California Dreamin'

Thanks to a gracious and generous gift from the Free Church of the Annunciation in New Orleans, I will be able to travel to California next month to visit my equipping church, Saint James Newport Beach, and possibly my daughter and even my sons. On the return trip, I will swing through Paradise, California to visit my sister and my 91-year-old mother, Alma. God willing, I'll be departing Mississippi on October 11, returning October 23.

Here in Mississippi I've been developing relationships with two of the folks working for the county. The chaplain at the county jail is interested in the Church Army Gulf Coast program as an aftercare resource for released detainees, and he has already approached some of them to see if they would be a fit for what we have here. The public defender is also interested in the program, and said that he would be talking to some of the judges about the possibility of using our resources to assist those going through Drug Court. In the meantime, we are waiting for God to send us the next person for the NoAH project.

Otherwise, it looks to be a slow month here. God's Kitchen (the 501c3 organization over the now-closed God's Katrina Kitchen) has a team of volunteers from Vision Quest who arrived last night for a week's stay, but after they leave, few volunteers are expected for over a month. We'll be going into vacation mode here while everyone else is at work or school, and when their vacations start up again in November, we'll be back to work here.

Over the next week or two, I'll be posting a reprise of the GREAT LEAP, the journey that took me from California to Mississippi. I have a few great photos (Grand Canyon, etc.) that I'd like to share with all of you. Keep checking the blog every few days; it should be interesting.

Thanks for all of your support. This would not be possible without those of you (churches and individuals) who have sent encouragement for me and finances for the ministry. If any others of you would like to support this ministry, the directions are in the sidebar. Monies donated through Church Army USA are used for ministry needs only, and not for my personal support.

Thanks again,

Rolin.

ps: About the photo: If anyone has seen any ice floes floating past California lately, let me know. On this reversal of the GREAT LEAP, I'll be looking for a few days of cooler weather.