I was at an makeshift emergency center all day yesterday, and will return again today to help with the injured and families and friends of those missing and not heard from yet. This is the most devastating ordeal I've ever witnessed. The location I'm working at is also being prepared for use as an overflow morgue. There is estimated to be about 10-15 thousand dead. Please pray for the families and for a spiritual awakening. I'll be at the location again tomorrow and in all probability, for the next several weeks. I somehow have been selected to coordinate much of the grief counseling for the families and friends on Staten Island. Please pray that the Lord grant me wisdom to do this in a manner that glorifies Himself. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS THAT LIVE ON STATEN ISLAND FOR THIS. All access roads coming in are closed except for emergency vehicles. If you know of trained people in this area , have them call and leave a message at 718/720-6546 or call me direct on my cell phone 917/733-6495. I may be working with FEMA and the NYC public school system in working with the families. Pray that God continue to give me strength to show the love of Jesus to those in pain and suffering and that they may turn to the Lord. If I may be selfish, pray for me also ... I'm not even remotely prepared for this ... but His will not mine be done. I am in such deep pain myself after experiencing this day. This tragedy may be opening the door to the gospel for many. Revelation 14:8 kept running through my mind all day in the
midst of this, "And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality... and great is her fall. Please continue to pray let me know if you're able to help.

michael

Post 2: 9/13/01

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

I have been working with the rescue teams, firefighters, police and medical personnel at "ground zero" the term being used to describe the location of what was once the World Trade Center but now may be called the World Rubble Center. I have never seen such devastation and loss of life ... ever!
They are not allowing any civilians into ground zero at all. It took me a few days to obtain the appropriate clearance as a pastor. The integrity of several buildings close to the blast is dubious at best. There was an incident yesterday that required a temporary evacuation of rescue operations as a precaution for structural problems of a nearby building. THEY ARE NOT ALLOWING CIVILIAN VOLUNTEERS AT GROUND ZERO. However, I have been asked to develop grief counseling services and general assistance efforts for the families and survivors of the attack. If you live in Staten Island or are accessible to Staten Island, I can use your help. Please call me at 718/720-6546 or my cell phone 917/733-6495. There is a prayer Vigil at my home this evening at 7:30pm If you can make it, please come ... if not, join us in prayer anyway at that time. I'm asking for you to continue to pray for the victims family and survivors. The good news of all this is many people are receptive to the gospel now that were not earlier. Please pray for me also that God continues to be seen through me to those without a personal relationship with the Lord. The road to recovery for many will be long and difficult.
I also have a post called WTC under the general discussion topic. This category was not available when I did the first post. God bless all of you but especially those who had written to me via email and post reply. I thank you and need your encouragement. This is a very difficult time. You can also reach me at my church address
I thank God for you all. - Michael.

Post3: 9/15/01

This is an extremely trying time for all of us. I'm trying to write the events of my daily experience each evening to send to people who are interested, but when I sit down at the keyboard, my emotions overwhelm me. I just go with them, move to the couch, turn on the news and weep for what seems like hours.

I'll try to summarize for you what I can. Since Tuesday morning my life purpose and call has been altered. The Lord has put on my heart the need to be a living witness and testimony of His love, grace, compassion and openness to receive a broken spirit. I’ve always tried to be that way, but since the attack the call has taken on a new dimension. I showed up to the Staten Island Ferry terminal on Tuesday morning 9-11 around 11:30am to volunteer myself in whatever capacity was needed. It’s ironic how God works. The Lord has recently lifted me up to found The Lord’s Children Fellowship, a local church. I just recently completed the required paperwork, constitution with doctrinal position that I planned to file with NY state and city. This step is required for me to legally perform weddings authorized by the municipalities. Our church is issuing ordination licenses for pastors to keep in their wallets. My license came in the mail on 9-10. I needed license in hand before I filed the church documents with the municipalities, one of which is located in at 2 WTC, the South tower - the first one that collapsed. I had a doctor’s appointment the morning of 9-11 and was on route to WTC via SI Ferry. I saw the smoke and thought it to be a large fire in lower Manhattan. Police had set up roadblocks about a mile from the Ferry and were not allowing access. I proceeded to a high point on SI to observe and it was there that I spoke with eye witnesses who escaped the attack and gave me the details of their experience. We were all in shock.

The Lord place a strong call for me to go to the World Trade Center as His witness of love. Day one was complete chaos. If it were not for my minister’s license I would not have been allowed to pass the roadblocks plus the numerous checkpoints that were established. That license was essential for me to do anything over the next several days.

Yankee Stadium, Staten Island (minor league) was established as command HQ by the police department. I was told to report to the post commander and he welcomed me and invited me to the briefing that was to commence in 1 minute. That briefing was one that I’ll never forget. No details on that at this time. The refrigeration units at the stadium were to become a makeshift morgue and we were preparing to receive the dead and wounded. Two triage areas were set up. Triage 1 was at the lower entrance and set up for life threatening injuries. Triage 2 was for non-life threatening injuries. I volunteered for Triage 1 which was also the staging point for emergency transport to local hospitals and additional rescue teams to ground zero. Fortunately, most of the people coming over were non-injured survivors that were evacuating WTC and much of lower Manhattan. It was the rescue teams that were being hit the hardest. Many lost their lives and some were trapped in the wreckage. Injuries were mostly from smoke inhalation and cuts from removing the debris and twisted metal. I consider it a privilege and honor to be on the scene with such men of bravery. We do have heroes and I have met a few. As the day progressed into the evening it became clear that a strategic change in planning occurred. Survivors were now being sent to Jersey hospitals and Manhattan triage centers. My day was spent talking to the brave men and women of the rescue operations and witnessing the gospel. Many were receptive and some made a confession of faith to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. My God ordained role was becoming clear. I remained there until approximately 1am, then returned home. Sleep however became an enemy ... I didn’t get any. I went online and kept the TV on for any new developments and to record phone numbers for various relief and victim tracking resources.

Day 2: I returned to stadium command around 8am. There were very few people around for our role here on Staten Island was for backup reserve and a secondary role. I informed command that I am available for grief counseling and any other role needed. They recorded my name and number and placed me on their call list. I asked them if I could go to ground zero and they said no, only emergency personnel. They did inform me that Rescue 5 on Staten Island suffered great loss. They were one of the first units on the scene. I then called the director for the Treatment of Traumatic Life Situations that I met day one and we proceeded to visit the Rescue 5 firehouse to see if we can be of use. Indeed we were. I met the family of some of the rescue team that were missing or dead, twelve in all, and we proceeded to pray, talk and cry. We exchanged numbers and I promised to maintain contact, which I am doing. We stayed there several hours until a new crew was sent to ground zero. We then proceeded to visit local hospital emergency rooms and funeral parlors where we prayed, evangelized, cried, talked and tried to be of help to others in any way possible. I returned home about 10pm when I was awakened by a call around 11:30 pm. It was stadium command asking if I could assist by volunteering my time and sending other volunteers to volunteer theirs which I did. My shift was scheduled for 3 am and I remained there until 8 am.

Day 3: I was informed that a police unit staffed by retired police officers were bringing supplies to ground zero and arranging grief counselors to assist in rescue. I immediately went to the unit to volunteer my time which they gladly accepted. We were bused to ground zero and delivered supplies provided by the Red Cross. The images I witnessed this day will never be forgotten. The devastation can never be adequately described. The sounds, and THAT SMELL, I'll never forget that smell nor the extreme carnage I witnessed. This was all beyond me and exceeds my limits of comprehension. Seeing armed military on the streets where I live and work is something that should never become acceptable as a new way of life. I understand and am thankful for their presence, but the need why their presence is required - EVIL - shall never be accepted. Downtown will never be the same again ... this may even be a good thing, I don’t know. What’s more important is that the heart of men will never be the same, we need that heart of flesh from God.

The privilege God granted me to work on the lines with so many heroic men and women removing the rubbish and carnage is something I shall remember and cherish. This day five new bodies were found, four of which were confirmed alive. I and a medical specialist were escorted to the top of the heap of twisted metal and debris to help remove and treat the person when rescued. As it turned out, the survivor was unable to be removed at that time for the person was buried a little deeper in the debris than originally thought. The good news is there are many air pockets where hopefully more survivors may be found. The bad news is survivors are an extreme minority. Most of what’s being found are body parts. The ultimate horror is that there are not going to be many bodies recovered because there are no bodies to recover. The extreme heat of the fire completely cremated what would otherwise be remains. I’m sorry to be this graphic, but this is the sad and horrible truth. This day ended for me about 3 am.

Day 4: On the bus yesterday with the retired police officers on route to ground zero I was asked to lead and coordinate an Island wide relief effort that will provide and organize grief counseling for the families and survivors along with referrals to other essential services. I met briefly with the head of the Red Cross on Staten Island and we will be working together to provide these services. A Politician’s campaign HQ is being donated for use as our central operations site and we hope to propose funding for "Operation ArchAngel" and name that the Lord placed in my heart. Today was spent preparing the logistics for this effort and promoting a prayer vigil scheduled in my home for tonight, Friday evening at 7:30 pm. The last people left at 1:30 am.

Day 5: Sleeplessness finally took its toll. For the first time I got a good night’s sleep (which seemed like a mild coma, I thank God I did not dream.) I awoke around noon today and sat down to write this brief summary of my thoughts and activities since 9-11. I plan to go into the city later this evening armed with the Gospel of John evangelism tool to pray some of the thousands who are seeking information on loved ones still missing and to proclaim the gospel. I’ll continue to keep you informed as I’m able. Things are progressing on a moment by moment basis. Please keep me in your prayers for I desperately need guidance, sound judgment and the Spirit of God to strengthen me. God bless America for her prayers and the prayers of billions globally rise up to God and must sound like a symphony to His ears. May the Lord of grace, love and forgiveness replace our heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

Post 4: 9/14/01 Final Report

Day 6: Today (Sunday 9/16/01) it was determined that only municipal employees, hospital employees and specified other employees from an “approved” government list will be granted further access to ground zero. Needless to say, I am not on that approved list so this will be my final report to you. That’s bittersweet news to me. I wanted to continue my activities there in spite of the fact it is a gut wrenching experience. God graciously granted me this privilege for a time and I am grateful. This last day for me ended on a very high note ... 3 firefighters were found ALIVE!!! That is so incredible that anyone buried under hundreds of tons of twisted metal, concrete, debris, raging fires, smoke and heat in excess of 1,000 degrees for 6 days would emerge alive. I praise and worship our living God for His mercy and compassion. It is also interesting to note that a fully intact bible was recovered from an area that was completely incinerated ... hmmmmm.

(insert) I have just heard at this very moment 2:30pm 9/17/01 that CNN is reporting that no survivors or bodies were found since Wednesday 9/12/01. This is NOT TRUE!! ON THURSDAY 9/13/01 5 PEOPLE WERE FOUND and SUNDAY 9/16/01 3 PEOPLE WERE FOUND. Why this is not being reported is a mystery to me. I suppose speculation will abound, but I do not care to offer any. I have changed to a different station, I know better than to trust CNN, I’d like to see what others are reporting.

I spent much of my evening hours seeking special permission to continue but this was not God’s will. I proceeded to 26th Street and walked a several block area between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue where what is being called the “Wall of Hope” has appeared. Many of you may have seen this ... pages of pictures and descriptions of missing people who worked in or around the World Trade Center posted on walls, fences, phone booths, mail boxes, street lamps, and anything else that paper can be attached to. I wanted to view this first hand and possibly speak with someone who is missing a loved one. I did not speak with anyone searching for a loved one but I did see some disturbing things. The cults are out IN FORCE deceiving and taking advantage of this situation. I ran into many more cults than I did Christians on the streets of NYC, so where are God's people? Please ... everyone ... make it a point to talk to at least one person every day about Jesus ... the true Jesus of Scripture, the second person of the triune God, the one who became flesh and dwelt among us ... that Jesus! It seems that wherever God is at work, Satan is doing double-time, round the clock deception. We true Christians can no longer remain silent and still think we are approved by God. Yes we’re saved ... but maybe not approved. Let’s live the gospel message of Jesus. The Great Physician has come to heal the spiritually sick for the well has no need for a physician. There are many sick and spiritually dead among us all. This attack on the US has rocked the spiritually dead to the core and many are now beginning to seek. We must be seeking the seekers and bringing them to truth. I pray this become your passion. God Bless You and be with you always. Continue to pray for those who lost family and friends in this attack.

Blessings to you in Jesus’ name,

Michael Bollenbach, pastor

The Lord's Children Fellowship

718/720-6546 phone

http://TheLordsChildren.org

michael at thelordschildren.org

9/23/01 post

I was appalled by what I witnessed on CNN this evening. They are trying to position law enforcement as the bad guys with their tired old "profiling" argument. Profiling is how law enforcement catches bad guys. There are operatives and sleepers in the USA ... this is an established fact. While we should not repeat the outrage of what we did to German and Japanese Americans during WW2, not being diligent in monitoring the activities of those who fit the profile is asking for more death. We are all "inconvenienced" during this time of war. Please write to askgreta@cnn.com and let your voice be heard. What CNN did was float out a "trial balloon" to measure sentiment in whether they proceed forward or back-peddle a bit. Whenever they post an email after a segment ... which is NOT common practice, they're exercising a Clintonian tactic to "test the winds of public sentiment." This is an outrage! I've attached a copy of the email I sent to CNN below:

Greta:
I am appalled at what I’ve witnessed on CNN with the interview and series of questions posed and not posed to the Arab cleric and his attorney. I see this ploy as part of a strategic initiative by the terrorists and am not surprised that CNN was selected as the vehicle for their continuation of terrorist activities due to CNN’s extreme left-wing orientation. While the terrorists and terrorist cells operating in the United States may be taken aback by the intensity of the American unity and resolve, they were indeed expecting and prepared for an American response. Now that the "heat" is on, are we to expect more of this anti-American rhetoric and reporting from CNN?
There is no doubt that what I witness on your show is a continuation of tactics by terrorist operatives working in cell groups within this nation. The invasion force that has been planted here over a several year period of time is certainly prepared to implement a multi-pronged, multi-faceted strategy that includes ... manipulation of the media and frivolous law suits to help "loosen the screws" that impede terrorist success. Terrorist operatives will attempt to accomplish this by crying discrimination ... unfair persecution ... injustice ... and other manufactured evils of the "infidel beast" called America. Operatives and sleepers all have their specific missions to do in this war. Not all of them carry bombs and destructive weaponry, though certainly many of them do. Terrorist tactics include manipulation of the media and the courts to achieve their terrorist objectives.

I reside in a highly populated Islamic Muslim community here on Staten Island. I’m a Christian church pastor starting a new church in my community. There have been continuing attacks on me and my property for the crime of being Christian. I’ve reported these ... but where is the reporting? ... where is the outrage? ... where is the protection of innocent American Christians?

No acts of terror and hostility can be tolerated, regardless of source. Profiling is a means to catch the bad guys whomever the bad guys may be. For example, if a profile of a pedophile that is committing ongoing crimes is that of a "white, blue collar, middle-aged American male" is that an act of discrimination against whites? ... against working class individuals? ... against middle aged men?

We cannot and must not handcuff law enforcement from doing their jobs in catching criminals and making it difficult for criminals to operate. Profiling is not crime ... it’s good common sense protection.