Blessings of Blogging

When I dove into the blogosphere back in January I said,

I doubt I’ll make much of a splash, but want to use this site to record some of my thoughts, highlight my interests, chronicle my studies, and interact with the world outside of my little pool. I look forward to the new adventure.

Little did I know that the plunge would serve to send waves of support in the wake of the worst natural disaster in American history. God’s hand of providence works all things to his glory – even the blogging urge of a simi-recluse Ph.D student. I’ve talked to more people from around the country in the last 6 weeks than I have in the last six years.

Since the storm I’ve only been able to mention a very small fraction of what God has been doing. I travel two hours from Lakeshore for internet access. Simply listing all the people who have come to help would prove impossible. It appears that most of our help has come through folks reading my blog and then offering to come get dirty in the local recovery effort. In the last couple of weeks we have had at least two wonderful groups who maintain blogs of their own.

An 8 man team from Chapel on the Hill of New Jersey gutted homes, cleared land, and other things. Check out Bill Breckenridge’s blog Chapelccino. While here, he made five audio blog entries:

• Thursday, October 20, 2005 – 3:51 PM
• Friday, October 21, 2005 – 8:28 AM
• Saturday, October 22, 2005 – 7:31 AM
• Saturday, October 22, 2005 – 5:39 PM
• Sunday, October 23, 2005 – 4:47 PM

Bill posted a few pictures when they got back to New Jersey and promises more, so keep checking his blog.

Bill’s wife, Donna-Jean, also maintains a well written blog, Liberty and Lily. She chronicled her husbands trip:

• Heading Out
• Overwhelmed – and Giving Hope – in Mississippi
• A message, a picture, a reminder
• Another Passion for Lakeshore
• They’re Back

Donna-Jean found us through my friend Cindy Swanson’s blog. Thanks Cindy!

I’ve already mentioned my friend Nathan White and his blog. Nathan’s mom, Ann. also blogs. Apparently my wife and Nathan’s mom hit it off great. My wife Courtney has not stopped talking about her since they left last week and already looks forward to when she can make another visit. Ann made a few posts about their trip:

• Mississippi Mission Trip Next Weekend
• “Our God is an Awesome God. . .”
• Rest —whatz that??

I also just found Stephen Ake’s blog. He tells about his Trip to Lakeshore and does a great job giving you a picture of a typical day on the church property.

I hope to have more pictures soon. It looks like I’m going to have to buy my Dad a new digital camera. I’ve been borrowing his and I cracked the view window. I’d also like to get a nice one for myself so that I can keep sharing images as progress moves forward. If you would like to contribute toward the purchase of a camera

or snail mail:

Pastor Don A Elbourne Jr
1451 Great Oak Drive
Baton Rouge,LA 70810