Missouri-Illinois Regional Division Hurricane Katrina Relief
Update From Dorothy Schaser - Tuesday, September 13, 2005
I would like to update you on some of the things going on with the Missouri-Illinois Division.
Lots of help from lots of volunteers: Manning the trailers at Faith, Oakville and Messiah, St. Charles; gathering the items from St. Charles and unloading at Sam’s; buying layers and pallets of goods at Sam’s to add to the trailer, and just doing whatever came up that needed doing. Thanks to everyone!
The container to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, arrived 7:30 a.m. Thursday, September 8, at St. John Lutheran Church. One of the members of St. John was able to provide a front loader and three workers. With youth and other congregational volunteers, they were able to unload the container and organize pastors from small rural congregations to come and pick up goods that day. By the end of the day they had distributed all of the goods to pastors and leaders in the area that St. John had contacted. So a lot of it is already in the hands of the folks who were isolated in the rural areas from Relief Centers, and many had no gas to reach there anyway. (And yes, the apples arrived fine—they did not have baked apples!)
So yesterday we thought that the Missouri-Illinois Division coordination in St. Louis was finished. . .
But our one drop off place at Messiah, St. Charles, had advertised they were collecting for another week. Today we filled the OGT van full of their goods and learned that a Mission Team from Messiah was going to Trinity, Baton Rouge from September 14-18. Maybe these goods and what they collect through September
14 could go there?
Then we got a call from Salem, Affton, that their field worker for four years was now assistant pastor at Trinity, Baton Rouge, and could they do something for that area because they had been in contact with Rev. Dave Buss at Trinity.
Then we got a call from Tim Schulter - LCMS World Relief, offering funds to fill another container here in St. Louis and a tractor, trailer, and driver!
So we now have a trailer parked at Salem Lutheran Church, Affton, and it will be filled with with donations from Salem, Messiah, and as many churches as Marilyn can contact Saturday. Collection dates are from Sunday, September 11 through Wednesday, September 14. Anyone can call Salem Lutheran Church, 314-352-4454 for times of drop-offs. A list of what Trinity is requesting is on their web site: http://www.tlcbr.teamministry.net—click on How to Help. There are two lists there—one list for Trinity is included on that page, and another list is for Stuff Needed for Holy Trinity, Covington.
On September 15, we will probably start shopping to add to the trailer, if necessary. Craig Hanson is willing to drive this load to Baton Rouge on probably Friday, September 16. That means this load would arrive while the Mission Team from Messiah, St. Charles, is still there. How fantastic!
I am sending this, not only to the Norfolk office, but also to our Board Members and others here in St. Louis. Please spread the word.
What a beautiful thing is happening - everyone is using their God given skills and talents from providing money, to providing the hands-on work of coordinating, shopping, packing, and praying. God’s Love is being spread through the hands of His servants! ! !
- Dorothy
News From Franklin Parish, Louisiana
On Thursday morning, September 8, 2005, a report came to the Norfolk, Neb. office of Rev. Ray S. Wilke: In Franklin Parish, Louisiana, federal and state help had yet to arrive a full week and a half after Hurricane Katrina hit the area.
The report came from Orphan Grain Train volunteer driver Craig Hansen of High Ridge, Mo., who delivered chain saws, survival gear and food to the area. Parish officials immediately began using the chain saws to open roads to get to both the living and the dead.
Prisoners helped with the relief effort, doing so with joy and no complaint. They told Hansen, “We have relatives here, too.”
The official coordinating the effort in Franklin Parish asked Craig, “How did you know what we needed? Everyone else is sending stuff we don’t need.”
Katrina Relief Shipment Arrives in Baton Rouge
Early Sunday morning, September 4, an 18-wheeler driven by volunteer Craig Hansen arrived at the Women’s Hospital in East Baton Rouge, La. with diapers and other hospital supplies from Sam’s Club® of Saint Louis.
Women’s Hospital usually handles 20 to 30 neonatal babies in their nursery. That number has now swelled to more than 200 babies. The nurses met Hansen at the door as he arrived.
LCMS World Relief/Human Care, in care of Mr. Tim Schlueter and the cooperation of Mrs. Dorothy Schaser and others volunteers of Orphan Grain Train Missouri-Illinois Division, assembled Craig’s semi-trailer load. Also on the truckload was $60,000 worth of equipment from Lowe’s® and Grainger’s®. LCMS World Relief/Orphan Grain Train volunteers in the Baton Rouge area distributed the clean-up equipment from this truckload.
“If you listen carefully you can hear the sound of chain saws already at work in the clean up,” said Rev. Ray S. Wilke, president of Orphan Grain Train. “Tools will be circulated among workers to assure their most effective use. Good job, everyone!”