Hi Matt, and St. Lukians!
I'm so sorry I forgot to write on Saturday like usual. I got busy, and didn't remember it was Sunday until I was in church. But I didn't have much news to add for last week. I get to see you all next Sunday hooray! I extended my stay till Friday, so I can transition what I do to the next person.
This week has had some new challenges. We got a new director who is difficult to work for. She requires a lot of paper work, and automatically assumes that we're doing a poor job. I tend to get very upset when I see injustice, or feel like I'm being treated unjustly, so this has been an exercise in humility. And I am seeing more and more that God not only is active in my life, but always has been, I just wasn't looking hard enough.
I got a group of people to perform a skit I wrote last week, and we're doing it again tonight. It's a comedy making fun of all of us Red Cross volunteers and the structure we work in. I directed it, and it was fun to see my energy exciting others, and then to see those people turn around and make others laugh. Laughter is an excellent tool against frustration and despair. And I've found that seeing the humor in frustrating situations, makes them easier to bear.
I went to church twice on Sunday, to two different churches that were destroyed. The second one I went to felt more like St. Luke’s. Once they got started passing the peace, they peaced for several minutes before the priest could get them back. Their church was completely destroyed, so they are meeting in a gym at an Episcopal school, which is doubling as an ERD site. They have a distribution center for food and goods, and health/mental health care. They house and feed volunteer groups who go out and clear debris off property for people who need help. I'm thinking of coming back for the last two weeks in November, and volunteering there. If anyone is interested in coming with me, the only cost would be your plane ticket to Gulfport Mississippi.
I met a woman at church who offered her library to me as entertainment on my day off, so I went and visited her. Her house was very badly damaged. It was wonderful to get to know her, and I ended up helping her clean the mildew off of some things. It's a wonderful experience to get to get in there and do something. The destruction seems unending, unbearable, but to be able to make one small pile of debris, or help clean one thing, touch one person, plant a seed of hope, is a huge and wonderful thing.
I love you all, and can't wait to be with you again,
love and peace,
-Robin
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord
a Hurricane Relif Worker
Gulf Shores, Alabama