Recovering

I taught a class on Thursday to a group of junior high students and we explored the 3 "Rs" of disaster (response, relief and recovery). Recovery is not the responsibility of the federal government, or the Red Cross (they are responsible for response and relief) or the Salvation Army (relief). Recovery is a personal and community responsibility, so it falls to us as individuals and the church body to bring people back to wholeness.

With God's favor, we are quickly moving from Disaster Relief to Disaster Recovery as rebuilding starts. These are exciting times. I continue to receive 3-6 new phone inquiries a week from churches "kicking the tires" to see how their congregations might get involved in disaster assistance and am encouraged to see the fire to serve others spreading.

Last week volunteer count was small (to be expected after the blitz on October 6) but there were six members from St. Michael's Bloomington who helped finish the walls in the Stockton parsonage and did sheetrocking in the church. They are well on the way to completing the painting of those walls. The kitchen has not yet been completed, but the fellowship hall is nearly ready for use. Several of the men also helped John Regan, who returned to complete the sheetrock project at the Fritze house, and it is done. So, we already have one completion from the We Rocked Stockton event. That's progress, and encouragement for the entire community!