March 30, 2008 | Ray Pierce

When I first saw the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the news back in 2005, the social justice part of me was ready to drop everything to go down to the Gulf Coast to help out. Regretfully, I listened to the practical side of myself and decided that I shouldn’t skip the grad classes that I begun that semester. Why do the little things like school and earning a living get in the way?

Now, in 2008 I’m trying to make good on the conviction I felt back in 2005. It’s only our first day in Pearlington, MS and we’ve already helped a couple folks. We met Miss Henrietta, an 83 year-old lady who is almost ready to move into her new home. The only thing in her way is getting a fridge for the kitchen. So as a surprise we went shopping in Slidell and picked out one that we are going to install tomorrow. Then later that day we also began cleaning up her home in preparation for the big move.

I didn’t really know what to expect in Pearlington, but folks here are very happy to see the volunteers and are amazing positive despite the duration of being without their homes. That’s a personal quality that I’ve been trying to strive for. Being able to have an optimistic outlook even though circumstances are far from good. So in an effort to help others, I think there is going to be a number of things that we are all going to learn.

March 31, 2008 | Kathleen Claydon

Sister Rawls and Sister Mayola along with others in the congregation of the First Missionary Baptist Church of Pearlington have been preparing lunch for the volunteers and residents of the town for two and a half years. I had the privilege of spending the afternoon serving these gracious women.

Much food has to be prepared on one stove top and one oven. Macaroni and cheese, jambalaya, dirty rice, smoked sausage, red beans and rice. All hot and all ready by 11:30 am. Our group of four worked for a couple of hours getting things ready. Working quickly, rushing in our usual way.

Sister Rawls and Sister Mayola came in, things began to slow and the frenzied pace lessened. I have noticed that the pace of life is slow in the south. Many times during the day I had to slow down to let Sister Rawls catch up, to hear what was being said, to understand. My life, the frenzied pace, needs to become more southern…slower. I need to slow down to hear God, to understand. I need to learn to “be still and know.”

April 1, 2008 | Kate Bird

I got to hammer a nail today and it was fantastic! Kate Bird here everyone and boy did I have a grand Tuesday. I was part of a team that was assigned to clean debris from a yard at one of the sites. I personally love yard work so for me this project was perfect. My fellow teammates and I worked in the yard for a few hours and made a great improvement in the yard.

We had another wonderful lunch, which was a great time to hydrate, refuel, and prepare for the afternoon. I wasn’t exactly sure what was in store for me, but that’s what makes it exciting. A group of us were sent to a house that was built brand new after the storm. We were told that we would be working on the framing, which I had never done before, so I was pretty excited. I moved a lot of boards, hammered a lot of nails, and by the end of our times there, the frame of a wall had been constructed. It was perfect timing for a nice Mississippi rainstorm!

This is my first time doing work like this for someone other than my mother or other family members or friends. When I chose to come on the Mississippi trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I still don’t have any expectations and I think that has helped me truly appreciate what is happening. I have been able to use my skills and do what I enjoy doing to help others. The conversations and interactions with everyone here have also made this time interesting and very enjoyable. I’m excited to see what the rest of the week will bring!

April 2, 2008 | David Jenkins

I am part of a team of five that has been working on a house for a lady named Miss Dallie Dawsey. She has been gone all week due to an illness in the family, so it has been difficult to turn a porch into a four season living portion of the home without any input as to where walls need to go, or where she wants electricity.

When we arrived at Miss Dallie’s home, it was simple. All we had to do was frame in a few missing walls, put some new plywood on the floor and run wires. The situation quickly changed when I climbed under the back of the house and found years of neglected wood, rotten and destroyed by termites. Our 2 day job turned into a project that will extend long into our absence. We jacked the house up, fixed what we could, tore the floor out and re-framed it. While the home may look virtually the same as it did when we started, it now at least has a good foundation to stand on.

This whole remodeling process has been a great example of what faith really is. Miss Dallie, having never met any of us face to face, placed her faith in us to take care of her home. She blindly let us demolish a good portion of her home and has trusted us to take care of her needs. To see the way God is working in my team, and myself it truly amazing. I pray that I will take with me a small portion of the faith and gratefulness the people of this small town have.

April 3, 2008 | Judith Belt-Smith

An awesome, amazing trip! I had no idea what to expect, even on a daily basis. Each day was new and filled with lots of hard work. My days were spent framing and sawing windows, tiling and grouting floors. It was hard at times to keep a focus on the project at hand. Imagination is strong here…God is strong here. Our reward was a day in New Orleans. What a great day we all had – we listened as many people shared their stories. It is a slow process, a labor of love rebuilding. God can do anything –imagination comes from God.

April 4, 2008 | Luis Pestana

This is Friday evening April 4th, just about 6:30 PM. As I sit here in our large and airy breakfast and supper tent. It is Humid as usual and hot besides. A similar ending to an equally humid beginning though a bit cooler.

Thoughts of thankfulness surface for the break in the monotony of sleeping on a cot —- it was OK. Mine that is. On arrival my pod mate Ray picked out his. Old, delapidated, and creaking with every toss and turn of his body (I felt sorry for him”why Ray?” I thought to myself) I had forgotten the camp manager telling us to bring anything of concern to his attention or Jeremy, his assistant. By Tuesday evening I offered to swap cots with him (while he was hesitant he agreed). Upon swapping however, I found it to be unsafe to sleep on. You are brave Ray. I brought the matter to John (camp manager). “THERE IS ONE BY THE WASH TUBS” – I was informed, just set up for that exact purpose.
I was shocked, and immediately grateful (in the intent of the thoughts of your heart where we establish the recompense of blessing or cursing upon ourselves), that old assurance that God knows our needs and is able to provide even as we take the step of faith to ask and to seek.
Isn’t HE Wonderful ?
So, as I tap, tap away at this keyboard, our group is the the sole camp tenant. A Tornado watch given for the evening. Sal. from Brunswick on the barbecue grill. Cheese Burgers is on the menu. The other Groups from Nebraska Washington and Pennsylvania either returned or have gone to New Orleans for the day. They have done a terrific job of hosting the breakfast and supper when assigned.
I miss the PA group already. They left this morning, and though there were only four ladies, the zeal and spirit working through them is an inspiring and humbling desire . They were funny, serene, quiet, and instantaneously the distant relatives that you missed when absent.
The day advances though, and your family is still with you.

April 5, 2008 | Susannah Corey

How quickly a week goes! Today we finished our work here in Pearlington, recognizing how very large the task of rebuilding this town is in comparison to the tasks we have completed. A group of us finished tiling Mr. Quentin’s house and I probably speak for us all in saying that I wish we could have done so much more. I found myself constantly stretched in my own frailty (aching muscles I never knew I had, using a hammer and power tools with minimal hand-eye coordination, the heat, limited bathroom facilities, and BUGS, BUGS, BUGS!) but I am constantly reminded of God’s strength and power through it all.

I have heard so many people tell stories of heroism, loss, faith, and the slow process of moving on past it all and rebuilding more than just a house, an entire life. As is so often the case in missions, I find myself leaving this place with a sense that I did so little and gained so much through the experience.

I know that I will come home and my life will soon return to some state of normalcy while the people of Pearlington will continue to struggle with overwhelming loss, mess, lack of plumbing and electricity, and the bureaucracy and red-tape that surrounds the Katrina rebuilding efforts. I know that the stories I have heard here and that some of the memories I have made here will fade but my hope is that I will not forget God’s presence in the midst of it all. More than that, I hope that the people of Pearlington come to know that they are not alone, that no matter what small things we can do to help, God is bigger and stronger than Katrina and will continue to provide comfort and aid to them in this long process.