Well, after running every test imaginable on her heart and head the good news is that everything is normal! The bad news is that we still have no idea what is causing these fainting spells and the mental after-effects. I feel like we keep mopping up the water but we never can find the pipe that's leaking! If we could just find the leak then we may be able to define a plan to either correct it or mitigate it.
This feels like a faith-building exercise but that is one thing that I haven't prayed for lately. During the first few days of this, Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn't make the time for my Bible study and prayer. Since then, I realized that I really needed to make the time and the effect has been dramatic in my own heart and mind.
We're having to make some decisions about how best to proceed and it looks likely that she will move from an "independent living" situation to an "assisted living" situation within her retirement home. The ability for her home to offer both situations in one facility was a key when we selected it. Now, years later, it looks like it's time to utilize that availability.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Nurses make all the difference
Mamaw had a C/T scan, an MRI, an echo- of her heart, and a sono- of her carotid arteries. We're still waiting to hear the results of these tests and we are hoping that tomorrow will be a very educational day.
One interesting item of note is that her symptoms that led to an early diagnosis of stroke are improving. That said, her cognitive ability is still lacking. We are now just waiting and praying. I’ll post more when we know more.
My wife and I learned one thing that has stuck with us and it was reinforced strongly today -- nurses are highly under-rated! Every hospital stay, ER visit, and major doctor appointment just reinforces that belief. We had a nurse in training today and she did all of the basic things correctly but her "bedside manner" and professionalism were greatly lacking. The quality of the nursing makes the biggest difference in any hospital visit and nurses are the defining group in a hospital.
A prime example of this is in childbirth, you may be in the labor room for hours and hours but the OB is likely only in the room with you for 1-2 hours tops. I don’t mean by this to minimize the doctors input or importance (especially you Tim!) but merely to underscore the point that nurses are generally not given their due respect and place in this world.
One interesting item of note is that her symptoms that led to an early diagnosis of stroke are improving. That said, her cognitive ability is still lacking. We are now just waiting and praying. I’ll post more when we know more.
My wife and I learned one thing that has stuck with us and it was reinforced strongly today -- nurses are highly under-rated! Every hospital stay, ER visit, and major doctor appointment just reinforces that belief. We had a nurse in training today and she did all of the basic things correctly but her "bedside manner" and professionalism were greatly lacking. The quality of the nursing makes the biggest difference in any hospital visit and nurses are the defining group in a hospital.
A prime example of this is in childbirth, you may be in the labor room for hours and hours but the OB is likely only in the room with you for 1-2 hours tops. I don’t mean by this to minimize the doctors input or importance (especially you Tim!) but merely to underscore the point that nurses are generally not given their due respect and place in this world.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
One very special lady
My Mamaw (my mom's mom) has had a very rough few weeks. After a week of being more tired than usual and saying that she didn't feel like she was getting enough oxygen (she has asthma), she had two "fainting spells" this week. As I write this, I am sitting in the hospital watching over her. The doctor thinks that maybe she had a stroke since her mental capacity is diminished and she is tending to favor her right side. Further tests tomorrow will hopefully confirm or deny that diagnosis and give us a treatment plan. I sure love this lady and I am praying that this isn't a major hurdle for her.
Mamaw is 89 years young and a very independent lady. She lives in a retirement community near us and I am her primary care-giver. I am a part of those "sandwich" people who are raising kids and caring for parents/grandparents at the same time. We have been blessed that Mamaw's health has been very stable. She is in the "independent living" section of her community and doesn't need consistent help. We get her out of the retirement home on a pretty regular basis and it's great to see the kids love on her and see her love on them. It makes me very thankful that they will remember their Mamaw and how much she loves them even when they are grown and Mamaw is gone.
Her health challenges have mounted lately. She has made it successfully through a broken hip and a broken arm over the past few years and has suffered from these "fainting spells" since before those incidents. Mamaw has a wonderful spirit, is very active in caring for her health, and is truly a positive personality. The night that she broken her hip, she asked the doctor when he could fix her because "I'm tired of just sittin' in this bed" (after only 15 hours!). The physical therapist's loved working with her and several times they had to remind her to stop exercising so much or her muscles would be too sore. At her age, sometimes a broken hip can be the beginning of the end but she has really done quite well recovering. In the last year, she is often seen walking the halls of their retirement home after breakfast for exercise and that really keeps her going strong.
My wife and I are preparing to lead a Bible study on stress in marriage. Part of that study is a reminder that sometimes good things can also come from stress. One good thing that is a result of my current stress is that I have realized again how much I am thankful and grateful for my grandmother! It's so easy for me to take advantage of still having her around to love on me and my family! I take her for granted just like I take many wonderful things for granted (the ability to worship openly, the ability to live each day without fear of voilence to me or my family, the ability to take a hot shower, etc.). I am thankful that:
- she loves to read to my kids.
- she loves to spend time with us (even when all three kiddos are going bonkers and other people would run away).
- she can still tell me stories about when she was a little girl and about me when I was a boy (even though I may hear the same story over and over).
- she covers our family in prayer.
- she encourages our parenting on a regular basis and tells us how well we're doing.
- she sees qualities in our kids that we sometimes miss.
- she is always there with a good hug.
- she has a sweet smile and is such a welcoming person to everyone.
- she is genuinely happy to see us whenever we walk into her room (even if its unannounced and we're interupting her favorite tv show).
- she knows what is important and encourages me to focus on the important not the trivial.
- she helped to raise me to be the man/husband/father/believer that I am today.
- she hasn't stopped raising me.
- she inspired the name for my son Cooper (her maiden name) because of her tremendous impact on me.
- she continues to be an awesome blessing to me, my family, and many others.
- she can make me cry just by typing out this list.
- I can still type without having to see through the tears because my mom made me take a typing class in high school (that I refused to take until I realized how many girls were in the class).
Monday, September 18, 2006
Kids Money Sense
This was a great article that I received via e-mail from the Motley Fool. I could not find it on their Web site, so I have copied it in it's entirety here (so as not to violate their rights). Our own family has adopted many of the ideas expressed here like the piggy bank with several different sections, not paying for basic chores, and letting them help us make change or pay for things themselves.
Give Your Kids Money Sense: Preschool & Elementary
By Elizabeth Brokamp
Few parents who've seen the classic Staples back-to-school ad can forget it. It's the one with the parents dancing around with "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" playing in the background as their kids glumly shop for school supplies. It strikes a chord with all of us parents fatigued by a three-month stint of quality time with inquiring little minds. Finally, someone else will be around to answer all of little Johnny's questions.
But while our children's teachers will again share responsibility for teaching them to read and write, they won't do much to help our children develop basic financial literacy skills. Beyond simple addition and subtraction, there just isn't enough time in the school day to do it all.
So what's a caring and Foolish parent to do? Take your child's money-management education into your own hands, of course. Here's how.
It's important to remember how your kids think when it comes to money (or anything else). Most children are concrete thinkers who can demonstrate progressively organized and logical thought but have a limited ability to think abstractly. Translation: Preschool and elementary-aged kids will have trouble understanding abstract concepts like inflation, interest rates, and saving for a college education that is 12 years away.
That's why, when I told my 5-year-old that we couldn't buy the carnival-sized moon bounce at Costco because "we don't have enough money," he was worried that we wouldn't be able to buy food for dinner. To him, "no money" meant, quite literally, that our pockets were empty. I should have said, "We choose not to spend money on that so we have enough money for other things we need to buy."
Understanding the way your child thinks is the key to providing him or her with a quality education in money management. Here are some ways to help your literal thinker learn about money:
* Buy your preschooler a piggy bank and give him or her a stack of coins to put in it. Ask your child to sort the coins in a variety of different ways -- shiny versus dull, big versus little, pennies versus quarters. Know that he or she won't understand for many years that a dime (i.e., the smallest coin) is worth more than a nickel, because to your child, bigger means better. Supervise carefully, though, since preschoolers sometimes still like to test things in their mouths!
* Establish an allowance for your child so he or she can begin to make independent money decisions. Some folks will advocate linking the allowance to certain chores; I prefer establishing the basic chores (e.g., making the bed, cleaning your room, and setting the table) as something each person does because they are a cooperative part of a family. Otherwise, kids can tend to become hardened money-grubbers, countering a request to put their dishes in the sink with, "How much is it worth to you?" However, giving your child "extra" tasks (like washing windows or vacuuming) for which he or she can earn money can teach her the satisfaction that comes from working for a goal. Your child will also understand that the more work that's done, the more quarters he or she earns -- a valuable life lesson.
* Get your older child a specialized bank like the "Money-Savvy Pig," (educational activity book in PDF format) which has compartments for saving, spending, donating, and investing. Discussing the different ways you can choose to allocate your money will mean more when your child can see his or her allowance divvied up in four ways. (We use the My Giving Bank for our kids. Other resources for banks can be found in this Kiplinger's article.)
* Take your child on money-related "field trips" that show money in action. While places like the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., offer splashy tours and the opportunity to see how money is designed and printed, your local bank and grocery store can offer just as many teachable moments when it comes to money. Opening a savings account, touring a bank vault, using the coin-counting machine, comparing sticker prices, and paying for items and receiving change are a few everyday ways to learn about money.
* Encourage your child when he or she tries entrepreneurial ventures like lemonade stands, picking up sticks for the neighbors, or starting a dog-walking service. There's no substitute for learning on the job.
* Let your mouse do the walking. There are a host of wonderful websites (mostly geared for upper elementary students) that can help you teach your child about money management. Here are some: The U.S. Mint's Kids' Page. The U.S. Treasury's Resources for Kids. The PBS series Cyberchase.
For even more info, check out the JumpStart Coalition's list of resources.
Last, but not least, be mindful of how you talk about money. Do you complain about bills, fret about money, and always use negative terms about finances? Don't be surprised, then, if your sons and daughters feel negatively, too. If you need some financial refreshing of your own, make full use of your Motley Fool GreenLight subscription. Getting yourself on the right financial track is the best lesson of all for your kids.
So, parents, rejoice that it's back-to-school season, but remember that some lessons still start in the home. Managing money wisely is one of them.
This article is adapted from the Motley Fool GreenLight "Money Answers" archive, which features more than 100 articles on personal-finance topics from taxes to credit to beginning investing, organized by subject and life stage. For access to this content plus the current newsletter, back issues, members-only discussion boards, and advisor blogs, take a free 30-day trial to GreenLight today!
Fool contributor Elizabeth Brokamp writes a weekly column, "Ask Mrs. Riches," on money and relationships. Her charming other half is The Motley Fool's own Robert Brokamp (TMF Bro), editor of Rule Your Retirement.
Give Your Kids Money Sense: Preschool & Elementary
By Elizabeth Brokamp
Few parents who've seen the classic Staples back-to-school ad can forget it. It's the one with the parents dancing around with "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" playing in the background as their kids glumly shop for school supplies. It strikes a chord with all of us parents fatigued by a three-month stint of quality time with inquiring little minds. Finally, someone else will be around to answer all of little Johnny's questions.
But while our children's teachers will again share responsibility for teaching them to read and write, they won't do much to help our children develop basic financial literacy skills. Beyond simple addition and subtraction, there just isn't enough time in the school day to do it all.
So what's a caring and Foolish parent to do? Take your child's money-management education into your own hands, of course. Here's how.
It's important to remember how your kids think when it comes to money (or anything else). Most children are concrete thinkers who can demonstrate progressively organized and logical thought but have a limited ability to think abstractly. Translation: Preschool and elementary-aged kids will have trouble understanding abstract concepts like inflation, interest rates, and saving for a college education that is 12 years away.
That's why, when I told my 5-year-old that we couldn't buy the carnival-sized moon bounce at Costco because "we don't have enough money," he was worried that we wouldn't be able to buy food for dinner. To him, "no money" meant, quite literally, that our pockets were empty. I should have said, "We choose not to spend money on that so we have enough money for other things we need to buy."
Understanding the way your child thinks is the key to providing him or her with a quality education in money management. Here are some ways to help your literal thinker learn about money:
* Buy your preschooler a piggy bank and give him or her a stack of coins to put in it. Ask your child to sort the coins in a variety of different ways -- shiny versus dull, big versus little, pennies versus quarters. Know that he or she won't understand for many years that a dime (i.e., the smallest coin) is worth more than a nickel, because to your child, bigger means better. Supervise carefully, though, since preschoolers sometimes still like to test things in their mouths!
* Establish an allowance for your child so he or she can begin to make independent money decisions. Some folks will advocate linking the allowance to certain chores; I prefer establishing the basic chores (e.g., making the bed, cleaning your room, and setting the table) as something each person does because they are a cooperative part of a family. Otherwise, kids can tend to become hardened money-grubbers, countering a request to put their dishes in the sink with, "How much is it worth to you?" However, giving your child "extra" tasks (like washing windows or vacuuming) for which he or she can earn money can teach her the satisfaction that comes from working for a goal. Your child will also understand that the more work that's done, the more quarters he or she earns -- a valuable life lesson.
* Get your older child a specialized bank like the "Money-Savvy Pig," (educational activity book in PDF format) which has compartments for saving, spending, donating, and investing. Discussing the different ways you can choose to allocate your money will mean more when your child can see his or her allowance divvied up in four ways. (We use the My Giving Bank for our kids. Other resources for banks can be found in this Kiplinger's article.)
* Take your child on money-related "field trips" that show money in action. While places like the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., offer splashy tours and the opportunity to see how money is designed and printed, your local bank and grocery store can offer just as many teachable moments when it comes to money. Opening a savings account, touring a bank vault, using the coin-counting machine, comparing sticker prices, and paying for items and receiving change are a few everyday ways to learn about money.
* Encourage your child when he or she tries entrepreneurial ventures like lemonade stands, picking up sticks for the neighbors, or starting a dog-walking service. There's no substitute for learning on the job.
* Let your mouse do the walking. There are a host of wonderful websites (mostly geared for upper elementary students) that can help you teach your child about money management. Here are some: The U.S. Mint's Kids' Page. The U.S. Treasury's Resources for Kids. The PBS series Cyberchase.
For even more info, check out the JumpStart Coalition's list of resources.
Last, but not least, be mindful of how you talk about money. Do you complain about bills, fret about money, and always use negative terms about finances? Don't be surprised, then, if your sons and daughters feel negatively, too. If you need some financial refreshing of your own, make full use of your Motley Fool GreenLight subscription. Getting yourself on the right financial track is the best lesson of all for your kids.
So, parents, rejoice that it's back-to-school season, but remember that some lessons still start in the home. Managing money wisely is one of them.
This article is adapted from the Motley Fool GreenLight "Money Answers" archive, which features more than 100 articles on personal-finance topics from taxes to credit to beginning investing, organized by subject and life stage. For access to this content plus the current newsletter, back issues, members-only discussion boards, and advisor blogs, take a free 30-day trial to GreenLight today!
Fool contributor Elizabeth Brokamp writes a weekly column, "Ask Mrs. Riches," on money and relationships. Her charming other half is The Motley Fool's own Robert Brokamp (TMF Bro), editor of Rule Your Retirement.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Church Web sites are Broken
I found an interesting item on one of my favorite blogs -- Church Marketing Sucks (or Stinks, if you prefer). They ran a survey that simply asked the question "What's broken in your church?" and left an empty box for responses.
Aside from the basic "some of our windows are broken" answer, guess what got the most responses? The church Web site with 21% of the people who responded! Now obviously, the survey was strictly online and the site is used by people who care about church communications. So, it's a biased survey but still very interesting.
What can little ole me do to help the church body to improve in this area that's broken? Well, for starters the session that I've been asked to lead at the Church Leadership Conference is a start. I wonder if there is more that I can do?
In case you missed the above link, read the full discription of "What's broken?" from Church Marketing Sucks.
Aside from the basic "some of our windows are broken" answer, guess what got the most responses? The church Web site with 21% of the people who responded! Now obviously, the survey was strictly online and the site is used by people who care about church communications. So, it's a biased survey but still very interesting.
What can little ole me do to help the church body to improve in this area that's broken? Well, for starters the session that I've been asked to lead at the Church Leadership Conference is a start. I wonder if there is more that I can do?
In case you missed the above link, read the full discription of "What's broken?" from Church Marketing Sucks.
Godin on God
Seth Godin, interactive marketer, posts his thoughts about religions that spread (or don't) and the concept of ideaviruses. This is interesting to consider from an objective/secular perspective.
Fantasy Baseball 2006
The regular season of our fantasy baseball league is over and we're in the playoffs now! I dominated the regular season (see below) and the nearest team was 26 games back. However, now it's the playoffs which means single elimination in our head-to-head league. Head-to-Head means that we play a team each week and earn a win or a loss for each statistical category (Hits, Home Runs, Stolen Bases, Wins, Strikeouts, etc.). If you beat your opponent you move onto the next round of the playoffs.
I am in the Championship game this week against the founder of the league (SternNYU's Underdogs). Since it's his league and he's the one that invited me to play, maybe I should just let him win . . . (pondering) . . . no, he wouldn't feel like he accomplished anything if I just gave up!
Regular season standings:
Playoff bracket:
I am in the Championship game this week against the founder of the league (SternNYU's Underdogs). Since it's his league and he's the one that invited me to play, maybe I should just let him win . . . (pondering) . . . no, he wouldn't feel like he accomplished anything if I just gave up!
Regular season standings:
Playoff bracket:
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Church Leadership Conference
One of the reasons that I haven't posted anything lately is that I've been preparing a presentation. I have the priveledge this fall to have been asked to lead a break-out session for the Church Leadership Conference being organized and led by the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention (our state's collection of churches, the SBTC). I prepared and led a discussion on Effective Web Sites geared primarily at churches.
The Leadership conference is being held in three locations -- Euless (between Dallas and Fort Worth), Spring (north of Houston), and Tyler. The Conference locations and dates are as follows:
The first conference was tons of fun and I had a good turnout at the sessions (3 sessions per conference). As is usually the case, my first presentation was the worst and my third run-through was the best. The SBTC recorded the sessions and they are planning to have the audio files available for download on the Conference Web site at some point (of course the taping was of the first session!). I am planning on looking into a file service so that I can share my presentation slides through this blog and I will link to the SBTC site once they get the audio available.
The Leadership conference is being held in three locations -- Euless (between Dallas and Fort Worth), Spring (north of Houston), and Tyler. The Conference locations and dates are as follows:
- Euless was held last Saturday, September 9th,
- Spring is on Saturday, September 23rd, and
- Tyler is on Saturday, October 7th.
The first conference was tons of fun and I had a good turnout at the sessions (3 sessions per conference). As is usually the case, my first presentation was the worst and my third run-through was the best. The SBTC recorded the sessions and they are planning to have the audio files available for download on the Conference Web site at some point (of course the taping was of the first session!). I am planning on looking into a file service so that I can share my presentation slides through this blog and I will link to the SBTC site once they get the audio available.
Katrina - Evacuation Strategies
One thing that was very interesting was how the families evacuated. We primarily worked with two large family groups, one of which was much bigger than the other. The smaller family group had around 14 family members who evacuated at once and the larger group had well over 30. The widespread understanding among everyone was that they were getting out of the city for 2-3 days and then were coming back home.
The smaller family group seemed to sense that it might be longer than that. Their evacuation plan was basically to take as many vehicles as they could and stuff them with important items before leaving town. The larger family group's plan was that the people were the most important thing and they all piled into as few vehicles as possible and got the heck out of there.
Needless to say that in the long run, the smaller family with more items, more documentation, and more vehicles ended up adjusting easier than the larger family who had fewer material possessions.
Not everyone in our group got to ride in a car out of the city. One gentleman in our group went to help some of his older family members evacuate and got stuck in the city through the storm. He woke up the next day and mistakenly thought that the worst had already passed. He remembers walking down the hall of the house and hearing what sounded like a stampede. He looked out the window and all he saw was water coming from the direction of the levy. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a loaf of bread and a jug of water and made it into the attic while the water was rising in his house. He finally made it to the Superdome and found some other family members there.
One lady joined our group when she ended up in the same general Superdome area as other members of the large family. She was alone and trying to sleep when one of the men came over to her and told her to get into their circle. You see, the men of the family were sleeping surrounding the ladies to protect them. Truly a horrible place with rampant crime, little food and water, false rumors being spread, and sick/dying/dead people just left in place.
Let me say that we love the people so much that God put in our path! Our lives have truly been touched and we have been changed for the better by knowing and befriending such great people. We watched the news from time to time amazed at some of the horrible things that were done and horrible attitudes displayed by some of the evacuees across the country. Yes, of course, we had a few individuals who needed the occasional "attitude adjustment." Our mindset was who wouldn't need a little adjustment after all that they had gone through. What great people we were privileged to serve!
The smaller family group seemed to sense that it might be longer than that. Their evacuation plan was basically to take as many vehicles as they could and stuff them with important items before leaving town. The larger family group's plan was that the people were the most important thing and they all piled into as few vehicles as possible and got the heck out of there.
Needless to say that in the long run, the smaller family with more items, more documentation, and more vehicles ended up adjusting easier than the larger family who had fewer material possessions.
Not everyone in our group got to ride in a car out of the city. One gentleman in our group went to help some of his older family members evacuate and got stuck in the city through the storm. He woke up the next day and mistakenly thought that the worst had already passed. He remembers walking down the hall of the house and hearing what sounded like a stampede. He looked out the window and all he saw was water coming from the direction of the levy. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a loaf of bread and a jug of water and made it into the attic while the water was rising in his house. He finally made it to the Superdome and found some other family members there.
One lady joined our group when she ended up in the same general Superdome area as other members of the large family. She was alone and trying to sleep when one of the men came over to her and told her to get into their circle. You see, the men of the family were sleeping surrounding the ladies to protect them. Truly a horrible place with rampant crime, little food and water, false rumors being spread, and sick/dying/dead people just left in place.
Let me say that we love the people so much that God put in our path! Our lives have truly been touched and we have been changed for the better by knowing and befriending such great people. We watched the news from time to time amazed at some of the horrible things that were done and horrible attitudes displayed by some of the evacuees across the country. Yes, of course, we had a few individuals who needed the occasional "attitude adjustment." Our mindset was who wouldn't need a little adjustment after all that they had gone through. What great people we were privileged to serve!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Katrina - from the Motel to the Apartments
So, we committed to coordinating. What do we do now?
The first goal was to get to know the families and get them into the apartments and out of the motel. The majority of the evacuees signed their contracts with the complex within a few days but we realized that they couldn't really move into apartments with no furnishings -- no bed, no chairs, no nothing! The bedding seemed to be the highest priority. We had a lead from our church's newly formed network (see previous post) on some beds that were purchased in bulk and our church was promised an allocation of those beds. To make a long story short, several days went by with no sign of those beds and we made a decision to just move forward on our own.
It was a good thing that we did since the "beds" turned out (a week and a half later) to be futon mattresses with no frames. That would have been a big disappointment. However, we took money that was donated to our church for the relief effort, along with other money we could find, and purchased a bunch of beds (frames, box springs, and mattresses). I don't think that we ever made a spreadsheet so I don't know how many but they had to deliver them with 2 trucks that were full. We bought them on Saturday and determined that if we were going to get help with this it would need to be on a weekend. By the way, the company we bought the beds from is called Sleep Experts, a local family owned business -- thanks guys!
We decided to fast track this and get it done the next day. We talked Sleep Experts into it and asked for a specific time since this would require lots of coordination. Then, we put the word out that Sunday afternoon we needed all hands on deck including the evacuees to let us into the apartments to put the beds down. We made phone calls, sent e-mails, everything to get the word out. We made announcements on the stage in front of the whole church about the afternoon. The other challenging aspect of all this (which I didn't think of until Sunday morning) was the Dallas Cowboys were playing a 3:00 game which was exactly the time we had the mattress delivery! The turnout at the apartment complex though was totally amazing -- there were people from our congregation everywhere I turned!
After buying the mattresses on Saturday, Heather and I also worked hard to ensure that every evacuee family had a church family or Bible study class matched with them since this would be the perfect opportunity to start to build that relationship. We were still down a few church families heading into Sunday morning but our cry from the pulpit was effective and that afternoon we were able to match up everyone to my recollection. We really prayed over the match-ups especially since we did not know the evacuee families that well yet. The Lord answered our prayers in many ways. The vast majority of the families worked very well together and many are still friends to this day and keep in regular contact. In one pairing, both families had twin girls of a similar age. What are the odds of that? Just God.
After getting the mattresses moved in, we really challenged the sponsor families (the church members) to take the lead to get the apartments of their evacuee family furnished enough to move in. We gave them resource lists to find things and allowed the evacuees and our sponsor families to go through all of the donated items that we had in the apartment clubhouse. We had lots of "little things" like bedding, blankets, clothes, shoes, toys, etc. We relied on our network and the network of our sponsor families to find the big items like couches, dining tables, etc.! The amazing thing is that by the end of that week, the majority of the apartments were move-in ready! Can you believe that -- from nothing to fully furnished in one week!
Next Katrina post . . . Evacuation Strategies
The first goal was to get to know the families and get them into the apartments and out of the motel. The majority of the evacuees signed their contracts with the complex within a few days but we realized that they couldn't really move into apartments with no furnishings -- no bed, no chairs, no nothing! The bedding seemed to be the highest priority. We had a lead from our church's newly formed network (see previous post) on some beds that were purchased in bulk and our church was promised an allocation of those beds. To make a long story short, several days went by with no sign of those beds and we made a decision to just move forward on our own.
It was a good thing that we did since the "beds" turned out (a week and a half later) to be futon mattresses with no frames. That would have been a big disappointment. However, we took money that was donated to our church for the relief effort, along with other money we could find, and purchased a bunch of beds (frames, box springs, and mattresses). I don't think that we ever made a spreadsheet so I don't know how many but they had to deliver them with 2 trucks that were full. We bought them on Saturday and determined that if we were going to get help with this it would need to be on a weekend. By the way, the company we bought the beds from is called Sleep Experts, a local family owned business -- thanks guys!
We decided to fast track this and get it done the next day. We talked Sleep Experts into it and asked for a specific time since this would require lots of coordination. Then, we put the word out that Sunday afternoon we needed all hands on deck including the evacuees to let us into the apartments to put the beds down. We made phone calls, sent e-mails, everything to get the word out. We made announcements on the stage in front of the whole church about the afternoon. The other challenging aspect of all this (which I didn't think of until Sunday morning) was the Dallas Cowboys were playing a 3:00 game which was exactly the time we had the mattress delivery! The turnout at the apartment complex though was totally amazing -- there were people from our congregation everywhere I turned!
After buying the mattresses on Saturday, Heather and I also worked hard to ensure that every evacuee family had a church family or Bible study class matched with them since this would be the perfect opportunity to start to build that relationship. We were still down a few church families heading into Sunday morning but our cry from the pulpit was effective and that afternoon we were able to match up everyone to my recollection. We really prayed over the match-ups especially since we did not know the evacuee families that well yet. The Lord answered our prayers in many ways. The vast majority of the families worked very well together and many are still friends to this day and keep in regular contact. In one pairing, both families had twin girls of a similar age. What are the odds of that? Just God.
After getting the mattresses moved in, we really challenged the sponsor families (the church members) to take the lead to get the apartments of their evacuee family furnished enough to move in. We gave them resource lists to find things and allowed the evacuees and our sponsor families to go through all of the donated items that we had in the apartment clubhouse. We had lots of "little things" like bedding, blankets, clothes, shoes, toys, etc. We relied on our network and the network of our sponsor families to find the big items like couches, dining tables, etc.! The amazing thing is that by the end of that week, the majority of the apartments were move-in ready! Can you believe that -- from nothing to fully furnished in one week!
Next Katrina post . . . Evacuation Strategies
Places to Live
I got an e-mail from a friend with this interesting Web site called Find Your Spot. It basically asks you a bunch of questions and tries to gauge the best places for you to live. Here are the top 6 recommendations for me:
Knoxville, Tennessee
Norfolk, Virginia
Nashville, Tennessee
Jacksonville, Florida
Greenville, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Others in the list (in order but I removed some from the list):
Asheville, North Carolina
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Charlotte, North Carolina
Tallahassee, Florida
Hampton, Virginia
Memphis, Tennessee
Lexington, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Orlando, Florida
Durham, North Carolina
Knoxville, Tennessee
Norfolk, Virginia
Nashville, Tennessee
Jacksonville, Florida
Greenville, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Others in the list (in order but I removed some from the list):
Asheville, North Carolina
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Charlotte, North Carolina
Tallahassee, Florida
Hampton, Virginia
Memphis, Tennessee
Lexington, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Orlando, Florida
Durham, North Carolina
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