Received this email from my cousin's husband who works with a ministry for the homeless in Nashville (http://www.fiveand2.com):

If you are alive and consious, chances are you've heard about the flooding in Nashville. There are 30-35 homeless staying at Woodbine where we have 5&2. I have been texting Brett for details and will be heading down there in the morning. Many have lost everything and are completely broken. In addition to food, they need bus passes, food cards, phone cards, care packages (deodorant, toothbrushes...etc), and medical supplies. Some are mentally ill and some have some pretty severe medical conditions. Most of all, they need someone to care, sit with them, befriend them.

A lot of the homeless live in a homeless community called "tent city" by the Cumberland River. As you know, the Cumberland broke its barriers and flooded much of Nashville. Imagine not already having much, and what little you do have, is now gone. This is the position these people are now in.

I was looking forward to volunteering this evening with my friend in Franklin, but I didn't get done watching the boys in time- the volunteers were wrapping up their day. So I decided to make the most of it and went to Walmart to buy things to donate.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to set a person's heart in motion. It takes witnessing it first hand and experiencing something so close to home that ignoring it would seem heartless. I guess you could say I'm one of those people. Yeah, I gave to Haiti when the earthquake hit, yeah I've donated regularly to Nashville Rescue Mission for the past two years.... But to put your whole self aside and to give, to help, to volunteer your time in order to more than just help the life of another is completely different and I hate that this is what it takes- disaster. I was reading that over 8,300 local people are officially signed up to volunteer, which I'm sure doesn't even count the ones who didn't even bother to sign up through an organization- they are just showing up- and this news makes my heart sing! I couldn't be more proud to live where I do!

Here are the items I purchased tonight. I plan on going into Nashville to donate it at Woodbine on saturday. If you would like to add to this pile, please let me know. I will be more than happy to bring it along with me.

I was talking to my friend tonight and we were sort of getting fired up about being out there to volunteer. We've known each other since we were 15 and we've experienced a lot of "World Changers" together. World Changers is a ministry opportunity for young people to perform manual labor on people's homes who do not have the expenses to pay for anything and everything that needs to be done. For an entire week, you wake up at 6 am, grab a quick breakfast, and head to your home site to fix roofs, paint, clean yards, build wheelchair ramps, you name it. I did that for 7 summers all over the United States and my heart got a little burned out by the time I turned 2o. So I'm ready and pumped to be back out there! I plan on spending my weekend helping where needed. Continue to pray!