The Olson Zoo Weblog

Last night I was reading a story to Laura called “The Fox’s Story”. It’s narrated by a fox who recounts his tale of witnessing the angels’ announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, and his subsequent visit to see the Baby Jesus.

At the end of the story, when the fox is looking at the Baby, I tried to explain to Laura that Jesus is the king of the whole world, and isn’t that amazing? Well, that required an explanation of what a king is. I explained that a king is the boss, so that meant Jesus was the boss of the whole world.

After that sank in for a while, Laura noted that “Baby Jesus had a belly button, because he was born.”

“Yes,” I said, “that’s right, everybody who was been born has a belly button.”

But then Laura said, “Only one person doesn’t have a belly button.”

“Oh, who’s that?” I asked.

“God doesn’t have a belly button, because he wasn’t born,” Laura replied.

And that, my friends, is some pretty decent theology from a three-year-old!

We’re continuing to pray for our friends John & Wendy Gerhardt and their ministry in New Orleans, Urban Impact Ministries.

News seems to be encouraging…several of the UIM staff have returned to the city and they are making plans to rebuild and restore their neighborhood, and so help to bring hope to a situation that often seems hopeless. For more up to date information, go to their website and look for the “Evacuation Journal” link.

Yesterday in our Adult Bible Fellowship, our teacher Alan Peterson was going over the doctrinal statement of the Evangelical Free Church, our denomination. When we got to point #12 (”We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead; of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.”), Alan read the following passage from Revelation 21:1-4:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Reading this again reminded me of how much I look forward to eternity with God. This life now is great (well, most of the time!), and we have important work here to do, but there is so much more awaiting us on the other side, and that’s exciting!

Here are some more of the entries from Urban Impact’s evacuation journal. We are still praying for John & Wendy Gerhardt as they continue to be displaced in Hot Springs, Arkansas, waiting to be able to return to their ministry in New Orleans.

Tueday. September13:

Several of those who evacuated with us have left to join family in other parts of the country. While we will miss not having them here with us, it is important for family to be together in these difficult days.

We finally got phones hooked up in our office today!!!! The office number is 501-922-6820 and the fax number is 501-922-6821.

Monday, September12:

We are beginning to see a pattern develop that may resemble a more normal life. The kids are all in school and seem to be adjusting for the most part. The adults have been into Hot Springs to the Red Cross shelter to sign up for whatever assistance is available. The UIM/CRCC staff has been shuttling them here and there so that important paperwork can be filled out.

We are still investigating employment options for many of the adults. A few have found jobs - some are waiting to interview.

Scott Lundeen, Michael Robinson, Tyrone Christoph, and Neil Baumgardner left late last night to return to New Orleans. They will be bringing back a couple of vehicles as well as some office equipment from Castle Rock. Scott and Michael will continue to work the necessary channels to put us at the forefront of going back to rebuild our neighborhood.

(more…)

We got this message from John Gerhardt today:

Dear Friends,

Please excuse the “canned” response but I have been receiving so many emails
that need some type of response that can’t begin to answer each one
personally at this time. When life begins its “new” normal, I hope to be
able to get a personal note to each of you. I choose to send this to all of
you, so if you have heard it before please bear with me.

The verse that keeps ringing in my head is Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded
you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” We are tired, we
are strained but we are not crushed. God graciously has brought 73 of us
out of New Orleans.

As of Monday, we should have all of our people in “permanent” temporary
housing. Our new office will be open on Tuesday with phone service soon to
follow. Parents will be visiting the local school district on Tuesday to
see if it is a good fit for their kids. People will be looking for jobs
next week. Our goal is bring our people back to “normal” the best we can.
We have other members of our church and ministry that are in need. We will
bring families here who are separated back together the best we can. Others
we will network with y’all to help them through this crisis with housing,
food, clothes and funds. Scott and Melanie Lundeen is as close to NO as
they can get with Food for the Hungry to see what we can do now and possibly
develop a partnership with them.

We see a threefold mission:
1. Bring RELIEF and comfort now
2. RESTORE people to normal, keep our church community together so that
we can return ready to rebuild.
3. REBUILD: RETURN TO NEW ORLEANS to help rebuild and restore our
neighborhood.

Our biggest current need is for cash as we minister to 73 people, coordinate
help for others scattered through out the south and reestablish the ministry
(open an office, make payroll, rebuild our infrastructure) The best place
to go is our web site www.urbanimpact.org and click on our Hurricane Update
link.

(more…)

As reported earlier, our friends John & Wendy Gerhardt of Urban Impact Ministries in New Orleans have evacuated to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where they and about 70 others from their church are being hosted by an EFCA church there.

Urban Impact has an evacuation journal on their website. Here are the recent entries:

Evacuation Journal
Welcome to the evacuation experience! We will chronicle our trip here.

Thursday, September 1: Continued activies for kids and families– this time back to community center for basketball, mini-golf, tennis, swings, spelling bee, etc. Staff and evacuation team working hard to address individual needs ranging from medicine to clothing; many continue to try reach family and friends - always a huge relief when someone gets through. We are working with Village Bible Church to find long-term housing, job, and education options for families. May start kids at local school. As always, evening meal and meeting at the church.

Wednesday, August 31: Like you, we are continuing to realize the staggering implications of this storm for our city. We went swimming at a nearby beach; families had a great time. In the evening we joined Village Bible Church for their Wednesday night Bible study. The pastor shared 2 Chronicles 20 with us — Jehoshaphat’s response to an overwhelming report. During prayer time, members of our group came forward to light candles for individuals they were thinking and worried about back home — the flood to the stage was sobering.

Tuesday, August 30: As reports continued to pour in about the destruction in New Orleans, we gave kids a chance to play at the Boys and Girls Club and we all took a trip into Hot Springs in the afternoon. All of this, and of course all of the hosting and meals, has been coordinated by the people of Village Bible Church. They have been incredible. Meal, meeting, and prayer at night.

Monday, August 29: We met for supper and a meeting after spending our days with our host families. For the first time we were abld to see and hear reports after the storm, bringing concern for family and friends.

Sunday, August 28: After breakfast, we had a meeting and then a church service with a message from John Perkins. After a sandwich lunch we began preparing to leave and were out of Jackson by 5:00. Most drivers were going on 2 hours of sleep or less. We arrived in Hot Springs Village at about 2:00 am and divided our now-67 people into host homes.

Saturday, August 27: After realizing the potential severity of the upcoming storm, we prepared our facilities, called church families, and evacuated the city that night at 12:30 am. We arrived in Jackson, Mississippi about 4:00 and stayed with John Perkins and his ministry center.

Please continue to pray for the Gerhardts and for everyone else affected by this disaster. For information on how to help them, go to their News page.

Here are some prayer requests from John & Wendy Gerhardt, friends and inner-city missionaries that we support from New Orleans. This was in our church’s weekly prayer guide:

Praise the Lord that John & Wendy, their children, and 66 people from their church in New Orleans were able to reach the Village Bible Free Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and they are safe. They praise the Lord that they have been able to temporarily stay in the homes of the people at Village Bible Church.

Please pray:
• For God’s protection upon the church members who would not leave New Orleans. Their safety is a big concern for John and the church.
• That they will be able to find town homes to rent, as they plan to stay in Hot Springs for at least a month.
• For John and his staff as they work to continue the church, school, ministry, and payroll from their location in Hot Springs.
• For the staff who do not have insurance. They have lost everything. Praise the Lord that John & Wendy are insured.
• For a coordinator to organize future work teams to help them rebuild over the next six months.
• If you would like to help John & Wendy financially, you can write a check to First Evangelical Free Church and mark your offering: Urban Impact Hurricane Relief (until September 11). We plan to send them one large check from our church on September 12.
For further information, they now have a hurricane page on their website at www.urbanimpact.org.

Here’s a picture of the Gerhardts from 2002:

We continue to pray for our friends John & Wendy Gerhardt in New Orleans. I got this email from the EFCA that gives more information about how their ministry (Urban Impact Ministries) was affected by Katrina and what their current needs are.

August 29, 2005

RELIEF FOR HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIMS

Late on the evening of August 28, the staff of Urban Impact Ministries located in New Orleans, along with many others from their immediate community traveled to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas to escape the impending hurricane. Approximately 71 refugees are being housed by the Evangelical Free Church community in Hot Springs Village. For these individuals, the future is unknown at this point as we await the outcome of the storm.

EFCA Compassion Ministries is coordinating a response from EFCA churches to the needs developing out of this disaster. The focus is to use this crisis as an opportunity to minister both to our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as to those affected by this disaster through EFCA ministries in the effected area.

Please go to www.efca.org for information on changes as they occur in addition to information on our relief response. We ask you to pray at this time for the Lord to use this as His tool to break into the hearts of those who have not yet turned to Him. Pray for the safety of those engaged in first-wave response efforts, and for wisdom and guidance as we do all we can to minister to those in need.

Donations to assist with the many needs stemming from this crisis may be sent to:
EFCA
Hurricane Katrina
901 E. 78th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300
Please indicate Hurricane Katrina Assistance 21709-3967 in the memo line.

Individuals can also make a secure online donation using a credit card by clicking here:
https://fusion.efca.org/giving/?designation=Hurricane%20Katrina%20Assistance%2021709-3967

You may also call our donor services team at (800) 745-2202.

Thank you for your generosity and compassion as we seek to help in Christ’s name those in need!

Serving Him,
William J. Hamel
President
Evangelical Free Church of America

With the news that Hurricane Katrina is bearing down on New Orleans, our prayers go out to all those affected. We especially want to pray for John & Wendy Gerhardt, friends and urban missionaries in Naw’lins.