At the airport getting ready to go

Over a year later and homes are still in this type of condition

Tony's family home

Taking a lunch break at St. Paul's UMC

The crew at Eugene's house

Working in Eugene's house

The beach is beautiful and all have perfect tans - Just Kidding!!
We are off to a "perfect" start. Perfect flight (the first for John Inkle!) perfect weather, perfect accommodations, though 11 women in one room on 8 bunks and a blow up mattress ( sorry Anita) is quite a sight. Perfect food that has been prepared by several very generous souls from the Indiana UMC group that are sharing our home until Tuesday night. But most important of all we have 3 great homes & families we are working with & getting to know. There are already so many stories to tell but we'll give a brief overview on all 3.

House #1 "Termites - Remove - Rock"
This home belongs to Mildred - though we haven't had a chance to get to know her yet we will share her story when we learn it. This home has suffered significant termite damage so there is lots of wood to replace & then the "rocking" begins. The squishy floor is causing Sara to worry.


House#2 " Mud the live long day"
This home belongs to Eugene & Wanita. When Katrina came Eugene held Wanita up to the ceiling of their porch while he waded in water up to his nose while watching his 4 pet birds float in their cages & his dogs on top of their refrigerator. All but 2 of the birds survived, though Eugene broke & almost lost his leg to gangrene. They are still living in their FEMA trailer next to their house. Eugene is an amazing gardener. The work crew spent the whole day taping and mudding. Cheryl and Sue got to know each other very well in a very small bathroom.


House #3 "Trim is the word"
This home belongs to Tony's mom & sister. This is the home Tony's whole family grew up in. Right now Tony's mom is in a nursing home & unfortunately his sister passed away a while after Katrina. He is hoping to bring his other sister back from California to live in the home with his mom. Tony & his wife, a daughter, a granddaughter Alissa & 2 month old Arnez all stopped by today to say hello. Alissa kept everyone entertained while Tony made some decisions on the work to be done. This first day was spent priming & painting the exterior trim. Red is the master carpenter; after only one day he & his wife had several interior windows beautifully trimmed.

And to top off the day Fred ( 2 past groups have worked on his house) stopped by to say Hi. It doesn't get any better then this.


( sorry for our pictures being out of order, after a full day of work, the technical skills are a little slow)

Just a huge special thanks to all of our team members:

Martin Kibbe, Patrick Lebouthiller, Ruthellen Corbet
Vicente Garcia, Joseph Lebouthillier, Cheryl Drake
Jon Gice, Lindsey Gice, Anne Fitzgerald, Patty Lebouthillier
Rich Williams, Leigh Gice, Jim Swearingen, Peg Meyer
Sue Cartnick, Linda Swearingen, Julie Post, Sara Treat
Anita Williams, Deb Gice, Chris Amorosino, John Inkle
And last but not least Pastor Laura Galbraith.
And thank you to all of you for your support to allow us to go do God's work!

Favorite Recipes on the trip

Recipes from Cassandra Broadus-Garcia:

These are a few of the recipes that I enjoyed sharing with the team during our stay here. Some have been passed down from family members, others have been shared, given to me by friends. I hope that you enjoy each!


This recipe was given to me by a former teacher colleague. I always prepare this the day before Thanksgiving, put it in the freezer and it’s ready for Thanksgiving morning with little effort! Just throw everything together and you’re done!

Super Mom’s Breakfast

1 ½ lb. ground sausage, crumbled and cooked (Can substitute Tofu Sausage, if you wish)
10 eggs, beaten
2 c. milk
1 t. salt
24 oz. (more or less) grated cheddar cheese
½ t. pepper
10 sliced bread, torn into bite size pieces

Grease 9x13 casserole dish. Combine cooked sausage, eggs, milk, salt, cheese, pepper, and bread pieces. Cover and refrigerate overnight, if needed. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 35 to 45 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before cutting. Yield: 8-10 servings


This cornbread recipe was a favorite of Team 2! It was given to me by our friend, Courtney Cady, in Barkhamsted. It’s not for those who are dieting, but the ingredients are what make it so great!

Courtney’s Cornbread

2 boxes Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1 small can, creamed corn (This was not included in Biloxi.)
4 eggs, beaten
1 c. butter, melted
2 c. sour cream

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.



This recipe was the most requested. It’s a perfect dish to serve on New Year’s Day to ensure good luck throughout the New Year. (Because I wanted to make sure that it was not too spicy for everyone, I omitted some of the noted ingredients.)

Skillet Hoppin’ John


1 slice ham, diced (4 slices of chopped bacon can be substituted.)
1 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped (I used green peppers.)
½ t. salt
½ t. dried thyme
¼ t. freshly ground pepper
1/8 t. dried crushed red pepper
1/8 t. ground chipotle chili pepper (omitted in Biloxi)

Sauté onions in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in ½ t. salt and next 4 ingredients until blended. Stir in rice and black-eyed peas; sauté 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Makes 6 servings


The one true thing that my Mother and I had in common was that we both loved to cook. Growing up we shared her Mississippi Cookbook on numerous occasions. In January 1988, our family home burned to the ground and she lost her cookbook. So, my house-warming gift to her was a replacement copy. Then, in January 1995 when I married Vicente, my own copy of the Mississippi Cookbook was her gift to me. My mother died in January 1996 and I treasure every opportunity to open it up and relive wonderful memories in the kitchen with her! This recipe is taken from the old stained index card notes taken from my mother’s original Mississippi Cookbook.

Shrimp Creole
1/3 c. fresh drippings or shortening (I didn’t have bacon grease, but it really is the best!)
¼ c. flour
½ c. chopped onion plus 2 green onions, chopped
½ c. diced green pepper
½ c. sliced celery
¼ c. minced fresh parsley (I used 2 or 3 pinches of dried parsley flakes in Biloxi.)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 c. water
1 - 8 ½ oz. can tomato sauce
1 ½ t. salt
2 bay leaves (omitted in Biloxi – we didn’t have any!)
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
½ t. crushed thyme
1 lemon slice
1 ½ c. fresh shrimp (They were cheap in Biloxi!)
4 c. cooked rice

Heat shortening or bacon drippings in heavy pan and blend in flour. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, stirring constantly. Add vegetables and cook 2 minutes. Add water, tomato sauce, dry seasonings and lemon. Turn heat to low, cover pan and simmer 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and heat. Serve on rice. Serves 4.

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Banana Split Dessert

½ c. butter, melted
2 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 eggs
2 c. powdered sugar
¾ c. oleo, soft
1 t. vanilla
1 20oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained
4 medium bananas, sliced
9 oz. dessert topping
½ c. chopped pecans
4 oz. maraschino cherries

Combine oleo and crumbs and pat into bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Beat eggs 4 minutes. Add powdered sugar, butter and vanilla and beat 5 minutes more. Spread over crumbs and chill. Spread pineapple and sliced bananas over former. Then, add topping, nuts and cherries. Refrigerate for 6 hours.

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Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

2 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
½ c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
¼ t. salt
½ t. almond extract
½ c. cut-up dates, if desired (omitted in Biloxi)
½ c. chopped walnuts (I used pecans.)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Stir together oats, sugar, and oil in mixing bowl. Beat egg whites until frothy and add to oat mixture. Stir in salt and almond extract. Stir in pecans. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls on lightly oiled baking sheet. (Because this recipe doesn’t have flour, you may need to use your fingers to slightly push each teaspoonful into a little “pile” on the baking sheet.) Bake about 15 minutes. Cool; remove from baking sheet. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

This pie fooled many of the volunteers because they couldn’t decide if it was cheesecake, gelato, or what! It’s so simple and is very low fat.



Luscious Frozen Yogurt Pie
1 ¼ c. graham cracker crumbs (about 17 squares)
1 t. cocoa
2 T. margarine, melted
1 quart vanilla or other flavor frozen yogurt, softened slightly

SKIP MAKING THE CRUST AND BUY READY-MADE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUMB PIE SHELLS! The name of this game is easy.
Spoon frozen yogurt into crust; spread carefully. Cover and freeze at least 1 ½ hours or until firm. When ready to serve, let stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. Served in Biloxi with Chocolate-Almond Sauce. Freeze any remaining pie. 8 servings.

Chocolate Almond Sauce

½ c. sugar
¼ c. cocoa
1 T. cornstarch
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated skimmed milk
¼ t. almond extract

Mix sugar, cocoa and cornstarch in 1 ½ quart saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils; remove from heat. Stir in almond extract. (Beat with wire whisk if sauce becomes lumpy.) Serve warm, or press plastic wrap or waxed paper onto surface and refrigerator until chilled. About 1 ¾ c. sauce.




This is the recipe for the Potato Cheese Soup that I made for the 1/6/07 Skills Training Session – remember, the one that I scorched.

Cheese-Potato Soup
3 med. Potatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 lg. onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 ½ cups water
2 t. instant chicken bouillon
8 oz. process cheese spread loaf, cut up
¼ cup. Imitation bacon

Heat potatoes, onion, water and instant bouillon to boiling in 2-quart saucepan./ Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Place in blender container; add cheese. Cover and blend on high speed until uniform consistency. Sprinkle each serving with 1 T. imitation bacon. 4 servings (about 1 cup each)