Mark 4:37-39 “And there arose a great storm of wind...and they said to Him, Master, do you care if we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said... Peace, be still and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
As we watched the weather reports throughout the night last Thursday, it was like reliving our experiences from just 18 months earlier in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Someone called and asked me, “Pastor does disaster follow you or are you just following disasters?” I guess the same question could be asked of the ministry of Jesus as He always seemed to find Himself in close proximity to not only disasters, but also to hurting people.
As of this newsletter, twenty people have lost their lives as a result of the storms that swept though Central Florida. Hundreds of houses, a local church and many other buildings were literally ripped apart during this storm where there were reportedly four tornadoes on the ground.
Melanie and Kayla stand in front of what was the Lady Lake Church of God in Lady Lake, Fl
Melanie, Kayla and I immediately knew that we had to go and help in some way. With both of our vehicles experiencing mechanical problems, I told Mel, “We have AAA, and if we happen to break down, we’ll have them tow us to the disaster site.” We prayed for the van, hooked up the trailer, and headed to Wal-Mart for supplies and finished loading up about 3:30 AM before getting about four hours of sleep before heading out to Lady Lake, Florida where a local church was reportedly completely destroyed.
In Lady Lake, we distributed chainsaws, oil and extra chains to cut through the trees and debris that covered what was left of the now destroyed homes. We came up to the house above and met the owner, “Bob.” He and his wife and three children huddled in the bedroom where you see the group praying. He said he was, “Laying on top of my family and holding on to the carpet to keep them from getting sucked away. When I looked up, the room around us was gone!”
As we talked, he said that he not only lost his house, but also his livelihood. He is self-employed in heating/air repair and utilized the van that you see him standing next to for work. He added, “I told my wife after seeing our van destroyed, at least we have the other one in the filed that we can use—then we saw that it had been destroyed too.”
I told him, we will be praying that God will supply your need for a vehicle to work to support your family and to help rebuild your lives. Then as we loaded up to leave, the Holy Spirit spoke to our hearts saying, “Give him your van.” When I went and told him, he was overwhelmed as I told him that it was the Lord who heard his cry and was meeting the need. I told him that we drive the van every day, but it has a few things that need to be fixed—then the Lord spoke to us and said “Give him the money to get it fixed!” So—that is what we are doing! Praise the Lord for Bob’s new van!(Pictured Below)
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.” Isaiah 61:1-2
Bill was standing on the porch of what is left of this house when I approached him. He had just been released from the hospital following his harrowing experience from the night before. He, his wife and child were gathered together in the spot marked by the arrow above when the tornado ripped their modest home from around them. The family escaped with little more than their lives as his face bore the stitched-up six inch gash delivered by the collapsing roof.
Just beyond the outside wall, a neighbors Cushman and a pickup truck with the trailer still attached where picked up and deposited on the top of his parked vehicle. We were able to give him some dry t-shirts (all of his clothes were gone) and them were able to share the Gospel and minister Jesus to him. The men (below) utilize the chainsaw that we took them to cut away the trees that covered up their home. The roof was almost entirely ripped off and the floor was buckled from end to end. It appeared to be a total loss.
(Below) Pastor Troy makes his way towards a family gathered outside of their decimated home in Lady Lake, Florida
After leaving Lady Lake, we made our way to Paisley, Florida where sixteen people lost their lives in the storm. We dropped off food for 150 and left filled propane bottles, cases or water, and drinks to a makeshift cook tent situated outside of the local fire station. While there we were able to minister to those that lost loved ones in the storm and gave them our contact information for any further ministry needs that they may have. After leaving Lady Lake, we made our way to Paisley, Florida where sixteen people lost their lives in the storm. We dropped off food for 150 and left filled propane bottles, cases or water, and drinks to a makeshift cook tent situated outside of the local fire station. While there we were able to minister to those that lost loved ones in the storm and gave them our contact information for any further ministry needs that they may have.
The Paisley/Lake Mack area suffered the most loss of life as the tornado ripped through a mobile home park which was the home to many seniors. Gordon lost his 88 year old sister, Bernice, to the storm as her trailer was destroyed while she slept.
Bryan lost his mother who had moved to Central Florida to escape the hurricanes that had wreaked havoc on Southern Florida in recent years.
One of the things that we learned having gone through the Hurricane in New Orleans is the need for pastoral ministry and counseling. Because most families lost everything, we thought it could be good to provide a new Family Bible to all the families that we can. This will allow us to also minister into their lives during this time. We can purchase large-sized Bibles like the one above for just $20.00 each. If you would like to sponsor a Bible for an affected family. Please send your gift and the number of Bibles you would like to sponsor. Also include a personal note to a family and we'll put it with the Bible(s) that you sponsor as we deliver them to the families.
“This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:8
Dear Friends, Family & Servant of the Lord Jesus,
This year has definitely started out with a “Bang!” We knew coming into 2007 that it would be a year like no other in that we would have more opportunities to see God move than ever before.
As you noticed, the newsletter was a few days getting posted this week as a result of our area being hit by several deadly tornados. Several counties had a destructive swath cut through them as many as four twisters claimed many lives and millions of dollars in property.
We were planning to travel to witness to the Super Bowl crowd in Miami this weekend, but the pressing need of the storm victims changed our plans and we instead loaded up and took off for the areas most affected by the storm.
The Holy Spirit spoke to us during our season of fasting and prayer that this year would be a year of the “Super Natural.” When you hear those things from the Lord, there is usually no way that one can ascertain what exactly that entails— until events unfold that reveal things to you. In order to see the Super-Natural, you must first find yourself in the realm of the Impossible! Anything that is possible for you and I to accomplish in the natural does not require God to allow us to flow in the super-natural. So to facilitate and effectively elevate our faith and expectancy—He will allow us to find ourselves in truly impossible situations!
Already this year we have been forced (gulp!) to function in at a whole new level of faith. It is unfortunate that we find ourselves being “forced” into anything relating to the Kingdom of God—but many times that is the only way that we’ll realize our true destiny in Him. God-sized answers are only necessary in God-sized situations. He is increasingly placing us in those types of situations that He might graduate us to a new level in Him.
Just this year (and really in the past six months leading up to this year) we have truly found ourselves operating in unchartered territories. Some might find that hard to believe because of all the places and situations that we minister in—but I knew that turning 40 would be the time when I TRULY entered the ministry that God had called me too so many years ago. Everything up to this point has really just been a time of equipping and preparation.
Just a few of the situations that have come up include:
—We are in need of a new vehicle (I always feel VERY uncomfortable using the word “new” in this situation and have utilized the term “another” vehicle in the past—but the Lord has impressed upon me that for where we go and what we do it will require something “new” and not just something with a little more life than the old one) To get my attention, He had me give Melanie’s van away to a victim of the tornados AND instructed me to either have all needed repairs done or to give the family the money to have them done! This was the car that I was going to trade in on something!
—He has instructed us to GO FURTHER than we have ever gone in 2007 (Europe, Africa, Australia, Canada, and across the USA) while our financial support seemed to disappear over the past 9 months! He has shown me that he is transitioning us from “Ministry Supporters” to “Kingdom Supporters”. The difference being the ministry supporters are those that love us and what we do verses those that are committed to rapidly expanding His Kingdom in the last days.
Some of the people may be the same, but the motivation is moving to a whole new dimension.
These are truly exciting times for the Body of Christ. Please know that we pray for all of you and believe the Lord Jesus that He would strengthen, equip and anoint you to be a World Shaker and a History Maker for His Glory!
Please keep up in prayer as we passionately seek Him and compassionately work to reach out to others for Jesus.
Blessings,
Pastor Troy
“When you see it like He saw it, you’ll do it like He did it.”
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Fl 32115
(386)682-4141 office
(504)202-0938 Pastor Troy
www.BigGrace.com
PastorTroy@BigGrace.com
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