Remembering Our Teammate, Bruce.

One of our Pass Christian mission teammates, Bruce Rember, died Monday. This is a tragedy, especially for Bruce's wife and kids, but also for his extended family, his former colleagues in the Air Force, his friends and, frankly, anybody -- like the guys on our mission -- who had the privilege of getting to know him.

I had the privilege, and the fun, of working alongside Bruce for 5 straight days down in Pass Christian, as a member of the work team headed by Guy Kleintop. I also bunked right next to Bruce. I'm sure there are many others with fond memories of Bruce (to say nothing of longer and better memories) , but I couldn't let this news pass without quickly remembering the Bruce I got to know this July. Bruce Rember:

• Was a quietly unassuming, but very funny, knowledgeable, and hard-working guy. Maybe unassuming is not what you might expect for a guy who had risen to the rank of Colonel in the Air Force. Maybe, if he'd wanted to, he could have thrown his weight around a bit. But Bruce was a team player all the way.
• Was a real student of the Word. Every time I caught myself fooling around with my laptop, or iPod, I'd turn around and see Bruce on his cot with his nose stuck in his Bible, and I'd realize that, probably, I could spend a little bit less time worrying about my gadgets and a little more time on what is really important.
• Was my up-on-ladders-together partner when we were working at Mike Frost's house, doing the dirty work to help Mike finish off his drywall (sanding, taping, mudding, re-sanding, etc.). We had one heck of a lunch on Tuesday of our week in Pass Christian, when Mike's mother-in-law served up a major feast of Vietnamese fried shrimp, vegetable rolls, rice, and ice cold drinks. Even 2 months later, it is a very satisfying culinary memory; Bruce and I felt really guilty (I promise) that we were eating a 5-star meal instead of cold cuts back at the church.
• Was right there with us enjoying Salvador's "Heaven" and some Stevie Ray Vaughan blues CD's when we'd be driving back and forth between our host church and our job sites in my cousin Walter's pickup truck. With some good tunes on, some good friends along for the ride, and some incredible scenery along the side roads and byways of Pass Christian, we were able to remember that even after a storm, there comes a calm, and a return to beauty, peace, and tranquility.

Thinking about that peace and tranquility, my prayer is that, even as we mourn Bruce's passing and even as we grieve for his family's loss, even now Bruce is at home and happy in the presence of our Savior.

The last time I saw Bruce was two weeks ago at our Thursday a.m. men's ministry gathering, Reveille. Bruce was looking sharp in a brand new, blue pin-striped suit, heading out to finish his first week at his new post-retirement consulting gig. I commented as we were leaving, that I very much liked his "new" uniform. He gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.

Bruce, we are going to miss that grin and your friendship.

"He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25).

Stan

A Few Good (Young) Men.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. -- 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

With a group of about 30 guys, we had the luxury of dividing our effort up into separate teams. One of the things that long will be remembered by members of Guy Kleintop's team was when we said goodbye to George Hicks. We worked for and alongside George for a couple of days, helping him to get new drywall up on the walls and ceilings in his house. There was a strong mutual feeling between him and the guys on our team. Needless to say, it was an emotional moment.

However, when we were leaving, George not only wanted to say "thank you," but he also wanted to specifically address how impressed he was with the young men on our team. He noted how much is made these days of the perception that many young men are not very much engaged in their communities or the world around them, preferring, instead, to watch TV, play video games, or just hang out with their friends to no visible or lasting purpose.

Our young men, he noted, were different. He was very complimentary of their efforts and their diligence and the way that they handled themselves. That really applies to all of the young guys who were on our trip, and not just the ones who happened to be with us at George's house. These young men are a real credit to their families and their church community, and it was a great privilege to serve alongside each of them in Mississippi. Way to go guys. Here is the honor roll of young guys from our trip:

Kyle Benson
Jordan Cowles
Dan Crabtree
Tim Crabtree
Renat Currie
Sam Kleintop
Keith Long
Reece Long

From Lowell Mininger.

Immanuel Bible Church sent a team 26-man team to Pass Christian, MS, July 15-22, to work with Bible Fellowship Church (BFC) to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The trip was a great success.

The group helped the church prepare for construction of an outdoor pavilion and installed siding on the new sanctuary building. Teams of men worked on ten homes and on Friday afternoon, presented personalized Bibles to the homeowners, who seemed to have been touched by God’s grace during the week. We provided information to BFC’s Pastor Don Trest who has already made pastoral visits to some of them.

One of the goals was to raise $1000 per man to pay for tools and materials. So far, receipts have totaled more than $32,000. Thanks to generous friends! Stay tuned for an after action report.

Pictures of Men on a Mission.

Here are some more shots from our trip photographer, Preston Stover.

Christians in "The Pass": A Mid-Week Report.

Our teams have really been working hard this week. One of the problems with the blog updates has been that we have been so busy working, it has been hard to set aside time to write them up and post them in between the work, driving to the sites, team meetings, meal prep/clean up, and shower time in the "Chicken Coop" (an outdoor set up with 3 showers where most of the guys go to get cleaned up after a day in the field).

A quick summary, though, might give you an idea of what has been going on since the last update:

• Several teams worked together to get drywall almost completely hung at the home of George Hicks, who lives in the Oak Park area of Pass Christian;
• Team 3 repaired an interior ceiling with drywall at a trailer owned by Miss Simone, not too far from Bible Fellowship Church;
• Brent Crabtree's team has done a lot of work in several different trades (including plumbing and electrical) at the home of Donna Flynn (NOTE: please be praying for Donna today at 11:00 a.m. CST (10:00 a.m. EST) as she is scheduled for a mediation with her insurance company concerning their payout on her policy);
• Bill Law, Dave Hollenbeck, Lowell Mininger, Preston Stover, Dave Wingerd, and Preston Stover all did a ton of work together (including painting, plumbing, electrical and the like) at the home of Eric Ladner;
• Tom Cowles' team also did a wide variety of work at the home of the Kimballs, a BFC church family.

Today should be interesting day. Please be praying for our work to go smoothly, quickly, and well. Most of the teams still have a "wish list" of items they would like to complete for their clients, but there is only a limited amount of time left in which to get those things done. We will do the best we can to lay a foundation for the next group to come in behind us and keep carrying the baton forward toward a rebuilt Pass Christian.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support, and thanks for reading.

Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap.

The past three days have been very busy, which is why the updates have been less frequent this early part of the week. On one of our jobs, we took a look at ourselves after a pretty long day of sanding dry wall, sweeping up and disposing of very sour smelling (and rotted) blown insulation, and various and sundry other "dirty jobs" when an old hard rock anthem came on a local radio station. Maybe not the sort of thing you'd sing in church, but the refrain from that song definitely captured the spirit -- and the facts -- of our work thus far. Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap. But, hey, when there is a tough job, there is always someone who has to get it done. This team is definitely the group of men you want on your side to get a hard job finished.

A couple of teams successfully put up siding on the sanctuary building of our host church, Bible Fellowship Church. Another group has repaired with new drywall the ceiling in a single-wide trailer that was storm damaged. We are helping a great guy named Mike Frost finish up the drywall work (sanding, mudding, taping, and finish) in his storm-damaged home. Several teams came together today and got a great start on putting in the drywall in the home of George Hicks. Brent Crabtree's team has been making fantastic progress at the home of a local lady named, Donna; they have done plumbing, electrical, and even built out walls on her house. And so it goes.

In our team meetings, we've been praising God full time for the work is allowing to happen through us, as well as for the experiences, fellowship, new friendships, and perspectives He is bringing our way through this work. Please keep praying for our team to continue to be safe in its work, and to be a good witness down here. Thanks for your prayers, support, and for reading.

Sunday at Bible Fellowship Church.

This morning we were up and at it early so we could eat breakfast in the BFC "Daniel's Den" and then clear out in enough time for the BFC women's Sunday Bible study to take place there at 9:00 a.m. Our guys met with the men and boys of the BFC congregation at 9:00 a.m. for a Bible study focused on marriage. We did a quick refresher course on the Five Love Languages, and even did a down-and-dirty Myers-Briggs personality test. (A lot of ISTJ's in our group.)

Typically, the BFC main service gets underway after the Bible study, with the full congregation coming together at 10:30. This morning, Pastor Don Trest spoke from I Peter 3:8-17 about "Peacemakers and Do-Gooders," especially in context of the effort by BFC's elders and deacons to establish an updated 6-12 month plan, focused on "doing church right." It was a good service, and well done by Pastor Don. We'll be praying along with the BFC elders and deacons for the plan to come together.

After church let out, we got back together for a lunch of cold cuts, chips, and chocolate cake, and groups set out for different errands and/or sightseeing. Our work schedule will get laid out in our 3:00 meeting with our BFC work coordinator, John Whitney.

We're excited about getting going tomorrow morning. Probably, the work day will be 7 or 8:00 a.m. to noon, with an extended lunch break in the middle of the day to avoid the high heat, and then back out for more work on afternoon shifts from about 2:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Thanks for the continued prayers, and for reading.

The Team (and the Tools) Arrive in "The Pass."
Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 6:30 p.m.

The IBC Men On A Mission team converged on Pass Christian today via planes and automobiles (sorry, no trains involved so far as we are aware, although we do have a couple of pretty sweet box trucks).

13 men met at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot at IBC, prior to departure for Ronald Reagan National Airport and the first leg of the trip (D.C.-to-Charlotte). Volunteer of the Day was Art Bergeson for stepping up to drive this part of the team and their luggage to the airport. Thanks also to our wives and families for getting us to the church on time this a.m., and to Pastor Tom Joyce who got up early to stop by and send us off with a well-said prayer.

Charlie Carroll made it in late this afternoon with the IBC box truck and tools, and others, including Joel Benson and his sons and Preston Stover and his son came in by car at different times.

We are just about to pray for dinner and get started on re-fueling after a long day on the road. Bill Law, our advance team leader, and Brent Crabtree and his sons, were able to get out with our local point of contact, John Whitney, to a local jobsite (the Kimballs' house) today. So, the work has already begun.

Thanks to Jim McDonough and Tom Currie for cooking up the grub, and to Bill Law and Lowell Mininger for their leadership and logistical expertise. We are on our way; keep praying for the work of our hands.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless. Stay tuned; we will try and keep you posted with as many updates as possible.