During this week, Linda Swearingen led the team in a time of reflection and prayer each night. The following prayer speaks to what we do in Biloxi and reminds us of the power of prayer.
Dear God,
I give this day to You.
May my mind stay centered on the things of the spirit.
May I not be tempted to stray from love.
As I begin this day, I open to receive You.
Please enter where You already abide.
May my mind and heart be pure and true, and may I not deviate
from the things of goodness.
May I see the love and innocence in all mankind, behind the masks
we all wear and the illusions of this worldly plane.
I surrender to You my doings this day.
I ask only that they serve You and the healing of the world.
May I bring Your love and goodness with me, to give unto others
wherever I go.
Make me the person You would have me be.
Direct my footsteps, and show me what You would have me do.
Make the world a safer, more beautiful place.
Bless all Your creatures.
Heal us all, and use me, dear Lord, that I might know the joy of being
used by You.
Amen.
Reference: Williamson, Marianne (1995). Illuminata: A Return to Prayer. Riverhead Books.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Tuesday January 21st
Following a “light” breakfast of pancakes, sausages, cereal, donuts, juice and coffee, we set off to the job site. Cold was the word of the day as it seems a little bit of New England style weather was in the forecast. Painting the outside porch proved a little tricky in cold wind but we prevailed. The finished columns look great! A fresh coat of primer on all the repaired soffits was applied and new work was taken on by a few installing insulation and sheetrock in the house next door. Others spent a long day applying second and third coats of compound with hopes of finish sand on Wed. while the rest ventured off to yet another site to prep a floor for tile work. The need for volunteers is overwhelming and there’s always work to be done. Being my first trip to Biloxi, I’ve found this experience to be everything I’d hoped for and more. The people of Biloxi are truly inspiring. While so many have lost their homes, their possessions, and so much more, they remain hopeful and patient and grateful for what remains and what is to come.
Mark Borenstein VIM (Jan. 09) AUMMC Member
Monday January 20th
Our first day of work began with a hardy breakfast at Seashore Assembly café and then a quick trip to the HOPE Volunteer Center for a safety review and paperwork signoff. Then if it was off to the job site. With 16 crew members, it was just amazing to see how fast the whole team got to work. Picking up where the last team left off, we began with the task of readying the freshly hung wallboard by applying the second coat compound in all the rooms. Some of us spent pretty much the whole day at it. Other team members tackled priming and painting the front port columns of this beautiful Craftsman style home. The carpentry on the outside needed some repair so the rest of the team got moving on the tear down and rebuild of the damaged soffits. All in all, the day was moving along until lunch time at which point we decided to take a trip down the street to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade. And were we glad we did. I’ve never seen anything like it. There was such a buzz in the crowd; you could just feel the excitement. And see it too. The marching bands were not only rocking the crowd but dancing up a storm. The pictures we took don’t even come close to describe the atmosphere. But work was calling, so back to the house we went for a full afternoon of mudding, painting, and roof repair. By the time we quit working, not a soul could be seen who wasn’t covered in sheetrock dust and clumps of compound. After showers and dinner, we finished the evening off with a group meeting that let everyone unwind and talk about their experiences of the day.
The highlight of the afternoon was finally meeting the homeowners. Jeff, Stacey and their 7 yr. old daughter Lexie were just so appreciative of our work. They had only owned the home a year when the wall of the water from the storm surge ruined everything. Since then, they have lived on the second floor or their parent’s house along with other family members. Luckily, their home was not completely destroyed and Jeff has been working on rebuilding it himself over the past three years. With the help of volunteers like us, his family is very close to moving back in. Jeff and Stacey told stories of a neighbor who climbed through his roof and held on to a tree throughout the storm surge and of an uncle who, as the water rose, cut a hole through to the attic and pushed his wife up to safety.
Mark Borenstein VIM (Jan. 09) AUMMC Member
The highlight of the afternoon was finally meeting the homeowners. Jeff, Stacey and their 7 yr. old daughter Lexie were just so appreciative of our work. They had only owned the home a year when the wall of the water from the storm surge ruined everything. Since then, they have lived on the second floor or their parent’s house along with other family members. Luckily, their home was not completely destroyed and Jeff has been working on rebuilding it himself over the past three years. With the help of volunteers like us, his family is very close to moving back in. Jeff and Stacey told stories of a neighbor who climbed through his roof and held on to a tree throughout the storm surge and of an uncle who, as the water rose, cut a hole through to the attic and pushed his wife up to safety.
Mark Borenstein VIM (Jan. 09) AUMMC Member
Arrived safely
Sunday, January 18, 2009
We arrived safely in Gulfport and settled into the dorms at Seashore Assembly. This is truly a special place with a beachside view and live oaks that survived Katrina’s surge. Three years ago, I remember the live oaks - brown, looking as if they would never show their green leaves again. Now, they are beautiful with their budding emerald leaves and their stately branches hovering over Seashore’s campus. With the beach in the background, we better understand why people come back time and time again to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
This morning, the team worshiped at Turkey Creek UMC – the small, quaint community church filled with hallelujah voices and hospitality. Matt Fitch, first year team member, said it was “a place right out of a movie”. Afterward, we traveled to St. Paul’s UMC in Biloxi for a second service. The gospel choir was missing, but one highlight of the service was the “hand praise” – the act of clapping your hands when visiting a southern UMC in East Biloxi! Brother Robinson, the minister, preached a sermon with a vocal rhythm that lured parishioners into the message. We waited anxiously to see when he would, in fact, stop to take a breath.
The afternoon involved a walk on the newly refurbished beach (construction still in progress) with warm sun in our faces as we walked west and then warming our backs as we turned around to walk back east. It’s hard to believe that the same soft water that lapped onto the beach today, giving us joy and solitude, is the same water that brought such destruction and death to the lives of so many.
Tours to the Katrina Monument and the Camille Monument reminded us two monumental dates that are now etched in the minds of so many. For me, I vividly remember that night in August 1969 when our family rode out Camille – a “cat 5” – and how when my sister asked my father, “Are we going to die, Daddy?”, he humbly replied, “God will take care of us, honey.” I’m sure that similar comforting words from parents provided little solace to children during Katrina.
Today, August 29, 2005 is the date by which people make reference in their lives. “Before Katrina we…” or “It was after Katrina that we…” For us, it’s the birth of our children or our 50th birthday or our anniversary, for people here – it’s August 29, 2005.
Cassandra Broadus-Garcia
Biloxi VIM (Jan. 06; Jan. 07; Jan. 09)
SUMC Member, Mississippi native
We arrived safely in Gulfport and settled into the dorms at Seashore Assembly. This is truly a special place with a beachside view and live oaks that survived Katrina’s surge. Three years ago, I remember the live oaks - brown, looking as if they would never show their green leaves again. Now, they are beautiful with their budding emerald leaves and their stately branches hovering over Seashore’s campus. With the beach in the background, we better understand why people come back time and time again to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
This morning, the team worshiped at Turkey Creek UMC – the small, quaint community church filled with hallelujah voices and hospitality. Matt Fitch, first year team member, said it was “a place right out of a movie”. Afterward, we traveled to St. Paul’s UMC in Biloxi for a second service. The gospel choir was missing, but one highlight of the service was the “hand praise” – the act of clapping your hands when visiting a southern UMC in East Biloxi! Brother Robinson, the minister, preached a sermon with a vocal rhythm that lured parishioners into the message. We waited anxiously to see when he would, in fact, stop to take a breath.
The afternoon involved a walk on the newly refurbished beach (construction still in progress) with warm sun in our faces as we walked west and then warming our backs as we turned around to walk back east. It’s hard to believe that the same soft water that lapped onto the beach today, giving us joy and solitude, is the same water that brought such destruction and death to the lives of so many.
Tours to the Katrina Monument and the Camille Monument reminded us two monumental dates that are now etched in the minds of so many. For me, I vividly remember that night in August 1969 when our family rode out Camille – a “cat 5” – and how when my sister asked my father, “Are we going to die, Daddy?”, he humbly replied, “God will take care of us, honey.” I’m sure that similar comforting words from parents provided little solace to children during Katrina.
Today, August 29, 2005 is the date by which people make reference in their lives. “Before Katrina we…” or “It was after Katrina that we…” For us, it’s the birth of our children or our 50th birthday or our anniversary, for people here – it’s August 29, 2005.
Cassandra Broadus-Garcia
Biloxi VIM (Jan. 06; Jan. 07; Jan. 09)
SUMC Member, Mississippi native
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