Click here for pictures of the November Mission Trip

 

Mission Trip News
A group of our members will be going on our second mission trip to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, February 15-20 to help with the Hurricane Katrina cleanup and rebuilding effort. Please consider donating a card from Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe’s or a gas card to help with the expense of the trip. The cards from Home Depot, etc. will be given to the coordinator in Ocean Springs to buy needed supplies (lumber, paint, etc.). A box is set up in the front of the church for your donations. Please keep the following people who are going on the mission trip in your prayers: Tim Chorzempa, Matt Liehr, Warren Liehr, Frank and Kevin Powalowski, Phil Reiter and Shawn Wilt.

From: Amy Hoffman
Let me start out by thanking my Memorial family for the opportunity to travel to the gulf coast. Because of your generosity we were able to donate much needed supplies and money to Christus Victor Lutheran, the church that is giving its community a wonderful gift. I can’t even begin to put into words what I experienced there. The destruction is quite simply overwhelming. Having lived a pretty sheltered life, nothing prepared me for what I would see. Saying that being there those few days changed my life would be an understatement. Seeing up close the power of nature, the absolute obliteration of entire neighborhoods, just makes your heart break. Just as amazing are the people of the gulf coast. Their perseverance is a lesson all people should learn. They were so gracious to us and thankful for what they still have. Even though they may not say it, they must know our Lord is with them. The volunteers, and there are many, are wonderful. There are some that are on their third tour of duty, staying with host families. Many are retires who are spending there "Florida time" volunteering. It’s refreshing to see that most of the recovery process is being overseen and accomplished by volunteers. I look forward to returning at some point and encourage anyone who is able to give of their time as well.

From: Lavisa Gehring
Before I went to Mississippi, Hurricane Katrina was just another natural disaster that I felt very sorry had happened.  I sent a contribution to Lutheran World Disaster Relief and continued to let a lot of petty and silly things upset me. Once in Ocean Springs, Hurricane Katrina became real and I started to realize how much the people there have suffered. Katrina had a face.  People who have lost everything, living in their cars or tents or lean to's and expressing their gratitude and thankfulness for the small service we were able to give.  The congregation of Christus Victor Lutheran Church has pulled together and done an amazing job of organizing work crews to clean out flooded homes and set up a distribution center to meet the physical needs of the surrounding community.  I feel thankful to have had the opportunity to go to Mississippi with Amy Hoffman, Sue Wright and Pastor Craig and will always cherish their friendship.  We laughed and cried together and I think we were all changed.  

Mission Trip To Mississippi - Pastor Craig
We Must Do More! These 4 words have filled my heart and mind and soul since returning from Mississippi on November 28, 2005. I want to thank Lavisa Gehring for organizing our mission trip and participating in it. I thank Amy Hoffman and Sue Wright for participating in the trip with me also. I also thank Clyde Appleby and Matt Liehr and his brother, Warren, for making the decision to go, but were not able to due to illness. I want to thank Clyde also for providing the gloves and eye protection for us. Thanks to Cindy Rerucha and family for purchasing the respirators for us to wear. And thanks to Matt Liehr for the use of his van for the trip. (Even though he was ill, he still provided for our transportation.) I also want to thank everyone for your generosity in giving cash, checks, gift cards and gas cards. Thanks to your generosity, we covered all expenses for the trip (excluding housing, which was paid for by the participants) and gave $600.00 to the efforts locally that Christus Victor Lutheran Church provides. And, have established a mission trip fund to help pay the expenses for future mission trips and to help to contribute to future needs. Please look at our church web-site and the display in the church entrance that shows pictures and experiences of the mission. What follows is an e-mail I sent to Bishop Marcus Lohrmann the day after our return to Ohio.