Biloxi, Mississippi ~ May 25, 2006
Ocean front property... it used-to-be a tourist area, filled with luxurious homes (which were ripped apart)... and quaint old homes (nothing left but foundations)...
FEMA trailers next to bare slabs of foundations and piles of bricks; all that is left of those homes...

There were Casinos (now mostly rubble)...One Casino was partially up & running. It was the ONLY business we saw going on in this area with the exception of construction and demolition. People gotta have their gambling...

Hotels and restaurants and shops (blasted and uninhabited)... Actually, it was difficult to tell what buildings were originally.

A Mission for pre-Katrina homeless men (nothing left but the sign)...24 drown there...

The big bridge across the bay (dominoed down to pilings)... the shrimp boats (mostly gone, some being repaired, some giving tours), the beach (debris- strewn) the ocean (still contaminated) ... Signs warning of the danger in walking the beach and swimming in the water. A few people swimming in it anyway.

Gautier United Methodist Church hosts Relief Volunteers, providing lodging, showers (much needed), meals (so hungry!), tools and expertise. Many other churches in the area are also providing this kind of volunteer support. We saw a tent city in Ocean Spring, MS at the United Methodist Church and in Biloxi the Lutherans had set up a large camp for their relief workers. Anheiser-Busch out of Georgia provides cases of drinking water for the volunteers, the local Community College lets volunteers shower there, the local Coffee Shop lets volunteers use their wireless connection all night long.

There is a table full of bug spray, deodorant, lotion, games, work boots, hand cleaner, blankets, etc. donated for the volunteers. The food was great and it was all you could eat...or until it ran out. Usually there was an offering of a fine dessert that someone from the church had brought in. We ate well...and needed to! I ate 3 times as much as I do at home and did not gain weight!

The accomodations were an ingenious invention of PVC pipe put together and shower curtain dividers. There were two days when there was over 60 volunteers while we were there. Marcia told us that sometimes there is over 100. Overflow is in the church's Sunday School classrooms and, really, just about anywhere one can squeeze a sleeping bag.

After working all day our older members relaxed and read and visited but for the younger crew there was a pool table, foos ball, basketball & movies. On the first day when we were all so hot and wiped out, five of our youth went out and played soccer! What would we do without their boundless energy?!

It was difficult to look at this kind of damage. Sheet rock is being cut off a couple of feet above the flooding. This is a house we only cut a tree off of the roof but went inside to take a look. The houses we worked on either did not have flood damage inside or sheeto rock had already been removed and replace by previous workers.









Hurricane Katrina flood damage to a house in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Photo taken in May, nine months after the hurrican hit.

I just returned from a mission trip in Gautier, Mississippi helping to rebuild the homes there. It is still an incredible mess with so much need even 9 months after the hurricane. The debris right on the coasts is still horrific. Further in you don't see as much because the damage is to the interiors. I'll post more photos and you will see what I mean.

The greatest need is roofs. The inside work can't get going much 'til the leaky, damged roofs are replaced. There are blue-tarped roofs sprinkled everywhere. The hurricane season begins tomorrow and the people there are very nervous. They haven't even recovered from last season!

If anyone knows of a church group, family or organization willing to go down South and help with the effort I can hook you up with the details. The cost to your group is negligeble- just the getting down there, since everything you need once you get there is paid for, including food. We found a couple of churches that were willing to put us up for the night on the way down and back so it was just gas and food money for the travel. Of course, they will accept donations, too and we took a hefty check down from our church.

You do not need any specific skills as they have folks there that can show you what to do and the people are so anxious to get back into their homes and out of the FEMA trailers that they prefer a quick job to a fine and lengthy one. There is, of course, a special need for electricians, and others with special skills but anyone can get a small amount of training and do the most-needed jobs such as tearing out sheet rock, hanginging doors, putting up sheet rock, roofing and painting. What is really needed is people with a willingness to work.

Our group was mix of 60 to 14 year old men and women with varying levels of skill and knowledge but all with a heart to serve. We were there 6 days and replaced roofs on two houses, painted the interiors of 2 others and set a toilet and two of our helpers cooked for all the volunteers down there at th Gautier United Methodist Church. You do as much as you can and then another group follows and finishes whatever they can....a long slow process..but it get's it done. They say "we are helping one family at a time" and that is what keeps them going and from being disheartened by the overwheming need. We shared floor space and broke bread with people from Maine, Nebraska & Pennsylvania.

Marcia, who runs the Relief Effort at the church says there is enough work for the next five years if they continue to get the same amount of volunteer workers. Remember, just about all the work being done is by volunteers! You get paid in hugs and heartfelt thank yous. I feel incredibly grateful for all I have and for the opportunity to be God's hands. It was an uplifting, rewarding and humbling experience for me... I want to send others! I want to go back!

We are on the road again. Well, actually we just got off the road in the town of Grenada about an hour South of Memphis. The Pastor here just showed us around his big beautiful church where we are spending the night. We have been shown such wonderful hospitality everywhere we've been. Casey discovered a wireless connection here.

It has been HOT here, up on the roofs and in the unairconditioned home where we painted. God did send some beautiful breezes when we thought we might not endure it any longer. The cans of water donated for Relief workers by Anheiser-Busch have been limitless and unbelievably appreciated. You know how they say to drink 8 glasses of water a day and no one can do it? HA! I think we must drink a 12 pack each every day! (and we hardly ever need to pee!)

Even though we are mostly greenhorns with the roofing, Tom knew what to do and everyone quickly found a specialty. We were able to replace 2 roofs while we were there but there are still 300 people on just this church's waiting list alone! It seems overwhelming all that still needs to be done but they tell us to look at it as just helping one family at a time. We have worked on 4 homes and were able to meet the homeowners of each and hear their stories. It is heart-breaking and uplifting as well. Can't tell you how many times tears have come to my eyes over the past week and also how many hugs and "thank you"s we have received. As Andy put it when we were reviewing Ander's response as we exited the bus to paint the interior of his home: "I gave him my hand and he just drew me in". A handshake was not good enough for him, it was great big bear hugs for each and every one of us. Mrs. Fountain, whose roof was the first one we did (quite a materpiece of group committment) called the church to thank them for sending us and called us her angels.

When people see our bus they know why we are here. There are many churches and organizations down here sending out volunteers and yet the need is still massive nine months after Katrina. They believe it will be 5 years before all the work is completed. In many areas as we drive by you see band new roofs next to blue-tarped roofs. The blue tarps are sprinkled everywhere we went....and the FEMA trailers in people's front yards.

There is so much to do and we worked 'til we were cranky and tired but there is still so much. The people here are so grateful. Many have denied ny Insurers who claim that a hurricane wind damage and not a flood and refuse to pay. Others have been ripped off by unscrupulous contractors who take advantage of the people willing to pay up front out of desperation to get higher on the waiting list. There are landlords that pretend to be homeowners in need and we ran into that too - twice! Anyway... sorry this has been so random but there has been so little down time and we are weary and full of all that we have experienced. Lots of good stories coming your way. It feels good being a tool of God! We got more than we gave. It will be good to be home though. Thanks for your prayers.

The journey begins. We leave at 11:00 AM in the church bus. We'll drive for 12 hours spend the night on the floor of a church and drive another 3 hours to our destination of Gautier, Mississippi.

There's been somewhat of a snowball effect in our family. I signed up as soon as I saw that I'd be finished working in time to go on the trip. Brady came back from college and signed up shortly after. Yesterday a friend of Casey's, Chris Lindgren, was over. He just graduated from college and had hoped to go into the Peace Corps but wasn't accepted. He's been bummed about that. When I talked with him I suggested he come with us and he called this evening and wants to go, too. Wouldn't it be nice to be that flexible and free? I'd been working on Casey for several weeks trying to persuade him to come with us but he said he needed to get a summer job (so true!) and blah blah blah. Tonight he jumped on the band wagon. Of course, he got a call 5 minutes later asking him to come in for a job interview . He told them he'd be out of town for a week helping out the hurricane folks. (mixed feeling on how he handled that one) They told him to call when he got back.

Anyway, we're off on this crazy adventure, 14 of us in all. We'll hook up with 50 or or so other people down there. It's an ongoing thing, continuous and slow going. Casey's friend, Caleb, went down in February and was surprised how bad things were still. Another friend, Erica, went with a college volunteer group in March. She said it was hard, nasty, smelly, hot work and she didn't like it...but was glad she went. I'm not sure what area either of them were in. I don't know exactly what we will be doing either. It depends on what needs there are when we get there.

I'm just a bit apprehensive about my ability to do hard work for a week and also about the bus ride down there. I'm such a bad traveler! (I've loaded up on Dramamine) But I really am so excited about the rest of it all. Such an opportunity to be traveling and working side by side with these new and old friends and family, to be helping folks in need and serving God! I expect to learn a lot.

I'm restless and it is 2:20 AM! Gotta go finish packing. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and help us to be a blessing everyone we encounter along the way.

Perspective. Katrina caused a flood... what we had was a puddle of inconvenience. Katrina cost people their homes, their lives... the cost of our little incident will be manageable although we'll feel it for sure. Perspective.

Our hot water heater was the original one that we put in when we had the house built 19 years ago. Dad said it lasted longer than it should have. It is intriguing to me that we had this little mini-flood, mini-disaster 2 days before I leave to go on a mission trip for Katrina Relief. I believe that often things happen for a reason. Did God hold up that tank break down thing til the timing was perfect?

The tank was due to fail at any moment and yet it went now. I could say that the timing is terrible. We can't afford the expense right now (when could we?). Yesterday was my last day of work 'til fall and I was due for a break, a rest! I've earned it. Instead I was mopping up yet floors and heating water to wash a dishwasher full of dishes by hand...and listening to complaining about having to take cold showers. ...but... we have showers. We have clean pure water coming right into our home and out of our faucet when we turn the handle. The carpet in the basement is wet at the edge of the disaster but it will clean up, it won't need replaced. We may have to replace a little dry wall and we will have to get a new hot water heater. ...but... they make them better now and more efficient and less energy and less space. We will be without hot water for a few days while we figure out what to buy. That is such a pain when I'm trying to get ready for this trip and pack and do laundry and now there is so much more to do as well, ...but... when I get back, in one week, there will be hot water. We have an unexpected espense and we have money in savings that will cover it. How in the world can I complain at all when I am going to a place where people are still living in FEMA trailers many months after ther entire homes, thier lives as they knew them, were completely and utterly changed forever and ever in the blink of an eye?

What I am experiencing is barely an inconvenience by comparison. I think about the feelings that I was dealing with yesterdy as I tried to make quick decisions without the information that I needed to make them. How much greater their dispair must have been as the people tried to make decisions during the hurricanes las Fall. Should they leave their homes or were they safe there? They had only their past experiences to rely on, their instincts. Even those that did leave and made it out...what did they have to come back to. Only devastation. Mile after mile of it.

Okay, now I'm tearing up, silently weeping with the thought of their loss. It causes me much despair when I put myself in the shoes of the victims there. That's what compassion is; feeling with your heart. (com=with / passion=heart) God knows me inside and out and he knows that I can have a little trouble in this area. I don't automatically see someone's hurt the way that some people can. Sometimes I need a smack to the head. I think that is what this little flood has done for me. It's just another small miracle, for there is no such thing as coincidence.

God probably didn't make my water heater break (although he could have) but he may have had something to do with the timing of the breakdown. He definitely gave me the insight to turn it into another learning opportunity to get closer to him (and to son, Zeke, too, now that I think about it).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Father God, thanks for the quick smack before I leave to help others. Give me strength my duties and stamina for the work load and compassion for those around me. Help me to be a blessing to others through you. Amen

I heard the water spraying as I began my descent into the basement. That is not a sound I was expecting as I went down to get a bag of tortellini from the pantry. I quickened my steps and called frantically to Zeke. He must have heard the panic in my voice and was right behind me.

The Hot water heater was gushing water out of some valve on the front of it. The concrete floor in the laundry area was covered with water but the floor drain was doing a pretty good job of letting it escape. The boundaries of the pool had not risen above the edge of the metal strip that separates the concrete floor from the carpeted area of the rest of the basement but looked as if it might at any moment...or had the water been spraying for hours and this was just the level at which the drain could carry it away?

I grabbed a broom and swished the water toward the drain while Zeke waded to the tank to figure out how to squelch the waterfall. He tried turning a handle at the top that appeared to be how water enteres the tank but there was a pipe an inch away from it that was very hot. He got a pair of pliers and tried to turn it that way and broke a piece off of the handle instead. We looked for instructions on the label of the tank but tat was for relighting the pilot light. I'd forgotten about the pilot light.

I tried to think who to call that would help out or that would know something. Angus was upstairs asleep after having worked all night and waking him wouold be a last resort. His brother, TJ, is a real handy man, he'd know but he'd be at work still. Everybody would be.

The water rushing out was ice cold. That told me that the tank had drained long ago and was refilling with the cold water which was spraying out and going down the drain (thank the Lord for that!). The pipe was hot so the tank was still reying to heat. I remembered 20 years ago when a neighbor's hot water tank had drained and went dry with the pilot light still on and their home has burned. I didn't have any details of that but that memory popped into my head. We needed to get everything turned off.

I'd already sent Zeke out to see if he could turn the water off, at least temporarily, at the road, where it comes into the house. Then I did what any red-blooded American girl would do in such a situation. I called my daddy.

I calmly explained what had happened and what we'd tried. Zeke was back from his jaunt unable to get the knob turned. After 20 years of never being used it had corroded. He squatted to see if he could read the words on the red knobs at the base of the tank. Dad told me to turn off the pilot light and you'd hear it go off. Zeke had found the words "vacation" (hey, we should have been using that all these years!) and "OFF" he turned it and we heard the puff as the pilot light went out.

The water was still spraying out but he found a pair of leather gloves and was able to turn the knob without being burned. The water instantly stopped spraying out but now I was worried that with the water empty from the tank and the pilot light off would the gas just be leaking out into our home? Zeke and I discussed whether you could smell propane gas and whether they add that smelling agent like they do with natural gas. I called my dad back and he said that when the pilot light is turned off the gas is shut off. Oh, yeah, ...duh.

I swished the water into the drain. Zeke told me that there was water in the garage too. Just puddles. The water had gone under the drywall.

So. We have no hot water. The tank kept draining for hours. When had it begun? Bo went through the basement on his way to school and it was wooshing then. I heard the water around 3:30 pm. I havent gone out to read the water meter...not sure I really want to know right now.