Letter to be published in the Winston County Journal

Dear Friends,
It is with much excitement and with sadness as well that I write this letter about recent events. Cammie and I have put much work and effort in to Louisville for the past 3+ years and we have now been called to move to Bay Saint Louis to help with work there. On Thursday of last week, we met with Jean Larroux who is a pastor at a Presbyterian Church plant in the Bay Saint Louis area. He has asked for my help in assisting him with that work in the role of Business Manager and Administrator. As you probably know the Bay area was heavily damaged by Katrina and Winston County has sent much aid and help to the area, I would ask of you know to continue that work by sending me with Cammie and Kate Taylor, to help in the work that needs to be done there.

We have no reason to leave Louisville, other than that God has placed this need and desire to help on our hearts. We will be heavily involved in helping get supplies, financial funding, people and more attention to the Bay area. We would ask for your assistance and your prayers as we take on this daunting task. There are many lives here that are being rebuilt, and many more that are in temporary housing and many who lost everything. I am going to the area to help, but your help in Louisville will be just as important. Winston Relief and other organizations have been sending help to the area, and we will need much more support in the future.

We will be partly funded by the church here, but I will continue on 100% running and managing Big River Systems our web development company. We need your business more now than ever, and will be able to move our business down and provide the same level of service albeit less face to face interaction. Over half of our clients are not from the Louisville area, so we are used to supporting customers that we can’t see every day. Our servers will continue to be out of harms way, in mid-America so your sites and service will go on uninterrupted through our transition.

We will move as soon as we can sell our house and find a suitable dwelling, and we ask for your prayers and your help as we make this move and transition.

If I had room to thank everyone who has helped us over the last few years here in Louisville we would have to add extra pages to the paper, but specifically I’d like to thank Joseph McCain and the staff at the Journal for allowing me space to let you know of these developments. Please know that I would much rather have been able to tell each one of you face-to-face of our news.

If you would like to help with financial support, or material support of the work down here, please visit www.lagniappechurch.com. There are lists of supplies that are in great need here.

We will miss you all very much, but will be back often. We would also like to extend an invitation to any and all who would like to help in the work that is happening here. They need everything from cooks, to people that are electricians, roofers and other skilled labor.

Thank you for all you have done, and keep up the good work in Louisville. We will miss you all dearly.


Andy Chapman
For Cammie and Kate

P.S. When you come bring a hammer.

EDITORS NOTE: The Big River Systems web site is www.bigriversystems.com

The Big News

Cammie and I have been praying for God to use us mightily for a while now. We thought that prayer would mean here, in Louisville, but that apparently is not the case.

Last week, I was taking the youth from church to the gulf, to do some work. I met with Jean Larroux, to talk to him about Work Order Software that we build to help with the data management from the people in Bay Saint Louis that need help with work on their property. After meeting with him, I began to feel like God was possibly calling me to do something more with him. I wasn't sure what, so I began to pray. A day later, I told Cammie of the things on my heart, and she began to pray about it as well. That weekend, we decided that we definitely were being called to do something, but we didn't know what that thing was. I called Jean, and he told me that his biggest need was someone to help him with the business administration of the relief work down there. Since that is what I've been doing for the last 4 years, I felt like God was indeed matching up my gifts, to needs in the church down there. We traveled down the very next night, and spent two days there in Bay Saint Louis. It's a terrible mess. There is much work to be done. But the Lord is working down there in the hearts and minds of people.

Since this has taken place, I've been asked a million questions, I'll summarize the main ones and answer them for you.

What about Louisville?
What a gem this town has been. Cammie and I have enjoyed so much of Louisville, the people here, the friendships we've made over the last few years, the ways that we've been able to get involved from everything to the Chamber of Commerce to the Relay for Life, we have been right in the middle of Louisville. We will miss it dearly, and will be taking a piece of Louisvilles, hospitality and planting it in the sands of the Gulf Coast.

When will we move?
As they say, this is the million dollar question. We don't know for sure, but it will be when we have a house to move in to down there. Housing market down there is more expensive than the market up here. We'll probably rent, then find a house that needs to be fixed-up and take it on.
In the mean time, we have a great house for sale on main street, so make me an offer on it.

Is it dangerous?
Being the father of a 6 month-old and husband to a sweet woman, I have had to ask my self "can I take them to a place like this?" A pastor friend told me this when I asked him that question: "there is nothing more dangerous than not doing the thing that God has called you to do!" I'm not taking that lightly, but the crime reports etc, are not things that we noticed when we were down there. There are also hundreds and thousands of Christians flocking to the area, to help put it back together. As David Skinner once told me "God didn't promise safety, but promised to be sovereign."

Big River Systems?
My other baby. BRS will move with me, with no interruption of service. One of the great things about BRS is that with an internet connection and a phone I can do my work from anywhere. I'll be taking it down there, and not slowing down any on that aspect, we need business more than ever now. I'll keep some staff, some of whom have expressed interest in relocating to the coast as well. I can't do this financially with what the church can afford to pay. BRS provides me the income and support that I'll need to make ends meet. We will be able to provide the same service as we do here, the phone will simply ring in another county. Also please note that our data centers are located in the central part of the country, so we won't run the risk of having active servers on the coast.

THE PHOTOS ABOVE WERE TAKEN IN BAY SAINT LOUIS, TUESDAY OF THIS WEEK.

Big things are in store for the Chapman's. Lots of things have happened in the last two weeks. God moves and directs in crazy mysterious ways.

Cammie and I are very excited about the work that God is leading us to. We'll post when something is official.

Be in prayer for us as we seek His will and guidance.

Andy for c and KT
Sent from my wireless handheld.

Good times, lots to think about

Spring Break was quite a week. I took 7 jr high and high school students to Biloxi to help with Katrina cleanup. What a mess... Sheetrock mud, hammers and nails and oh so much more was done. Even tonight at church, parents spoke to me about their children growning up over the past 3 days. I know I grew up a little as well. We did so much, yet it was so little. They need literally hundreds of people to come down, especially skilled people, who can do electrical work, and those that can do roofing. While the PCA as a whole may not have been the most organized, the churches of Biloxi and (the plant) in Bay Saint Louis are getting people and materials together to get things done. Our church has a blogspot for the trip, you might want to take a look...

 

Ahh the joy's of home ownership...

The lovely line of straight line winds that came through town yesterday was loads of fun to watch for about 15 minutes. When a tree stuck through the roof of the house next door, it was more exciting, but then we saw that it ripped our power line off the side of the house. Mucho funo. So I spent several hours with a stihl. And ill be helping the local economy by the end of the day.

theres my girl on her 6 month b day.

 

What in the world? Sleep?

We are in Atlanta, on our way to Highlands, NC headed to a place called "Panther Point." Since my Grandmother and brother live here, we stopped for a night here. I don't recall being as tired as I was yesterday since the first 2 nights in the hospital. At least when I was there I had some adrenaline or something. I was soo tired last night that I went to bed at like 8:30 or something.
Well wouldn't you know it, we both wake up this morning at 4 am (local time). Feels like 3 am. I'm pretty sure my body was saying -- "hey bud, look that's 8 hours -- go get up!"
So, here I am. I started thinking about things that I needed to do. Invoicing was one major one. So I got on my grandmothers computer and quickbooks-onlined several folks.
Don't you love a good computer with high speed internet. You can do anything. So, now I'm done my work, I'm getting tired again which only could mean one thing. Kate is about to wake up. It's only fair.

I can't wait to be in NC in this awesome cabin.

Since they only rent to professing Christians they charge a small amount compared to what the going rate is in the area. Beware their website is in flux right now and is supposed to be corrected by the end of next week with everything updated pricewise.

Since it sleeps 12, and I'm a "giver", I've invited my brother and his wife and baby, and some of her family. They are always fun to be around and since Kate and their baby are 2 days apart, its fun to see how they act. I hope we can get them to move to MS someday so they can be close to their cousins.

Two more things you won't want to miss...
Kate is a super star -- click here to watch the "Chub" Olympics.
I guess this just about clears my head. Anything else will have to wait.