door-to-door teams saw 5 people become believers
in Jesus today! God is ordering our steps and we are walking in
miracles.
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Attention all
Pastors and Missions Directors:
Consider sending teams to help restore the New Orleans community
the opportunities are great and the time do something is now! Come and make a impact on
lives today by serving those affected by the recent
Hurricanes.
Click here to email us for more information on how your
church team can get involved.
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If you are interested in serving
with Friend Ships in the Relief Efforts or in the
Lake Charles vicinity, the best way to
contact us is to call (337) 433-5022. You can make financial donations online
at anytime. If you would like
to mail a donation or supplies please send to: Friend
Ships Unlimited at Port Mercy, 1019 North First Avenue, Lake Charles,
LA 70601.
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Semi truck
loads of supplies delivered to the warehouse for distribution. |
Volunteer
sorting through bags and bags of clothing to find sizes for
people requesting clothes. |
Volunteers
sorting through supplies and putting together boxes for
families in need. |
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Praying for people
picking up supplies from the distribution site. |
Preparing boxes of
supplies families. |
New socks and
under garments for those requesting them. |
October
4:
We were
blessed to get in two additional teams of workers and now have a
staff of about 80 people here in Gretna working full time on
relief. Our crew
and short-term volunteers have been going door-to-door at the
request of Gretna's Mayor, assessing the needs of his
community. Many more people have returned home over the past
week. There is actually traffic on the streets and schools are
open. A team has been driving around downtown New Orleans,
giving cold drinks to people they find and praying for them. Our
roofing team continues to tarp roofs all over Gretna and
surrounding Jefferson Parish. A
 cleanup
crew began today in the City of Lafitte, in south Jefferson
Parish. This city was flooded and many senior citizens
require assistance in cleaning out their homes. On Monday, the
school children of Gretna returned to find toys waiting for them
at school! The boys each received a truck and girls got a doll,
each with a small card stating the toy was from Jesus with love.
Trucks
continue to arrive with supplies. The warehouse here has been
replenished, as we had almost depleted all of the food we had to
offer. But God is good, and He knows the needs of His people!
October 2:
Today is the 20th
year anniversary of when Friend Ships received our first ship,
SPIRIT and what a great way to celebrate, by being fully occupied
on two fronts to help our neighbors in need.
Teams are
going into downtown New Orleans and to the city of Lafitte, fixing
roofs, cutting trees, distributing goods and encouraging people.
On Sunday we were visited by Senator Landrieu of Louisiana who
came to thank us for the work we are doing. Please continue to
pray for us, support the work and send church teams! Thanks
for keeping us out here. Much good work is being accomplished for
the Kingdom of God.
October
1:
  So
much is happening here at the distribution staging warehouse
wonderful assorted supplies are coming in from all over. We had 3
semi trucks deliver relief supplies and a box truck delivered relief supplies we could use
on our door to door outreaches, and the local New Orleans School
of Urban Missions also had some supplies. It is truly a
wonderful thing to see us
all come together and work for the restoration of the people here
in Gretna and New Orleans.
The door to door teams were out
in full force and able to assist a lot of people that can not help
themselves. The roofing team was busy putting vinyl tarping
on damaged roofs. We also had a team out in the City of New
Orleans giving out cold drinks and praying for people.
September
30:
 This
week we set up a distribution center, served hot meals and
distributed commodities. Next week our focus will return to
door-to-door runs, in search of people who particularly need our
help. For two days, teams went into downtown New Orleans
distributing cold water and talking with people they found there.
We helped with provisions for a ministry that is taking a cook
trailer downtown to serve hot meals and we continued with our
roofing projects. Our director visited the city of Lafitte and
found it flooded with much work to do there. Our teams also
loaded trucks of commodities and sent them to Lake Charles to help
with the relief effort there.
Thank you for your wonderful help! We continue to need your
financial support, commodities for distribution (see
current needs list), your prayers most of all and we also need
church teams who will come to assist in both locations.
September 27:
It was a busy day
at the distribution site seeing over 200 cars. We had so
many requests for supplies that we had to re-supply the site just
after lunch. After loading up the vehicles with the supplies
our teams had the opportunity to pray for each of them.
The roofing team was in full
force tarping storm damaged roofs. The chain saw team went
out into the French Quarter to evaluate the needs and assist.
At the warehouse it has been
busy sorting through bulk items and separating them for individual
families. The team in the warehouse also gets the list of
needs from the roofing teams and fills the orders with the needed
supplies so they can deliver those things. It is truly
awesome to see God working and providing the needs of those in
this city.
September
24:
 Much has been taking place even through Hurricane Rita here in
New Orleans and
Gretna area. We broadcasted the RADIO HOPE 107.9 FM 18 hours a
day broadcasting important information during Hurricane Rita.
We had a team assisting the city driving dump trucks full of sand to
help with repairs to a levee to strengthen it so
that it would not break during Hurricane Rita.
Even through weather from Hurricane Rita we had teams out roofing,
cutting down fallen trees and yard cleanup throughout
Gretna. Delivered
supplies to a local church conducting a distribution point in
Gretna.
Delivered supplies of food, clothing, and personal care items into
the city of Lafitte for evacuees at a Red Cross shelter. Food was delivered to
School of Urban Missions Volunteers.
Bibles were given to Church Planters in the French Quarter.
Over 17,000 households have been supplied through our relief
distribution efforts currently.
September 22:
Hurricane
Rita has taken a northern/eastern jog and our home base, Port
Mercy at Lake Charles is now in danger of receiving severe weather
with a predicted possible 15' surge on the Calcasieu River where
our base is located. We are making the necessary preparations
and most crew will transfer to the ships in Gretna at New
Orleans. Our office is especially at risk so the computers will
be removed and moved to the ship Hope. stored aboard ship. We
hope to regularly update the site from there, so check with us
daily. Early next week we will evaluate what we can do together
to help people affected by the monster Hurricane Rita as well as
continue our response to Hurricane Katrina.
September
21:
When our
teams visit homes of people, they find out what the needs are and
we do our best to meet them. If there are needs we can't meet (a
lost loved one, a feeling of hopelessness and despair, etc.) we
offer to pray with them. Most are happy and grateful to do so.
Some people are already believers and others are not. For those
who are not, the team tells them of the opportunity to develop a
personal relationship with the Maker of the Universe.
We
are in need of more pressure washers, mops, buckets and other
cleaning items. Please see current list of needs.
We are all watching Hurricane Rita closely to see if she will come
back into the
New Orleans
area, our home of Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana or our
neighbor Texas. Thank you friends for the wonderful help you have
given us in so many ways!
September
20:
 We continue to send out
several teams each
day door to door, meeting the needs of people and these past few
days have been extremely fruitful in the spiritual work we are
doing. Many, many people have given their hearts to Jesus!
We
have been asked to resume a large distribution center serving
cooked food and distributing goods for those who need them. Our
men continue roofing homes, a service that will prove invaluable
with Hurricane Rita bearing down and the possibility of torrential
rains. We have brought a pressure washer to the site and will
begin helping with heavy duty clean up of homes.
 We
are in need of more pressure washers, mops, buckets and other
cleaning items. Please see current list of needs.
We are all watching Hurricane Rita closely to see if she will come
back into the
New Orleans
area, our home of Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana or our
neighbor Texas. Thank you friends for the wonderful help you have
given us in so many ways!
We are looking
now down the road and planning for stage two of this response, as
people who did evacuated begin to return to their homes and as the
City of New Orleans opens up the business districts and some
residential areas. There is massive clean up ahead and there will
be many opportunities to help people get lives back on track.
If you are interested in
serving with Friend Ships in the Katrina Relief Efforts.
Please download the appropriate volunteer application.
September 18:
Sunday was taken
as a day of rest for our great troops who have worked long days
without a break since a few days prior to Hurricane Katrina. This
week, we continued to gather supplies and go door to door, meeting
needs of individuals and families in the two lowest income
neighbors in Gretna that have been assigned to us. We are
meeting many wonderful people who have been through and continue
to endure an immensely difficult time. We help them by cutting
fallen trees, tarping roofs, cleaning yards, bringing food and
other needed items. We help them to retrieve property from
condemned locations and of course, offer prayer and
support. Sometimes, our teams have the heartbreaking job
of helping people move from their homes when they are told by the
authorities they must leave for safety reasons. We have been able
to provide food and water to animals and even rescue a few
including some who had been tied up at their homes since prior to
the hurricane. Also, we continue to broadcast Radio Hope
FM107.9 emergency announcements, encouraging messages and
uplifting music. In the midst of all this trouble, there is
good news. Many are reaching out for a real relationship
with God. The Lord is pouring out His love and people are
seeing that He and His servants are there in times of trouble.
Thousands of people across the nation are reaching out in love to
the victims of this vicious hurricane.
September 16:
Things are in full swing and
very busy. We have over a hundred people volunteering here in New
Orleans. Among other work, we continue going out in team’s door to
door, bringing hot meals and other supplies. Some of the people
are still living in houses that are condemned but have no where
else to go. One lady was ordered to leave her house due to the
extreme condition of it, so our crew has tried to help her move
her possessions. We find more people in a similar situation each
day.
We have
looked at the situation and find that there is a long term need
here. We continue to reach out to the people in the surrounding
areas.
On the
Hope we just got a satellite communication system installed to
allow us to have computers setup with high speed broadband
connections and to allow a vonage phone (through a broadband).
This will
enable us to help locate family or friends of the people we are
serving. There are many website lists with names of those that
have been rescued or were evacuated and we hope to be able to
reunite them. This will also allow our teams and other relief
workers to keep informed of what is happening.
September
15:
The Relief Ship Mersea arrived
last night and now joins the Hope in New Orleans. We have 6
teams going out door to door finding out the needs of the people.
Going back to the warehouse and filling bags with the needed
supplies and delivering them and praying for each person.
Work continues in neighborhoods
as our teams go out and cut down fallen trees from buildings and
patching roofs with vinyl tarp material. The radio Hope is
in full swing and going well.
Friend Ships would like to
thank Crown Broadcast, Kerber Applied Research, and Blessings for
Obedience for the incredible blessing of an FM Radio Broadcast
Station operating fully licensed by the FCC from our ship HOPE.
Radio HOPE is transmitting on 107.9 FM important emergency
information, news, messages from public officials, encouraging
music, interviews with volunteers from all over the country, and
messages of hope. From our position in Gretna, we are able to
reach most of the greater New Orleans area by radio.
September 14:
Work continues at
our two distribution sites and the roofing team is out every day
helping people in need. Waters are receding in the city and
government teams are going into access the situation.
We now have an
antenna installed on the ship and the vessel Hope is an official
radio broadcast station with a 25 mile radius on 107.9 FM.
Today we had our first live HOPE radio show playing Christian
music. We received calls from the public and were able to
interview some people and we prayed for each person who called.
This is the first time in the history of the FCC that a private
organization has received a radio signal. This was arranged
and made possible by Blessings for Obedience in order to assist
the general public.
September
13:
Mersea is underway and meeting calm seas. They expect to
arrive at the mouth of the Mississippi tomorrow morning and join
up with Relief Ship Hope at 1800 hours (6:00 pm tomorrow evening).
The team in New Orleans has received a list of elderly people and
shut-ins who need help. They go from house to house, bringing
breakfast, tarping roofs and having prayer. We are starting now
to deliver groceries, Bibles and other items to help them stock
their shelves and have even been able to supply food for cats and
dogs. Today we will start to prepare and serve meals three
times a day for the local police department. One team of
ALERT men with our group is also providing the service of cutting
away fallen trees that are causing problems. Within a few
days, we expect to start receiving a large amount of trucks coming
in with goods for distribution, directly to our base camp. Our
distribution sites are guarded now by the military as people in
the community start to return to their homes and the number of
people we are serving grows.
 There
still are only a handful of stores stocked and open so access to
essential goods is in high demand. On Thursday, HOPE will be set
up with a satellite system that will provide full broadband
communication and Internet access. This will be a tremendous
service to government workers and relief teams as well as giving
our staff the ability to research services available and
information on lost loved ones for community residents.
September 12:
Relief
ship Mersea has left the Friend Ships Port Mercy home port
headed to New Orleans loaded with more food, clothes, and other
supplies. This vessel will provide 60 extra beds to
accommodate relief workers.
We sent a semi truck loaded
with two containers full of bibles, toys, and food items from the
Port Mercy home port. A refrigerated semi truck left our
west coast base loaded with yogurt, fresh fruit, and other food
supplies. These trucks are to resupply the base operations
in New Orleans.
September 11:
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Port Mercy received this report from the Mission Director at
M/V Hope, Saturday September 10, 2005.
Greetings from onboard the vessel
Hope. We
arrived at the port after a two and 1/2 day sail and some
rough seas. It was truly a sad sight as we headed up the
Mississippi river and sailed past downtown. It was like
entering a third world country at war. It seems as if New
Orleans is being given mouth to mouth resuscitation and
sometimes it feels as if the battle for its life is being
lost. Blackhawk’s and other helicopters swarming the skies
like flies, Navy ships and Coast Guard vessels making a huge
presence. Mostly the only vehicles to be seen were army
trucks, police, tactical units, rescue trucks, fire trucks and
many more of the armed forces. We landed at one dock and were
moved shortly after to a dock just north of the I-10 Bridge
into New Orleans. This place is more than we could have ever
hoped for. God is so in control of this!!! We have a huge
dock warehouse space with power and water (not potable) and we
have the use of cranes, forklifts and other machinery.
Within a day we had unloaded all supplies and had the chuck wagon
set up to cook. The mayor has been amazing to us and is so
grateful to Friend Ships for what we are doing for his people.
He spoke to us at a "Morning Refreshing" (devotional meeting)
and it was a very heartfelt message he shared with us. He has
totally secured the dock, warehouse, ship and surrounding area
for us. We have S.W.A.T. a team from West Virginia that was
brought in to protect us. We also have the local police force
and other armed forces watching over us here at the dock. The
mayor wants to try and stabilized his town, get his people
back on their feet and then reach out into other Parishes that
are also a dire need.
 We
swung into action and started the massive cook ups. Wings of
Love arrived with a team of volunteers and brought with them
their huge cook kitchen. We set up two prayer and food
stations in the city in an area designated by the mayor. Many
other trucks were there also unloading meals-ready-to-eat,
water, ice and other disaster items. We now have our two field
stations set up at the end of the distributions centers. This
is the perfect place because the people are being rushed along
in their cars as people quickly load them and move them on.
The lines have been endless. Then they come to the end and see
we have REAL food, a hot meal (many have lived on nothing but
meals-ready-to-eat, if that.) They can now slow down as we
wave them over, greet them with a smile and simply say "Hey,
how you doing?'" We offer them a hot meal, we also have
personal care and other items to give and then ask if we can
pray. Their hearts are open and as we listen to them we just
hold their hands inside their cars and pray Gods' love over
them. When asked if he wanted some hot gumbo, one man
said "No, l want prayer first and then maybe some
gumbo later." Both sites report that they are really seeing
God just touch
hearts in a
wonderful way.
The cook team has been amazing. They have put out well over
2000 meals already and those pots keep stirring. A lady
from the mayor's office has drivers set up to continue picking
up new batches of food from our warehouse and delivering them
out to our sites for us.
 The
ALERT team has been out in our 6x6 military truck helping to
secure roofs with vinyl, including a local shop that was once
the hub of the community. After they had finished they sang a
song for the people and then prayed with them. These guys are
so awesome.
We have several groups who have now arrived here
from all over the country to work with us and have been a
blessing to us also. Ken Henderson and a team from TBN arrived
and got to work immediately. We have a reporter from the East
Coast who slept on the dock with the National Guard, awaiting
our arrival.
The seriousness of it all was made very much real
on our first day here when a rescue worker was up on a cherry
picker fixing lines, and two snipers began firing at him. A
Blackhawk helicopter came on the scene quickly and shot dead
the snipers. The second day more snipers opened fire on
police not too far from our sites. We continue to keep all
these amazing armed forces in prayer. We have had many of
them over for dinner and we have made available coffee and
snacks at night for the S.W.AT teams if they want it.
 Two of the
guys that came for dinner (one of them a Christian) went back
out with a copy of
Jesus & Company (a
book about Friend Ships written by Don and Sondra Tipton). The
next day another guy that had come for dinner heard about the
book and the other guys having one and asked if he too could
have one. He said "In fact the other guys are jealous and want
one." So we sent him away with a big handful of
Jesus and Company
books.
So those that have been sent to protect us are now getting to
know Friend Ships a whole lot more.
God's favor, His plans and
His will are being poured out. Sitting on the deck of the
Hope last night
looking over at downtown New Orleans, it was like a scene from
a war movie as helicopters lit up the sky with their search
lights, scanning the bridge, the high rises and streets, Coast
Guard zooming past, looking for
snipers and looters and then looking around to the dock and
seeing S.W.AT men positioned on the dock behind us. God is
with us! The Angel of the Lord encamps around about those who
fear the Lord.
Well that's about it from the Hope, we are praying for you all
at Port Mercy, especially at this time got the crew. That is
the place where all missions begin and end and we know you are
so busy and so much is happening and we are lifting you up in
our prayers.
Blessings from all the
Hope crew. |
September 10th:
The Friend Ships crew has set up base camp at the port
facility in downtown New Orleans on the Mississippi River and from
there are organizing and dispatching goods and teams, networking
with many other organizations. The ship sits downtown at the
docks looking up at the giant skyscrapers with the French Quarter
on the right, the Superdome to our left and the twin tower bridge
overhead. It is an eerie sight to see this giant city with no
lights. The water is receding in the main city but the smell and
sanitation are horrendous.
 We are
currently working in three locations. One is mobile as truck and
crew are going from house to house tarping roofs on the west bank
of the Mississippi in an area where the
residents are returning to their homes but have no
water, sanitation or power. Teams from other cities are
working to restore power as quickly as possible. Two of our
teams are based in distribution centers, giving out goods, serving
hot meals and offering prayer to those who come. Cars are
lined up to receive and the hot meals are a huge hit! In
fact, we had to shut down serving at one point and call the ALERT
crew who are with us in back from roofing in order to provide
security as people panicked for more food. People are anxious to
pray and are most appreciative for this extra blessing.
September
9th:
 Today operations are in full swing at base
camp in Gretna. The Mayor's office has given us a list of homes
that need our help. Our truck and team are visiting them one by
one, supplying tarp and/or tarping their roofs. We served
hundreds of hot meals today and will increase that amount each day
as needed. We are distributing commodities to those in need. A
truck arrived at the site today from our base in Los Angeles, full
of Yoplait yogurt, frozen meat, hygiene supplies and other needed
items.
September 8th:
Relief Ship HOPE was given special transit last night
on the Mississippi river to allow them to arrive in Gretna.
They are currently docked and preparing to offload containers of
supplies. Once we get further details we will post more
information for you.
September 7th:
 Relief Ship
HOPE
is en route to Gretna Louisiana. We have hit
rough seas that have reduced our speed but should arrive at the
mouth of the Mississippi tonight where we will anchor and await a
daylight transit of the river. Because of the hurricane, the aids
to navigation are missing so that only daytime transits are
permitted. This will put us at the ferry dock in Gretna sometime
late afternoon Thursday. We are coordinating with the Mayor's
office to plan the outreaches for the areas of greatest need. We
intend to set up base camp right along the ship and reach out from
there, providing supplies, hot meals and roofing repair
assistance. Here at Port Mercy we continue to take in supplies and
prepare them to be loaded aboard Mersea. We still are in need of
all supplies to use to distribute to the churches in our area
housing evacuees and to prepare additional loads to deliver to
Gretna for distribution. Please keep sending supplies!
September
6th:
Relief Ship HOPE sailed for the Gretna Louisiana last night
and will arrive on Wednesday. We are loaded with food, clothing,
roofing material, water and other critical items. Here at Port
Mercy, we have started to ready the ship and supplies for our ship Mersea to sail as soon as possible. We are loading containers with
food, water and clothing.
September 5th:
Relief Ship HOPE is ready to sail from Port Mercy for the 2 day transit to Gretna,
Louisiana, just outside of downtown New Orleans. She is loaded
with tons of food, water, diapers, bedding, paper products,
clothing, personal care items and roofing tarp. We will also
carry in a cook trailer so that meals can be prepared for those in
need and a water purifying trailer. The vessel will be manned by
Friend Ships crew and a team of ALERT disaster relief workers. We
will arrive in Gretna on Wednesday and be met by additional
workers including a 10 man team from "Soldier’s for Christ".
The second
ship, Mersea will prepare to sail as soon as possible and we are
gathering the load now.
We are in still in need of flashlights and batteries, generators,
dry food items, bottled water, clothing, linens, hammers and
roofing nails. Please send to Port Mercy at
1019 North First Avenue, Lake Charles, LA 70601.
September 4th:
 Today we are loading the ship.
A container company is loaning us 22 of their 20ft. shipping
containers to assist with our program of aid. A trucking company
is donating the transportation of these to us. Today we have
already had the first three semi trucks deliver two containers on
each load and more are on the way.
Also a semi
load of water and other needed supplies has arrived this morning
from a group in Houston and we are expecting two more loads from
other places this afternoon. Ten men from Alert Academy have
arrived to sail with us tomorrow. The entire team at Port Mercy is
in full swing preparing for all the different aspects of this
mission.
September 3rd:
 Friend Ships has been
given special permission from the Coast Guard to sail to the
effected area, although it is still closed to regular traffic.
By invitation of the Mayor of Gretna our ship Hope will sail early
next week with food, water and other needed supplies to
Gretna a city across the
Mississippi river from New Orleans.
Our helicopter has been granted permission to fly and we are
preparing to load supplies.
YOU CAN HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Click here to see items need below.
ALERT
Academy
is sending cadets to assist along side our crew during our ship
response. Many individuals and companies are contacting us
to see how they can help.
We are so encouraged by all the emails and
phone calls we are receiving offering all kinds of assistance.
It's only because of you that we are able to reach out to the
needy during this time. Thank You!
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YOU CAN HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Consider
a financial gift for this effort. Funds donated will purchase fuel or other needed items for disaster response in the most effective
way. Because we own and operate our own ships, Friend Ships
is glad to take donations of both goods and funds. The
entire Friend Ships staff is composed of unpaid volunteers so your
gift goes far to meet needs and makes a great impact!
To
donate online
funds
for
this
effort,
(click
here
- Please specify
in
the
comments
"Disaster
Response"). If you
would
like
to donate goods and supplies or get more
information,
email or call
"Port
Mercy"
at
(337)
433-5022.
Together we can be a
blessing to people in need! Please check back for updates.
Items needed for
General Disaster Response:
* 30kw Generators
* Bottled Water
*
Toilet Paper
* Personal Hygiene Supplies:
Shampoo, Conditioner,
Soap, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Hairbrush, etc.
* Feminine Products:
Tampons and pads
* Diapers & Pull-ups:
Diapers:
Newborn, 1,
2, 3, 4, & 5
Pull-ups:
sizes: 2T, 3T, & 4T
Overnights
(night-time diapers):
small, medium
& large
* Shrink Wrap
* Non-Perishable Food:
Canned foods, canned meats & canned vegetables
* Work Gloves (all sizes)
* Push Brooms, Standard Brooms, Mops, Scrubbing
Brushes
* Building Supplies & Tools:
Tin roofing, Drywall, Plywood, Roofing nails, Hammers,
Screws, Drills Tools, etc.
* Rubber Boots & work boots
* Paper Products:
Paper towels, Napkins, Face tissue, Paper/ plastic plates
& Utensils.
* Towels & Linens
(all sizes):
Bath towels, Face towels, Bed sheets etc.
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