Text Box: If you have been watching the TV news lately you probably noticed that our neighbors along the gulf coast are still hurting and that there is an effort by the media to get their plight back into public awareness. A big Catch 22 scenario has developed. Folks who paid their insurance bills and mortgages are not getting the help and support they thought they had paid for. Normal insurance polices do not cover flood damage. A map was drawn (the last update was about 30 years ago) showing where the so called “flood plane” is located. If your house was on that flood plane you could buy extra flood insurance to protect yourself. But if your house was not shown on that map you were told that you did not need flood insurance. The map was wrong. everything in Katrina’s path got flooded by the storm surge up to 30 miles inland. If your house was not covered for flooding because the map did not show that you needed flood coverage you are just out of luck. Insurance companies are raising the question, “Was the damage caused by wind or flooding?” State governments have taken the insurance companies to Text Box: court but it will be years before there is any resolution on that. To make matters worse mortgage companies see the implications of the mess and are understandably reluctant to grant loans to those who wish to rebuild on their own. In the mean time people just wait living in tents or (if they are lucky) camp trailers. If your home was blown down or washed away there is little you can do but wait. Many flooded homes are still structurally sound. It is these homes that volunteers are able to help. Typically they can be restored by cleaning out the debris, removing the damaged wallboard, disinfecting with Clorox, and redoing walls and floors. In many cases a small group of 4 to 6 can get family back in their home in a relatively short time. Thousands of faith based groups have risen to the challenge, thousands more are needed. MidWest Missionair is participating in this recovery effort. At times we will organize groups to fix up a damaged home. But for the moment we are most effective by helping other groups get to the gulf coast. Text Box: It takes over 18 to 20 hours of road time to drive from eastern Kansas to Moss Point, MS. Round trip expenses average about $110 per volunteer when you add up fuel, motels and meals on the road. If you go by airlines you must drive to a large airport go through security and boarding procedures.Then you land at a big airport, wait for your bag and drive an average of 1.5 hours to the job. Adding this up it takes the volunteer 8 to 12 hours to get from home to the job site. You will pay $350 if you can plan at least one month ahead of time but expect to pay around $500 or more if you want to go within the next 2 to 3 weeks. MidWest Missionair flies from a small airport within 30 minutes of the volunteer’s home directly to a small airport within 30 minutes of the job. Total time in route averages 4.5 hours. We ask those who are able, to donate $250 to cover fuel and maintain a fund to reduce this cost for those unable to come up with the full amount. Slightly more costly than driving but for a fixed time away from home our volunteers are able to spend at least 20 more hours on the job than those who drive. And compared to airlines we are both cheaper and faster. We are unable to meet the demand, but we are devoting all of our effort to helping other groups by supplying transportation. Text Box: Why MidWest Missionair? Text Box: Katrina Relief Catch 22 Text Box: A big Catch 22 scenario has developed. Folks who paid their insurance bills and mortgages are not getting the help and support they thought they had paid for. Text Box: You Can Help Please help MidWest Missionair Make or renew your monthly faith promise for $10, $25, $50, $100 or more. Of help with the following immediate needs. It costs about $250 per volunteer for fuel to make the round trip to the gulf coast. Insurance renewal for 2006 will be about $3000 The propellers on our Aztec have a required periodic maintenance due that will cost about $2400. MidWest Missionair Text Box: God’s Provision and Guidance

aircraft to keep things going.  At  times we have flown two aircraft to accommodate the need.

God has partnered us with a number of groups close at hand who wish to help on the gulf. Volunteers have gone from Heartland Community Church, Indian Creek Community Church,  Olathe, Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Heart-to-Heart.

But here is the most amazing thing.  Three of the four groups have

without any human coordination decided to focus on one town, Moss Point, MS.

Because of this we have been able to combine trips making the operation much more efficient.. When one group is going the other is coming.  We have to make only very few empty runs because they are all going to the same place!

No man planned it that way.  It was GOD! 

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