Dear Friends and
Family,
It is with great gratitude that I write to all of you this much delayed
update. Our most recent event was a near direct hit from Cat. 3 hurricane
Irene. We can now say we have been through a major hurricane on Long
Island and lived to tell of it. There has been a lot more going on, but
the storm and it's good results happened to jump to center stage. I hope
to send another report soon with a retrospective look over the summer.
Initially we were praying the storm would miss us, but as neared, we
all began to sense in our spirits the Lord saying, "I am going to let
you go through this one to show how I can take care of you." The
truth is, sometimes Jesus waits two days to go to Lazarus in order that
the situation can go from bad to worst. This is in order that the Father
may gain maximum glory from the way He delivers from the worst case
scenario.
As we spent the night listening to the 120 + mph winds lashing the
house, I thanked my God over and over for every dollar and every loving
hand that was given to build this house--and to build it so well. It
weathered the storm like a bunker, and although we could feel it shudder a
bit on some of the stronger gusts, we never felt afraid--even the girls
were not afraid in the least. The house came through with nothing but a
very few shingles lost. The training school did equally well.
As the night
wore on, and we could hear the wind only intensifying for hour after hour,
we were, needless to say, very concerned about "More Beyond".
The boat was riding out the storm on the new mooring that Riverside
Assembly helped us put in. The most dreadful part was that the wind had
veered to the worst possible direction--WSW and stayed in that quarter for
over 7 hrs at major hurricane strength. This meant that the boat was
exposed to the full force of the storm coming over the full fetch of the
open Bahama Banks side.
As the gray hours of the pre-dawn came on, I
anxiously peered through the mist and the spindrift, and to my utter
relief, I could just make out the shape of a mast bobbing and swaying
where it ought to be. All the local mariners have expressed their utter
amazement over God's care for us and the way "More Beyond"
weathered the storm. What is even more amazing is that, when I went
aboard, there was no chafe on any of the five bridle lines that I had
securing the boat--this despite the fact that the chafing gear had
stretched forward and aft of the critical area and left some of the lines
exposed!
The Islanders I have spoken to about the storm says it was the worst
they have ever been through--and there have been some bad ones here!
Although many people suffered greater damage that we did, the amount of
damage is far less than could have been expected, and there was no loss of
life. God was gracious.
The Lord has used the Storm to mobilize our fellowship into an ongoing
series of local mission outreaches. The Lord had been molding us into a
tightly nit prayer movement for the island. We have been meeting together
every day for prayer for well over a year now, and the Holy Spirit is
drawing us very close. Now this same team is joyously working shoulder to
shoulder as the Body of Christ to launch out into the community with a
wave of compassion. To date, we have been able to do five different
outreaches together.
One of these projects was to replace a widow's badly
damaged and leaking roof. This was Mrs. Mortimer in the deep south whom
many of you have helped us minister to in the past. We are continuing to
have opportunity from the storm, and we are taking advantage of it to the
Glory of the Lord.
Yesterday, as we were working on another elderly
widow's roof named Mrs. Major, a truck came through with roofing materials
sent from NEMA for disaster relief. The men on the truck had Mrs. Major's
name on a list for distribution, however it was up to their discretion as
to what to give her. The men seemed reluctant to give her much of
anything, but because we happened to be there at that moment, Pastor James
was able to advocate for her need. The result was that the men gave her
enough plywood, tar paper, and shingles to replace her entire roof which
is in bad need of repair. God so ordained it that we happened to be
finishing up our patch job on her roof at just the right moment for these
men to arrive, and now we are committed to return next week and fix the
entire roof. So the Lord is causing this to happen, and as we are simply
following His lead, we find this wave of compassion continuing to roll and
grow.-- This is what we have been praying for--a missions heart rising up
in the islanders--God is doing it, and He is using a "worst case
scenario" to bring it all about!
We so appreciate you. We just can't tell you how much your prayers and
support mean to us. Please continue to pray that our fellowship will be
able to do every assignment the Lord sends us, and that this work will
grow and bear much fruit for the Kingdom. We are only the fine leading
edge of an instrument in God's hand. You are the mass behind the edge that
helps make it effective. We share this joy with you because it is your
work too! Thank you.
Grace and Peace,
Reuben, Deb, Rachel, and Stella
