Mission Trip to AL

We thank you and yours for all the help! I am glad you enjoyed the little town of Grand Bay and the church. Thanks again and God bless. Take care.:wavey:

Ralph

 

Mission trips are great. God bless you for serving the Lord! I feel strongly that all believers need to go on a mission trip atleast once in their life.

 

I came on one to Japan in 1981 and it changed my life completely--I forgot to go home! :laugh: It kind of gets in your heart.

 

Sounds like you were blessed and were a blessing!

Next step: try a cross-cultural trip into Mexico. The difference will be huge! :type:

 

Mission work really gets us out of our own little bubble and helps us to see what God is doing in other places.

Grand Bay is my stompin' grounds! I grew up right next to it. Thanks for going and helping out. I know they greatly appreciated it.

 

You have described very well what should happen in the heart of a believer on a missions trip. May you take that experience and let it revolutionize your walk with Jesus! :thumbs:

 

Horsegal16,

What would you think if I printed out your original post and gave it to the Pastor?
I am sure he would feel greatly blessed and read such out to the congregation.

Thanks again and always do good in God's eye's.
Ralph

 

I went on a mission trip to Mississippi

I went with the Houston area KSBJ Christian Radio Station (in July) to work (in cooperation with World Servants) in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, repairing homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Our group took a day trip down from Hattiesburg to Gulfport, Mississippi and the damage we saw personally all along the Gulfcoast is truly mindboggling! The people in Mississippi have been on my mind alot so on August 27th, my spouse and I drove down to Mississippi just to see more of the damage done to the area by Hurricane Katrina. We drove through Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, Mississippi and took numerous pictures of the widespread damage there. I wanted to have pictures to show people of the damage still evident in this state, as many more volunteer groups are needed to help these people try to start their lives over in these cities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

My spouse and I attended the First Baptist Gulfport church service on Sunday, August 27th, which was held in the local high school auditorium, as the First Baptist Church Gulfport building (like so many other church buildings on the coast of Mississippi)was totally destroyed by the hurricane. When we returned home from Mississippi that night I did an internet search and located and joined a site about Hancock County Mississippi. The lady heading up this site is requesting volunteers to come back to Mississippi to work with residents of Waveland and Bay St. Louis for even one day a month, because the need for help is still so great there. I hope to soon be able to return to Mississippi to volunteer my time working with the people there and I wanted to encourage others who feel led by the Lord to do the same thing.

By the way, the county in Texas I live in was hit by Hurricane Rita last September and there was a mandatory evacuation of our county when Hurricane Rita approached our coast. We ended up living with our three dogs in a hotel in the Houston area for 5 weeks as the authorities would not let us return to our homes in Jefferson County, due to the widespread damage in our area. (There was no electricity, no water, no gasoline available , no food etc.)We lost the fence in our yard, had to replace our home's roof and a large tree in front of our home fell and landed by our front door but,thankfully, the tree did not crash through our roof. Others here were not so fortunate as they had their homes damaged or destroyed by this hurricane or the tornadoes that spun off from the hurricane. As bad as the damage still is in our county, at least my spouse and I had a home to return to after those five weeks, as many people in Mississippi (La. and Al. too) who were living along the Gulf Coast lost all of their earthly possessions and had nothing to return to after Hurricane Katrina hit their area.

I guess because I felt first hand a sense of relief that other people cared about our cities situation and its people's plight, when various church groups traveled down to our area to help our county recover after Hurricane Rita, I decided that I should volunteer my own time to try to help other people recover from Hurricane Katrina. I believe we all should do mission work and we can do it in our hometowns and elsewhere too, but we just need to do it! I ask you all to pray for the people in my own town of Port Arthur, Texas, who still are living in FEMA trailers because their homes were heavily damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Rita. Also, pray for the people here that have lost their jobs due to Hurricane Rita destroying the businesses they worked at in this county. Furthermore, please continue praying for all the people affected by Hurricane Katrina when it hit their areas last year, the people living in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana etc. raying: As you all know, we really all are our brothers keepers!!!:thumbs: