Creekbank Blog

    Displaced… but not Misplaced…     So often similar words can sound alike but mean totally different things. One word can soothe, while a similar word can irritate and divide. On my first trip to Asia, I quickly learned that there is a word you don’t want to use. It’s a word called “refugee…” According to the UN, …

New Orleans—City I love, City I hate     Now as He (Jesus) drew near, He saw the city and wept over it. Luke 19:41–42   Only a native Louisianan can understand it. And even we cannot fully grasp (i.e., wonder) if some psychology doctoral student has ever written a dissertation on it: The unique love/hate relationship that exists between …

    Katrina—The City of Hope Listen to Podcast of story     August 29–30, 2005   And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV This is the story of a place where faith, hope, and love collided in the last days of August 2005. It is the …

It’s the 10th anniversary of the Louisiana hurricanes. We’re sharing excerpts from Hearts across the Water, a personal memoir written during 2005. Chapter 17 : Lyle Whitlake August 29, 2005 It’s 2:30 am and I’m driving from the Houston airport east toward my Louisiana home. The westbound lanes of Interstate 10 are full of vehicles slowly crawling toward Houston. It …

A word from Curt As the tenth anniversary of the Louisiana hurricanes approaches, we’re sharing stories from our book,  Hearts across the Water.  This week’s posts concern the aftermath of the Indonesian tsunami.  I was part of a team that worked there in March 2005. Beginning tomorrow, we’ll share stories from Katrina and Rita. Read a sample chapter of the new ebook version of  Hearts …

  A word from Curt As the tenth anniversary of the Louisiana hurricanes approaches, we’re sharing stories from our book,  Hearts across the Water.  This week’s posts concern the aftermath of the Indonesian tsunami.  I was part of a team that worked there in March 2005. Beginning next week, we’ll share stories from Katrina and Rita.               …

  A word from Curt As the tenth anniversary of the Louisiana hurricanes approaches, we’re sharing stories from our book,  Hearts across the Water.  This week’s posts concern the aftermath of the Indonesian tsunami.  I was part of a team that worked there in March 2005. Beginning next week, we’ll share stories from Katrina and Rita. New cover of ‘Hearts across the Water’ …

A word from Curt As the tenth anniversary of the Louisiana hurricanes approaches, we’re sharing stories from our book,  Hearts across the Water.  This week’s posts concern the aftermath of the Indonesian tsunami.  I was part of a team that worked there in March 2005. Beginning next week, we’ll share stories from Katrina and Rita. Read a sample chapter of the new ebook version …

A word from Curt As the tenth anniversary of the Louisiana hurricanes approaches, we’re sharing stories from our book,  Hearts across the Water.  This week’s posts concern the aftermath of the Indonesian tsunami.  I was part of a team that worked there in March 2005. Beginning next week, we’ll share stories from Katrina and Rita. I believe you’ll enjoy today’s …

A Word from Curt Thank you for praying for us. I have been well all week with only one day of sickness. I am so grateful.   My sweet wife DeDe is the most spiritual person I know.  I envy her steady intimate walk with Jesus. I am sharing this with her permission:   On Prayer It was the first …

Chapter 5 : Henry     I met Henry among the ruins of Lampuuk on our first visit there. It had been over eleven weeks since the tsunami. Henry lived in a tent not far from the only remaining building in Lampuuk: the local Mosque. A handsome twenty-year-old with an infectious smile and wonderful personality, Henry quickly became the favorite …

We’re continuing with excerpts from Hearts across the Water.  This collection is a memoir from the year 2005 and three events that shook the world:  the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I was part of a Louisiana medical team that landed in Indonesia about eighty days after the earthquake/tsunami. Chapter 4 : The Silent City   Our …

  A word from Curt  Over the next month, we’re sharing stories from our 2005 book, Hearts across the Water. This is my fourth short story collection and is set during the two twin hurricanes that struck Louisiana that year. Although the majority of the book deals with the hurricanes, the first part recounts my life-changing trip to post-tsunami Indonesia …

A word from Curt    Over the next month, we’re sharing stories from our 2005 book, Hearts across the Water. This is my fourth short story collection and is set during the two twin hurricanes that struck Louisiana that year. Although the majority of the book deals with the hurricanes, the first part recounts my life-changing trip to post-tsunami Indonesia …