City of Hope Going Into Day 33:

Bethany World Prayer Center City of Hope Going Into Day 33: Bethany’s evacuees starting new lives—even at 101 years old

Baton Rouge, Louisiana—From a census of 818 evacuees, to a count of 252, success stories continue as former residents of Louisiana’s entire coastland who became citizens of Bethany World Prayer Center’s City of Hope over the past month begin to find new homes, new careers and reunite with families.

“It is encouraging to see the Lord moving in the lives of our families at the City of Hope,” said Bethany Pastor Larry Stockstill. “God is a God of restoration and He continues to prove himself faithful.”

Earlier this week, one-hundred-and-one year old Ida Johnson took her first plane ride when she and family members Betty and Claudine Johnson relocated to Macon, Georgia. Nearly 30 members of their family lived in the City of Hope and now all have moved to Macon.

In the very near future, the City of Hope will welcome a new baby girl when shelter resident Sable Doomes, with a due date of October 5th, gives birth at a local hospital near Bethany. After the baby is born, Selma will make her home with family members in Opelousas, La.

“Our commitment to these amazing people is that the City of Hope will be involved in their lives until those who can work have jobs and all are in permanent homes,” said Pastor Stockstill. “Of course, we will be connected to them spiritually, forever,” he added.

Brother Al Moore, in charge of job placement at the shelter, reports that residents are also finding themselves in careers they could never even imagine, owning things they’ve never dreamed of. Former resident Franklin Jack was an auto mechanic back in New Orleans. He now “drives” luxury planes into their hangars as a lineman for Executive Aviation next to the Metro Baton Rouge Airport. Gilbert Brown from New Orleans bought a new house after getting a job at GH Enterprises in Baton Rouge.

Bethany received a grant this week from the US Department of Labor to hire 40 people to help manage the shelter and all 40 positions were immediately filled by the evacuees, according to Brother Al, including computer, administrative, receptionist, housekeeping, janitorial, provision distribution and maintenance jobs.

Some 50 employees of the New Orleans Rapid Transit Authority living in the City of Hope are still helping the company and their city, with eight buses used to transport workers between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Bethany’s Center of Hope at its South Campus, in collaboration with PRC Compassion, is using its 14,000 square-foot warehouse as a collection and distribution center for disaster relief provisions. On Sunday, September 25, an 18-wheeler from the Center was the first aid to arrive in the coastal areas decimated by Hurricane Rita.

“We have been sending disaster relief supplies to New Orleans, Slidell, Gulfport, Kenner and other areas effected by Hurricane Katrina, but now have expanded our service area to the west to help those effected by Hurricane Rita,” said Roger Bower, director of the Center.

Eighteen-wheeler trucks arrive seven days a week bringing food and supplies from all over the country, or ready to be loaded with provisions for area churches, shelters and disaster sites. Members of Bethany Church Cell Network (BCCN) across the country have donated $200,000 to hurricane relief efforts, as well 18 eighteen-wheelers loaded with provisions and 100 volunteers to assist with disaster relief. Groups such as Feed the Hungry from South Bend, Indiana; Operation Outreach from Chillicothe, Missouri; Operation Blessing from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and numerous churches and organizations from Michigan, North Dakota, New York and the Carolinas, are just a few of the places reaching out to Louisiana hurricane victims.

The Center of Hope Has A New Mission

Camp Champion at The Center of Hope will say goodbye to their last group of rescue workers this week. As Camp Champion retires The Center of Hope is becoming a staging area for volunteers from around the country.

 Through the collaboration with PRC Compassion, volunteers from church groups from all over the country are being sent to The Center of Hope. They arrive self-sufficient and eager to help with contributions of food provisions, and new strength. As they arrive they are taken through an orientation process making them ready for deployment to front line activity in the ongoing recovery efforts. Some will pass through The Center of Hope and be redirected to shelters closer to disaster cites, and some will remain at The Center of Hope to help in the areas where they are needed. Currently ten volunteers from Canada are being housed at The Center of Hope and are helping with organization and distribution of supplies in the emergency provisions warehouse.

“We are anxious to continue serving the needs of both our community and the surrounding areas as we all pull together to see our way to the other side of this crisis. We stand ready to complete this mission working alongside the PRC network until we see Louisiana and Mississippi rebuilt”, said Roger Bower, Director of The Center of Hope.

The Center of Hope has also returned to their original purpose with all departments now operating and functional as they endeavor to provide help, healing and hope to those in need in the areas of crisis pregnancy, addiction recovery and destructive behavior counseling, adult literacy training, job placement and the collection and distribution of emergency provisions.  

The Center of Hope is located at 10877 Reiger Road next to the three crosses off I-10 and Siegen Lane. For more information about these services call 293-2522. Monetary donations can be made online at www.lifelinefoundation.com

Shelter Opens its Doors

Bethany World Prayer Center’s City of Hope Shelter Opens its Doors to Hurricane Rita Victims:

Three hundred twenty five people displaced by Katrina remaining at City of Hope; will temporarily be joined by Hurricane Rita victims

Bethany World Prayer Center opened its doors to 18 evacuees displaced from the southwestern parishes of Louisiana after Hurricane Rita hit September 24th.

“For the past three weeks, our staff and volunteers have been at the City of Hope around the clock,” said Bethany Pastor Larry Stockstill. “Now, we have been called upon to go beyond the extra mile, and we will do so,” he added.

Bethany is receiving a helping hand at City of Hope from the nationwide, non-denominational CityTeam Ministries as well. The Christian organization will facilitate Bethany in welcoming the influx of Hurricane Rita victims, and after the storm, finding permanent placement for the 325 remaining long-term shelter residents.

“Bethany was the organization we were most in alignment with philosophically and spiritually,” said Dr. Denise Hadley, Vice President of Human Resources for CityTeam. “It is important to CityTeam that its staff serves Bethany in whatever capacity is most helpful,” she added. Volunteers have been working in shifts accomplishing everything from cleaning bathrooms every two hours, to providing security, to playing basketball with child evacuees.

Bethany continues to draw friends from around the country who want to encourage the residents of the City of Hope. Judge Greg Mathis of the Judge Mathis Show toured Bethany this week, along with Pokey Chapman, LSU women’s basketball coach, along with some her players.

“I get a lot of love from doing my show so I thought it incumbent upon me to give a lot of love back,” said Judge Mathis. He toured the shelters signing autographs on shirts, purses, hats, dollar bills and anything that people could find to write on.

Through the collaboration with Pastors Resource Council (PRC) Compassion, volunteers from church groups all over the country are being sent to Camp Champion, set up in Bethany’s Center of Hope in Baton Rouge next to the Three Crosses. Some will pass through The Center of Hope and be redirected to shelters closer to disaster cites, and some will remain at The Center of Hope to help in the areas where they are needed. “We are anxious to continue serving the needs of both our community and the surrounding areas, as we all pull together to see our way to the other side of this crisis and the impending demands from Hurricane Rita,” said Roger Bower, director of the Center. “We stand ready to complete this mission working alongside the PRC network until we see Louisiana and the remainder of the Gulf Coast rebuilt,” he added.

The City of Hope is located at 13855 Plank Road in Baker, Louisiana, a bedroom community of Baton Rouge, and can be reached at 225-774-1700. Camp Champion (at Bethany’s Center of Hope South Campus) is located at 10877 Reiger Road, at the Three Crosses, in Baton Rouge and can be reached at 225-293-2522.

Donations can be made at lifelinefoundation.com or bethany.com.

CityTeam Ministries

CityTeam Ministries Teams Up With Bethany to Bring Help and Hope to Evacuees

Baton Rouge, La – Bethany World Prayer Center is receiving a helping hand at its City of Hope evacuee shelter from the nationwide, non-denominational CityTeam Ministries. The Christian organization will facilitate Bethany in finding permanent housing for the 250 remaining shelter residents, as well as help with reuniting families, employment and transportation.

Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, CityTeam is responding to the need for aid throughout Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Before the team arrived in Baton Rouge, a CityTeam ground crew researched and assessed the local situation and developed a plan-of-action that included working with Bethany’s shelter.

“Bethany was the organization we were most in alignment with philosophically and spiritually,” said Dr. Denise Hadley, Vice President of Human Resources for CityTeam. “It is important to CityTeam that its staff serves Bethany in whatever capacity is most helpful,” she added. Volunteers have been working in shifts accomplishing everything from cleaning bathrooms every two hours, to providing security, to playing basketball with child evacuees.

“Our mission at Bethany is to be a serving organization that works in unity with the Bethany staff to compassionately care for the 250 evacuees,” said Dr. Hadley.

CityTeam also provides much-needed time off for Bethany’s staff and volunteers, many of whom have been working without a day off since the hurricane. “We provided the staff with a weekend break,” explains Dr. Hadley, “Seeing the staff rested is very gratifying.”

Bethany World Prayer Center has also been blessing CityTeam through its ministries and worship service. After one such service, one volunteer’s attitude changed from frustration about the situation, to enthusiasm and exhilaration about volunteering. “It was incredible to have one of our young men, a volunteer, accept the Lord at the service. He’s on fire,” said Dr. Hadley

CityTeam will continue to aid Bethany until the job is finished. CityTeam’s headquarters is organizing hundreds of volunteers to continue to serve in the coming months.

CityTeam is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian organization that helps the poor and homeless in locations such as San Jose, San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia and internationally. For more than one hundred years, CityTeam’s mission has been to provide life-saving food, shelter, clothing, recovery programs, youth outreach and other essential care for men, women and children who are in need to find ways to survive and make real life changes while they find real hope. More information about CityTeam can be found at www.cityteam.org.

Judge Greg Mathis

Judge Greg Mathis Shares the Story of Job to Delighted Bethany Evacuees

Baton Rouge, La.—Enthusiastically welcomed by evacuees with smiling faces, bear hugs and proclamations of “being good and staying out of trouble”, Judge Greg Mathis recently toured Bethany’s City of Hope shelter in Baker. The TV court judge told evacuees that Job’s patience and faith rewarded him tenfold, in spite of the adversities and calamities Job faced.

Judge Mathis, of the Judge Mathis Show, a prime time court room show airing weekdays on Fox 44, came to the Bethany World Prayer Center to present a check to Bethany for use at the shelter.  “I get a lot of love from doing my show so I thought it incumbent upon me to give a lot of love back,” said Judge Mathis.

He toured the shelters signing autographs on shirts, purses, hats, dollar bills and anything that people could find to write on.  One surprised evacuee, Linda, walked out of the shelter door into Judge Mathis conversing with others, shrieked, and then ran back inside to change into a dress and apply lipstick for a picture with him. 

Evacuees joked with the Judge about being good or having a buddy who wasn’t.  Another young man immediately called his mom who had been sent to a shelter in Illinois and handed the phone to Judge Mathis so that she might talk to him.  The mother immediately told the Judge “don’t talk to me, talk to my son.”  The Judge obeyed the mother’s wishes, sitting down with the young man, who later recounted the Judge’s advice of “stay in school, do what’s right, walk away from drugs.” 

Judge Mathis was a high school drop-out, member of a notorious Detroit gang and was in and out of jail as a youth, but overcame these adversities to become the youngest judge in Michigan history.  As a teenager growing up in the housing projects of Detroit, Mathis was well on his way to a life of crime.  But, as a promise to his dying mother, Mathis vowed to change his ways. At age 18, he turned his life around - earning his GED (high school equivalency), continuing on to college and earning a degree in law. Despite insurmountable obstacles and odds, Mathis was elected a Superior Court Judge for Michigan's 36th District.

Evacuees Begin to Say Goodbye

South Louisiana Evacuees Begin to Say Goodbye to Bethany World Prayer Center As They Find Jobs, Homes and Family…
Pastor Benny Hinn, Pastor/Evangelist Paula White, US Senator John Kerry and New York Jets football players among some of the visitors to Bethany’s City of Hope in Baton Rouge encouraging and praying with 350 individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina now remaining at the shelter

Baton Rouge, La. Nineteen days after 850 evacuees poured into the City of Hope at the Bethany World Prayer Center, stories of hope and progress resonate. Approximately 350 displaced individuals remain at the shelter, while 500 others have found new homes, jobs and family.

“It is encouraging to see the faith that these precious souls have demonstrated,” said Bethany’s Pastor Larry Stockstill. “Each day the numbers decline at the shelter as the families get back on their feet through the assistance of our team of staff and congregation members helping them find employment, homes, transportation and furnishings. It fully demonstrates our mission—Passion for God, Compassion for People,” he added.

The stories of recovery and restoration were evident at the City of Hope this week; approximately 50 children enrolled in school and more than 100 job offers were filled for everything from general housekeeping to skilled laborers, such as plumbers and electricians. Many of the jobs are for clean-up crews in New Orleans. “It is always inspiring to see what God can do in our lives during a time of catastrophe,” said Pastor Stockstill. “When the world is crying out, ‘It’s over,’ the Lord is gently reminding us of new beginnings.”

Pastors and evangelists, along with dignitaries and celebrities from around the world, continue to make the journey to Louisiana and Bethany’s City of Hope to offer prayer and encouragement for the evacuees. This week Pastor Benny Hinn toured the City of Hope with Pastor Stockstill, as well as Pastor Paula White. Benny Hinn Ministries taped a segment for This Is Your Day, focusing on the generosity and compassion exhibited by the Bethany staff and church membership. During the first week alone, Bethany’s 10,000-member congregation served 36,000 meals, made12, 000 beds, laundered 24,000 towels and 36,000 articles of clothing. Pastor Hinn furnished supplies for the Center, gave each evacuee a Wal-Mart gift card and donated $100,000 to Bethany. Pastor Stockstill divided the $100,000 among 10 local churches also operating Katrina relief shelters.

To end the week, the Bethany City of Hope received a visit from Evangelist/Pastor Paula White. She co-pastors the 22,000-member Without Walls International Church in Tampa with her husband Randy, hosts an international television program and spearheads humanitarian efforts worldwide. New York Jets football players Kevin Mawae (an LSU graduate), and Jerald Fowell (Tulane graduate and native of Baker), along with five additional Jets, also paid the City of Hope a visit to encourage the families and distribute football memorabilia.

The City of Hope is located at 13855 Plank Road in Baker, Louisiana, a bedroom community of Baton Rouge, and can be reached at 225-774-1700. Camp Champion, the shelter for relief workers and law enforcement officials (at Bethany’s Center of Hope South Campus) is located at 10877 Reiger Road, at the Three Crosses, in Baton Rouge and can be reached at 225-293-1355.

Donations can be made at lifelinefoundation.com or bethany.com Hurricane Katrina Relief.

Spirit of Reciprocity Evident

Spirit of Reciprocity Evident at Bethany’s City of Hope Shelter: Evacuees show outpouring of love for shelter manager they lovingly call “Mom”

Perhaps the most striking sign of recovery and healing at Bethany World Prayer Center’s City of Hope shelter was when residents responded in a remarkable way to an unexpected death in the manager’s family.

Betty Ann Thompson, building manager of Shelter #3 at the City of Hope, or “Mom” as she is now affectionately known, received news that her mother-in-law had unexpectedly died.

After weeks of giving unselfishly to those who were so in need, Betty Ann was humbled and rewarded by an unselfish display of caring, when those who had nothing, united to present her with money collected and a card expressing their sorrow for her loss.

On Monday morning, September 12 when Betty Ann arrived at the shelter, her second family, the group noticed her tired, red eyes.  Upon learning of the loss of her mother-in-law, they each donated one dollar and wrote a card to her labeled “Betty Ann, City of Hope, Shelter # 3, We Luv You” with $131 enclosed.  Betty Ann says that “The love of God brought them to a place where they could look beyond their own pain and suffering and reach out to someone else in need.” One family member said: “You’ve been fair but you’ve been firm, you’ve been what we’ve needed.”

“We wanted to do something for her, because she is such a giver,” said Cynthia Jasper, spokesperson for the group. “She’s compassionate and we felt we needed to do something for her.”

She said they started out just buying a sympathy card, but then everybody started giving money.  “We waited until she came in for nightly prayer and then we blessed her with the card and money,” Cynthia added. 

On the evening that the evacuees first arrived more than two weeks ago, Betty Ann recounted that “God put them in her heart” and from that moment on, she truly felt like their mother.  That’s when the pastors at Bethany said, “Then you’ll be the manager of Building #3,” an unfilled position at the time.

“It is a testimony to the healing powers of reciprocity” said Bethany’s Pastor Larry Stockstill. “They responded in a remarkable way, and as an additional testament to their character, this particular shelter has become self-governing and is providing its own house management, security, and cleaning, with zero volunteers,” he added.

 What made the relationship so special was that the Building #3 evacuees became family, with Betty Ann praying with them in the morning and again at night before, as Betty Ann says, she “tucked them in.”  “We laughed together and we cried together and when you become a family, people start taking care of each other.

Roles were being filled such as the General Store Coordinator, ran by Charles; another evacuee took on the role of caring for bedding and linens, opening up “Debbie’s Linens ‘n Things; Cynthia became the Coordinator of Children’s Activities; Donald assumed the role of Building Maintenance Coordinator, making sure the bathrooms were in repair and had the supplies they needed; Barbara was over housekeeping and Jackie was in charge of showers.” 

According to Betty Ann, her new family said “This is our home, our family and our new city.”  The displaced family members who assumed the responsibilities were deliberate in calling themselves “coordinators” versus “managers” so as not to appear as “bosses.”  Families even numbered their quarters or spaces and called them Condo 1, Condo 2, and so on. 

Bethany World Prayer Center at the Core of Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts….President George W. Bush, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and Pastors from Around the World Visit City of Hope and Camp Champions at Bethany in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, La. Since the first evacuees who were chased out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina began to pour into Baton Rouge on Saturday, August 27, the Bethany World Prayer Center, led by Pastor Larry Stockstill, has been thrust onto the international stage of relief efforts in a manner never before experienced in the United States.

In a period of three days, Saturday August 27 through Monday, August 29, Baton Rouge doubled in size—from 250,000 residents to 500,000. Bethany immediately opened its north campus as the City of Hope, an evacuee shelter which began housing, feeding and caring for the spiritual needs of 850 displaced individuals. Approximately 450 remain in the shelter one week later.

President George W. Bush and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco accompanied Pastor Stockstill on a visit to the evacuees in the City of Hope on August 5th. “Baton Rouge is standing as a beacon of light around the world as we open our hearts, homes and pocketbooks to our fellow Louisianans,” said Pastor Stockstill. “We want to thank our President, our Governor, and all of our friends in the Body of Christ around the country and the world for the assistance that has been pouring forth; it is most gratifying, but it must continue.”

In a little over one week, Bethany’s 10,000-member congregation has prepared and served 36,000 meals, made up 12,000 beds and laundered 24,000 towels and washcloths and 36,000 articles of clothing. And this is only the beginning. Projections are that as more and more people who were staying at hotels and with family members begin to run out of money, the shelters will continue to grow.

In addition to the donations from the community and churches across America, Bethany is spending approximately $10,000 per day to meet the needs of the displaced families and relief workers.

At Bethany’s Center of Hope on its southern campus, Camp Champions was opened to provide the same needs for the many of the hundreds of hurricane relief workers making the daily trek to New Orleans to continue evacuations and to locate the dead. Bethany is serving approximately 200 workers a day at Camp Champions.

“When we look in the eyes of these battle-weary workers who are at ground zero in New Orleans--seeing the despair, the pain, the death, the destruction—a hot meal, a shower and a clean bed, along with prayer and counseling, go a long way toward their own recovery,” said Pastor Stockstill. “People are separated from their families, their homes, their jobs, their schools, their playgrounds,” said Pastor Larry. “This is what we’re dealing with at Camp Champions.”

In the past week, President George Bush, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, entertainer John Travolta, and Pastors T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn and Rod Parsley, along with all the major news networks, have visited Bethany’s operations.

Bethany is also working with the statewide Pastors Resource Council, organized by the Louisiana Family Forum. This council is responsible for collecting and distributing food and supplies for church shelters across the state.

“One of the most exciting outcomes of this tragedy is the unity in the Body of Christ,” said Pastor Stockstill. “Together we can confront and overcome the enemy; we will continue to serve these individuals until every single person is enjoying the quality of life that God has planned for them.”

The City of Hope is located at 13855 Plank Road in Baker, Louisiana, a bedroom community of Baton Rouge, and can be reached at 225-774-1700. Camp Champions is located at 10877 Reiger Road, at the Three Crosses, in Baton Rouge and can be reached at 225-293-1355.

Donations can be made at lifelinefoundation.com or bethany.com Hurricane Katrina Relief.

Hurricane Katrina (Timeline):

An evil lady named Hurricane Katrina roared into Louisiana and changed forever the landscape of New Orleans. The ripple effect of this enormous storm is still affecting the lifestyle of the people of Baton Rouge, with more people, more cars, less food, and less gasoline.

The people are adjusting, and so is Bethany World Prayer Center, a large church in Baton Rouge that is pastored by Larry Stockstill. Like New Orleans, Bethany was not prepared for the enormity of the aftermath of this killer hurricane. However, it did not take the church long to get its arms around what had to be done.  It quickly mobilized its resources at both its north and south campuses and opened its arms and heart to those devastated by the storm.

Sunday evening, August 28: As Katrina inched toward the Louisiana/Mississippi coastline, Bethany opened its South Center of Hope for evacuees. Within hours, 200 people poured into the center to sleep on makeshift bedding. The church had no idea how it would feed 200 people, but God provided a way for all to receive three meals the day of the storm.

Monday, August 29: Bad news began to filter out of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. Two levees holding the water back from Lake Ponchartrain were breached, and water began pouring into the city. Bethany quickly realized the need to make both short-term and long-term plans for the thousands of people leaving the city and coming to Baton Rouge.

Tuesday, August 30: Bethany Pastor Larry Stockstill met with Tonja Myles, founder of Set Free Indeed Ministries, and Roger Bower, director of Bethany’s Centers of Hope, along with representatives from the Salvation Army. The decision was made that Bethany’s South Center of Hope would become a Camp for Champions for the untiring workers of the Coast Guard, Wildlife and Fisheries, search and rescue teams, firemen, and policemen. All these workers are sleeping on chairs in all the rooms at the center and are being fed a hot meal when they return from New Orleans each night.  The 12,000-square-foot warehouse at the South Center of Hope is now full and is being used as a distribution point for some 56 churches in Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas.

Wednesday, August 31: Bethany’s north campus became a “city of hope,” as the people at the south campus were moved to the north facility, where there are showers and a kitchen. Bethany currently has nearly 800 misplaced persons in the facilities at the north campus. The evacuees shower in shifts, and each has a specific floor area, which serves as their new home.

Thursday, September 1: Bethany held its first “town meeting” for the new temporary residents.  Pastor Stockstill proclaimed that the church and its members, as well as all evacuees, were now operating under the “law of love.” Pastor Stockstill urged everyone to put his neighbor before himself. At the close of the meeting, 750 of the misplaced persons being housed at Bethany North came forward to recommit their lives to Christ.

Friday, September 2: Approximately 200 area pastors met at Christian Life Fellowship Church in Baton Rouge to rally behind PRC Compassion, a charitable organization dedicated to community needs and relief work (prccompassion.org).  All Baton Rouge area churches will coordinate behind this statewide pastors’ network in sending supplies to the various shelters. The Center of Hope at Bethany South will be the distribution point for all those supplies.

Saturday, September 3: As the days and hours wore on, Bethany workers and volunteers got better organized. Medical facilities were established for those needing help.  Toys were provided and play areas designated for the children.  Televisions were set up so people could see and hear what was happening during the aftermath of the storm. Security was reinforced. Bethany pastors mingled throughout the center and ministered to those needing pastoral care.

Sunday, September 4: Bethany held church services at all of its campuses, and evacuees spent time praising and worshiping the Lord and listening to Pastor Stockstill’s message. Entitled “Another Level of Knowledge,” the message ministered to the hearts of many, and more evacuees gave their lives to the Lord.

Monday, September 5: This was a big media day for Bethany North’s evacuation center. President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush spent about an hour and a half at the facility, talking with many of the misplaced persons there. The president was accompanied by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden, as well as Bishop T.D. Jakes from Dallas, Texas. Later Monday afternoon, actor John Travolta and his wife arrived with supplies and toured the facility. They were soon followed by Pastor Rod Parsley from Columbus, Ohio.

Tuesday September 6: TV personality Montel Williams arrived with his video crew and spent most of the day talking with and getting to know many of the evacuees. Montel heard just a few of the many human-interest stories from the shelter, like that of Ida Johnson, who is 101 years old and left New Orleans just before the storm hit. With her family, Ida made her way to Baton Rouge and ended up in our shelter. And then there was the story that touched everyone’s heart: the story of Leonardo Marin. His wife and two young boys are still missing.

There is really no way to bring this update to a close because it continues to change by the day, by the hour by the minute, by the second.

Keep us in your prayers. . . .