finishing touches

Today as we concluded our trip there were a lot of smiles, tears, hugs and moments of humility. As we rushed to get the last swipes of mud, or last coat of paint we gathered together to reflect on what we have gone through. At each house we had a dedication ceremony.

First, we all joined at Mildred's to see a solid step into the house, a utility room that had structure, new wood, and sheet rocked walls. We gave Mildred a plant to watch grow along with her community and 2 new pictures to hang on her new walls. We all placed our hands on her to give her a blessing before we said our goodbyes.

Next we went to Anthony's house to see all of the wonderful window trim, doors hung, and painting around the house. We gave Anthony a garden flag and stake for when he moves back in with his family. We placed our hands on him and gave a blessing and said our goodbyes.

We finished off at Eugen's and Jaunita's to look at all the mud, primer and ramp into their house. We gave Eugene & Jaunita as climbing rose bush and a yard gnome. We placed our hands on them both said a blessing and said our goodbyes.

We returned to Heritage to have our final group meeting and to break bread together. We all shared how this past week has flown by and we all were wishing for more time. We came to do God's work and to give to a community by helping it's members get closer to returning to their homes. We were touched at how hopeful everyone we met from here was and still is. We are sad to say goodbye to our new friends from Mississippi and the new friends we made in our own group. I think John said it best " we came as individuals and left as a group" As we return home to all of our loved ones we are anxious to tell all the stories we have experienced. I don't want to say "This is the end of our experience" because this isn't the end. We hope this might inspired you to do God's work in mission, too.

We saw a message written on the side of a van, "Katrina was an act of nature. The volunteers are an act of God." We are humbled to have been servants.




Here are some of our last photos from our journey!

Eugen & Juanita's House

Everyone that helped

Eugene and Juanita with their new lawn ornament

The ramp being built that was finished by flashlight Friday night

Anthony's family home

Anita presented Anthony with a garden flag

The finished doors and walls

The crew with Anthony

The crew at Mildred's in her utility room

The full crew that came to help out

The start of a new garage and a strong door

Mildred's house that is becoming a home

Rev. Moses at the Camille memorial

At the Katrina Memorial

the Hwy 90 bridge or " the domino bridge" from Ocean Springs to Biloxi

Eating at The Shed, a must for anyone visting

Today was another great day! It felt like we really made some progress though we are learning to let God determine our path. We had a new “volunteer” join our group – Fred who’s home previous groups worked on and many of you met when he came to CT - came to Eugene’s and spent the day sanding away.
Pastor Laura had the privilege of “shopping” with Mildred to purchase the cabinet for her almost completed laundry room – thanks to a donation from Avon MUMC. This trip to the store lead to Mildred recounting her first trip back to Biloxi after Katrina seeing all the church vans and trailers coming into town and thinking that God has called “His people” to come help us. She said she has always believed in Jesus but now she “sees” Him. In spite of everything she feels fortunate compared to a lot of her neighbors and she wants to “pay it forward” to help restore her neighborhood to the way it was when all the children used to play in the streets.
Rev. Moses took us on the “pilgrim” tour to the Camille Memorial and the Katrina Memorial and then to the area where the bridge is being repaired. He recounted many moving stories about the people of Biloxi during & after the hurricane and how we are bearing their burdens as Jesus told us to and that their hope comes from all of those who come to help. Our tour continued to “The Shed” where we had a really a great bar-b-que dinner. The place was filled with volunteers from OH, WS, ND, PA and many construction workers all here to help the area rebuild.
We are leaving earlier tomorrow morning so we can maximize our last day here. It will also be a sad day because we will be saying good-bye to our new wonderful friends in Christ. Please pray for us on this last day of service to our neighbors and our God.

High Hopes

Sisters Sue and Sara sheet rock splendidly.

Christopher and Peg tackle the ceiling and Mildred's.

Ruth Ellen goes up on the roof!

Jim, Linda, Deb, Leigh and Lindsey celebrate another day of hard work.

The gang's pretty tired tonight, but we're ending the day in high spirits. Today was a day of big steps forward, some finished jobs (!) and a few reality checks on what we're going to be able to accomplish. There is so much we want to do here, but we know that everything we do here is an important step in bringing our home-owners truly home. Pastor Laura also spoke about the "ministry of presence" which helped ease the minds of those trying to weasel out every minute of work time possible. It was also a day of realizing how much we've bonded to this place, these people, and to each other. We have a great group dynamic going on here

A highlight of today was when Reverend Moses brought us to Ruby's home. Ruby lives across the street from Mildred, and her home has been completely rebuilt. Between the beautiful objects found inside, her flair for decorating and her huge welcoming heart- we were really moved. She also has a vast collection of angles, most all of which made it through the storm. Now there's a metaphor! Not only did Ruby welcome us all into her home, she also sent us home with a pound cake. Between that and the trailer behind Tony's house lending us power, we're starting to feel like a part of this neighborhood. There is quite a giving spirit here.

Tomorrow, we're looking forward to a pilgrimage tour with Reverend Moses and dinner out. Stay tuned for the details.....!

Rainy yet fun!

Martin Luther King Day Parade!!

Anita painting doorframes at Tony's house.

A little kitchen teamwork with Patrick and Linda.

Bunkmates Patty, Anne and Julie.

Loading up the gear at St. Paul's

Anne and Julie sanding away at Eugene's house.

Jon impart the importance of dancing while drywalling.

Martin and Patrick look on as Pastor Laura tames the staple gun beast.

Can our fearless van driver, Deb, get us out of another sticky situation? Of course!

Mildred screwing in drywall in her home.

Sue, Christopher, Peg, Mildred, Sara and Vicente- Drywall Champs!

One crew worked on Mildred’s house. Mildred says she’s been through a triple whammy- first, her mother died. Then, her husband died of a heart attack at age 54. Then- The Hurricane.

Her Husband had an old friend, a fraternity brother, who painted portraits. Mildred always wanted this dear life-long friend to paint her husband. It never happened.

The friend felt terrible when Mildred’s husband died and Mildred didn’t have a portrait to remember him by. Mildred gave the fraternity brother an old photograph of her husband and asked the friend to paint from it. She was amazed at the finished product. The photograph had not been a good one, but the portrait captured not just what he looked like, but who he was. When she asked how the friend could do such a great painting from such a poor photo, he replied, “Because I know him.”

When Katrina was supposed to strike, Mildred took more care with that portrait than any other possession. She removed it from the wall so it wouldn’t be blown to the floor. She wrapped it in towels so it would not get wet from the rain. And she placed it on her bed on the mattress so it would hopefully be above the flood water level.

When Mildred returned home after Katrina she described Biloxi as a war zone. Her roof had been blown off. Water had flooded into the house. All the pictures and mementos of her husband that had dominated two walls in one room were swept away or ruined. In Mildred’s bedroom, the water has risen to the level of the box springs. Then the mattress seemed to have soaked the water up. On her bed, relatively dry and safe, was the portrait.


Lord, we thank you for Mildred. We thank you for Juanita and Eugene and Anthony and all the people whose homes we’ve been honored to work on. We thank you for their faith, for their example, for their courage to go on. We pray that you will become an even greater presence in their lives. A hurricane can’t match your power. A flood can never reach your depths. A tragedy can never come close to equalizing the glory of your Son, who gave his life for us. We shall weather every storm through our faith in your love. Amen.

Great Progress today on all 3 houses!!!!

Lots of new skills were learned today. No major accidents to report with the exception of Peg's mishap with the simplest of tools, a screwdriver. However she is handy with a pneumatic stapler. The shoot off was a not an approved game by the safety team but enjoyed by Linda, Anita & Laura. We also learned it's a putty knife not a spatula, Linda!
Today as you may well know was Martin Luther King Day and there was a parade in town that a few of us got a chance to go see. There were 3 marching bands, lots of church groups, horses and dance moves that are beyond our expertise. It has been a ghost town the first couple of days and it was great to see so many local people enjoying the day. We made out with lots of beads and lots of candy.
Vicente's name still seems to be a challenge for some, we won't mention any names, Sara. Names seem to be a bit of an issue with the groups, about everyone here has a new version of their name.
Noon lunch is still not exciting enough for some of our men. How were the ribs and BBQ after lunch Patrick, Red and Vicente??? The rest of house 1 got a taste and now sandwiches just don't cut it anymore.
Today's afternoon desert per Jon's request were mini M&M's - Thanks Laura who by the way has been to Lowe's so often she's on a first name basis with most of the staff.
We met 2 men today that we asked if they were working on their own home and offered to help. They said they were taking care of everything and said no thank you. It's great to see people taking pride in rebuilding their homes and community. It's a humbling experience to be a part of that process.

Tonight as we drove home in the fog that seemed to linger all day, we felt tired yet exhilarated about our accomplishments.


We'll post picture tomorrow with updates on our houses, pictures of the parade, and other sights we encounter.

Sunday!!!!

Mt. Pleasant UMC Turkey Hill area (first service Sunday morning)

St. Paul's ( second Sunday service and equipment base camp)

Vicente showing us his pictures from his previous trips

Bay St. Louis /Waveland area

This is all that remains of a church. The steeple dropped
straight down and survived the storm.

The bottom half of this house washed away the rest has
been standing like this since last year

Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.


I am here in MS for the next week hoping to accomplish something that will make life easier and better for someone who has suffered a lot since Katrina hit.

You would think that by now things would be decent but they are not. The grass that has grown over some of the lots that have been cleared can be deceiving for many people that have not been here before. They look beautiful in some cases, until you learn that someone used to live here. Even though you don’t know the individual, it still hurts. Sometimes it is the remaining stairs or some hints of a foundation, it still hurts. Some of these places I had seen in my many summers of vacationing here so I remember the beauty that used to exist. It will come back, in many places and for many individuals it already has. Hopefully I will help my team add one more.

Vicente Garcia

Today we visited 2 churches for service. First we went to Mt. Pleasant UMC in the Turkey Hill area. Rev. Moses typically preaches there but today we were blessed with having Tomas True from Indiana preach. It was a wonderful service full of praise and song. Next we headed over to St. Paul's UMC for a second service. Again typically Rev. Moses preaches but today we heard from David Schrader from Indiana. Again another great service.
After lunch we sat down and Vicente showed us pictures from his previous trips along with his sons power point presentation. ( Great job Gabriel! ) After seeing the photos a group went over to the areas of Bay St. Louis & Waveland. There has been a small amount of progress in these areas. While driving down the street all that's left of some homes are the slab of concrete they were built on. Some of the houses appeared to be untouched from over a year ago. Some of the houses and shops have been torn down while others have been reopened or now have people living in them. It's still devastating to see these historic buildings in disarray while seeing others that have been restored is very uplifting.
Tomorrow we will be back at our houses we are working on. We have a game plan for each one and high hopes to make some major changes.
We hope you are enjoying hearing about what we've been experiencing in these few days. We've learned that the more we tell the story the more people want to help, so please help us tell the stories and help this amazing community get back on it's feet.