Home Sweet Home

Three months later, we have finally left our Econo Lodge room behind for the 6 month old 2-bedroom duplex we found. We are so excited! We moved all our things from the hotel over to the new spot on Friday evening. We bought an air mattress, a sheet set, paper plates and cups, plastic silverware and borrowed two towels from Pastor Noble. Then today, Jermale got a card table and 3 folding chairs from the church. So, we are set for a bit. We are still working out the details of getting the rest of our stuff from Michigan, but it will all work out. We are just so happy to have a place that will be “home”. It makes a big difference. Above are some pictures. Obviously it is still really empty, but we are very thankful!

Thank you for all the prayers!

Love,
The Eddies

Keep the prayers coming!

It is getting more and more important to remind ourselves that God brought us here for a reason and that He is in control! Although it has been great to be past the worst of hurricane season, it still feels like we are facing various “storms”. First of all my job has become quite stressful. I was initially so excited to find what seemed to be such a perfect fit in such a short amount of time. However, after the first few weeks, it became apparent that there are quite a few underlying issues going on here that cause it to be a tense and often negative work environment. It is still a blessing to have a fulltime income and I am using new skills and learning a lot, but I am not enjoying it. I don’t want to go on and on with the details, but please pray that God will use me in this work and show me His full purpose for me in this position. I believe He brought me here for a reason and I want to stick it out until that reason is revealed and fulfilled.

Then there’s the housing situation. We have had some interest in our home in Michigan, but no offers yet. Since it had been on the market a while, we decided to pursue the option of renting it out. We figured if we had the relief from paying our full mortgage then we could move out of the hotel and at least get an apartment. But, apparently there have been new rules established since the financial crisis on Wall Street. As of October 2008, homeowners are only allowed to rent if they have 25-30% equity in their homes (which we don’t since we haven’t even owned it a year yet). Also, if we were to try to buy a home here with our home in Michigan still not sold, we would have to qualify for two mortgage loans and we would not be allowed to consider any rent being paid to us as income. So, basically renting was not an option for us and our realtor actually suggested that we begin proactively negotiating with our lender to see if we could set up some sort of a short sale arrangement. This would mean the bank would loose money, we would loose money and we would possible have our credit damaged. We are holding off on this and waiting for God to come through.

On a positive note, we spoke to the district superintendent with the united Methodist Church about the situation with the house and he approved us to get an apartment. The church will pay the rent until we can take it over after the house is off our hands and it will actually cost them significantly less than the hotel. It was crazy trying to find an apartment that was vacant because so many already stay pretty full due to all the plants and factories around here and then there was a huge demand after hurricane Ike since a lot of people lost their homes. It was discouraging for a while, but we knew God had the right place for us. Finally, we found a 2-bedroom duplex about 10 minutes from the church. It was built only 6 months ago and someone had to move suddenly due to job re-location. It will cost the same as our Michigan mortgage to rent it, but the church approved it and we can make it work in our budget after our house sells. It should be ready for us to move in by the end of this week! Now the dilemma is figuring out how to get all our stuff from Michigan since we have no furniture, dishes, warmer clothes, etc. We are still figuring that part out, but we plan to be totally settled in with all our stuff by the end of the month and we are very thankful for this!

The last “storm” has been in the area of benefits. I am nearing the end of my 3 month probationary period at my job and will be eligible for benefits on Nov. 18. I met with the insurance lady yesterday and found out that my job will not cover Jermale - we would have to pay out-of pocket to add him and it’s expensive. Plus, it isn’t even a good health plan- it is actually pretty terrible. My deductible alone before the insurance would cover anything is $3000 a year and then they cover 70%. It is a $30 co-pay for a regular Dr. appt. I know this is better than nothing, but we have never had such a bad policy before so it is pretty frustrating.
As far as Jermale, the church progress is moving a long and the first service will be Jan 11th! Jermale is also getting lots of substitute teaching jobs and that is going well. We are meeting more people and building some friendships, but we still have a long way to go before we will feel like we have a true support network similar to what we had in Michigan.

Again, that is why we have to continually remind ourselves that God is in control. We also recognize that at this point the stage is set for an amazing testimony. It is tough to go through the storms of life, but God is strengthening us through them and we know we will never be going through the storms alone. Please keep the prayers coming and keep in touch with us :)

Love,
The Eddies

Church Website

Hi everyone!

Things contiune to move along with the church. The website is up and running now, but some pages are still under construction. Check it out http://www.impactumc.org/

These are some recent pix. My hair actually will stay straight in Texas now that the humidity is low.

Love,

~The Eddies

Building a Life

It is so nice to stop running from hurricanes and start having some consistency! Jermale and I joined the local YMCA soon after coming back to Port Arthur so that we could start working out again. Jermale usually goes in the morning and I go to 6:30pm classes after work like yoga, step aerobics, and body fusion. It really feels good to get out of the hotel and exert some energy. We are trying to get back into a routine of healthy eating too. We are getting more creative with our two burner cooking surface and no oven. Jermale usually does dinner during the week and I cook on the weekends. We have also re-introduced Friday as date night! It has been fun trying to find new restaurants and things to do. Last weekend we found a miniature golf spot and went to a Mexican restaurant. Tonight we will try a tapas place with another couple we met. These small routines have helped us begin to define normal here.

Also, we got a second car (praise report)! We looked for a while to find the best deal and ended up getting a 2006 Chevy Equinox. We are really happy with the car and with the deal we got. Being back to two vehicles has mad life so much easier!

As far as the house, we dropped the price and are really hoping to generate some interest. Our realtor has had a few phone calls, but they haven't gone anywhere. The most recent request we had was from a guy who wanted to know what our average heating and eletric bills were after he walked through the house. It seemed like he was pretty interested. We'll see.....

The pix are from last Sunday. We went to a community 20 minutes away called Bridge City to help with the clean-up efforts. There was extreme flooding in this area. The water is gone now, but there had been about a 5 foot water line in all buildings. We spent the day hauling stuff from gutted apartments to the road for Fema to pick up. The other pic is Jermale's "baby locks" which have grown a lot. I finally got my hair pressed too since the humidity is lower (it has been sunny mid 80s all week). I will add a pic soon :)

Below is Jermale's update concerning the church:

Everything with the church is going well; slow, but well. I have to realize that everything takes time, not my time but God’s time. After two hurricane evacuations, many of us have lost a little steam. In fact, we are about a month behind on our planning schedule; and so is everyone else in our area. As a way of getting back to God’s business, we are going to do some Prayer Walks in the neighborhoods around the church next week. I am hoping that by then, we will have some information sheets & business cards to give the people we meet! Lastly, we will be getting our pews re upholstered, new Air Conditioning system and a new sound/video system.

Evangelism Opportunity: Try doing a random act of kindness this week. While at the gas station today, I heard someone say they only had $3 to put gas in their car. I then walked over there and “paid at the pump” $20, so that he could have a little more gas and use the $3 for something else!
“You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity.” (2 Corinthians 9:11)

Love,

~The Eddies

Back Home in Port Arthur!!!

You never know how much you really miss something until it is taken away from you for a while. This is the way that we felt upon returning to our little glorified dorm room, otherwise known as the Econo Lodge. Yesterday (Saturday, September 20) the city of Port Arthur lifted the mandatory evacuation at 6am. So I was able to talk Anissa into ridding with me back to take a peek at the damages. She was hesitant since she had just got back from California at 7:30pm the night before and I wanted to leave by 6:30am in case there was traffic.

While driving (and as Anissa slept) I saw a lot of damage between Houston and Port Arthur. It really brought back memories of what the gulf coast looked like after hurricane’s Katrina and Rita. Since the ocean water came on land, many fields that had cattle & crops were flooded, therefore, I had to take an alternate route into town because HWY 73 (that we normally take) had roaming cows on it looking to stay dry (lol). When we arrived in Port Arthur, we found that the Econ Lodge and our “glorified dorm room” were fine. The building only lost a few pieces of siding and roof shingles and the fence around the pool blew down. They even went into everyone’s room to clean out their refrigerator so that people would not come back to a stinky room or a moldy fridge. We also received electricity early that morning. After checking out Port Arthur, we drove to Beaumont, where Anissa works. They had electricity, but the building had a few windows blow out. As for the rest of Beaumont’s downtown, glass covered many of the streets due to the windows being blown out of other buildings. Finally, we left back to Cypress, where we were staying for the week, so that we could rest, get our luggage and come in this morning.

Once again, we left at 6:30am, so that we could try to beat the incoming traffic back into the city. Also once again, Anissa slept as I drove in to the city. If you have not already figured out, Anissa loves to sleep. Sleep is her favorite pass-time (lol). We got back in town just in time to change and make it to a local church service near the edge of town. The service was just what I (we) needed. I was so excited to go to a church service and worship with other followers of Christ, that I wanted to skip showering, but I thought that might curse the saints rather than bless them!!!! After the church service, they fed everyone breakfast and we went grocery shopping and are home safely getting things back in order. There is also a mandatory curfew where no one can be out & about from 8pm-5am, except restoration workers.

On a side note, things have been so crazy since we left Grand Rapids that I know God is about to do something. I got a vision for a community outreach that I will tell you about in a later blog, but it is going to be HOTT!!! Anissa and I have been through so much transition, that I am not even sure that I would recognize what normal was, if it looked me in the eyes (I was told that this is what ministry is). Therefore, please pray with us for the following:

1) The catching up of “church starting” work
2) Hope & Encouragement for the devastated communities & residents
3) A second vehicle for Anissa & I
4) Our house in Grand Rapids to sell
5) The finding of a nice house in Texas
6) That the love of Christ will bless all who continue to pray for the work that He has sent us here to do.

Love the Eddies, servants of Christ!

PS These pictures are at our hotel and around Port Arthur - damage was minimal

Never a Dull Moment...

Our city remains under an emergency evacuation and we still cannot return. We are able to continue staying at this retreat center, but the new dilemma is that I am supposed to fly out of Houston tomorrow (9/17) to a conference in Anaheim, California for my job. We are 10-12 hours away from Houston at this point, but the airline (never fly US Airways!!!!!) has been entirely less than helpful and will not adjust my flight to a closer airport without astronomical fees. So, we are scrambling to figure out where we could stay overnight in Houston. There are very few hotels with vacancies and the ones we are finding don’t have water or you can’t call b/ c the phones are down. Frustrating! We will find some way to get me to the airport and then Jermale might have to go 5 hours away to Dallas or something. I will be back on Friday (9/19) and we will go from there.

The storm blew through Arkansas on Sat. night with 55mph winds and it was still really scary even though it was only a tropical storm at that point. Port Arthur is still without power and sewer services, but thankfully the actual damage is minimal. Praise God! I had a break down the other day, but am doing better now. Jermale has been really great through all this and helps keep me calm. Stay tuned...

Hurricane Ike Update

It is hard to get completely current information since we are in Arkansas, but we are able to access our local, Port Arthur/Beaumont news stations online. This is the link to one of the sites if you want to see video from our area. http://www.kfdm.com/ It seems like both Beaumont and Port Arthur have had some serious damage. Most people are without power (and are predicted to be without it for several weeks) Lots of phone lines are down. The sewer and water services are limited, if available at all. There was some flooding, but the levees in Port Arthur held, which is very good news. Again, news media is just starting to get out and access damage, but some of the surrounding areas in neighboring Orange County and Sabine Pass are very hard to get to at this point and there are reports of waist deep water in some homes there.

We have no idea when we will be able to return to Port Arthur this time. The weather should clear up in the area within the next few days, but they might not lift the mandatory evacuation until electricity and sewer systems are back up and running and all the major roadways are cleared of trees and debris. We haven't called to check on our hotel yet, but we brought all our important things with us, so there isn't much to worry about. We are thankful we didn't have a house yet at this point. This whole thing may just be why God hasn't allowed our home in Michigan to sell yet! As far as my job, we get "hurricane pay" sort of like Michigan snow days. So, I will still get paid for all the days we are evacuated. This is just another example of God's faithfulness, as all this evacuating was definitely not in the budget!

So, we will plan to stay at the retreat center in Fayettville, Arkansas for now. We ended up here because we were originally headed to Dallas, but we couldn't get a hold of Jermale's Aunt who lives there. Pastor Noble was at this retreat center for a conference and he had chosen to stay after the conference was over b/c the storm was coming. He told us he could get us a complementary room if we came there. So, we adjusted our route and headed to Arkansas. It was a 12 hour drive, but we were stocked up this time with a cooler of food and a 5 gallon gas can. It actually ended up working out better that we came here b/c even Dallas was feeling some effects from the storm. Plus, Jermale's Aunt said that so many people evacuated to Dallas that food and gas were starting to get difficult to find. We even saw on the news that gas was at $4.85 a gallon and prices were still rising.

This is crazy! But, God is in control and we are at peace. We will do whatever we can to help the community when we are able to go back. For now, we prayerfully wait...

~The Eddies