Tuesday

Today was a full day! The weather was windy with a threatening thunderstorm on the way, but we were able to get a lot of good work done today. After the night at the Recovery Center, Matt and I made our way over to the PDA camp for breakfast. I was delighted to discover real cream for the coffee. After breakfast, Bill Bradbury led devotions for the group. We were blessed with the warm voice of one of last year's participants - Bill Finlay. We heard the cd recording of the song he wrote last year after his experience in Pearlington. Bill Bradbury explained that this year Bill Finlay would have added another verse; one that was full of hope. This small town is finally experiencing some of its own "resurrection". Every year we experience Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and glorious Easter Sunday. It seems this town has been stuck on Good Friday for some time now in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but we are so happy to see that Easter has finally started to poke its head upon these faithful people. The new life, new birth, even evident in the landscape that was once so ruined by the storm surge is now everywhere around us.
I was happy with my job today - laying subflooring for Freddy and his family. Those on this job with me even put up with me refering to tools as "thingies". Steve Kiss and I were proud that by vent-hole cut number 3, Garry Miller told us that it was "good enough". (We are kept to high standards around here!) There were others who worked outside on preparing the porch for siding. We had our usual southern spread for lunch at the Baptist church. By 5:30 we had all of subflooring laid in the living room, so our group had a great feeling of success as we left our job site. We'll be back tomorrow ready for moulding and other tasks.
I'm off soon to pick up our last two missionaries - Jill Simmons and Alexia Tomlinson are flying in to New Orleans tonight. We are expecting thunderstorms tonight and are a little weary of how the temporary housing will hold up. I can tell by looking at the 8 of us - we are happy to be here, enjoying the work and each other's company; enjoying the conversation with the locals.

More Monday

I'm getting picked on for eating two desserts and I've enjoyed my first meal at the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) camp. Matt and I are staying at the Pearlington Recovery Center about a mile away because of age restrictions at the PDA camp. But we are welcomed here and enjoy hearing the stories from our friends.
Today our crew awoke to cleaning duties but I don't want to share the details....They headed out this morning to a double-wide trailer owned by Freddy, who stayed in is house during the storm surge, which reached up to his neck as he stood on his highest table. The water was 6 1/2 feet high in his house. Today he was thrilled to join our group, helping with the work on his house. Our crew prepped the porch for siding and worked on leveling the floor to be ready for hardwood. They also stained moulding. I can tell our crew enjoyed the work and cherish the stories that Freddy has shared with them.
We are all so hopeful and happy to see the progress that has been made in this heartwarming town. Fewer FEMA trailers, more curtains in the windows. God's redemptive graces have been present in the hearts here and we are glad to be a part of it.

Monday - Hard at Work

Matt Vincent and I arrived in Pearlington around 3pm today and I enjoyed showing Matt around. It was nice to see the new building that has taken place in the past year since we were last here. I'm sitting at the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance camp, getting the low down of what work has taken place already in the short time that our crew has been here. Saturday, Bob Scott, Garry Miller, Bill Bradbury, Ingo Nolte, Steve Kiss, and Susie Wilson helped Miss Susan and her invalid husband by rebuilding a tool shed. They finished the roof, hung the front doors, and added a ramp.
Sunday morning was a time of uplifting and Spirit-filled worship at the Baptist church that provides home-cooked lunches during the week for every Pearlington volunteer. The service was a chance to reconnect with brothers and sisters in Christ that the crew met last year and to remember why we are here in the first place. With an ounce of bitterness, I hear of the 3 who spent the rest of Sunday in New Orleans while the others set out planning for the week's work!!
The dinner bell is ringing and I'm hungry since our lunch at Denny's. I'll write more this evening! Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!

Our bags are packed.....

11 of us from Flourtown are excitedly packing our bags, as some of us leave as early as this Wednesday to head to Pearlington, Mississippi. Last Sunday during the worship service, we were commissioned to do this important work. As we prepare physically, emotionally, and spiritually for this trip, I keep our commissioning questions in mind:

While in Pearlington, will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his Word and showing his love?

Do you welcome the responsibility of this service because you are determined to follow the Lord Jesus, to love neighbors, and to work for the reconciling of the world?

Will you serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love, relying on God’s mercy and rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Please keep us in your prayers, as we prepare: Susie, Matt, Alexia, Jill, Bob, Karen, Ingo, Garry, Steve, Sarah, and Bill.