Offers of assistance pour in.

If you need assistance please send me your name, your ocds community, and date of profession as a Carmelite. Also anyone having word on any of our missing Carmelites on the Gulf Coast, Covington, and New Orleans, please let us know if they are well.

Jeanette Curran, past president of our OCDS in Diego "would like to be of assistance to other Carmelite victims... Can you inform me of needs to be passed on to the council???"

Our nuns in Piedmont outside Oklahoma City have offered to put up stranded Carmelites, esp. Vietnamese. We heard on the news today that there were about 50 Vietnamese holed up at St Peter parish in New Orleans waiting to be evacuated. This is the parish of our Provincial Councillor, Pascal Alfano who finally surfaced in Ft Worth Texas of all places. Here's a picture of Pascal at the New Orleans worskhop in June.

Our Nuns in Sioux City and in Little Rock have also offered to help our Carmelites who need to evacuate.

Dolores Grogan, who ran Madonna Interprises for years, has a son living in Slidell, as did our Father Joseph’s 90 year old brother George. George finally was able to contact Fr. Joseph from Macon GA on Thursday. Last I heard Dolores had still not heard from her son. Bruce Weaver, president of our New Orleans OCDS community lives in Slidell. Anyone heard from him?

Lonnie Sorensen from Minneapolis writes, "We are far away, but we have a big place and could fit a family."

Aggie Cassady OCDS from Lansing Michigan writes: "I am deeply saddened and distressed at the situation in your area. I would like to help in any way I can. I understand that there are some ocds in your area that are in need of shelter for a few months. I could offer shelter to one or maybe two adults."

The Oklahoma Provincial Council issued the following statement on Friday: "In response to the request about sending donations for helping Carmelites affected, the Provincial Council asks that you direct all donations to the Red Cross and/or Catholic Charities USA." [Elizabeth Korves, pres. at retreat in Belton Texas]

Our Lafayette nuns report: "We are all right. Our Sisters who had relatives in New Orleans are in touch with them. All are safe and relocated. Lafayette is full, and people are sharing. One lady we know goes to the Cajun dome to pick up 5 or 6 people with their dogs, etc to take them to her house to get a bath, etc, and to let the dogs run around in the yard."

Sr. Petra reports from our Little Rock Carmel: "Right now we have the sister of one of the Nuns in the extern area. One of Sister Lucia's sister and her family may have lost their home Kenner."

Marylake was preparing it’s guest house and hermitage for the family of our Father Provincial who live in a New Orleans suburb. Their arrival was expected as I flew out to Kansas City this weekend.

Diana Nesbitt, former co-formation director in Birmingham reports: "Our daughter, Wanda, and 4 grandchildren got to us yesterday (Thursday) from Hattiesburg, MS; which is as far as they could get away from the Gulfport area (where they are from) this past Saturday due to traffic and lack of gas. They do not know the condition of their business, home, or property... [They are] not allowed to enter the Gulfport area as yet.. Our son-in-law remains with his parents in Hattiesburg;. He has enough gasoline to make one round trip to assess their damage; as soon as he is allowed to enter."