Ian Relief Trip: Day 0

First Trinity is sending a team of 8 people to Ft. Myers, Florida to help with Hurricane Ian cleanup efforts. The Mission Team consists of the following:

• Pastor Jason Christ
• Jim Pritchard
• Dan Gietz
• Steve Puscheck
• Susan Whited
• David Fabian
• Nancy Menefee
• Michelle Braun

In addition, Renée Gietz will join us for the drive home. Here is the basic itinerary for the team:

• October 22: Drive to South Carolina to spend the night with the Fabian Family near Greenville, SC. We are meeting at the church to pack at 7 a.m. and will be on the road as soon as possible this day.
• October 23: Drive to Ft. Myers
• October 24-28: Work in Ft. Myers with Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT)
• October 29: Drive to South Carolina to a second night with the Fabian Family.
• October 30: Drive home to First Trinity.

Life in Ft. Myers

We are partnering with LERT and the Florida-Georgia District of the LC-MS to help people located in Ft. Myers and the surrounding community. We will be staying at Zion Lutheran Church in Ft. Myers. Zion has an Early Childhood Center that sustained some losses in addition to the damages in the greater community in which they serve. You can help with their relief efforts by purchasing supplies from this Amazon wish list.

During our work week (Monday-Friday, October 24-28) we expect to be mucking out houses. This involves removing pretty much everything in the house down to the studs. One of the hardest things is seeing how many precious family memories are included in the ruined belongings.

Prayer Requests

We will publish updates during the trip on this blog and give additional prayer requests as we go, but to get started, here are a few specific items:

• Safe and speedy travel.
  We’ll spend a long time on the road together so patience and a generous spirit for all participants is also a great prayer!
• Strength for the work.
  This is hard physical labor in hot and humid conditions. Pray for good health and endurance as we work and that everyone would be kept safe on the worksite.
• Compassion for the residents.
  We sometimes have opportunities to interact with the residents of a property. Pray for opportunities to listen and share the love of Jesus in real and tangible ways.
• Comfort for the residents.
  They have lost so much. Pray for hope and comfort to be abundantly present in their lives. Pray that they would see Jesus and feel His loving arms around them.