Friday, our closing day
 
The end of our week of fellowship and work and prayer has come. Our hearts are heavy with awareness of the continuing tragedy here in Mississippi.  We have gathered some photos of our homeowners for whom we would like you to be mindful, along with some prayer requests.
 
Please pray for the elderly who struggle daily to keep hope alive, for homeowner Alice who has trouble breathing due to heart and lung damage, and for her son Barry who is struggling with back pain and decisions about surgery. 
 
Pray for homeowner Lee, a double amputee. He cares for many relatives who have serious needs.
 
Give thanks for homeowner Gloria. She is praising God, saying that she will dance on her new floors!
 
Remember the whole Gulf region – those who still live in trailers. Many are coming to the end of their allotted 18 months in a FEMA trailer, yet, in a large number of cases, work on their homes has not even begun.
 
Pray for the government and the non-government aid agencies. We thank God for Mag, a beautiful Christian, who is the county volunteer coordinator. She shares the joy and hope of Christ with many who are overwhelmed by government bureaucracy.
 
Pray for many who were displaced by Katrina, who long to return “home,” but have no home to return to.
 
Give thanks for Erin and fifteen PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers working in Mississippi and South Louisiana Presbyteries. They have volunteered to serve the people of this region for one year.
 
Remember Rob and Janice and those serving in the military, especially those in harm’s way.
 
Pray for contractors who take advantage of homeowners, but give thanks for Casey who was a wonderful “boss” for the Hitt team, and who himself volunteers to help others.
 
Give thanks for the beautiful sky and sea that remind us of God’s majesty. We were stunned to see miles and miles of live oak trees on lots that were otherwise empty, because the buildings had either been washed or blown away. The trees, though bent and damaged, were nonetheless living, a beautiful testament to the power of God, and to the strong spirit of the people here.
 
Thanks that we all made it through our projects safely, and we pray for a safe return home to you!
 
AND, we thought you would enjoy some of the funny sayings heard through the week.
You’ve got it, girl? 
Have some mustard, Dave. 
            Whatever you say.
                        Is it plugged in?
                                    You spray, we pray.
                                                  Yes, dear.                   
                                                            Bless you!
                                                                        Thank you!
 
We also leave with a lot of joy and sense of brotherhood. Thanks for your support and prayers, and we will see you soon!

Morning Worship

Our Teams, Our Homeowners

GPC Sign

Orange Grove PDA
Presbyterian Disaster Relief
 
You have seen from some of the pictures we have already posted that the facilities here are “interesting.”  The groups take turns cooking and cleaning.  There seems to be a bit of competition among the dinner teams. 

Most of us have taken short side trips to see the gulf and what has been done since August 29, 2005.  Although it has been more than a year, a very large number of people still live in FEMA trailers.  There continue to be a huge number of illnesses and deaths occurring as a result of the storm.  There were many cases of staph infections that never were properly treated, still not under control, and large numbers resulting in amputations.  This will be a continuing problem for a long time.

Many of the resources were ramped up with a one-year time frame in mind.  Although we are well past that, the end is nowhere in sight.  The trailers many people are living in are showing serious signs of wear, the blue tarps covering roofs are tearing, the camps set up for volunteers are still running full steam while temporary equipment is failing.

Three of us took some donations we had brought with us to the Harrison County Volunteer Coordinator, Mag.  She told many, many heartbreaking stories.  She also told us about how many people had been “ripped off” and how many delays there have been because of the burden of paperwork.  She personally had closed more than 400 cases and has many great success stories to tell.  Many of the cases she has handled involved items showing up in her storeroom on the very day someone came in with a need for that very thing.  She had a call from someone who needed a wheelchair. Very shortly thereafter, she received a phone call from a person with an electric wheelchair to donate.

She told us, “If you do not believe in miracles, sit in my chair for one hour.”

In today’s photos we are showing you pictures of the completely devastated shoreline where there are miles of bare slabs, restaurant signs above bare lots, piles of useless cars, shrimp boats that will never be used again. These shrimpers without boats, hotel workers without jobs, many people without hope need us to remember them.

Orange Grove Presbyterian Church

Making Lunches

Charlotte At the Door

Pile of Cars

Olive Garden

Jefferson Davis Home

Team Brown consists of Jerry and Maxine Brown, Maxine Counihan, Mel Reid, Charlotte Spencer and Mary Beth Lawrence, and we are happy to be working with Gloria Grandberry.
 
Gloria is a widow who has owned her home for many years. When Katrina hit Biloxi, the storm surged five feet of water into her home. Gloria, a friend, and Gloria’s two dogs escaped into the attic for several days until the water receded. An active member of a local Roman Catholic parish, Gloria organized community suppers in the weeks immediately following the storms to insure that her elderly neighbors had food.
 
Gloria, who works at nearby Keesler Air Force Base, has made remarkable progress in the post-Katrina months. She has wisely used the resources available to her from her insurance company and from FEMA. However, like many of the homeowners we have met, Gloria was a victim of an unscrupulous contractor, who did not complete the work he was paid to do.
 
We had a great day Tuesday ripping up part of her termite-infested floor, while fending off Gloria’s two pit bulls! Mel and Reid are busily replacing sub-flooring, while the ladies have expanded their skills set. Ask us about installing toilet seats, double-key locks, shopping for shower surround kits, and, yes, we do windows. And ask Mary Beth about HVAC and attic insulation!
 
Gloria’s goal is to be back in her home (and out of her FEMA trailer) by Christmas, so she can celebrate with her family. We are happy to help this faith-filled woman care for her family and her neighbors.

 
Expert Locksmiths

 
Second Layer of Plywood

 
Termite and Water Damage

 
The Floor Is Gone

 
Blog Time

What do you do when you have a half-finished building, no printed plans, a random stack of materials, arbitrarily placed studs, and a weary homeowner?
You bring in the T Team! 
 
Our homeowner fled 100 miles during the hurricane.  When she returned, most of the roof was gone from her house.  She lived in one bedroom and bathroom while she tried to get her roof replaced.  Unfortunately contractors have taken her money without completing their work.
 
She was delighted to have PDA volunteers complete a job and do it well.  Our task this week is to finish a shed that was started a few weeks ago by other volunteers from the Orange Grove PDA site.  The T Team is lucky to have members who have constantly been thinking a few steps ahead of the cheerful team of hammer happy folks to make sure that we work toward successful completion.
 
Today we made considerable progress: most of the team was able to survey the neighborhood from atop the shed after the plywood was measured and secured.  Tomorrow the team will be adding the shingles, the garage-type door, and possibly some paint.
 
Thankful that she can trust us, our homeowner has frequently expressed appreciation and wants to treat the team to Mississippi shrimp po’boy sandwiches.
 
In the afternoon, we had two new “supervisors”, neighbors, Drew, 7, and Douglas, 6, who entertained us with their play and told of their family friend, James, who is living in a tent in their yard.  This is one of many obvious signs of folks still struggling to recover from the effects of Katrina. 
 
Our muscles are tired, but our spirits are high!
 
Isn’t it great when a plan comes together.

John And Fletcher

On the Roof

T Team and Homeowner

Here we are on our first full day in Gulfport.  Sandy has some news from her team.  We are TIRED! Although the day got off to a slow start, we accomplished a lot - from getting supplies from the hardware store, to hanging doors, to painting (ceilings no less!!)
 
It was very special for us to be able to meet our homeowners - what a story they have!  They have had to overcome unusually adversities.  The homeowner is a retired Biloxi city employee who is a double amputee.   Just before the storm they had completed an addition to the house so that his daughter could care for him. He was evacuated from his home before Katrina hit. When he returned, the water level had been 8 feet high in his home.   It was all destroyed.  He and his daughter are currently living in two FEMA trailers on the property. In June they took in a 12 year old girl whose mother perished in the hurricane.
 
Our hopes are that we are able to complete work on the house, and, more importantly, giving the family continuing hope. 

 
Assessment Time

 
Meeting the Homeowner

 
The FEMA Trailers