Grand Lake Trip 4 took place Saturday, October 24th. It was an amazing day of connecting with our brothers and sisters in SW Louisiana. Many faces we had seen before and many new relationships were made on this trek. Our Father provided the perfect lower 70s degree weather and everyone made it there and back, safely. We served lunch to ~650 people at GLFT, delivered four loaded pick-up trucks of supplies to GLCC, and made a meaningful dent in the overall clean-up effort. Best of all, we got to circle up and pray with some amazing people that have endured hardship over the last two months that many of us can’t even imagine. Special thanks to our Debris Crew Leader, David Marshall (Kingsmen), FooD Crew Leader – Heather Palmer (Paul Palmer – MIA – wife), and Safety Coordinator (Mike Suerth – UFC) for all their leadership and sacrifice to make this day of work really make a difference.
We continue to be inspired by the strength, patience, joy, and resiliency of this Grand Lake community – specifically in the Grand Lake Faith Temple and Grand Lake Community Church families. Clearly, the Holy Spirit is thriving in their hearts and lives as they keep plowing forward to slight improvement every day. There’s still a long way to go, but we were “fed” by their determination to press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus – Philippians 3:14.

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” – Hebrews 13:16

Hello, FinD Relief 4 Team!
This will be the final update prior to meeting tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM at MDUMC. We will gather and pray and then loosely caravan to Buc-Ees Baytown and then to Grand Lake Faith Temple. It will be 67 degrees tomorrow when we meet (ahhhh!) and it shouldn’t get above 73 degrees while we’re in Grand Lake (hoorah!).

Don’t forget to pack your own lunch or plan to get something at Buc-Ees.
Do pack your own small cooler of beverages or get some at Buc-Ees (note recurring theme).
Please complete the waiver TONIGHT if you haven’t done it yet. CLICK HERE
All other details in my novel below.
That’s it. Hydrate (with water!) tonight and get some good rest. Excited about tomorrow. #KingdomWork

YBIC,
Clint

Hello everyone! If you have registered to join the FinD Relief project in Grand Lake, LA this Saturday, October 24th, thank you for sacrificing one of your Fall Saturdays to make a difference in people’s lives in SW Louisiana!

All of the details for the trip on Saturday are below.

Rendezvous Points:

Meet at MDUMC (Memorial Drive United Methodist Church – 12955 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079 – MAP LINK). It’s the church on Memorial that has the big annual pumpkin patch. We will gather in the parking lot at 6:30 AM on Saturday to rally, PRAY and then caravan. Leave no later than 6:45 AM. From there, we will make a 15 minute stop at Buc-Ees in Baytown (4080 East Fwy, Baytown, TX 77521 – MAP LINK) for lunch and snacks for later, waters, ice, and fuel. On our prior trips we found that most gas stations were not open for business near Grand Lake, LA. Then, set your GPS destination for Grand Lake Faith Temple (655 LA-384, Lake Charles, LA 70607 – MAP LINK). We should arrive around 9:45 AM. I-10 has had some closures on some of our past trips, so be sure to check Waze or Google Maps right when you depart for potential detours. If you choose to go on your own, please plan to be at Grand Lake Faith Temple (GLFT) no later than 9:45 AM.

When we Arrive:

Our collective goal is to arrive by 9:45 AM to 10:00 AM at GLFT. They have two parking lots. The larger, first parking lot is where you want to park. The second lot is where GLFT sets up the food delivery circle drive. It’s behind the church and will have pop up tents, etc. It should be pretty obvious. Until all of us arrive, just introduce yourselves to as many people as you can. The Senior Pastor is Kris Howerton. They all know we’re coming and are very kind folks. Sometimes there are other church groups there also helping out, too. A few of us will be dropping off supplies in our trucks to another nearby church called Grand Lake Community Church (GLCC). We will then head back over to GLFT or the selected work site.

Crew Deployment:

Pastor Howerton will deploy the Debris Crew to specific sites within a few miles of GLFT. As we finish at one site, we’ll move onto the next. The Food Crew will stay at GLFT and plug in wherever possible. You will be coming alongside local congregation members to package lunch meals and then deliver them to each car that comes through. There will be plenty of times that you are standing around wondering what to do. That’s okay. Your presence, smile, conversation and prayer with people there will bring incredible hope and energy. Pastor Howerton said there are other similar opportunities nearby that may be short on manpower, so we can migrate some of our Food Crew to another nearby location if necessary.

Team Leaders:
FinD Exec Director: Clint Harrington
Debris Crew: David Marshall
Food Crew: Heather Palmer
GLFT Pastor: Kris Howerton
FinD Ministry Coordinator – Amy Harrington

What Everyone Should Bring:

FOOD SERVICE CREW: face mask, cap, and a big smile
DEBRIS CREW: steel toed boots, work gloves, sunscreen, bug spray, chainsaw oil & gas (if you’re bringing a chainsaw), first aid kit (if you have one), eye protection, and Advil for the trip home.
EVERYONE: each car should have at least one cooler of waters and/or soft drinks to stay hydrated throughout the day. Rely on your own food and beverage. The meals at GLFT are intended for locals in need, not us.
What to Wear:

Every FinD member should wear their FinD shirt and/or FinD cap. We will also try to bring the extras shirts/caps we have to the MDUMC lot and then also to GLFT. We plan to take a large group photo at the beginning and end of the day (10:00 AM and 4:30 PM). The weather forecast remains excellent for Saturday – partly cloudy and a high of 79 degrees. Less than 10% chance of rain.

Safety:

It goes without saying that if 1) you have traveled outside the U.S in the last 30 days, 2) had any fever in the last 48 hours before the event, 3) have any shortness of breath, or 4) have been exposed directly to someone who has tested positive for COVID 19, you should kindly unregister from this event. No one will ask any questions and will respect your decision. Also, the Debris Crew will be using large chain saws and we have also rented a skid steer (like a bobcat tractor to haul bigger loads). People need to stay constantly alert and use LOUD voices around one another to make their presence known. On our last trip, we had a designated Safety Coordinator (thanks, Mike Suerth) who regularly “froze” us and made a safety announcement when we started getting careless. We are grateful that Mike will serve in this role again on this trip. Use common sense. Know your limits. We cannot re-landscape all of SW Louisiana in one day.

Waivers: * CURRENT ACTION ITEM *

Please click on the following link to complete our FinD, Inc. Hold Harmless Waiver. CLICK HERE This needs to be completed BEFORE you participate alongside FinD this Saturday. It will take you all of 15 seconds to complete, it’s paperless, and very user friendly.

Can I Bring Family Members or Non-FinD Friends?

Heck yeah! We need all the help we can get, but, we need focused volunteers who aren’t having to babysit younger folks. Attendees should be old enough to know how to work hard and act appropriately around hurricane damage victims that are running low on emotional strength.

When Will We Finish?

Volunteers can come and go when they please. We ask that at a minimum people come from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. FinD men are asked to come in the caravan and stay until late afternoon – around 4:30 or 5:00 PM.

Bonus Opportunity

On our way out of town, I need about 8 men to stop at a house in Lake Charles that’s right on the way back to Houston. We have a specific request to move a felled patio roof from the back of a residence to the front haul off area along the street. I’m not sure how heavy the roof is (aluminum, probably 15’ x 25’ ish from what I can tell in the picture). If anyone has a SAW ZAW, could you please let me know?? This could be a very quick job, but if it’s heavy, we’ll need manpower. The home owner is Eric Jones.

What have we missed here? Any further questions for now? Just let me know via direct message, not Reply to All! 😊

Thanks again to all of you for sacrificing a Saturday to give back to our neighbors in need. I’ll never forget what it was like to see thousands of Cajun Navy relief crews coming down I-10 to help us out in the Harvey aftermath.

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” – Hebrews 13:16


YBIC,
Clint

Many of you have been asking when we’re going back to help our neighbors in need in Southwest Louisiana. Some of you made the last trip, and want to go back. Some of you missed the last one, and don’t want to miss the next one.

So we are making our next run to the Grand Lakes, LA community on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24th. We will meet again at 6:30 AM at the MDUMC Parking Lot for those who want to caravan. We will work until about 4:30 PM and then head back. Stop at Buc-Ees in Baytown for snacks/lunch/beverages for later. There’s a role for everyone that can come, but please make sure kids are old enough that you are not having to babysit them.

To register, follow the SignUpGenius link:

Want to purchase and donate relief supplies?: AMAZON WISH LIST

Stay tuned to the regularly updated “FinD HURRICANE RELIEF” info page for any changing details.

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” – Hebrews 13:16

All details will continue to be updated for Saturday’s logistics on this page. Please periodically check this page between now and Saturday morning.

Rendezvous Point:

Meet at MDUMC (Memorial Drive United Methodist Church – 12955 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079) – CLICK HERE FOR MDUMC MAP. It’s the big church on Memorial that has the big annual pumpkin patch. We will gather in the parking lot at 7:00 AM on Saturday to rally and caravan. Distribute loads between trucks/cars if necessary. Leave no later than 7:15 AM. Drive takes about 2.5 hours without stops. One-stop at Buc-Ees in Baytown for ice, snacks, and fuel. Most gas stations are not open for business near Grand Lake (or at least they weren’t when we were there last Saturday). Set GPS destination for Grand Lake Faith Temple (655 LA-384, Lake Charles, LA 70607) — CLICK HERE FOR GRAND LAKE FAITH TEMPLE MAP

Wear FinD Gear:

Every FinD member should wear their FinD shirt and/or FinD cap. We will try to bring the extras we have to the MDUMC lot and then to Grand Lakes. If you need a larger or smaller size, we should have them. We will certainly take a large group photo at some point – probably when we all gather for lunch or at the end of the day.

We Still Need These Items:

Coolers with name label (the big 94-quart and larger marine sized coolers are best) – drop off at the Harrington’s (13914 Queensbury Lane, Houston, TX 77079) no later than this Friday at 12:00 Noon
Pop Up Tents
Folding Chairs
Chainsaws
First Aid Kits for Each DEBRIS CREW Team
One Ladder for each DEBRIS CREW Team
What Everyone Should Bring:

FOOD SERVICE CREW: masks, cap, and FinD gear
DEBRIS CREW: steel toed boots, work gloves, hammer to nail down tarps, your own water, sunscreen, bug spray, chainsaw oil and fuel if you bring chainsaw, eye protection, and FinD gear
Can I Bring Family Members or Non-FinD Friends?

Heck yeah! We need all the help we can get. but, we need volunteers focused, not playing or babysitting those that are playing. Attendees should be old enough (high school or older) to know how to work hard and act appropriately around people that are running low on fumes. Keep in mind this rural community hasn’t had power in very hot temps since August 27th

When Will We Finish?

Volunteers can come and go when they please. We ask that at a minimum people come from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. FinD men are asked to come in the caravan and stay until late afternoon – around 4:30 or 5:00 PM.

We have an opportunity to make a huge impact on a small community in Southwest Louisiana that was devastated by Hurricane Laura. This community called Grand Lake in Northern Cameron Parish (just 2.5 hours east of Houston) is not getting the attention of the larger areas like Lake Charles. FinD has already sent two supply caravans to Grand Lake Community Church. We are also working with Grand Lake Faith Temple. The pastor there has asked us if we could mobilize volunteers to help five (5) of the community’s families get back on their feet by removing debris and making some repairs.

4 Ways to Participate:

Donate food, serving supplies or $$ (planning a massive pulled pork bbq feast for around 750 people)
Volunteer to help cook / prepare food on Thursday or Friday (we will just heat up most of it on Saturday)
Lend your trailer or equipment (i.e. generator, chainsaws, etc.) for the crew to take for the day
Come to Grand Lake on Saturday to help these families – either serving food or clearing debris. THIS IS WHERE WE NEED YOU MOST!!
Will you signup to help us?

FinD finished Round 2 of our Hurricane Laura relief efforts, yesterday. Earlier in the week, David Marshall (Kingsmen) and Mike Suerth (UFC) transported a truck and 14’ trailer filled with supplies generously donated or funded by FinD members. We made another run, yesterday with two trucks filled to the brim with items purchased with your generous donations … employees at Costco, Walmart, and DollarTree were freaking out and we had one employee pull $10 out of her pocket to help the cause.

On the first run, it became clear that the Lake Charles area had abundant supplies and attention (by media and service organizations), but the small surrounding rural communities were not forgotten, but certainly not as well supported. So, when the Holy Spirit led us to Grand Lake Community Church (“GLCC”), a small, rural congregation between Lake Charles and Cameron, we knew we found the place where our aid was most needed and would be best utilized.

On Saturday (9/13/2020), we returned to GLCC with supplies (and FinD wives to connect with the women) and helped them install some much-needed portable air conditioning units, which are running on generator power. After this second round of relief recon, we are gearing up for another run on Saturday September 19th, to bring more supplies (including specific requests and items on the Amazon Wishlist) and provide a meal to the community, at large, which may involve dragging a trailer, tents, and tables out there for serving.

We greatly appreciate your generous support. The Amazon Wishlist is continuously updated, and we also provide a great impact by purchasing specific items requested by our contacts at GLCC. Donations directly to FinD for Hurricane Laura Relief will be earmarked (please note Hurricane Laura in the comments) for Hurricane Laura relief efforts. In addition, you can purchase supplies through our FinD Hurricane Laura Relief – Amazon Wishlist, which is being regularly updated based on expressed needs.