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Rebuilding Mississippi
It’s 6:30 AM on Saturday, October 14, 2006, and we’re meeting in the parking lot of the church preparing to leave for Ocean Springs, Mississippi for a Katrina rebuilding mission trip. We would be traveling in two vehicles and pulling a trailer with tools and supplies. There are six of us representing ORUMC: Max Kern (our esteemed leader), Spencer Sullivan, Gordon Thacker, Max’s mom Annie Mae Kern, Brian Calhoun, and myself, Bob Yarbrough. We would be joining a group of young ladies from High Point University at Camp St. Paul in Ocean Springs. For most of us, this would be our first visit to the hurricane-ravaged area. I think some of us were probably wondering just what difference this group could make in an area so devastated by Hurricane Katrina. After all, with the exception of Max, none of us could be mistaken for professional home improvement workers or carpenters. And a bunch of college girls? What would that be like? This is their fall break. Are they going to work or to party? Well, we found out. These girls did both!
We arrived at Camp St. Paul about 5:30 PM CDT. It was a trip in the range of 725 miles. Camp St. Paul is a makeshift area on the grounds of St. Paul’s UMC. It consists of several modular units connected to form a sizeable building that had several rooms for sleeping quarters, a lounge, a kitchen/eating room, rest rooms and shower facilities, and even laundry equipment. There were bunks and mattresses (we were told they had just been built) so it was really quite comfortable compared to other camps. On Saturday evening we were served a meal in the church. After the long day of riding, it hit the spot. After dinner, we made plans to begin working on Sunday after attending the early worship service. We wanted to get in as much work time as possible while there. The team would be working on two houses. The task in each was to install and finish drywall. Since Brian and I had to return on Wednesday, this article will address only the work at the first house.
So on Sunday, as soon as we could get organized and loaded up after church, we headed off to the Cole house. This house sat one block off the gulf. It was a frame house that had been built in 1937. It had been occupied by a 74-year-old lady. She was the fourth generation of her family to have lived there. Her sons tried to get her to leave before the storm, but she insisted on staying. We got the story from one of her sons named Shane and her daughter-in-law, Donna. Since momma wouldn’t leave, another son stayed with her. The water got all the way to the ceiling, and they were forced into the attic. Waves rolled another 8-10 feet over the house. The house was washed some 18 feet off the foundation, coming to rest against some large trees in the yard. When we met “the woman in the attic” a few days later, she told how they feel the house being washed away and feeling it stop against the trees. They never found the carport. Most of the “experts” told them to demolish the house, but momma wouldn’t hear of it. So they rebuilt the foundation and moved the house back. All of the sheetrock and insulation had to be removed, including the ceilings. There were two FEMA trailers in the front yard that they had called home since the storm.
When we arrived, sheetrock had already been installed in part of the house. We went to work installing sheetrock in the rest of the house. The challenging spaces were left for us: bathrooms, closets, ceilings. We split into teams and worked on multiple rooms simultaneously. For the most part, the guys cut and hung the sheetrock, and the girls taped and “mudded”. None of this is easy work. The temperatures were in the upper 80’s, it was raining, and this house had no fans or A/C. The windows had to be mostly closed to prevent the rain from damaging the work being done, so you can imagine how humid it was. The girls kept us entertained with their singing and rap routines. By the end of the day Tuesday, all sheetrock had been installed and the first coat of mud had been applied to the entire house. And by now, none of us had any doubts about whether those college girls came to work or play. They earned our respect for their hard work and great attitudes. Seeing them enjoying themselves while working so hard made us enjoy ourselves more. And with the heat and humidity, this hard work had reached the point where “it’s not fun any more”. It’s serious God’s work.
This was some of the hardest physical work I had done in a long time. But I have never done any work, any time, any place, that I know was more appreciated than this. Over and over we kept hearing how much the work of the volunteers is appreciated in the area. When we checked out of the local Lowe’s store with some supplies, the cashier asked where we were from and thanked us, telling us that they didn’t know how they would make it without the volunteers. At the Wal-Mart, the cashier told the girls that even though she had not required any work on her own home, she was so thankful for the service of volunteers. And despite all the hardship and loss from the storm, we kept hearing the word “blessed”. They truly feel blessed that Christian men and women are coming to their aid. There is strong evidence that their faith is building as a result of seeing God’s people answer the call.
Sunday evening, after our first day of work, Max drove us through waterfront Biloxi to see firsthand the devastation. Max and Spencer had been there on a previous mission trip. And although much of the debris had been cleared, most of the buildings were still in ruins. Angela is a lady whose house they had worked on during the prior trip. She had invited us to her house for dinner. Although her home was several miles from the coast, the water had been three to four feet up her walls. Most of the repairs had been performed, but a few minor tweaks still remained. But she was living in it. Everyone enjoyed an evening of just visiting, eating, and relaxing.
So if you’re looking for an opportunity to perform some work that will be appreciated, keep your eyes open for another Katrina mission trip. It will be the hardest, most satisfying work you’ll ever do. Don’t worry that you don’t have experience in the building trades. There will be something for you to do. You can be trained. Then you too will feel “blessed”. |
