March 29th
Greetings all...a couple of big updates for the Lake Charles Blog...
First, Cornerstone's next missions trip is to Reynosa, Mexico in the end of April. They are still in need of supplies for their trip including: toothpaste, feminine pads, baby diapers of all sizes, coloring books, crayons, bubbles and monetary donations for medical supplies. They will take donations up until April 13th - drop them off in the totes by the main entrance.
Second, with the team going to Reynosa, this blog is going to morph from the Lake Charles Blog to the Reynosa, Mexico blog in the coming days. Tracy Bowers is working on securing internet access from there and in some form or another she or others on the team will be blogging their experiences from there. I think we all look forward to hearing and seeing their experiences from there, like we were able to share from Lake Charles. This blog has been a great learning experience for me as a web producer and the church and we are looking to take the next step.
I haven't decided yet exactly what to do with this blog, but it will remain findable and when Cornerstone goes back in October, I'm sure it will return. We also may have a brand new web site by then too.
I'll keep you posted, but don't be surprised one day when the Reynosa, Mexico logo is on the home page instead of Lake Charles.
Bob Brenzing
We're going back!
At the Brenzing home, we got a letter from Merle that Cornerstone is sending another team to Louisiana October 25 to November 1.
Details, costs, sign-ups and more will coming in the coming months. Reserve the vacation time now and be sure to talk to any of the team that went this spring about their experiences.
Also, check out the Missions page of this Web site to learn about other missions opportunities at Cornerstone
March 13
I finally got the photos that Tim Duplechain, one of our hosts in Sulphur gave me loaded in and I couldn't just pick four or five to highlight. The destruction that the people of Louisiana have seen is amazing.
I created a photo gallery of his photos - check them out by clicking here.
I know Barb is working on some more photos, so you may hear from her soon about those.
Enjoy.
bob
March 10 (and 11) - Back Home
Well, we are back. You may have seen many of us at church on Sunday. We were sprinkled throughout the services. Darrell and Betty Ames were there bright and early to greet at the 8:30am service. Pam and I were at the 11:15 and we had to head out right away to pick up our cat. We saw Merle and Joyce and Chris Cummings then.
Our trip back was adventuresome with a freak winter storm hitting Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. Let's just say, we won't be complaining about Michigan road crews anytime soon. They are not prepared down there to handle any snow, let alone 6 inches.
All in all, it was a great week. We all feel that we did a lot of good for the Rigdon's and they were very appreciative of our efforts. Chris also presented them with some money that her school kids had raised to help with the trip. 
This week, there is a group of college students working on their home who will finish tearing down the part of the house that isn't usable anymore. We were the 11th group to work on their house.
I will continue posting here pictures and updates from the group. Barb Molhoek took a lot of pictures (of better quality than my cell phone), so I'll get some of them on here when I get a chance.
Also, I brought home a CD of photos from Tim, our host in Sulphur, of some of the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Rita.
Thanks again for the prayers, support and now the welcoming back. Feel free to stop any of us to chat about our experience and watch for more opportunities to head down to Louisiana to serve too.
Bob
Hi Everyone! It's so hard to believe that this is our last evening here. The week went fast, and now the long drive home lies ahead. Our group worked SO hard and accomplished many difficult projects in Les & Anita's home. Pam & I had time to visit with Anita for awhile this afternoon and asked her about the actual evacuation, where they went, what it was like when they came back, etc. She told us quite a bit, which I'm anxious to tell everyone when we get back. Again - these people have been through so much and are so very appreciative of any work that's being done for them. They work on their home when they can also, and are thrilled to now see the new kitchen nearly done, the bathroom almost ready to use, and a bedroom ready for flooring. Best thing is that there's a rain storm going on right now, and we all know that tonight they won't have to put all those buckets out in the house to collect the rain that leaks into their house. That was taken care of by our expert roofing crew today! Tomorrow before we leave, the plumbing crew will be able to test all of today's work and should be able to restore water to the entire home. Before we leave this area tomorrow, we're taking a brief drive down to Holly Beach, which is the area where the most devastation occurred when Rita came ashore. Seems silly to be here and not get to one of the high impact areas. We've been thoroughly enriched by our time here, and can't wait to see everyone when we get back, but it will be sad to leave all the wonderful people here at Maplewood United Methodist, Les & Anita, and everyone we've encountered along the way. Keep praying for the people of this area, and keep praying for our safe return trip too! Betty
HI! How ya'll doin?
Wow! What a week! It has been fantastic! The weather has been outstanding and we have enjoyed the Rigdons so much! Today the roofers, (Arnie, Darryl, Bill) finished putting on the new roof, the plumbers, (Nick and Kevin) have all the connections made, and tomorrow will be installing the faucets, toilet, shower and kitchen sink. The ceiling tilers, (Bob, Pam, and Betty) have finished the living room, bedroom and bathroom. The carpenters, (Bob and Dan) have put up all the window trim, the kitchen people, (more Dan and Bob) have installed all the kitchen cupboards, and the painters, (Marilyn and I) have almost all the painting done! Tim the electrician has done all the electrical work in the whole house. Whew! We really worked hard, but it was so great to see it all come together. None of us want to leave tomorrow! We wish we could stay to finish all the work and help the Rigdons move in. Fortunately, another work crew is coming soon, and hopefully will be able to put the finishing touches on everything. To all my small group thank you so much for helping make this trip possible. It has been one of the best weeks ever!! You would ALL love this so much!! Gary, Roger, Phil, please make this a priority! You would love this kind of work!! Thanks for your prayers! Thanks to Carolyn for remembering me with her bracelet...my rear-end did quite well for the two days in the back seat. And lastly to Daryl and Kay--what a fantastic blessing this has been. You would LOVE the people down here! They are so sweet, and appreciative, and the accents! For all the Cornerstone people who have supported all of us with your prayers, thank you!. It has been a total blast for us, and what a blessing for the Rigdon family. I am so glad to be part of y'all! Chris Cummings
Hey Tracy...how's everything in Michigan? We have a lot of interesting experiences to tell y'all! We went to the Rigdon's home today and wrote Psalm 127:1 on the floor in the kitchen (it is still just plywood for now) and everyone signed it. Last night we all went to Steamboat Bill's for an authentic Louisiana feast....well, not ALL of us had LA food...Bob and Betty and I had regular American food ...chicken, red beans and rice, baked potato, salad. It was good. Merle had the crayfish and wasn't feeling too good after that. Tonight, we are having another authentic LA meal...sweet potato chips (with cinnamon and sugar), boiled crab (they are in a cooler, still alive...don't think I will stick around to watch Tim drop them in the boiling water, some kind of catfish stew (couldn't understand what Tim was saying), rice, and of course, my favorite...salad. Here in LA all the men do most of the cooking...we have had pralines (pronounced prawlines), bread pudding. We're all gaining weight!!
It's almost time for the feast so I need to go make salad,
Love to y'all (our new word) Joyce and Jackie
March 6th - 5:30pm (Central)
Our last full day of work is done...and just in time. Rain is moving in tonight and we had to finish the roof! One half was done yesterday, but the second half needed extensive work - plus it needed detaching from the part of the house that is going to be torn down. But, we put the last shingles on around 4pm and the Rigdon's should finally be able to sit out a rain storm tonight without having buckets all around to collect the leaks for the first time in 2 1/2 years!
Also, the kitchen cabinets are in, ceiling tiles are done and finishing touches on the plumbing will be taken care of in the morning. We work Friday morning, then we're taking a road-trip down to the coast to see some more of the remnants from Hurricane Rita, then we're heading home. This might be my last entry until we return Saturday night, depending on the schedule.
Steamboat Bill's was quite the experience last night. Merle got the "big plate o' crayfish" and the brave got to try some. Tim, one of the hosts from Maplewood UMC went along and translated the menu for us and also selected a variety of items for us all to try.
I know the Africa Missions Trip got to experiment with many different types of food, but tonight is part two of our culinary experience. Tim, the host, has been cooking at the church since noon a catfish-type dish and when we just returned, there was a cooler of live crabs outside the church office. Gonna be some good eatin' tonight!
Updates about the team - Nick is better and put in a full day today. He's eating cautiously, even at Steamboat Bill's. Tim Wiebenga is not returning with us, but is going to Florida for a week to visit his parents - but he's staying an extra day here in Sulphur and is going fishing with Les Rigdon on his crab boat Saturday morning! How fun is that!
Everyone else is doing just fine. The needs down here are enormous and they need more help. From overhearing people, it sounds like there may be a desire to come down again - start thinking and praying about if you can come along next time.
That's it for me - some of the team may be chiming in later. Thanks again for your prayers and support.
Bob
March 5th - 4:30pm (Central)
Well, just a quick update before we head off for dinner at Steamboat Bill's. Judging by what we hear, there should be some good stories about our dining experience later on tonight. We're supposed to get the "crayfish". Yum?
Nick was feeling a bit better and helped out this morning, but took the afternoon off. Keep him in your prayers that he gets some more time in. He really wants to take part in everything and help out.
The Rigdon's were gone for most of the day - crabbing. They came back around lunch with 17 tubs of crabs in the back of their truck. They seem to be very good at what they do.
Will try and get back on tonight - and may have a local TV appearance to share...
Bob
March 4th - 7:30pm (Central)
We wanted to ask everyone for prayers tonight for one of the team. Nick Zylstra was down today with a stomach/flu bug and hasn't been able to work or eat all day now and we hope he is able to rejoin us tomorrow. Thanks...
Words of Greetings from some of the team...
Hola friends at Glenwood!
I am walking a little crooked today! Spent most of today painting outside in beautiful weather...sunny and 65ish. It was a perfect day. Also helped burn a very toxic pile of old linoleum, vinyl, paneling and ancient pieces of the condemned area of the house. I'll make time for more updates later, but have been thinking of y'all. Love, Chris
Greetings from the friendly state of Lousiana. The family that we are helping is wonderful. They are really looking forward to moving into this new space. They have waited a long, long time for this assistance. The amount of repairs have been overwhelming. I'm glad that we could come down to help them out. Thanks to all of you who have supported us in so many ways... with your prayers, your gifts and taking care of our pets while were gone. :) Pam
Hello Val & David, Kristin & Michael, Drew, Zack, Alex, Peyton, Jackson and #6! Also, hello to everyone at Byron Center Public Schools and Gordon Food Service. We've had a very impressive trip so far. There is a huge amount of work to complete the house we are working on, and that won't happen while we are here, and it is our prayer that the next group or two will get them finished up. Such wonderful, gracious people, who have had their lives turned upside down. Yesterday I helped remove old flooring and today I was just kind of a "gofer". We'll see what tomorrow brings. Keep our group in your prayers, please, but even more, keep the people of Louisiana in your prayers! :) Betty
March 4th - 5:30pm (Central)
Wow - what didn't we do today? So this is what a full day of construction work is like...
Looking through my pictures for today, we roofed, plumbed, hung cabinets, hooked up more electrical outlets and fixtures, hung more ceiling tiles, painted and I think Merle's favorite - burned things. I'm having problems uploading my pictures from here, so if I don't get it figured out later on tonight, I'll call upon some help from Tracy at church to help out.
It's almost dinner time here, so I plan on hopping back online later on this evening - hopefully with some "guest" commentators to share what their day was like.
Later.
Bob
Bob Blalock hangs a ceiling fan Darrell and Betty Ames tearing up some tile
March 3rd - 4:00pm (Central)
Due to a line of severe thunderstorms, our workday was cut short by a couple of hours this afternoon. The Methodist Church Missions organizers called us around 2:00pm to tell us to pack up by 3:00pm and head back. We've had some heavy rain and lots of lightning, but nothing bad.
We are going to be spending our week working on the Rigdon's home in Hackberry, LA. It's about 16 miles closer to the Gulf from here. It's a small fishing and crabbing village and the Rigdon's are crabbers.
Rocky, our Methodist guide, told us this morning that their house was about a 50/50 proposition on whether or not it was to be condemned after Hurricane Rita. They decided to keep it - but half of it will have to be torn down. That can't be done however until a new bathroom and kitchen is installed, because the only working bathroom is in the condemned half of the house.
Thus, you see the pictures of the pipes! Kevin Heemstra and Nick Zylstra have taken on the plumbing mission. The roofing team spent the first half of the day putting up a new blue tarp because with knowing of today's incoming rain, they wanted to get the leaks stopped now. The roofers, with Tim Wiebenga, got to hanging ceiling fans this afternoon when they couldn't work outside anymore with the rain. Chris Cummings and the Armstrong's and the Ames's tore up some tile today too. Pam and I spent the day hanging ceiling tile.
The feeling we got from today is just a feeling of how we want to do as much as we can to get this house done. We heard this morning that there are almost 1800 houses, where people haven't been able to afford professional workmanship like this one, that haven't even been touched yet by volunteer workers.
While we were working today, Chris Cummings and others told me to tell you - get down here Cornerstone! We have a lot of work to do and the people here need more of us. For those family and friends reading - get your churches down here too!
Thank you all - thank you Tracy for posting the pictures. Barb Molhoek is taking a lot of great photos too that we'll share when we return.
Bob
March 3rd - 7:00am (Central)
Good morning Cornerstone! We are up and ready to face the day here in Sulphur, LA. It's another warm day, but we hear that will change later with some storms.
Our trip down was as smooth sailing as you could ever hope for in a 20-hour road trip. Weather was great, little to no construction and except for one van missing the dinner-break exit, we all met up with each other at every stop.
In Effingham, IL, we passed what seemed like the largest cross we've ever seen. Fortunately for me, there was a web site on the billboard next to it, so you can see it here - www.crossusa.org. I was not fast enough with the camera phone.
Last night here in Sulphur at the church, we got to meet Pastor Nancy and Tim Duplechain, the church treasurer and a servant worker of the church who helped get us set up. They shared with us what it was like to go through both hurricanes Katrina and Rita, how the area is still recovering and will probably take up to 10 years to return to its pre-Rita state. They said that the sense of community is strong here in Sulphur and Lake Charles and that makes a difference in the recovery effort.
The Rigdon's Home in Hackberry, LA
A couple of things that stood out to me were that Hurricane Rita was actually a much stronger and devasting hurricane than Katrina, but the damage in New Orleans was more due to the levees breaking than the winds or the storm. Rita had 185-200 mph winds and actually stayed right over the coastline for 14 hours, churning and spinning off tornadoes that just tore up the towns and parishes.
The wikipedia seems to have a good history of Hurricane Rita - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Rita.
Well, it's off to breakfast...we'll be finding out our assignments for the day there.
Thanks for your prayers - we definitely felt covered on the road down here.
March 2nd - 5:00pm - (Central Time)
We made it! We've just finished unloading the vans and we're picking out our corners of Maplewood United Methodist Church to sleep in.
We had great travel weather all the way down (after Holland, MI - still snowing of course) and it's 74 degrees here right now! Woohoo! A great thanks to the Prayer Team at Cornerstone for the send-off Saturday morning at 6:30 - even breaking into song at that time of the morning!
We had a great experience this morning at First Baptist Church in Magnolia, MS where they were expecting us - so they fed us, not only spiritually, but with some great home cooking too. The people were very friendly and offered us their support in prayer for this week too.
I may try and send some more information about our travel down later. Internet access seems very reliable and I'm actually sleeping very close to the computer terminal, so that bodes well for blogging (unless I annoy my roommates). But for right now, we are getting some orientation...and I have to put some shorts on - because it's warm! :)
God bless...
LA Team
February 28 - 10:00pm
Well, we are just a little over 24 hours away from heading on down the road to Lake Charles, Louisiana and it seems like there is still a lot to do. Here in the Brenzing household, we've been very busy with work and trying to get a lot of things wrapped up. In many ways, this is what we do before any vacation - arranging for pet sitters, mail deliveries, house watchers, etc., but there is a little more excitement/interest in this trip.
For me, it's the first missions trip I've been on since college. Since then, I've settled into jobs that require very little physical exertion - I click and type all day. I do a little handy-work around the house, but I did have to take a little time tonight to find my hammer, which is the only tool Merle Van Noord, our fearless leader, said we would need. I think it was last used mid-summer.
I'm on the roofing crew, which is something I've never done, so I'm interested to learn, but my first goal will be to not hurt myself. Pam is painting...something we have done it seems like several times already in our short life together, but rarely for an entire week.
To give you a brief look at what the week is going to look like, I'll share a bit of the schedule that Merle has set up for us:
Saturday, March 1 - 6:30am - We leave. We stay the night in Mississippi at an Econo Lodge (which I'm guessing may not have internet access, so there may be no posting Saturday night). Sunday morning we head on to Lake Charles, after a stop for church. Monday thru Thursday, we work. Friday, we work half the day, then head back to the Econo Lodge in Mississippi. Saturday, we come all the way back home. Personally, I'll be sleeping in and probably be at the 11:15 service on Sunday.
My goal is to blog nightly from the church where we are staying with a few tidbits of what we did in our day. Technically speaking, I'm relying on some other factors to make this all work, so if there aren't updates, I'll write a lot when we get back. I am planning on taking some photos with my cell phone and sending them back to Tracy Bowers at the church and she'll be able to sprinkle them into my writings.
That's it for now...got lots of packing to do. If you have any comments or questions, leave a note for Tracy at tracyb@cornerchurch.org . I'll try and incorporate thoughts or questions in, if possible.
I may also be dead tired from working every day in the sun!
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Bob Brenzing
On Saturday, March 1st, a team of 17 individuals will travel to Lake Charles, Louisiana to help with rebuilding an area still recovering from Hurricane Rita striking there two years ago.
Bob Brenzing, Cornerstone's Interactive Writer/Editor (web guy) is going along on the trip and will be blogging his experiences and the experiences of the group from Louisiana. Check back here often for updates, pictures, stories and news of answered prayers.
Right now, the team is asking for your prayers in:
-
Safe travel to and from Lake Charles
-
Prayers for the people of Lake Charles who will be served
-
Good health and wellness
-
For God to reveal Himself in a new way to those on the team and to those in Lake Charles
-
For Pastor Nancy and her church as they welcome our team to stay in their church building
The team is:
Darrell & Betty Ames, Bill & Marilyn Armstrong, Bob & Jackie Blalock, Bob & Pam Brenzing, Chris Cummings, Arnie Decker, Kevin Heemstra, Dan & Barb Molhoek, Merle & Joyce Van Noord, Tim Wiebenga and Nick Zylstra.
