Thursday
Oct092008
Journal Of Our TX Experience-Part 6-The End
Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 12:02PM
Up until this point our deployment to TX was very trying to say the least. Before I share this I want to make it clear that what went on is not condoned or tolerated by the Red Cross. The only reason I want to say something is the picture of how leadership sets the atmosphere even though the corporation, business or even ministry would never condone what was going on if they knew. A real warning that you best not loose contact with the people who work for you.
The man who was put in the position of manager was crude, rude and caused confusion to take over the whole camp. From day one strife was so strong that now looking back I understand that it was demonic. An example of his management was that the air condition in one of the trucks was not working and when the driver reported it he was told "tell someone who gives a rip". So the next day Chuck and I were given the same truck to drive to Houston on a very hot day without air when it could have been sent down the road to be fixed very easily. We did not know at the time that it had already been reported so I reported it while Chuck was taking care of cleaning the truck. I was told that it was not a problem it was only an inconvenience.
We had meetings every morning and every morning what we had been told the day before was thrown out the window and we were chastised for following orders he gave the day before. He even told us that he had a language for us that he would not use when higher up's were around. All of this confusion trickled down the ladder and everyone was caught up in strife. It got so bad that one day Dinah and I had a melt down and cried most of the day. I look back and wonder why I did not realize the demonic force involved here and why did I not take spiritual authority over it. I was so effected by what was going on that I did not discern the force behind it.
The day I had the melt down was Sept 22nd and we ended up being assigned that afternoon to go on a very important assignment to Orange. A gentleman who had been there all along, but I had never seen before came out to give us special instructions and he looked at me and asked me if I was ok. No one else in leadership had noticed or if they had they ignored me. I responded no and he began to talk with me. He started questioning me about my water intake and told me that I had to drink more water. He was a basketball coach and told me he knew what he was talking about. I thought he was nuts but I drank the two bottles that he went inside to retrieve for me and my emotions improved greatly.
The day after our day off we came to work for a new administration that had suddenly been put into place the night before. This young man was very polite and quiet yet a great leader. With his entrance on the scene the confusion and strife left immediately. It was as if God had come down with a sword and cut it away and brought light into our darkness. What a relief. However, the work there also started winding down from that point and within 5 days we closed the warehouse and left Kountze. At least we had 5 days of good working conditions and our very next assignment included taking the truck with no air to the shop to be fixed....God is Good!!
On Saturday the 27th a group of us went to Houston to a Spanish community to deliver supplies. It was a small store front with bars on the windows and we filled up Juan's little office. Juan told us that he was born in TX but was still considered a "wet back". He was very involved with the environment that the Spanish people were living in around the oil refineries. There is a very high incidence of cancer, especially cancerous brain tumors and especially in children. His voice has finally been heard and they are about to enter into a class action suit. He and his wife have raised 5 children and one of his sons graduated from Princeton University and then law school and he is now associated with one of the top criminal lawyers in TX.
When we got finished unloading Juan invited us to experience Salvadorian food. We followed him to the tiny neighborhood restaurant and had a new experience in cuisine.
The menu was in Spanish and the waitress did not speak English. I ordered by the pictures and with the help of our host. However, they put something in front of me and after I had eaten it and received another order I found out that I ate his lunch and he just sat there and smiled and did not say a word. Poor man, he had to eat my lunch. His was better.
This was our last day to work with our new Americorps friends and this day we had the pleasure of 4 of them along with Dinah, Chuck and I. This was the most help we had the pleasure of having the whole trip. This was also our last time out with supplies. The next two days we transported people from Kountze to Houston to process out to home. The first time we transported a van full of sick folk and we had a google map and a GPS and they were both wrong. Fortunately, one of our passengers was given another google map that was different and correct. After that we knew where we were going.
The last day of September the warehouse closed down and we all traveled to Houston to be processed out. There were way too many rental vehicles and so Chuck drove the van and I drove a car with Dinah as my companion to Houston to process out. All the way to Houston Dinah and I prayed that we would get a hotel room for the night.
We went through the long process of being processed out and were told we would have to go to a shelter. However, through the mercy of God and the favor with one sweet lady Dinah and I managed to get the last hotel room and we took Chuck along. We had been sleeping communal for over 2 weeks, what was one more night. We got a room at the Hyatt and it had two double beds and a pull out sofa bed. It had a huge tv, wireless and a refrig. We ordered pizza online, I went downstairs and purchased a salad and we watched a movie while we ate. Talk about a tale of two worlds.
We flew home the next day saying good-bye to our new friend Dinah at the Atlanta airport. Chuck came home very ill with an upper respiratory infection and I poked natural and over the counter medication to him the whole trip. With that and prayers he woke up the next day much better.
I am still digesting all we went through and realizing that spiritually I still have a lot to learn especially in my reactions to the environment I am thrust into. I failed in many ways with this test, so I am sure I will go through it again. I feel I am in a season of the magnifying glass examining my heart, reactions and motives. I believe we are in boot camp for the assignment that is ahead. There are things in our lives that the Lord is trying to cut away so that we may be a part of what He will be doing in the Church in the near future. It is very uncomfortable but non the less Lord continue on.
I thought prior to this deployment that I was pretty prepared for disaster. The Lord has had me in training for the 2+ years we have been here. However, I realized while away that I am not prepared as much as I thought. I have to re-examine what needs to be in place.
The man who was put in the position of manager was crude, rude and caused confusion to take over the whole camp. From day one strife was so strong that now looking back I understand that it was demonic. An example of his management was that the air condition in one of the trucks was not working and when the driver reported it he was told "tell someone who gives a rip". So the next day Chuck and I were given the same truck to drive to Houston on a very hot day without air when it could have been sent down the road to be fixed very easily. We did not know at the time that it had already been reported so I reported it while Chuck was taking care of cleaning the truck. I was told that it was not a problem it was only an inconvenience.
We had meetings every morning and every morning what we had been told the day before was thrown out the window and we were chastised for following orders he gave the day before. He even told us that he had a language for us that he would not use when higher up's were around. All of this confusion trickled down the ladder and everyone was caught up in strife. It got so bad that one day Dinah and I had a melt down and cried most of the day. I look back and wonder why I did not realize the demonic force involved here and why did I not take spiritual authority over it. I was so effected by what was going on that I did not discern the force behind it.
The day I had the melt down was Sept 22nd and we ended up being assigned that afternoon to go on a very important assignment to Orange. A gentleman who had been there all along, but I had never seen before came out to give us special instructions and he looked at me and asked me if I was ok. No one else in leadership had noticed or if they had they ignored me. I responded no and he began to talk with me. He started questioning me about my water intake and told me that I had to drink more water. He was a basketball coach and told me he knew what he was talking about. I thought he was nuts but I drank the two bottles that he went inside to retrieve for me and my emotions improved greatly.
The day after our day off we came to work for a new administration that had suddenly been put into place the night before. This young man was very polite and quiet yet a great leader. With his entrance on the scene the confusion and strife left immediately. It was as if God had come down with a sword and cut it away and brought light into our darkness. What a relief. However, the work there also started winding down from that point and within 5 days we closed the warehouse and left Kountze. At least we had 5 days of good working conditions and our very next assignment included taking the truck with no air to the shop to be fixed....God is Good!!
On Saturday the 27th a group of us went to Houston to a Spanish community to deliver supplies. It was a small store front with bars on the windows and we filled up Juan's little office. Juan told us that he was born in TX but was still considered a "wet back". He was very involved with the environment that the Spanish people were living in around the oil refineries. There is a very high incidence of cancer, especially cancerous brain tumors and especially in children. His voice has finally been heard and they are about to enter into a class action suit. He and his wife have raised 5 children and one of his sons graduated from Princeton University and then law school and he is now associated with one of the top criminal lawyers in TX.
When we got finished unloading Juan invited us to experience Salvadorian food. We followed him to the tiny neighborhood restaurant and had a new experience in cuisine.
The menu was in Spanish and the waitress did not speak English. I ordered by the pictures and with the help of our host. However, they put something in front of me and after I had eaten it and received another order I found out that I ate his lunch and he just sat there and smiled and did not say a word. Poor man, he had to eat my lunch. His was better.
This was our last day to work with our new Americorps friends and this day we had the pleasure of 4 of them along with Dinah, Chuck and I. This was the most help we had the pleasure of having the whole trip. This was also our last time out with supplies. The next two days we transported people from Kountze to Houston to process out to home. The first time we transported a van full of sick folk and we had a google map and a GPS and they were both wrong. Fortunately, one of our passengers was given another google map that was different and correct. After that we knew where we were going.
The last day of September the warehouse closed down and we all traveled to Houston to be processed out. There were way too many rental vehicles and so Chuck drove the van and I drove a car with Dinah as my companion to Houston to process out. All the way to Houston Dinah and I prayed that we would get a hotel room for the night.
We went through the long process of being processed out and were told we would have to go to a shelter. However, through the mercy of God and the favor with one sweet lady Dinah and I managed to get the last hotel room and we took Chuck along. We had been sleeping communal for over 2 weeks, what was one more night. We got a room at the Hyatt and it had two double beds and a pull out sofa bed. It had a huge tv, wireless and a refrig. We ordered pizza online, I went downstairs and purchased a salad and we watched a movie while we ate. Talk about a tale of two worlds.
We flew home the next day saying good-bye to our new friend Dinah at the Atlanta airport. Chuck came home very ill with an upper respiratory infection and I poked natural and over the counter medication to him the whole trip. With that and prayers he woke up the next day much better.
I am still digesting all we went through and realizing that spiritually I still have a lot to learn especially in my reactions to the environment I am thrust into. I failed in many ways with this test, so I am sure I will go through it again. I feel I am in a season of the magnifying glass examining my heart, reactions and motives. I believe we are in boot camp for the assignment that is ahead. There are things in our lives that the Lord is trying to cut away so that we may be a part of what He will be doing in the Church in the near future. It is very uncomfortable but non the less Lord continue on.
I thought prior to this deployment that I was pretty prepared for disaster. The Lord has had me in training for the 2+ years we have been here. However, I realized while away that I am not prepared as much as I thought. I have to re-examine what needs to be in place.
in General
General 
Reader Comments