Tuxachanie: Trail's Rest Mile 12

A week off to go camping! I headed straight for the Desoto National Forest, to the end point of the Tuxachanie Trail, known as POW camp. This site was a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, but little trace of those days remains, just a grassy meadow under the pines beside a 7-acre lake.

I arrived just as the trail was exploding into a riotous bloom of pink flowers, running alongside and overarching Tuxachanie creek. From the camp there is a two-hour loop renowned as the most beautiful stretch of the Tuxachanie trail.

Alas, I was unable to locate the 'Mystery Bush' that I photographed last month. My daughter Amber, a recent graduate with a degree in biology and plant science, asked for some closer pictures and a better description in the hope that we could identify what I had seen three weeks ago. Now I have a date to return here March 25, 2008, to search for this short-lived floral wonder.

Flowers weren't the only notable growth: huckleberrys could be found on the bushes, blackberries were rumored, and a good-sized raspberry patch lay just 50 feet from my campsite. Have you ever tried romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell pepper sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, and chopped wild raspberries? Delicious!

Back at camp, the morning alarm clock was provided by Canada Geese arriving by the pair (or one, or three) announcing their landing run on the lake with enough honking to satisfy rush hour on the Los Angeles freeway. Their joyful noise thoroughly made up for the puddle in my tent after the overnight rain on Wednesday.

Oh God, Creator of the Universe, Lover of your Creation, I give thanks to you for the Fifth Day, on which you declared that everything you had made was Good. I give thanks to you for the Sixth day, when you took some of that Good Stuff and made humankind in your likeness and image. And I give thanks to you for that Resurrection Day, when you restored us to yourself through the death and resurrection of your Son, our Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

MARCH '07 REPORT

Gulf Coast devastation; Housing project; Samuel relocates.

Hurricane Katrina is gone, but still this month we are struggling on the Gulf Coast: struggling with devastated homes, devastated lives, and turbulent times. Please continue to pray for us.

Hurricane Katrina was the most costly hurricane in the history of the United States, causing devastation along much of the central Gulf Coast of the United States. Due to its sheer size, it devastated the Gulf Coast as far as 100 miles from the storm's center. At least 1,836 people lost their lives in Hurricane Katrina and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since 1928. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for 81 billion dollars in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Most prominent were the catastrophic effects on the city of New Orleans and in coastal Mississippi.

It formed in the Atlantic on August 23, 2005, crossing southern Florida before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico to become one of the strongest hurricanes on record while at sea. The storm weakened before making its second and third landfalls on the morning of August 29, first in southeast Louisiana and then at the Louisiana-Mississippi state line.

Katrina's powerful right-front quadrant entered the west and central Mississippi coast, bringing with it a powerful ‘storm surge’ of water up to 27 feet above sea level, causing catastrophic damage to Mobile, Alabama; Slidell, Louisiana; and the Mississippi Gulf Coast cities of Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Gulfport, and Biloxi. Rebuilding has begun in many areas, but today, a year and a half after the storm, a tour of the devastated area still impacts the visitor with shock and awe.

At the current site of God’s Katrina Kitchen in Gulfport, dozens of shipping containers were flung from the port into coastal residences. A huge red sea barge pulverized an entire community of motels and rental housing, coming to rest a block north of the coast highway among modest single family homes.

Housing on the Gulf Coast remains a critical shortage item, especially rental housing. This picture shows the devastation where the sea barge ravaged a 120-unit complex of modest rental units on Camp Avenue. One of the concrete-block apartment buildings (right center of the photo), was narrowly missed by the barge. There is little likelihood that affordable housing will be rebuilt on this prime land adjoining the beach.

Today, a year and a half later, the apartment building has been put into use by God’s Katrina Kitchen for storage and short-term bunk housing. But along Camp Avenue, many of the modest houses were severely damage by the storm and remain in disrepair.

The first house, which can be seen in this second picture, is a total wreck. The owner of the second house is repairing it in his spare time and has brought it to almost a habitable condition. As of last week, the third house remained in the same condition that Katrina left it: everything inside tossed about by the water from the storm surge. But this week the owner’s daughter gave the Kitchen clearance to send in a volunteer team to clean and gut out the house. The fourth house is being repaired part-time by the owner, the fifth is ready for insulation and drywall, and the sixth has had no repairs as of yet.

On the left side of the street, the first house is being rebuilt from scratch, while three out of the next four (a duplex) sit in disrepair. The owners of these houses are often octogenarians or older, living with kin and flummoxed as to what to do with the beloved but ruined household property where they raised their families.

Church Army Housing Project: We are continuing our quest for housing to provide a sober living home for those who complete the first phase of our Spiritual Transformation program. Since rental housing is in such short supply, we would prefer to restore one of the hundreds of Katrina-ruined homes sitting vacant all around us, and use the "sweat equity" to inspire our workers and help pay for the rent. Here on Camp Avenue we have been talking with the owners of the fifth and sixth houses on the right and the duplex on the left, and we have been preparing estimates for the cost of the repairs, with a view toward leasing the restored housing.

With the help of Church Army USA leadership, we have sketched the outlines of a potential funding plan, and hope to present a proposal by next month. Please pray for the Spirit to guide us into the right house, the right plan, and those donors that God has already prepared in advance to provide this blessing for the hurting people of the Gulf Coast.

Samuel’s Relocation: Samuel is our resident who was called to be baptised last month. By occupation, Samuel (see February report) is a specialist in flooring and tile. Shortly after he joined us, he told of receiving a vision in which he was laying tile in a church. When we visited the Free Church of the Annunciation in New Orleans, he was sure that he had found the church where he was supposed to help. This month, Deacon Milton called from New Orleans to say that the tile work was ready to start and housing was available for Samuel. Although this had been a turbulent month for our men in recovery here with challenges from their past lifestyles, yet God was gracious to call them back into obedience to Christ, and to call Deacon Milton to help supervise Samuel’s continuing road to full recovery. We are praying earnestly for both Milton and Samuel, and are giving thanks to God for providing both a place for Samuel and an expert tile-setter for Annunciation.

This month for our spiritual growth program, we are beginning the video series "What’s So Amazing About Grace?" and reading Philip Yancey’s accompanying book. We viewed the first installment last week, and we’re enthusiastic about seeing the rest of them. I highly recommend the book for your reading.

Mystery question of the month: Can you identify this magnificent flowering bush I stumbled across along the Tuxachanie Trail? (More on that hiking trip in the comment to the post below.) You’can post your answer to the mystery question as a comment here.

Thank you for your prayers and your generous gifts to the Gulf Coast, and may the God of All Mercies, the God of the Peace that Passes All Understanding, bless each of you abundantly.

….In Love and Peace,
Rolin+

Tuxachanie Trail, Mile 10+

Sunday-Monday, March 11-12:

Approaching mile 9 of the Tuxachanie Trail on Sunday, I crossed Spike Buck Creek via the plank bridge which winds for some 50 yards across the marshy bottomland.

I found a tiny clearing beside the trail just past mile 10, pitching my tent under one of the many trees felled by Hurricane Katrina.

Monday I hiked packless another 3 miles or so, as Spike Buck Creek joined Tuxachanie Creek itself. The creek is a deep cut in heavily wooded forest, often hidden by the morass of huricane-tossed trees.

A deer skirted around my path, keeping 60 yards distant. His snort sounded like a horse; his large hoofprints on the trail bespoke a heavy buck. A shiny blue-black 3-foot long indigo snake lay across my path, languidly considering my presence. She challenged the end of my walking stick to a fight, then thought better of it and glided off. A scream from a bald eagle rang out overhead.

.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not be faint. Is 40:31.

Tuxachanie Trail, Mile Nine

Journal Entry: Monday, February 26, 2006; 11:00 am.









The bald eagle has moved on. The wind converses with the tall pines, punctuated by a woodpecker's knock. The distant pack of hunting dogs is gone now, leaving a ghostly echo of the dozen coyotes who prowled this hollow last night. The windsong murmurs in the forest .

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8 ESV).

FEBRUARY REPORT

Baptism,
New Orleans trip, and a
New Housing project.

Also: Michael Melendrez and his miracle (see comment section). An update is over here .

Exciting News: Rev. Deacon Rolin Bruno of the CEEC conducts baptism at God's Katrina Kitchen, for the Church Army Gulf Coast life transformation program!

This month in our spiritual transformation program we have been presenting the video series “Forty Days of Purpose” and reading Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life.” Participants in this included “Choo-choo” and our new volunteer, Samuel. After reading Rick’s chapter on being “Formed for God’s Family”, Samuel was led by the Holy Spirit to seek to be baptized. Samuel and I spent some time together the next 2 weeks praying and exploring the depths of the meaning of baptism.

Last Saturday it was chilly (50 degrees F), and when the appointed hour arrived the sun hid its face from us. Nevertheless, Samuel was undaunted. Taking a break from remodeling a nearby house, he came to the beach to recite his baptismal vows and wade with us into the brisk wind sweeping across the Gulf of Mexico. It was low tide, so by the time we reached deep-enough water we were over 50 yards from shore. James assisted me in immersing Samuel into the Gulf, and bestowed a blessing on him when we returned to shore, where he was greeted and hugged by all. Samuel's baptism will be permanently recorded with the Gulf Coast Resurrection Community and the Missionary Diocese of St. Aidan Lindisfarne.

Samuel is struggling with issues in his personal life and in the dysfunctional lives of his family members. Day by day—sometimes less, sometimes more—he is learning what it means to give up one’s own life and turn it over to Jesus. He is digging into the Bible, and revisiting the 12-step program. Sometimes he will notice a change in himself, saying “Normally, I would have [done such-and-such] when someone did [or said] that to me, but that was the old Samuel. I’m not going back to doing things my old way.” Please pray for Samuel, and for his family members.


BAPTISM PHOTOS (thanks to Mary Giles and Lezlie Anderson).
1: Rolin and Samuel.
2. Preparing for baptismal vows.
3: Video by Ray of the Kitchen.
4: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
5: Back to shore with a new member of God’s family.
6: Welcome into the Body of Christ!
7: A hug from Steve Anderson.
8: A hug from Gulfport resident Thurmon.

New Orleans Trip:

Last Sunday I traveled to New Orleans to attend Church of the Annunciation, taking with me three men from Church Army and one from the Kitchen. We got there just in time for Holy Communion, because the service time had been moved up to 9am to avoid the onslaught of Mardi Gras parades that close down much of the city. Fr. Jerry Kramer greeted us, and was pleased that we would be returning once a month to visit him. He insisted that I bring my deacon’s stole next time, so that I could participate at the altar. They are making good progress on refurbishing their Katrina-flooded sanctuary, and Samuel is enthusiastic about helping to retile their floor when they are ready to do that.

Housing Search:

We have begun searching for more permanent (and more house-like) housing here in Gulfport, to provide a sober living home for those who complete the first phase of our Spiritual Transformation program. Rental (and all other) housing is in short supply along the Gulf Coast and is at inflated prices. Our preference, rather than to use up some of the available housing, is to restore one of the hundreds of Katrina-ruined homes sitting vacant all around us. This should not only give us some “sweat equity” in paying for a new residence, but also will help give the men a bond with it and a sense of self-worth.

Whether this project will take the form of a purchase, lease, or simply a rental we do not yet know. We also have no idea at this time how God plans to pay for all this. Next month, with the help of the leadership of Church Army USA, we will begin to formulate a potential funding plan. Please pray for the Spirit to guide us into the right house, the right plan, and those donors that God has already selected to provide this blessing for the hurting people of the Gulf Coast.

Thank you for your prayers and your other gifts for the Gulf Coast, and may the God of Hope bless each of you richly.

….In Love and Peace,

Rolin

January Update

AND THEN THERE WERE SIX…

Photo: From left to right is Lezlie Anderson, Steve Anderson, Mary Giles, James Giles, Rolin Bruno, and standing in front, Michael Brent.

Many of you, beloved, have followed with my updates since last May as I left California on the “Great Leap” into whatever God might have for me post-schooling. You will remember that I was not all that sure what might lay ahead. On the advice of my friend, Father Richard of Saint James Anglican (Newport Beach, CA), I drove to the Pittsburgh headquarters of a home missionary group called Church Army USA, which reputedly took in misfits such as myself.

While in Pennsylvania I not only got to know the leadership of Church Army, but also came to know a bunch of folks developing a house church missionary movement under The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (theceec.org). Next, I spent the month of July getting steeped in the ministry of Church Army Branson (Missouri), where a vibrant new church has sprung forth from years of work among men and women afflicted with addiction to drugs or alcohol.

But Mississippi seemed to be calling to me, where church army members James and Mary Giles were working alongside the hurricane relief efforts of God’s Katrina Kitchen. The long-term volunteers there were struggling to respond to the homeless and afflicted who showed up at the Kitchen, but needed oh-so-much more love than just a meal.

I arrived at the Kitchen August 2, and immediately felt that I was in the right place. Within two weeks God had put before me whole communities of homeless peoples, many of whom were in quite desperate straits, and some of whom could be greatly helped with just love and attention. I dropped my plan to spend a whole month investigating and discerning, and instead drove back to California to pick up the rest of my belongings and say goodbye to my dear friends at Saint James Anglican. I told them about the hurting people of coastal Mississippi and a dream formed in the mind of God for a new ministry.

When I got back to the Kitchen, James and I watched awestruck as God unfolded his dream. In an area where there is virtually no help for recovery from addiction, God had us inviting homeless addicts into my cabin home and trying to love them into His Kingdom. Then God moved the whole Kitchen operation, along with our fledgling Church Army Gulf Coast, six miles east to Gulfport where we were in the midst of hundreds of hurting, hungry, desperate and challenged people.

This month I write to tell you the amazing story of the six people who are trying to keep up with God as he brings His dream for Church Army Gulf Coast alive and moving along on His path.

After James’ ordination to the priesthood, he and Mary heard the call to help hurricane victims on the devastated Gulf Coast, and in January 2006 began coordinating relief tasks for the short term volunteer teams arriving from all over the United States. When God moved the Kitchen from its lovely site overlooking the serene waters off Pass Christian, MS, it was a struggle and a challenge. At the same time, James’ involvement was growing to become one of the key leaders for the overall mission of the Kitchen, multiplying his responsibilities and reducing his time available for ministry to the hurting people arriving to be fed. Mary also took on new responsibilities helping to operate the busy office of God’s Katrina Kitchen.

When I arrived, James and Mary joined others in saying that I was an answer to their prayers. They had been praying for someone to show up who had a heart for the homeless, and I seemed to fill the bill (this despite my tendency to become imperious when frustrated). Drawing upon my experience in Victory Outreach men’s rehab homes, and attempting to employ the 12-step methods which were working so well in Branson, we patched together a program and began accepting men onto the Kitchen campus to live in my tiny bunkhouse with me. I think perhaps God has kept our ministry small because of all the mistakes we continue to make as we learn what our tasks are through hands-on experience.

Already on site were Steve and Lezlie Anderson, who arrived at the Kitchen in October 2005. As an alcoholic in recovery, Steve had wanted to begin having Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on campus, for all those struggling to maintain their sobriety. After my arrival, we began weekly meetings in October 2006 of what is now the Camp Avenue Group, known to the AA central office, and hoping this year to become a fully recognized AA group. Lezlie has also been a great help to us with contributions from her years of experience in Al-Anon.

Most recently arriving is Michael Brent, who has a heart for helping those who are caught in the cycle of addiction. Michael and James had become friends when they attended seminary together, and after an exploratory trip here last month, decided to join us in our pastoral team. Michael’s cabin expanded our capacity from three to five men transforming their lives, and one of the men already here moved in with him. Michael is working on expanding our ministry to help the continued flux of homeless and devastated men and women who drift through the kitchen, in need of counseling, referral, case management, and advocacy.

Tampa, Florida trip
And finally, a personal note. Growing out of my relationship with Alan Morris (another seminary friend of James’, now a bishop), I felt a call to make The CEEC my new church home, in the missionary diocese he was founding. This January 6, I was ordained as a Missionary Deacon in the Diocese of Saint Aidan Lindisfarne. www.staidanlindisfarne.org. Ordination was the end of a long road for me, and the beginning of a new one. It has given me a new sense of peace, and has had the effect of removing some of the shrillness from my words and actions.

May God’s peace remain also with you as you keep each of us here in your prayers.
….In Love,
Rolin

Bonus picture:
“Choo-Choo,”
who may become the first graduate from our program, working on rehabilitat- ing the former apartment building on campus.

I am just beginning a personal web log. As I become more familiar in how to use it, I will post more frequently there; and each of you may enter your own comments: http://resurrectiongulfcoast.blogspot.com/




To make a donation to this ministry,
you may send a check or money order to:
Church Army USA, 210 W. North Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
ON THE MEMO LINE PLEASE WRITE: GULF COAST GC096

Please pray for us,
Rev. Deacon Rolin Bruno

December in Gulf Port

Even the air seemed tense. It was 2:30 PM on Tuesday when the Gulfport City Council meeting was called to order, and far too late to get a seat as the restless crowd overflowed out the double doors and down the stairs.

Yesterday, December 4, the permit had expired for God’s Katrina Kitchen to continue in operation at our new site just off the beach in Gulfport, Mississippi. The day before, we had just completed two months of arduous and sometimes frustrating work to complete our move from our previous site six miles west in Pass Christian. But today we had no permit, and were again at the mercy of the city council. What would these seven councilpersons do? Would they listen to those voices complaining that three meals a day at the Kitchen was attracting “undesirable” transients?

The mayor presented his proposal. His plan was for us to move again, to a grassy site in a flood plain owned by the city, where no permanent structures were allowed to be built. We wondered whether, when the weather turned bad, the kitchen would be able to feed people in a tent pitched on a grassy flood plain. We wondered whether we would have to move all 24 cabins again, including the ones housing myself and the Church Army Gulf Coast volunteer relief workers—those men who are seeking so desperately to transform their lives.

Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines recognized her friends from the Kitchen that were present in the room, and made an impassioned plea to allow them to stay at our site. Other councilpersons indicated that they had already pledged to deny our request. Finally, they voted. The mayor’s proposal was defeated, 3 to 2. Those from the Kitchen were dismissed, and television interviews were being filmed on the stairway landings.

God gave us the victory! Or did he? The city administrator said that we no longer had to move. But the mayor pointed out that our permit to operate had expired. Still, we returned home, with the feeling that God had performed a miracle. James called it an exhausting spiritual battle.

Then at 6:00 the phone call came. It seemed that the mayor had pointed out the council’s unfinished business, and we were needed back at the council chambers. James, Greg Porter, and others returned as they sorted things out. Ella continued to defend us. Greg was asked, “What do you want us to do?” The answer: “Let us stay through the end of our year’s lease.” The vote was taken. The verdict: 4 to 3 for YES, we can remain where we are as requested—until July 31.

God is good. OUR GOD REIGNS!

God is beginning to reign in the lives of the three men He has given us to shepherd in Church Army. We had lost Dale, and then Barry left when the internet-ink was barely dry on last month’s report. But God already had in mind the two others he was ready to send us: “Nate”, a young man trying to sort out the direction for his life while battling recurring binges, and “Choo-Choo” (his street name), a veteran construction worker and addict who had been recycled from the streets to jail and back so many times he had lost count.

Nate was locked into deep withdrawal when he arrived, but now he has taken an interest in life around him and is getting used to the routine of spiritual disciplines and work. Choo-Choo has made it through his first rough week and is resisting the call of the drug-filled streets. And Jeff is well on his way through his second month, striving to put God’s will in control where once there was only Jeff’s will.

God is on the move, and may be getting us ready to expand the ministry here. Watch this space for exciting updates, and please continue to pray for us.

May the God of all peace richly bless you.
....Rolin

Photos:
1: The poles are up! When we get the rest of this tent up, we'll be distributing Toys for Tots for the entire 3-county region.
2: The old brown tool shed is now the "blue room" where we hold AA meetings.
3: The apartment building has a new paint job, but we're still waiting for permission to hook up electricity to it.