September 20, 2005 - Driving the Gulf Coast After Katrina

• I am in Mobile, Ala., to assess the needs of our congregation here (Saving Grace Lutheran Church) and offer any assistance we may give as they reach out to the victims of Katrina in their communities.
• We visited members’ homes and the coastal areas that we believed were the hardest hit. We started out heading south from Mobile to the lower Ala. coast and then took Hwy 90 along the coast as far as we could (some areas of the road were washed away) to Biloxi, Mis., and then up to I-10 East to complete the circle back to Mobile.

September 21, 2005 - Assessment

• The reason Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as the worst ever isn’t because it was the strongest. It will be because of the size and the amount of damage and death it inflicted. Most hurricanes effect one or maybe two cities or areas. Katrina’s storm surge flooded to some extent coastal areas from Mobile, Ala., all the way to New Orleans, La. That is unprecedented, and when the levies failed, we had our worst natural disaster, ever.
• I see the greatest opportunities for compassion and outreach that I have ever seen. Lets role up our sleeves and get to work, it will be a long haul, may the Lord be with us.