October 11, 7:15 am

Well, its been a while since I've updated this page. That doesn't mean little has been happening. Work crews worked in the Southeast Texas area last weekend and will again be there this next weekend. Volunteers from congregations, Lutheran High School South, and Boy Scouts have been "burning energy" by clearing fallen branches and trees, picking up material that has been blown all over the properties, and doing some of the repair work necessary to get the different churches up and operating.

Most of the people have returned to the areas since most now have electricity and water. There are still a few sections that are waiting for those items. But "getting back to normal" will still take a bit of time! We continue to keep our sisters and brothers in Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana in our prayers as these transitions are being met.

If you haven't already done so, now is a very good time to review your "disaster response" plan for your congregation. You can use the "manuals" that are located at the following website http://www.txdistlcms.org/emergency/  as a basis to develop your specific plan. I would encourage you to think about having a person who is a "Disaster Volunteer Coordinator" so that resources for materials and people can quickly be mobilized for service in disaster situations. Please remember, not all disasters provide you with multiple days of warning.

We want to think all who have been offering "time and resources" for all those affected by Hurricane Rita. As each property has been assessed, there are always more needs than originally expected. Once inside buildings, one sees the path of water…and it has its own way of doing damage.

Continue to follow the Hurricane Rita Website…God's peace to you!

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

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October 3, 2005, 8:45 pm

I was over in the Golden Triangle area again today...some needed goods were delivered to the Port Arthur High School for distribution.  Also, walked through Trinity, Port Arthur...a little water entered the building vents or open windows.  We secured the broken windows and journeyed over to Pastor Dinger's House in Bridge City.  Lots of trees down...one on top of the garage...some roof damage...lots of clean up to do.

Pictures of his house can be viewed at:

http://public.fotki.com/TxDistAreaD/district_events/dingers_house_in/

Late last Wednesday afternoon, I received a phone call from a lady in Collinsville, IL whose neighbor had recently moved from Buna, TX. This neighbor had heard from family and friends in the east Texas community of Buna…they were in dire need of some very basic necessities: diapers, flashlights, batteries, baby wipes, toilet tissue, baby rash ointment, baby powder, and energy drinks. On Friday morning, Martha and I went to Wal-Mart, filled the car with those items and journeyed to that little community north of Beaumont. When we arrived at the fire station in Buna and unloaded the car, we were introduced to everyone around. They were so very appreciative of the carload of resources. They took the 600 "God Is Our Shelter and Strength" booklets and placed them in a spot where everyone would get one…the smiles on their faces were all the thanks that was necessary.

Also, on Thursday evening a semi filled with 36,000+ bottles of water arrived here in Houston. Wade Hilty, president of St. John, Cypress, owns a commercial roofing company and had some space in his warehouse. With the aid of his fork-lift, the semi was unloaded. Wade made contact with Mike White, member of Grace in Orange and Sheriff of Orange County, to determine where there might be a need for water. Arrangements were made that another semi would load the bottles of water and deliver them to the Orange County Airport where a distribution center had been set up. They were in need of water…Saturday morning those bottles of water were being distributed to those in need!

As the lady in Collinsville said, "we have a real network of people who can respond to the needs in disasters!" And God connects people to people in that massive network of caring Christian people….to Him be the glory!

As residents get back into the various communities in East Texas,  many will discover the great need for assistance for getting rid of trees that are no longer providing shade, but are blocking driveways, walkways, doorways, fences, and otherwise causing problems for getting electricity back into houses.  Volunteers will be needed.  If you have people or material resources, please let me know...we'll help connect you with people in the area with needs.

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

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September 29, 8:30 am

Rev. Carlos Hernandez (LCMS World Relief and Human Care assistant), Martha Jander, Rev. Richard Turner and I visited all the churches in the Golden Triangle on Wednesday and took pictures of all our churches in that area. Thanks to Richard who serves as Pastor at St. Paul, Groves and as a Police Chaplain to the police department of Beaumont, Groves, Nederland, and Port Arthur, we were able to get past the check points. He took us to four of the churches located in Port Arthur, Groves, and Nederland. Hope, Winnie had no damage that could be seen from the outside. Once inside the secured area, we were also able to get back to the churches in Beaumont. Orange had no security people at the exits off Interstate 10 so we were able to get to Grace, Orange.

We found out that Beaumont, Nederland, Groves, Port Arthur, and Orange may be without electricity for 4 to 6 weeks. Thus, it is unlikely that the residents will be invited back before that is restored. We had lunch at the "command center" (a fire station in Groves) with all the workers. The entire area had numerous trees down, some on top of homes, and varying degrees of damage. Those trees will have to be moved before power can be restored.

Here is the location of all the pictures.

http://public.fotki.com/TxDistAreaD/district_events/hurricane_photos/ 

Click on the small thumbnail of the first picture and that will enlarge it...click "next" to page through the pictures. The name of the church and brief description is below the pictures.

In some cases the cities seemed like "ghost towns" with so few people moving around.

We will now be working with our church workers and church leaders to clarify the specific needs that will be coming as they return to the area.

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

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September 27, 3:00 pm

Yesterday, Monday, during my visit in the Beaumont area, I took a few pictures...the first four on the website below were of the Beaumont area and the remaining pictures are of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Beaumont.

http://public.fotki.com/TxDistAreaD/district_events/hurricane_photos/

To view the pictures in larger format, just click on the picture and that should enlarge it.

As we received more pictures, I'll post them on the above website.

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

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September 27, 9:00 am

Yesterday, Monday, I visited the Golden Triangle area. I was able to get around to some of the churches.  Rev. Richard Turner was also in the area and got around to some of the other churches.  Below is a listing of the churches believed to have been affected and the status...please note that this is an "early report" and updates will be made as people are able to return.

Driving around the Beaumont area was an adventure: getting around the fallen trees, downed powerlines, and other materials that had been moved from one place to the other.  Clean up will be coming.

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

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September 25, 2:10 pm

Here is the news from the Beaumont Enterprise Newspaper:

     It could take as long as a month before Southeast Texans who fled from Hurricane Rita and her 120 mph-plus winds can return to an area that was left Saturday without electricity and water in a tattered landscape of downed trees, power lines and building debris.

     As of 9 p.m., there had been no reports of storm-related deaths in the area, but Rita's wrath on trees and buildings was another matter. Along with thousands of Entergy workers, 2,500 National Guard, 2,000 soldiers from 1St Cavalry in Fort Hood and troopers and firefighters from Fort Worth were expected to swarm the region and begin the cleanup process.

     Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, Vidor and towns well into the northern parts of East Texas all suffered severe damage, with few homes and businesses escaping unharmed.

     Perry (Governor of Texas) described the devastation he saw from above, including roofs being torn off, churches with structural damage and trees over houses. Port Arthur had received a lot of flood water he said, particularly to older structures.

     You can keep up with the developments in Southeast Texas by checking the following website (Beaumont Enterprise Newspaper, online):

  http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/site/news.asp?brd=2287

     I have received a number of phone calls with questions related to "how to help?"  Since we are not presently able to get into the area to assess damage and the local officials aren't letting anyone but emergency support people in, we are unable to provide any other details.  When it is possible to get in, we'll be there and in touch with the churches.  Watch the Rita website for updates.

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

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September 24, 7:20 pm

If you are from Houston and want to return: you WILL encounter traffic and you will NOT find gas in Houston and along many routes entering the Houston Area. The Governor and the Mayor of Houston have asked residents of Harris County and neighboring counties NOT to begin returning today! The sun may be shining where you are but returning to this area is not as much a weather issue as will be the travel times and gasoline shortage.

On to other notes: We weathered the arrival of Rita with minimal problems here in northwest Houston. While there was some high winds in various parts of Harris County and around the immediate counties, many are relieved with what was discovered as they walked outside this morning. Please understand…southeast Texas is a large geographic area extending to the Galveston area all the way to Port Arthur, Beaumont, Orange and down to the Corpus Christi area…all having at one time been in the path of Rita. We have some damage in those areas and will be getting the word out as to the extend of that damage as we are able to get into those areas. Some have had much more damage than others.

I have been in touch with those that I have been able to reach and have heard the status from around the area.

I just wanted to get out this quick note. Please continue to check the Rita website…we will use that means to let people know the needs and issues that we have for the areas most affected.

We thank you for your prayers and support

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

P.S.  Just heard that those people living in the Golden Triangle area should not plan on returning to their homes until official notice is given.  No indication when that will be...the cities are trying to get the infrastructure back in place and the roads passable.

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September 23, 5:15 pm

Well, the wind is picking up…the clouds are rolling in…we are ready for what is to come!  Currently, we still have electricity and we're following the developments on the local news channels.  At this time the eye will likely make landfall somewhere around Port Arthur in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Texas.  Of course, a "wobble" (a scientific term?) might bring it back more towards the Galveston-Houston area.  If the current landfall holds true, we can expect winds in the neighborhood of 60-80 mph here in Northwest Houston.  Many of our church workers and church members have "hunkered down" (another scientific term) to ride out the arrival of Rita.  And inserted into the local reports for Rita is the video of the reflooding of New Orleans.

As many of you around the State and beyond have seen, the traffic evacuating Houston on Thursday was something to behold.  This morning when I was delivering some food to a "spontaneous" shelter for those stranded by frustration with the traffic, lack of food or water, and needing gas, there were numerous cars just sitting on the side of the road abandoned…counted 17 in just ½ mile…and they are all over.

Now just think, the local news reported near 2 million people left Houston for points north, south, and west…now they have to return to Houston.  I can't begin to imagine what the roads will look like Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  And on top of that, the gas situation will be an added problem.  These are certainly concerns and issues, not a result of poor planning, but a result of just way too many people needing to move from one point to another, all at one time.

So if you are planning on coming to Houston on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, you best plan to be prepared for a longer drive than usual and likely difficulty in finding gas…my cars are full as we speak.

I have had so many emails and phone calls from friends, fellow Lutherans, and coworkers with encouragement and prayers…thank you…it's a special group of sisters and brothers in Christ.

I'll try to post updates as I am able…I fully expect to lose Internet connection at some point as Rita gets closer and begins to exercise her power…in fact, our daughter in west Houston just called and reported that they have no power at their home.

God bless and keep you in His care and protection…wherever you may be.

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF

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September 22, 6:30 am

   As many have seen on local or national TV, traffic was really something to behold as many residents from evacuation areas were on their way north, west, and south from areas all around Houston.

     Where will Rita go?  Well, I've learned a new scientific term: "wobble."  I'd like to know the definition of that term in our scientific journals.

     I want to think the many people who have written to share their concerns and prayers as Southeast Texas readies for Rita's arrival.  We truly thank you.  We have been cautious and watchful as we monitored her coming.

     If you offered your church as a shelter for people moving from harms way, we thank you!  We know that a number of our sisters and brothers have either stayed in the area or departed the area.  All have most likely experienced some anxiousness, in traffic or just watching the "wobbles" of Rita.

     Where Rita makes landfall, we will have opportunity to step up and provide assistance.  I just want to call your attention to President Linderman's "After Rita" procedures.  Information will be posted on how that response may take place.  It is very possible that later today, I may not have access to the Internet or communication.

     Where ever you are, please be safe and may God lay His protecting hand throughout Southeast Texas and Southern Louisiana.

Dr. Lou Jander

September 21, 9:40 pm

Hope all of you are ready for what is ahead.  I've heard from many of the congregations from around the area and know that most have pretty well completed the necessary preparations for what is ahead.

The District Office will work very hard to keep you informed and to respond with help as any needs are surfaced during the days following the arrival of Hurricane Rita.  You will all be in our prayers as we take this journey with the Lord walking with us.

May this be a time of safety, service, and sharing of the joy we have in the Gospel.

Dr. Lou Jander

Texas District MMF