More pictures

Hello friends,
I just posted some new pictures of Samuel. They are found below the pictures of the hurricane pictures I took this Saturday as I went down with a church team to help with the relief effort. He is getting cuter every day!
The Mississippi coast got a direct hit and several towns are simply gone. New Orleans gets all the attention, but there is much more to the devastation than that. Biloxi, where I was working, was badly damaged, and some people lost their lives. Our pastor's sister pulled several people out of the storm surge into their home, which was miraculously saved by debris which kept pilling up around the hose and thus protecting it. I am going down again next weekend to work some more. If any of you want to contribute to the relief effort, let me know. I can take stuff down there for you, or simply take some much needed funds to the local people who know where it is needed. Here are some pictures of Biloxi, Mississippi, September 17, 2005.

This is the famous lighthouse that survived the last big hurricane (Camille) and still stands.  

I believed them. 

Church is still going on, though. 

Utter destruction, flattened houses. Amazingly enough, houses just three or four houses inland were looking just fine. They had power and people were there cleaning up debris.  

This church is a skeleton building now 

This is the oceanfront houses. The ocean is behind me, about 100 feet (30 meters). Some houses were simply gone. 

Notice the boat behind the trees. This is not by the ocean, by the way. 

I just came back from a work day at the coast. This is Biloxi, Mississippi. This is a flattened house. Unbelievable. 

#3 

#2 

Here are the latest pictures of Samuel. All smiles! 

He is obviously very flexible 

He loves colors 

Another one 

Here are some more pictures of Samuel! 

The Waiting Game

Friends,
The process of putting the Samuel tapes on DVDs is moving along well. Currently, we are putting together a "best of" DVD. Please let us know if you would like a copy. We don't have unlimited resources, but we do want all y'all to be a part of this process as much as possible.

As far as we know, Sammy is doing ok. Nepal is currently seeing some internal respit from the fighting. The rebels have agreed to a 3-month cease-fire, which is an answer to prayer for us. There is still some question marks regarding our paperwork, my Swedish birth certificate for instance. It looks a little different than what they normally see, but pray and hope that the people there use common sense and what's good for Sammy and us.

More pictures are coming.

Blessings,
Andreas

Aftermath

Dear friends,
It's been a crazy week. Laurie and I are fine, but very hot. Our power has been out since Monday, but we are doing well considering. Among all the thoughts and emotions we are very thankful that our paperwork for Samuel is already done and in Nepal. Obviously, the New Orleans immigration office will be closed for a long time.
I am sure that you have the same questions we do, and wonder how "civilized" people in the richest country in the world can behave like they do in New Orleans. Most of us here in the States are not very surprised, however. New Orleans is not exactly known for its well-behaved citizens. Its decadent behavior and its high crime rate is now on public display. The selfishness of some people is unexplainable, and we need to remember what C.S Lewis said once, that pain is God's megaphone to us, helping us realize that we need a savior and we are not self-sufficient.
Anyway, we are doing well and will be in touch more later on,

With Love,
Andreas