As my plane dropped through the cloud cover into Baton Rouge yesterday, the widespread devastion from the high winds and rain of Hurricane Gustav was evident. Blue tarps were covering many roofs and large oak and pine trees were scattered about in all directions like a grown-up version of the game "Pick Up Sticks" gone wrong.
On the ground, the destruction is evident on every street. Houses caved in by fallen trees, crushed automobiles, downed power lines and the resulting darkend homes and businesses are as common as stop signs. I find the citizens that I meet to be resilent and trying to recover, but hampered by a sense of shock about the immensity of the problems that they are facing. Some areas of this region are predicted to be without power for up to 4 weeks.
I am reminded that in the darkness, the light shines brightest and there are some great examples of brightly shining lights in Baton Rouge. Some of the first people that I met were the public affairs officers from ExxonMobil who stepped up to support HOPE worldwide's volunteer efforts. In a statement of appreciation, Antonio Boyd, HOPE worldwide VP of United States Programs said, "Even before the storm hit, George Pietrogallo, ExxonMobil's Public Affairs Manager, agreed to provide significant funding for mobilizing and caring for our volunteers." As good neighbors, ExxonMobil has asked our volunteers to spearhead their door-to-door clean-up effort for the neighborhoods surrounding their plants in Baton Rouge. ExxonMobil is the largest private employer in the Baton Rouge region. As our volunteers visit each home, it is gratifying to see questioning stares turn quickly into smiling faces as the residents learn that we are there to help and to care. Literally, tens of thousands are benefiting from our services.
I find it hard to fully express the tremendous effort that is being made by those who have come to serve. We have volunteers from churches from the International Churches of Christ that span the United States from Hawaii to Jacksonville, from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, and from Chicago to 
Houston to name a few. We have also been joined by some great folks from far away and near communities that learned about our service in Baton Rouge and chose to join our efforts. Three sisters from Kauai, Chicago and New York City who attended last week's International Singles Conference in Dallas extended their stay an extra week just to volunteer in Baton Rouge. I need to also add that our volunteer efforts are doubly effective because of the skilled talent that we have on the ground through our full-time staff members led by Frank Dowd who work for HOPE worldwide Gulf Coast.
More volunteers are on the way and I encourage any others who want to serve to register on the HOPE worldwide website at www.hopeww.org. Donations are also of great importance as the needs of this community are ongoing. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, please continue to pray for our efforts in the Gulf Coast and for those whom we are serving.
Randy Jordan, CEO HOPE worldwide
Click here for information on how to volunteer and donate: www.hopeww.org
Photos by Roger Lamb, Disciples Today