Day 11

Thelma & Louise (click to enlarge)
Cleaning out a house in downtown New Orleans. These two ladies are proof that no matter what skills are brought to the mission field or what ever skills are required - EVERYONE can make a difference. Nancy and Liz are continually encouraging and assisting others. Home owners, neighbors and volunteers. Pray for continued strength and the way the Holy Spirit is moving in their hearts!

Here is a photo of where they are still doing levee repairs. The water rushed in, the houses which are up on concrete blocks simply broke up and floated away, destroying everything inside - including the home owners.....

Last night, at supper time Smokey had the opportunity to share his testimony with the 90 volunteers who are staying at the church. It was an awesome moment. Smokey talked, but the Holy Spirit spoke through him. The testimony time was followed by a first step meeting. God worked in a wonderful way last night.

This week we have the blessing to be working with a group of students from Trinity Western in B.C. Canada. They are a cool group of hard-working Godly young people. We are totally encouraged by their presence!! Amen!





Here is Mark and Liz having a lunchtime moment of fun. Today the temps rose into the upper 70's. It' slike the hottest day of summer in Northern WI. Me & Smokey have bright red heads from the sun, and I decided a hat & bandana were necessary for protection. One of the EFCA Compassion staff suggested that I sell the hat & scarf on e-bay just like the people from the Surviver TV show. I had a different idea... to auction off the hat & scarf right here to raise money for the Hurricane Victims. The money will go directly to a Hurricane-effected family who our team has built a relationship with. It's not about the sweaty scarf - it's all about helping others with our sacrificial offerings through our fully devoted Love of Jesus Christ!

Let the auction begin! Click 'comments' or email direct to set your bid!

-mj

2Corintians 13:9
We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.

Day 9

If you are reading this blog and want to encourage us, please click the "comments" link on the bottom of this post. We really need to hear from you!!
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The last few days have been a blur! Work has been completed, and God is ministering to the people.
Friday we worked a second day on the roof of Fred & Willi's home, getting some shingles on the roof, and getting the remainder of it prepared for completion. The amount of work done with the help of the Amish boys was 'miraculous'!
After spending a lot of time with Fred and his wife, we learned much about them. What cool stories people in their 70's can tell.! Building relationships with people is the REAL ministry that we are here for. A house can't gain salvation, but the owners can! After two long days of work at their house, and many hours of conversations, the couple agreed to come to our church for worship. Today they came to church for the first time in 2 1/2 years!! And they say they will be back next week - Praise Jesus!

Saturday was a rain-delay with large amounts of liquid sunshine falling. Pastor Joe and the Conover team worked for a few hours on a roof in the pouring rain before heading home to Wisconsin. They did a large amount of work and they built many great relationships: They were a huge blessing and encouragement to the homeowners and the church staff & volunteers. We will miss them.

Yesterday (Saturday) Smokey & Kathy Hoffer arrived to join Thelma & Louise (Nanc & Liz) and me & Cathy for what we know will be a fantastic week of work! They brought ALOT of great supplies from Minocqua. Thank you to everyone who has donated supplies, prayers, encouragement and financial assistance. Special thanks to Ace Hardware, River Valley State Bank and Culvers for substancial donations which have helped in amazing ways. "Thanks!"
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High points for the week have been too numerous to mention! Meeting the homeowners and seeing how greatful they are for the assistance we are bringing to them is the most special feeling! It is also an important opportunity to pray with the homeowner, share with them, and listen to them. It is traumatic for the owner to see everything they own go out to the curb. The homeowners 'lost' everything 6 months ago when the storm came through and the levees broke, and now they are losing those same items again as we move it all into a garbage pile at the curb. Love, compassion and empathy are important tools when gutting a house. The most satisfaction of any job is the tears of joy and gratitude from the people who we are serving. Sometimes it is a neighbor who comes by and is overwhelmed by the love they see pouring out of the workers.

We are looking forward to the teams who are preparing to come down. If you are NOT coming down to serve, but still want to help, please continue to pray as to how God would lead you. Tools are needed, free store supplies are needed, finances are needed to purchase specific ministry needs as they arise.
Please contact me to get up to date specifics.

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Jesus is enough,
-mj

Please! Click below to comment & encourage us!!

Day 6

Yesterday it was over 80 degrees and we were working to rebuild a roof. We were beat from the heat, one person got sick from the heat, and I was too tired to write - my apologies. But - yesterday was also a day of encouragement because God was able to rebuild the roof of a woman's home after the hurricane swept all here shingles away 6 months ago. Now she will have a fresh start with her home, her life and a renewed hope she has from the encouragement she received from the team.

TODAY's News: "They worked like Army Ants":We had the opportunity to work with a group of young Amish men. We arrived at the job site to find a home which was hit with Huge trees from three different sides. The home was devastated. The roof was virtually gone -- but worst than that - the roof was laying inside the home, piled into the kitchen, dining room and laundry room. We all stood still looking for 2-3 minutes before we caught our breath and prayed for a plan. Then we met the home owners. Fred Askegren and his wife Willi.

The homeowners were overwhelmed with joy when we pulled into the driveway. Their home had layed in waste for nearly 6 months: Completely uninhabitable. We dropped our tools, circled around Fred and Willi and prayed with them. It was an emotional time.

Working with the Minocqua / Conover team was a team as a group of 10 Amish fellows. We did not know what to expect from these young men. During the next 4 hours, our relationships grew and the house appeared to miraculously reverse the process of collapsing. These young men had a work ethic and enthusiasm that I have never seen before. I can honestly say that today was one of the most amazing days I have ever experienced. God moved in all of our hearts. The homeowners encouraged us greatly, and God's people did great work for Him.

By 5pm the roof of the home was again standing and there was tarpaper covering it, ready for shingles. The homeowner sat in his FEMA trailer, watching out the window, sobbing with overwhelming joy. When I spoke to Fred at the end of the day, he said "they worked like army ants!". The home moved from rubble to house in 8 hours. The statement is true, but even more true is that the two teams - Wisconsin and Amish from Missouri - became One Team. Steel sharpened steel: and God was able to use the team to minister to a family. And the family was able to minister to the team.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

-mj

Day 4

No photos today. No fun stories about cleaning out homes, doing demo work or having fun with homeowners. No fantastic stories about God performing miracles right before our eyes.

Instead I must tell you about the lives changing in and around Trinity E-Free church. I can’t tell you a lot of specific stories of people who were introduced to Jesus today, but I must tell you that lives are changing. The lives of the people we are helping are changed. The lives of the neighbors of the people we help are being changed. The lives of the staff members, volunteers and visiting team members are being changed. Even the life of the pastor and his family has been changed.

This used to be a nice, safe comfortable God fearing church. It is no longer comfortable, many people are unable to determine what is happening from one day to the next; unable to survive each day without the provision of the God the Father. The people here are unable to “work their plan” on a daily basis, but instead they must allow God’s plan to be worked.

The people here are realizing, it is only after you have lost everything that you will realize that Jesus is the only thing you need.

Experiencing the sight, sounds and people of New Orleans makes you re-assess the things you have in your life - to determine what it is that you really need.

Okay – at least for me. There a lot of things I think I need or things I that I want in my life; but once again I realize that Jesus is enough.

Today was an incredible day filled with amazing conversations with normal people who have lost nearly everything. Some have even gone from a bad situation to a worse situation: but they still realize there is hope. Even if the people do not know Jesus, they can see hope after meeting and talking to the volunteer workers. Some show appreciation through joy and some show it through tears: some show appreciation through the gift of warm sweet potato pie freshly baked just for you. Mmmmmm.

Once they learn why we are here, all the people have appreciation. At that point you realize it is all about God. For His Plan; For His Purpose; For His Glory. In my weakness, He is strong. Amen!

Today I have asked myself, and I will ask you: How can I be 'others' oriented? How can my life be eternally significant? Is what I am doing right now advancing His kingdom?

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit" says the LORD Almighty. :Zech 4:6

Pray for continuing revival in Southern Louisiana.

Day 3

Where do the ministry dollars go? Some have asked... I am here to answer! See the picture of the truck? Behind it is 120 cases of water! That is over 4200 bottles of cool water for relief workers and Katrina victims. This is A lOT of water, and it was only the first load. The final total was 6000 bottles! Thanks to Pastor Joe from Conover for helping arrange this wonderfully refreshing delivery. :)

Today (Monday) was the first full work day for almost 100 volunteers. This morning was a hectic buzz of people and staff. Mark and Cathy were working with the Conover team getting a roofing job organized, and Thelma and Louise (Nancy and Liz) were busy spreading cheer and good spirits to everyone. The morning started with a large group orientation and training.
Right after the training, we grabbed our tools and hit the road for our job-site destinations. We had the awesome opportunity to tackle a roofing job, where most of a roof was blown off by the hurricane winds. Our home owner, Mary, was very thankful for the work we were doing, but we were more humbled and honored to have the opportunity to share the gospel with her and present her with a new bible. The entire team of 14 signed the inside cover, and wrote our favorite bible verses in it. If you click & enlarge this photo, you can see that both Mary and her fiancee were in great spirits at the end of our work day. We prayed, shared, listened and laughed with them. It was a great day!

> > Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. . . Psalm 96:1-2
-mark

Day 1

Straight to Work:
Our T-minus dating system was blown off-track by the Feb 16-17 blizzard which hit Southern WI. We had our eyes on the weather channel, and Cathy spoke to Doug Gosseau (sp) the meteorologist from channel 12, who recommended an early departure to avoid the heavy part of the storm. So, we departed Minocqua Wednesday evening about 8:00pm.

The snow came hard by 10:30pm North of Madison. We slowed down, stayed on course and settled in for what would be a long drive. By 2:30 am we were near Rochelle, Il, so we pulled off for the night. By morning, the cold front progressed to our doorstep, and we were awakened with thunder, lightning, high winds and about one inch of pea-sized hail. The good news is that the worst of the storm was yet to come, and we were still ahead of it.

Nancy K. and Liz also left Minocqua on Wednesday, and our two vehicles were now traveling within one hour of one another. As we kept in touch by cell phone, we continued to update and encourage one another regarding the deteriorating driving conditions. By the end of Illinois we were all ready for another night's rest. Friday brought a great day for driving, and we all arrived in Covington within 30 minutes of each other. We had time to relax for a short while, we enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by Compassion staff colunteers, Liz & Nancy were involved in a short mission orientation, we found a spot on the floor for our air mattresses, and soon it was 'light's out'.

Today Mark & Cathy worked in the church office, building relationships with the Compassion staff and finalizing our heaps of paperwork for the five weeks of teams, but Nancy and Liz (Thelma and Louise) went straight to work in downtown New Orleans gutting a house with a group of volunteers from our host church, Trinity EFC. They worked like they were "Spirit-driven", removing debris, drywall and piles of sopping-wet household goods and clothing. The floodwaters have been gone for SIX months, but much of the home's interior, furniture and closet items are still soaked with moldy, bacteria filled water. Safety is always an issue, but we are prepared with N95 masks, safety glasses and rubber gloves inside of our work gloves.

The two photos on today's post were taken yesterday by my new friend Trent. This is still what much of New Orleans looks like. Some parts still look like bombed out neighborhoods, and other areas have strange sites like houses that floatedup and landed on top of cars. Every where you go you see a 'water line' across the tops of the home, and the streets are void of people. Power poles and power lines still litter the streets and there is no running water. After 6 months, the work in New Orleans is just beginning.

Here in Covington, about 35 miles to the North, life looks almost normal from the outside. There are resurants open and there is a buzz of people everywhere. But the reality is that the spirit of many people is still bruised, damages or broken. These people need encouragement, kindness, and compassion. This is the REAL work that we are here for. The shovels and wheel borrows are just a way to help these people and open doors for caring conversations. During the past few weeks, many people (about a dozen) have come to know Jesus because of the kindness and sharing of a work crew while working on someone's home. AMEN!

Please continue to pray for the people of New Orleans, Covington and Southern Louisiana. God is moving in a big way down here. We are extremely happy and humbled to be a part of His work. We could not be here without the help of our home church, and the people who helped send us. We praise the Lord for your faithfulness!
- Mark

Countdown: T-minus 2 days

Tuesday:
Sometimes I believe God allows me to repeat the same mistake over and over just to drive home a good point. This week the point has been that HE is in Complete control - and always was - always will be.

One item I usually freak out about just a little is the matter of having some sort of control over a mission project. Whether it be the project, the finances or the people, I usually like to hang onto the plans just a little too tightly. God has again allowed me to try it out, only to discover that I have no control at all.

Yesterday was a wonderful day of God speaking to me through circumstances which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that He has ultimate control. Our 'needs' are His concerns and our 'wants' are usually selfish (at least mine are). Yet, His blessings (more often than not) take care of things that we would never have considered asking for: His Love for us is so Great! Amen!

Mark and Cathy depart Wisconsin in two days. Although there are many detail which are not resolved, we realize that God's Spirit is in control. We shall have no worry and no fear. Everything will work out exactly like He has planned it.
Praising the Lord, -MJ

Countdown: T-minus 4 days

Sunday - Four days before departure, returning to Covington, Louisiana. Today at church we had a wonderful commissioning and send-off. After a lively worship time, Pastor Rick called all the people who are participating in one of our two Short-term missions (Peru and Katrina) to come up to the front of the church to be 'commissioned' and prayed over by the mission board, the elders and the church body. It was amazing to see so many people come forward. It reminded me that PatorRick has been teaching on Sundays about "Revival", and it appears that with almost 50 people from our congregation stepping into missions within the next 60 days that a Revival has already begun, and is currently taking place.

I MUST note that in addition to Faith Evangelical Free Church members joining God's ongoing work in Louisiana, we will also be joined by 12 people from the Conover Free Church, one peron from St. Germain Free Church, 13 people from the Three Lakes E-Free Church and 3 members of the Believers Chruch in Woodruff. This has already been an amazing experience for Cathy and I, praying, planning, organizing, bending and stretching to prepare for this service experience to enhance and advance God's Kingdom in Southern Louisiana.

PLEASE feel free to post comments at any time, you should be able to do it be simply clicking on the "comments" button after each posting. Show or email this website to your friends, family or anyone who may be interested in serving our Lord in Louisiana. Cathy and I thank everyone who has prayed us into this position of servanthood, and especially Praise our Lord Jesus for the work which He has done in our lives, around us, through us and To us!! Amen!