Stacy Kaufman’s Post

UPDATE FROM KIM: My daughter is in a light blue shirt. I’m back home, I want to clarify: Yes, there were some military helicopters. I did not see any trucks, and certainly not what you would think you would see. I know the guard is out there in places. My nephew is deployed in Georgia. But we should definitely have seen more military help. As far as FEMA. I unloaded stuff from people who were told that FEMA would take, warehouse, and distribute it. Believe what you want. The federal response was irresponsibly slow, undermanned, underfunded, and cost lives. The death toll is far greater than what is being reported. I wasn’t even in the worst-hit area, and I’ve seen and heard enough to know that. I do think the town we were in got much attention. I have seen and been asked for needs as people get power back, such as replenishing their perishables. I don’t know how to do that. If you know someone who lives there and wants to help them, they need meat, eggs, drinks other than water, ice, and fruit. I took some of that stuff to my family, who lives in an affected area. Someone with a refrigerated truck could work with a ministry to deliver those items. Water is contaminated. I had two life straws I took, and our team found people drinking straight from the creek, and we gave them those. I was so glad I thought I would pack them. I spoke with someone from the Cajun Navy today. They want qualified help. You have to be trained in swift water rescue (the places they are going have soft ground and can slide easily), rescue and recovery, EMT type training. That’s a must. Some of my friends who came to help ended up finding a body. I don’t know how many are reported missing. But the smell in some places is unbearable. And there is so much mud. It’s incomprehensible at the power of the water and the destruction it caused. Pray for those in recovery. I don’t even have the stomach to think about some of the stuff I’ve heard the last few days. It takes an emotional toll on the people who are trained for it. We have ministered to thousands of people the last four days it’s truly a mission field. Yes, we want to meet their physical needs, but we definitely want to meet their spiritual needs, and the opportunities are abundant. We have delivered food and supplies to thousands. I can’t even begin to tell you the things I’ve witnessed. Trailer after trailer has been dropped off at our lot from as far away as Texas. God met the needs. They just walked in and helped, provided assistance, organization, and cooked food. Wow! We handed out over 1700 meals in the first three days. In the first hour today, we handed out 250. We ended up at around 750 for the day. It is beautiful to experience and be a part of the body of Christ and work together. There were no denominational differences, personality conflicts, or economic differences. This week has been amazing. I always hear the ground is level at the foot of the cross.