Update September 21st

Below you will read an edited update from our Foursquare News Service. Today, I once again was on a conference call with our Foursquare Task Force. I am so proud of the efforts our denomination has been making and the plans which are unfolding in the next weeks. I will update you once these plans materialize and as promised we will let you know more about how you can pray, give and potentially team up with us in sending short term or longer term teams to the affected regions and areas in which people are displaced. Please pray for Lompoc and the twelve families coming here and how LFC will play a role in sponsoring them - stay tuned to this blog and to our church announcements for more information.
To date our Foursquare Denominational Giving is over 540,000 dollars.
LFC we are a part of that with the almost 10,000 we have given not to mention the numerous gift cards to Wal-Mart and Chevron and K-Mart and the additional giving to the Red Cross that has been given through our church. I know some of you have been given directly as well - thanks for your generosity.
To read the entire story and stay updated with Foursquare efforts: http://bod.foursquare.org/katrina/

Recovering from Katrina, Preparing for Rita
One day Jesus and his disciples got in a boat... It was smooth sailing, and he fell asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake. Water poured in, and they were about to capsize. They woke Jesus: "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" Getting to his feet, he told the wind, "Silence!" And the waves, "Quiet down!" They did it. The lake became smooth as glass. Luke 8:22-24 (Message)
Rita, a new category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, is raging west about 600 miles east-southeast of Galveston, and 700 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. The storm is moving at a rate of 13 mph and is packing sustained winds of 165 mph, and some gusts even higher. Forecasters predict the storm could be the most intense hurricane on record in the state of Texas and local and state officials have imposed orders to evacuate on a county by county basis.
One million people from the coastal regions have been given the mandate to evacuate the Texas coast including many recent evacuees from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In an effort to maximize government assistance options, Houston Mayor Bill White called for neighbors to reach out to neighbors so that people who need assistance only call on the government to help if they cannot find family or friends who can lend a hand. He said that neighbors helping neighbors is the best line of defense.
I was on the conference call with Pastor Tony Krishack, Supervisor of the South Texas District of Foursquare Churches, and a member of the Foursquare Disaster Relief Task Force, has moved his family and staff to Ft. Worth in voluntary evacuation of the Houston area. Tony wants to continue relief efforts for victims of Katrina in spite of the storm that is barring down on the Texas coast. His prayer request this week is that Rita will lose steam and move quickly through the region rather than stalling and dumping record rainfall on the Gulf Coast.
I am touched by the following ministry and wanted to make sure you read about it too:
Waveland, MS Recovery Team –
Led by New Life Foursquare Church, Canby, OR Waveland, Mississippi, is one of the most devastated cities in the Gulf Atlantic region. Little is left of the town of less than 10,000 perhaps best known because of its Police Chief Jimmy Varnell who escaped the 150-mile-long, 20 foot high wall of seawater that covered the town by hanging in the branches of a tree until the water returned to the Gulf. At the request of Chief Varnell, Pastor Ron Swor and a team from the Canby, Oregon Foursquare Church left this week to offer prayer and support for emergency personnel in Waveland. In this situation, the emergency responders are themselves victims, yet they continue to serve the people and communities to the best of their abilities. The goal of the recovery team from Canby is to support and strengthen the officers and their families with housing, equipment, supplies, encouragement, and hope.
Several churches from the Columbia District of Foursquare Churches have joined in with this effort, as have officers from the Canby Police Department, the Bend, Oregon 911 dispatchers, the West Salem, Oregon Foursquare Church, and the National Church Office. The recovery effort includes securing several modular units, trailers, and motor homes to use as office space and housing for relief workers. Several units are in transit to Mississippi this week and more are scheduled to be delivered soon.
This is amazing and we are praying, assessing and finding the best ways for us to send teams and supplies. Please let us know this Sunday at our Ministry Faire if you are interested in going as a team member and what time you coujld spend and what skills you possess.
Keep praying!