I was up from 12-4am this morning, and it wasn't because of the beer my wife and I drank as we watched the Longhorns slip one by the Buckeyes.

We were standing guard at doors and rooms, aiding hurricane evacuees as they slept at a local United Methodist Church. The good folks at Christ United Methodist (www.cumc.com)have taken in 60 individuals seeking shelter and refuge from the torments of a storm gone bad.

I am amazed by several things that have happened with the influx of evacuees into the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. For one, this mass exodus is forcing the continuing question of why America avoids providing for the poor and disadvantaged. It also raises questions about systemic poverty that predominantly includes one race over another.

But more than these questions, it has ignited floundering churches in search of mission and purpose. God has brought mission to the doorsteps of churches all across this country. Of course, mission has ALWAYS existed for us because God's kingdom is ALWAYS advancing in this world. God's advancing kingdom has long since left churches who have been embroiled in serving themselves, but now God has come back with a 2x4 to smack churches stuck in a rut. If the initiative to rebuild New Orleans, provide for her people, and engage each other in true neighborliness doesn't jumpstart the thousands of churches in this country, then we might as well close the shop.

This influx of evacuees has also brought people from varied backgrounds who normally would never cross paths in life into direct confrontation with each other. I live in a primarily white, uber-affluent suburb of Dallas. "Affluent" doesn't quite capture the money that is contained in this county. The cookie cutter houses and tons of consumer opportunities to speND, spEND, SPEND has the ability to anesthetize, mesmerize, and lobatomize a person if s/he is not careful. I like to travel into Dallas just to get a sense of diversity and culture back again and remind myself of who I am. The large gathering of evacuees has forced the above issues off of our TV screens and onto our street corners. Well-manicured hands are now reaching out to the weather-worn. Decked out SUV's are arriving with in-kind gifts. And McMansions are becoming temporary boarding houses, as most have their heart strings pulled by the suffering that New Orleansians have been through.

The last thing I'd like to remark about (for now, anyway) is the tremendous outporing of support from Americans for fellow Americans. I'm thankful for the support, I even see God in it. But I also have a thought that plagues my mind, what if, just what if, Americans reacted this way to...say...the suffering of orphans in Africa because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic? What if we rallied around the cause of eliminating world hunger (www.one.org) as we are for fellow Americans? What if?? plagues my mind. Again, I'm thankful for the support that Americans are showing other Americans, but can we take it a step further once we grapple with the immensity of what is happening in New Orleans?

I was initially disgusted with the comparison of the storm-torn areas with that of ghettos and slums of Third World Countries. In fact, some news agencies compared them as being worse off than Third World Countries. It may be so, but in a matter of a few months, enough money and redevelopment will occur that will obliterate that comparison, and the Third World will still be the Third World.

I believe in America with all of its faults and issues. I don't believe in its government to provide liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. But I do believe in America, and I pray that we can transform this spirit of generosity into global consideration.

Keep up the good work!

PT