(The National Guard has been a Godsend to the people of Olla, Louisiana.)

In Olla, Louisiana, the recovery from the tornado of Nov. 23 presses onward. The National Guard trucks keep hauling off the debris. They've hauled over 3000 tons of rubble so far. The saws continue whining through the day. The electrical workers are still fixing the lines. And the victims and workers still need hot food to keep the process going. Our church was scheduled to join with three other churches to provide hamburgers Thurday evening. I had a crew of workers who set aside some time to help me provide the grilled burgers, buns, etc. Most of them re-arranged their schedules to get their business done in the morning. Naturally, they were all out of pocket when I got a early morning phone call from the Red Cross asking if we could deliver our burgers for the lunch time frame instead of later in the evening. In a panic, I began making phone calls, but everyone was about their business so they could be free to prepare burgers later in the evening. All I had was my wife, Laura, and my mom, Evelyn, who were also at work but who took the time to rush home and help me get over 120 burgers cooked. We fried them, baked them, grilled them, and cooked them in as many way and on as many appliances as possible. If it got hot, it had burgers cooking on it. We did them in less than an hour, and I delivered them to the Red Cross. When I walked into that Dixie Center, carrying hot hamburgers, just in time to bring lunch to those hundreds of workers and victims, I felt like the calvery marching in. I just gave God the glory and exchanged embraces with the Red Cross workers, the city planner, and others who were about to panic themselves because their hot food supply was running low. We said another prayer--one of many thousands this tornado has spawned--and went our way. I spoke to a beautiful couple from my church who met me there to help me unload the food, mentioning to them just how blessed we were to be able to get this done in time for the Red Cross. Looking back, it was truly another of the many miracles of grace I've witnessed during this time of mercy and grace God is granting to the people of Olla, Louisiana.