Refugees on Holy Ground

Its been a busy week, and I haven't had much time to blog - but I'm pausing for just a moment to give a quick shout-out to the folks in my home town of Cisco.

Not more than ten minutes from the home where I grew up is a small facility called Lake Cisco Christian Camp. Though I only attended camp there once or twice, I spent a great deal of time at that facility during my teen years, helping with clean-up projects and attending other events.

It is holy ground.

And something great is happening there today.

If things went according to schedule, the camp took in over 100 Katrina refugees yesterday. That number may not sound like a lot, but consider that - unlike Houston - which is supporting a population of thousands of refugees at the Astrodome with an area population of millions, Cisco's population is only about 4,000. That is an incredibly high ratio, compared to other refugee centers.

They have help, of course. FEMA will fund a lot of the food purchases, and ACU has been sending student volunteers to help with intake needs and to perform needs assessments. Highland has also sent some personal hygene kits to the camp. But it will largely be up to the folks in this small community to make sure meals are prepared, educate the children, and provide other day-to-day needs.

For now, the folks in Cisco say that they have the manpower they need to take care of the needs of the refugees. And I'm sure they do. But I hope that you'll be praying that God will sustain them over time as they continue to feed and provide other forms of support to their new friends from Louisiana.

Tags: Katrina