The college kids are back from their Mission Trip to Abbeville, Louisiana. Twelve of them went as well as a handful of adults.

Zeke, Kevin and I went last year to Gautier, Mississippi on a similar trip. We did mostly roofs and some sheetrock and painting. It was hot and heartbreaking work. We worked hard and fast but felt so inadequate to the task. We could stand on a roof and look around, seeing blue-tarped roofs in every direction, silently waiting for their turn to be repaired.

We knew we were barely making a dent. But Marcia, the woman in charge of volunteers said they look at it as “helping one family at a time”. There was no doubt that the people we helped were very, very grateful. In fact, the whole community was respectful of the train of strangers that came to help them, leaving and being replaced by the next crew. Piece by piece they were gaining hope, the commodity most needed in the face of the devastation. (More on the remarkable photos & stories of the people of Gautier, Pascagoula & Biloxi here)

Kevin said it was different this year with this college group, but still gratifying. He didn’t see many roofs that were in need of repair but there were still many people still living in the FEMA trailers because their homes are still uninhabitable! He was surprised that 2 years had gone by and people were still waiting for help.

His crew worked on a home that was spared from Katrina. The homeowners took in two other families whose homes were ruined. Then Hurricane Rita hit. The water surged to above the windows ruining everything in and out. But everyone was safe and the house was still structurally sound.

They gutted it and had it raised on stilts. Kev’s group did work on the soffets and put up siding. Their goal was to finish it before they had to leave… they even turned down an afternoon sightseeing trip into New Orleans because they felt the need to keep at it. Unfortunately, even with all their determined work, they were still unable to complete the job and were disappointed. But the homeowners, who worked side by side with them when they could, were still so pleased and grateful for the almost-finished job.

Another crew painted the inside of a home and another put up sheetrock in a home whose roof had been completely ripped off in the hurricane. After working hard all day, those kids still had energy to play volleyball! They also got to experience real Cajun cooking when a lady from the community came in and cooked for them one evening. Someone from our church donated funds for them all to go out to dinner while they were down there. Another great thing about folks coming down to help them out is that they put money back into the community with their commerce, so I guess they helped out that way, as well!

Anyway, they are safely home now, weary but feeling somewhat gratified. They came back with hearts for serving and are intent on making sure this kind of trip happens annually. They also developed a new bond with one another and the joy that comes from doing God’s work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The world says, "The more you take, the more you have." Christ says, "The more you give, the more you are." ~ Frederick Buechner

Hipolito was living alone in the FEMA trailer parked next to his home. There was a wheel chair ramp going up to it for his wife but she had had to leave since she could not find the kind of care she needed there after Hurricane Katrina had drown their neighborhood. Hipolito was a sad, elderly man. They had left for higher ground but their home had been destroyed. His wife's doctor had stayed... and died. Hipolito told us that he had been a kind man.

He asked us what had happened to his hardwood oak floors that had been there. The oak had been pulled up and thrown out by a group before us. They'd been swollen and warped and ruined in the flood. You could literally see the ground beneath his home between the boards and in the empty nail holes. The group before us had put up insulation (there had never been any before), hung sheetrock and painted. A volunteer electrician was working on it. I think the group before that had given him a roof. It was finally falling into place for him.

The group before us did the sheetrock and it is the worst sheetrocking I've ever seen. The walls in the livingroom looked as if they had not even been sanded but they had already had a coat of paint so there was little we could do. We have had to change our thinking a bit in regard to remodeling. Having to cut corners because one doesn't have the money or the equipment and especially the time to do things "right". They want to be living in their homes. Hurricane season is upon them again and they want to start living normally in their own finished homes. We all did the best we could..

Hipolito had paid two different contractors ($1800 each) to do plumbing so he could get back into his home. Both had taken his money and run. It's hard to understand that someone would pay up front for a job to be done... especially twice. But he was desperate to get his home in order, to have a home, to get his wife back with him. Desparate people grasp at straws. Desparate people attract unscrupulous contractors and apparently they are plentiful around these parts.

We painted the trim in the livingroom and all of the dining room and set his kitchen cabinets and sanded some sheetrock and scraped up sheetrock mud off the livingroom floor and painted a bedroom floor... and they set his toilet and got it working!

We had worked on Hipolito's house all morning and then had to leave for home that afternoon. We left him, so grateful to have more of his home ready and yet,so sad at all that he had lost.

(More Mission Trip memories: our own little flood, Katrina Flood, First United Methodist Church of Kearney, Gautier United Methodist Church, Ander's house, Miss Martha & Miss Ruby roofs, "Mississippi Manicures", Flood damage, Gautier, Mississippi, Biloxi hurricane destruction, coming home, Mississippi Hurricane Relief Mission Trip)

The third house was Ander's. Carol and Andy were going to paint there while the rest of us went on to roof at Miss Ruby's. Carol was a bit worried, unsure about being left there so we decided we'd all go on in and check it all out; see what needed to be done, how many workers to leave behind.

We were pulling up to the house in a nice little neighborhood near the shore in Pascagoula, Mississippi. There was a FEMA trailer in the front yard and a big black man came bursting out. He paced outside the bus as we parked, opened the doors and all tumbled out. He grabbed each one of us and hugged us... a big ol' heartfelt bear hug. His wife was inside and showed us around to all that needed done. Groups before us had gotten it to the stage of painting. Everything in their house had had to be replaced.

Carol and Andy painted there and later more of us joined the effort. Ander (real name was Andrew but he said his mama called him Ander and we should, too.) was a reall chatty guy. He had a deep accent that we had some trouble understanding but he was patient about it and repeated at will. He and his family had been at home when the hurricane hit. They had ridden out hurricanes before but Katrina's number popped up as it hit the shores and it hit harder than predicted. His home flooded instantly with the wall of water. The local lagoon also flooded with it so that was in the water, too. He said he was not afraid for himself but for his wife and his grandson. The water came up to Ander's neck and he had to hold his Grandson above his head. They could not escape their house until the waters receded. They survived... but their house was in shambles.

The house was unairconditioned and so hot and stuffy! We were all soaked with sweat. Ander never lifted a hand to help but kept us entertained the whole while. His wife wanted us to paint her laundry room and her garage but we moved on to those in more need at that point. Ander climbed onto the bus to thank us one more time and mad John write down each of our names so he could "put it in the newspaper".

"Helping one family at a time" that's what they are trying to do in the face of the daunting need left by the hurricanes last fall. I've been thinking about the people waiting for new roofs and interior repairs; people who have been on a list for months and months patiently living in homes wearing weathered blue tarp scarves, or among the bits and pieces of remodeling being done or nesting in their FEMA trailers.

We first met Miss Martha. (She really wasn't a "miss" but we soon learned that everyone down South is "Miss" or "Mr", even with first names.) She was thrilled and surprised, having been bumped up the list due to the discovery that the guy above her was actually a landlord wanting his rental property fixed for free. We started at her house while she was still at work. (She works for a doctor) We were novices at roofing with a little experience among us but we kicked right in. The first part of the job took no brains or skill...just a lot of tedious, back-bending effort. We tore off her old roof.

It was apparent immediately that the building codes were crazy-off from what we are used to here in Missouri. We were told later that some of the houses were built before there really were many codes. Anyway, her roof was made of 1/4" plywood on 24" centers and old. It was wavy as could be between the rafters and so weak that we didn't dare let Andy up on the roof. He'd have dropped right through to her kitchen! Johh insisted on going up but was pretty careful to keep his feet on the rafter boards. The rest of us walked at will but every now and then you'd hear a "WHooooaa..." as someone stepped into a soft spot and dipped precariously low.

There was one place that a tree had gone through and we replaced it with 2 sheets of solid plywood. The whole roof really needed it but we were there to get things fixed a.s.a.p and we had to remember that they don't have the snow on their roofs that makes it neccessary for ours to be so sturdy.

The roofing was so weak and old that it tore off in small pieces and strips leaving the nails behind. The tarpaper below was in the same condition and was stuck to the plywood below. It came off in tiny pieces mostly that had to be picked off by hand and then swept off. The nails had to be pulled out with a hammer or popped off by brute force with a shovel. We tried to send all the debris to the front of the house where our ground crew of 3 moved it all to within 3' of the curb where it would be picked up by the city.

We did end up throwing some of it off the back because it was just too much effort to drag it up and over the peak of the roof. The back yard was secured by a tall chain link fence with a locked gate. Miss Martha's house butts up to the housing project in the area. Her airconditioner was chained to the ground. We think she probably had good reason to have her backyard locked up but Tom figured out that he could just remove the pins in the hinge of the gate and we got right in for clean up. We had a giant magnet on a pole for retrieving the jillions of nails that went over the side with the rest of the debris.

We had only worked for the afternoon since we had been on the bus all morning getting to Gautier, Mississippi. At the end of the day we were very hot and very tired. It had been in the upper 80°s on that roof and we had really felt it. My back was aching from all the bending and effort with the nails/shovel. Everyone had worked well together and worked hard!

Day 2~ We started earlier so we could bet a jump before the heat. Miss Martha was leaving for work and was so glad to meet us. The first thing she said was how grateful she was and then she asked if there were any black people in our group. We told her there were not. (we didn't tell her that there are only 2 black (1/2 black) members of our whole church and not many more than that in our whole community) She told us she was disappointed...that all the people they had seen coming to volunteer...there were no blacks among them. We didn't know what to say. I don't understand that myself. But she was still, oh so grateful. She wanted to know each of our names. She left a note inside stating her gratitude. (she left her house open for us to use the bathroom) I left her a note telling her we were just trying to do what God expects us to do; welcomed the opportunity. The next day Miss Martha called the church to thank them for sending her angels.

We finished her house and cleaned up as best we could. I am afraid her lawn mower will find a few of the nails that we surely missed picking up. We spread a tarp on the grass below for the roof debris at the next house. It worked so much better... although we almost always filled it way too full before dragging to the curb.

Miss Ruby was the next homeowner we worked for. She was home while we worked on the first day and glad to see us but somewhat reserved. Her roof had four layers that had to be removed! We invited her to dinner with us and she accepted. It was taco salad night and it was good. We ate the delicious Taco Mountains and tried to make conversation with Miss Ruby. She works at the shipyard in the Maintenance Dept....lucky to be in that department since many others have been laid off. We made small talk. I asked her where she worshipped and she opened up. I think her reservations toward us came from maybe thinking that we would be condescending toward her, maybe even toward all those down there. You know, "Oh, how we came to help you poor needy people. Oh, aren't we wonderful." BUt when we got to talking about our churches, about our worship, suddenly we weren't black or white, we weren't rich or poor, we weren't Northern or Southern...we were just God's children. Christians one and all... just doing what we are called to do.

(More Mission Trip memories: our own little flood, Katrina Flood, First United Methodist Church of Kearney, Gautier United Methodist Church, Ander's house, Miss Martha & Miss Ruby roofs, "Mississippi Manicures", Flood damage, Gautier, Mississippi, Biloxi hurricane destruction, coming home, Mississippi Hurricane Relief Mission Trip)

I expected to feel all goody- goody after my return from work with the hurricane relief down South but... well, there have been so many feelings, thoughts, ideas, prayers and images banging around in my brain! It's taking me awhile to process it all. Especially when I get back home and am expected to, you know, take up the same place where I left off before I went. I don't feel good either, nor bad... just different... challenged... changed.

I sent out an email to practically everyone I know letting them know about the great need for volunteers since it is clear that is the only way the non-business,

non-wealthy folks are going to get help. The responses I got were diasappointing and disheartening to me. I'm hating all this "Oh, you did such a great thing." "Oh, it's so wonderful that you gave up so much to go do that." "Oh, I want to do something like that but I just don't have time." It makes me want to sccreeeeaam! I do understand how they are feeling and know that they are sincere. It is exactly how I felt before when I would hear about other mission trips our church has organized. But I don't want kudos; I want other people to step up and pick up where we left off!

I didn't do a great thing, I didn't give up anything, it wasn't wonderful, you CAN do something like that, you DO have the time.... I want to say that but I don't. I've been in their shoes. Maybe by going myself I did plant a few seeds among my peers. They can do it, too. Afterall, Lou is the one that showed me that it can be done. She went to Nicaragua!

I do feel good that 2 of my sons gave up their time to come with us. They were both hard workers, and Casey's friend, Chris, was, too. It would have been a much less productive group without the 3 young men that followed me down there. I feel good about that. I worked hard, too. I can feel good about that as well. The folks whose homes we worked on were sincerely grateful that it was finally their turn. We did a good thing for them. There is no doubt of that.

We worked together so well! The combination of young people and adults, male and female was perfect. Among us were those with strength and the vitality, those with knowledge and skill and experience, those with enthusiasm and a willingness to do anything. There was kindness and an honest effort to value everyone; find a meaningful job for everyone that wasn't just busy-work. I feel good about the group. I made many new friends. I learned a lot, too.

There were no slackers among us. We saw the almost unfathomable amount of work that still needs to be done and we just wanted to work, work, work in the samll amount of time tha we would be there. We did all we could, more than most groups that go, but it didn't seem enough. We didn't go shopping or eat out or take in the scenery. We just worked.

It was a good trip. A good group. Good work was done. And yet...

The feelings are still bouncing around. I'm still working on them. I'm letting God work on me.

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.