Happenings of the Simple Fool: Hurricane Sandy Relief

As many of you know the missionaries here at the Relief Bus went down to Haiti. I had every intention of writing about all that God had done on this trip, but mother nature had other plans. While we were down in Haiti Hurricane Sandy was ripping my home state apart. Due to the storm our stay down in Haiti had to be extended three days. But as soon as we got back we at the Relief Bus immediately started doing what we do best: bring relief.
Even before we landed back on U.S. soil there was a tremendous outpouring of donations to our organization. Due to the massive backups at the airports we all had to go home in different flights out of Haiti. Unfortunately I was in the last wave and didn't get home till midnight on Friday after the storm. But others who came back earlier immediately went to do relief work in Staten Island on Saturday after the storm! That next week our staff ran an additional 6 outreaches to those neighborhoods hit hardest in addition to our 11 outreaches we run weekly. We were able to partner with organizations like FEMA and distribute hot food while they gave out dry goods and blankets. I was on Coney Island one day and partnered up with a tenant association for a project building that had lost power for over a week. Just a few days ago I was in the South Bronx visiting one of our partnering rehabs and they were desperate for blankets, as many as we could provide. All over the city there were literally thousands of seniors in buildings stuck on the upper floors with no heat or electricity for over ten days. The overall need was beyond astounding.
Although the "relief" work is starting to wind down the rebuilding has a long way to go. As many of you know who live in the tri-state area the estimated cost is well into the billions. And there are some urban neighborhoods that still have no power two weeks after the storm! We are still doing our best to get into these areas where there is remains a tremendous amount of need.
Please continue to pray for NYC and NJ as we continue to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Please pray for our staff as we are stretched pretty thin between running our hurricane relief outreaches in addition to our regular outreaches. Also pray for April and I! In the midst of all this craziness we are set to get married in a little over a month!
Grace and Peace to You All....
Lance