Rebuild Lakeshore

Believe it or not, 4 1/2 years after Katrina, storm debris still litters the landscape. A few weeks ago, a group of volunteer teenagers spent the day pulling items from the woods that the storm had deposited there. They found tires, car parts, household items, children’s toys etc.

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We often get folks visiting Lakeshore to see how their church can help the ongoing efforts. Last week we had a couple of pastors come by. I just hammered out a quick email to them and thought it might be helpful to copy here.

Hi Rick,

It was great to meet you the other day. Thank you so much for your interest in the ongoing ministry here. We look forward to partnering with the churches of your area as we minister help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ on the gulf coast. The need remains great and there is no way we could continue without generous folks like you spreading the word and rallying support.

As we discussed, our biggest need at this point is financial. As we continue hosting volunteer groups who work out in the community we desire to help local residence get self sufficient. A big step in that direction is to get a roof over their head. Volunteer construction teams from across the country continue to flood into our area. Any help with our budget needs to run the camp site will be greatly appreciated and will leverage our ability to provide assistance in the long-term recovery efforts.

In the meantime we also want to minister to their daily needs of food, clothing etc. So, I’m excited to hear about ya’lls planned food drives that will stock the empty shelves of our Mercy House with groceries for hungry families. We can take any kind of non-perishable food items such as canned goods etc. We can also take clothing, especially men’s and children’s items and furnature.

Above all we covet your prayers. As you know, recovery of an entire community takes time, patience, hard work, and effort. We pray for God’s sustaining grace as we work together for his glory on the gulf coast. Thank you so much.

by grace alone,

Pastor Don A. Elbourne Jr.
Lakeshore Baptist Church
http://lakeshorebaptist.net

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We had a great day yesterday. Here is the press release announcing the event:

Lakeshore Baptist Church will host a free seminar on “How To Stretch Your Grocery Budget” March 18 th from 10:00 am- 12:00 noon. In these tough economic times families find themselves struggling to make ends meet. A few simple to implement strategies can help your meal plans cost less. Courtney Elbourne and Juanita Shiyou will demonstrate how to make great tasting meals on a limited budget and have fun doing it.

The seminar will include special music by local vocal artist Britney Bostic and door prizes will be awarded. Pre- registration for the seminar is required and limited to 100 people. Pre-regestration forms are available in the church’s distribution center quonset hut on the church property from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Wednesday-Friday March 10-12. Event attendees to the seminar will receive approximately 50 lbs of free groceries. Child care will be provided. Lakeshore Baptist Church is located at 6028 Lakeshore Road in Lakeshore MS. For more information call the church office at (228) 469-0110.

As you can tell my the news video above, the community received the event well. About 80 families attended and seemed very engaged by the seminar. btw, yes that is my lovely wife, Courtney, doing the teaching in the video.

The newscaster, Jeff Lawson, summed up our desire well when he quoted, “Give a man a fish and he eats today - Teach a man to fish and he eats the rest of his life.” This seminar is the first event of its kind as we strive to enhance our mercy ministry with education. As we help families become more self sustainable we want to combat poverty in our storm ravaged community. We look to host events like this in the Mercy House on a regular basis.

Thank you for remembering us in prayer and supporting the ministry God continues here on the gulf coast.

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Last week folks from Tennessee helped us move a lot of dirt. this week a big team from Kansas picked up where they left off. Lord willing, one day we will have this place cleaned up, landscaped, and looking good…. one day.

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The most compassionate and loving thing you can do for any person is to lead them into eternal life and joy through faith in Christ. To feed, clothe, heal, house, and educate a person without a view to their being converted to Christ is not truly loving, any more than merely giving a person pain killers for their fever is when you could offer them the antibiotic that would take the infection away. Therefore feeding, clothing, healing, housing, and educating are good, but they become truly loving as part of a call to repentance and faith in Christ. So evangelism and world missions are the centerpiece of the mission of a compassionate church.

- John Piper

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Hancock County has been laying water supply pipe in our area. The contractor has granted us some of the resulting dirt fill to use in preparation for our new parking lot along Second Street.

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Our volunteers from New York partnered with some Amish guys from Pennsylvania and constructed the floor, walls, and roof of another new home last week. This one sits about 14′ above grade on the bayou in Waveland.

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We had some great crews here this week from Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Alabama; about 80 folks in all. The St Clair Baptist Association Disaster Relief team built the railings on the front of the Mercy House and did a great job.

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If you made a donation to Lakeshore Baptist Church last year, you should have received a year-end contribution receipt by now. If you have not, please let us know and we will get one to you asap.

In the mail out, I took the opportunity to include a 2009 update letter, recapping the progress of the year and looking forward to the future. I know many of you contributed to the efforts here through your local church and those finances were forwarded to us. In that case, you did not receive a letter from us, so let me include the update here for everyone.

Dear friend and partner of Rebuild Lakeshore,

Almost four and a half years ago Hurricane Katrina slammed into the gulf coast and devastated the small community of Lakeshore MS. Early optimistic estimates predicted 5-10 years of rebuilding and recovery. As Lakeshore Baptist Church approaches that 5 year mark, we see that we still have a long long road ahead. We could not have made it this far without financial partners, like you, who have stood along side of us as we minister help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ to our storm ravaged community. We praise God for your long term commitment to the cause and we continue to pray for God’s sustaining grace to press on.

Last year, 2009, rebuilding ministry in the community moved forward as we hosted 172 churches or groups and approximately 2,300 volunteers. With your help, several families finally moved back into their homes. We also began building permanent structures on the Lakeshore Baptist Church property to facilitate ministry for years to come. This time last year God gave us the vision for the first two buildings, a housing facility for volunteers and a building to accommodate our long-term mercy ministry.

The Bunk House nears completion. Sleeping 38 people the building is equipped with restrooms and showers. The raised 1,500 square foot structure sits approximately 10′ above grade. The screened in lower level provides a spacious multi-functional area. Your church can help fund this project by sponsoring one of the 33 pilings for $1,500. Each piling will carry a plaque with the name of the sponsoring church, giving a wonderful testimony to God’s people from across the country helping in this great hour of need. Please talk to your church leadership about this possibility. I would love for your church name to grace one of the wood columns supporting the building.

The second building we began this past year, The Mercy House, will serve our ongoing mercy ministry. The lower level will provide storage for goods, such as food, clothing, and household items, distributed to those in need. A large multi-purpose area on the second level will allow for a variety of gatherings, such as Bible studies, financial management classes, small groups, seminars, and various activities associated with the growing mercy ministry. You can contribute and help see this project to completion by putting “The Mercy House” in the memo line and making checks payable to:

Lakeshore Baptist Church
6028 Lakeshore Road
Bay St. Louis MS 39520

We also depend on un designated gifts to cover the regular costs of electricity, propane, sewer, garbage pick-up, phone, intenret access, gasoline, vehicle insurance, maintenance, staff support, office supplies, etc. Please consider making a one time gift to kick-start 2010, and/or a monthly financial commitment toward the ministry here.
Keep us in your prayers and check up on the progress online at http://rebuildlakeshore.com. Thank you so much for being a part of the work God continues to accomplish on the gulf coast to the praise of his name.

By grace alone,

Pastor Don A. Elbourne Jr.

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