Below is a testimony of my own.
My Time In Biloxi
In January of 2006 I went down to Biloxi Mississippi to help with the hurricane relief effort going on down there.
It was amazing.
Devastation there was like nothing seen on tv.
The closest example I can bring to mind for why that is was years ago when I went to Canyon of the Black Gunnison.
I took what I thought were fabulous pictures of fabulous places.
A canyon jutted down below and I was going “click”.
Then the pictures were developed, and to my surprise I saw their limitation.
They couldn’t show you what was below. All you saw was the flat surface. You didn’t see depths.
That is like what Going to a place such as Biloxi that was devestated by the hurricane is like, compared to just witnessing it on tv.
You know how movies that seem so real are filmed in fake staged settings?
Well the “pictures” we see might as well be faked. They’re nothing like actually being there.
Trees everywhere. That’s what I most noticed. Brush in bushels. Scattered everywhere. No space to spare. Not in the woods. Every time I go hiking in the woods without a trail I seem to get lost.
Well there were a lot of trees tossed down there. But when would they be cleared away? At the time they were still wet from flooding, but what about when they were dry? Forest fire anyone?
It only goes to reason that working on the homes would be one of the top priorities. But do you know how long it takes to rebuild a house?
About as long as it takes to build one it seems to me.
The devastation was such that it was almost like you were building from scrap. Starting all over.
I volunteered for a few months with Habitat For Humanity, and I know how long it takes to build! No matter how hard we worked, the house was always delayed from its initial due date. Pushed back sometimes repeatedly.
We’re talking about devastation that will take years to get over. It’s been a good while since I was there, and I’m sure they’re still busy doing reconstruction work. Ask anyone in a place affected by the hurricane.
I'm not going to get into all that I saw in those short-yet-long 3 ½ days. (later entry anyone?) However, being down there is what convinced me that God indeed does answer prayers.
We had been on someone’s land clearing brush. We’re talking several acres here. No small job.
We left when suddenly someone realized they had left their glasses behind! They must have fallen off. So we returned back to the spot.
But could we find them?
A dozen of us going through a big field to find someone’s glasses? The person who would most know where they had dropped not much of a help because they couldn’t see?
We knew it was hopeless.
Yet I got the distinct feeling as we started spreading out on our search that I would find them. I had no doubt.
We searched for maybe half an a hour. And finally gave up.
And I hadn’t found the glasses. It seems I had been wrong.
People started pulling out, heading back to the car. I stoped to pick up a piece of trash and there it was.
The glasses.
I ended up finding them after all. At the last possible minute.
I should probably mention that a few minutes before I found them I prayed to God. Letting him know that this was going to affect whether I believed in prayer. . .or not. I’m glad he came through
I’m not suggesting you should test God. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I had gone out there planning to decide then and there whether I believed in prayer. Things just happened. . .one thing led to another.
But I’m glad they happened the way they did.
When we flew back to town, we had a Testimony of Prayer. We delivered it to the congregation.
They had a story,
I had belief.
The people were helped,
I was helped,
We were helped.
Have you had an answered Prayer?
Chatboard (5)