Describe your trip to Mississippi. How was your trip? Did you have a good time on your trip? Three impossible requests. The answers to these questions are so complex I cannot imagine answering them in one work. The end result is that I end up giving a detailed account of my trip while the person who originally asked tries to think of a way to escape my semi-exciting report. After too many of these encounters I decided that I should find one word that could sum up all the stories, memories and adventures that I had collected on my trip to Mississippi. First I thought of “exciting.” Definitely; I had never been on a mission trip before, and everything around me was new and different. How could that not be “exciting”? But “exciting” sounded too much like I had gone to a concert or a theme park; definitely not Mississippi. My next word was “different.” Mississippi was definitely very different. I had never been to a place that was so poor; I had never been to at place that needed so much help, and I had never been to a place with so many people in need. But “different” sounded much too negative for all the fun I had singing “Pharoah, Pharoah” and playing ping pong every night after work. Finally after about a week of searching for the perfect word, it came to me. Of course in the middle of the night and of course I woke up my mom to tell her of my accomplishment. The word is “golden.” Meeting a family for the first time, laying down a floor, installing a door, worship time, the food, even the Wonder bread and ham sandwiches. Yup! It was all golden. It was one week of my life that I will never forget, a week that I am eager to repeat and a week that I hope many others will have the opportunity to experience. There is no greater feeling than knowing that you have helped someone who truly needed your help. That person will never forget you, you will never forget them and that kind of relationship is a kind that you will find no where else. That kind of relationship is golden, and as so many Katrina survivors have said, “All you need are relationships; the rest is just stuff.”

-- by Madeleine O'Rear

by Sarah Rhodes

Many of you have experienced the excitement and anxiety of planning for a trip. Such was my case when on October 14th, my husband Charles, daughter Margie and I boarded a fight out of S.F.O. headed for the Gulfport-Biloxi area of Mississippi – a trip we’d looked forward to and planned with great excitement and anticipation along with a good dose of uncertainty and uneasiness as to what lay ahead.

Imagine if you can what it must have been like for the people of Biloxi on August 28, 2005 – 24 hours before Hurricane Katrina was forecast to hit the Gulf Coast - imagine their sense of anxiety and sense of uncertainty and uneasiness as they planned to evacuate – or in some instances stay in Biloxi to deal with Hurricane Katrina. Some people rationalized staying to face the storm because they had survived Hurricane Camille in 1969. It had been enormous - and they had made it. What was one more hurricane? Well, this hurricane far exceeded Camille’s damages.

Nothing had prepared me for the impact of seeing the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. It had been 14 months since the hurricane struck. Although most of the clean-up had taken place, there were still piles of cars stacked like pyramids, the bridges that looked like dominoes that you have stood on end and then knocked over with your finger to watch fall, and mile upon mile of ruin. When I actually became more than an armchair observer, when I was in the midst of the devastation, it touched me to my core.

While in Biloxi I was looking forward to helping rebuild and make a difference. Well, there was a certain amount of disappointment in how much I accomplished. I helped haul sheet rock, did some painting, went to Lowe’s several times, and held babies. I did a lot of listening. Sometimes when there was not enough for me to do on a job sight, I would walk through a neighborhood, or talk to the person whose home we were working on. Everyone had a story to tell. Instead of using my words to tell these stories, I’d like to read to you from a book which includes writings and drawings, “The Storm - Students of Biloxi, Mississippi, Remember Hurricane Katrina.”

“On the day of the hurricane I stayed at a church. The wind was blowing very hard, and the water kept rising. When the water got to about thirty feet I prayed to God that everything would be alright. I stayed at the church for another day, and the next day I went outside and saw everything was gone. That hurricane really woke a lot of people up and made them realize life is too short.”
Rickett McDonald, grade 6

“We now live in a FEMA trailer. It is small and very crowded. I really do wish that everything was back to normal. I also miss my house. Then at other times I think, why did this happen? Did we do something wrong? Sometimes, I lie in the dark thinking about this, but other times when I wake up, I feel happy that I’m still alive.”
Nikki Tran, grade 6

“For the first time I could remember, my sister and I got along.”
Aaron Massey, grade6

“Each day things get better, but we know it will take along time to be back to a normal way of life.”
Jarred Strickland, grade 5

I am thankful that I was able to wear the blue shirt that designated our team from Santa Rosa as Volunteers in Mission for the Methodist Church. Each team member made contributions, many of which they may not be aware of. But there are people in Biloxi that will forever remember the helping hands and listening ears from this team. And I will forever be impressed by the people of Biloxi for their endurance - for their survival, fortitude and the very presence of their continued existence.

As we roll along Highway 40, on the way home, memories of the days in Biloxi remain fresh. Upon leaving home, I had planned to journal each day as we moved through the experience. Once on the scene however, I found that in the few free evening hours there were many things to do: eat, share events of the day, sing, rejoice and sleep.

Therefore, I woke up on Saturday morning after the first week of work feeling a need to create some expression of this experience. Perhaps the impressions could be exhibited with an object, rather than with words. There was no rehab work planned for the weekend so Jim and I were going to explore the environs. We went to Ocean Springs, a charming old community just to the east of Biloxi, which had sustained very little Katrina damage to its’ downtown. There I found a quilt shop. The owner and her two clerks were anxious to share their stories and to talk with me about the business. Many of their customers lived in FEMA trailers and found it difficult to work at their quilting hobby in cramped quarters. The owner had extended an invitation to them to use her large classroom in the back of the shop. “Just bring a sandwich, spread out your project and spend the day.” There were several women working quietly in the back room.

The shop was well stocked and as I looked around ideas started to form. There was only one bolt of fabric with the traditional Marti Gras colors (gold, purple and green). One of the ladies said it was hard to keep that fabric in stock and that they would get a big shipment of it in after Christmas. I had to start with that. Then there was a white fabric with black notes that seemed appropriate. However, that wasn’t the way we found much of New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport or Pass Christian where we had spent the last week working. So I started to search for materials that reminded me of the disarray we had found everywhere along the coast, even fourteen months after Katrina wrought her fury. There was a print that looked like bricks, one that had a house, a tree, some stacked wood, a rock wall, etc. How would they all go together? It had to be a crazy quilt pattern! That is what we saw—trees toppled, houses tilting, roofs blown off. Large objects twisted and tilted by a great crashing force.

I left the shop with fabric, warm good-byes and a resolve that the piece would be completed within the next week using only the fabrics that were purchased at this shop. I had often admired old crazy quilts done by hands long ago, but had never made one myself. The thought of working my way through this creation reminded me of our work in rehabilitation. We were often asked to work on projects we had never done before and we used the materials and tools that were at hand. Each new assignment given to a team of volunteers was a challenge of brains (how in the heck to we do this), braun (do we have the strength/agility to accomplish this) and above all teamwork (how can we best use the talents of each team member and support each other to make the best result). Sometimes we felt apprehensive; sometimes we felt stretched; sometimes we felt jubilant. It was a unique and fulfilling experience.

The fabric “journal” (for want of a better name) was completed by Saturday of the following week. It exhibited all the angles of a traditional crazy quilt pattern with the broken lines and raw edges of Biloxi. The bricks were sideways and the wood scattered. The trees were tipped and the house had the roof blowing off, just like Biloxi; however, something was missing. Yes-a touch of our blue t- shirt that we had become so accustomed to wearing as our work uniform. A little bit of the blue color to symbolize our efforts to make a difference upon the landscape. It was finished.

Coming back to my original musings upon leaving Novato in October-why does a grandmother go to Biloxi? A grandmother goes to Biloxi to show that people in another part of the country care enough to send volunteers to help. A grandmother goes to Biloxi to physically make things a little bit better for other peoples’ grandchildren. A grandmother goes to Biloxi to love her neighbor.

The local people were very responsive. Appreciation came from the direct recipients of our efforts, but we were also thanked in restaurants, on Lowes’ parking lot, at church, in the quilt shop, etc. I want to pass along those expressions of gratitude to all who supported me/us with your gifts, your prayers and your well wishes. It was surely a way to love your neighbor.

Our trip is over and most are home. My trip home was fast and furious. I wanted to be home to first see my family and second to have closure on what we had just participated in. Sunday both services had picture presentations and services leaning towards are past weeks of service. We had our own agendas and reasons for being there. We all heard and took back different things even when we were standing in the same spot. We heard the same stories as well as different stories. We all shared with the people of the region in different ways.

I need to thank the following people for hooking us up prior to going to much further. Dan cougar from cougar paws had sent some tools and boots to keep me safe while roofing. I had roofing boots that make it so you can work safely and walk even steep roofs such as 12/12 pitch. His products are required footwear for state farm adjusters and worked great. His nail gun pads kept my tools from sliding off the roof and maiming my fellow workers. Prior to the trip I had been roofing the pump house at stonypoint with the Dornbushes when I first fell off and then later my tools kept sliding off. at one point no one would work anywhere near me. Any way thanks Dan. o see his gear go to cougarpaws.com and he can hook you up if you are a roofer. Then I would like to say thanks to Vaughn Hammers. They had sent a slew of hammers for me to take with us. I left many of them there in Biloxi for other crews to use in the future. My wife deserves thanks as she has taken care of Natey and Bing who were able to divide and conquer as they like to do once they pick you out of the herd and gang up on you.

I also would like to share one experience that I did share while in Biloxi.

One year after playing in the Coed sebastopol league some of the women on my team came and asked me to coach in the womens christian League. I can play just fine and I coach just fine. Their concern was if I could handle the religous aspect as well as the no swearing or drinking policies of the league. I knew I could handle the rules but I had intrepidation about the prayer time before and after the games. I have played sports most of my 42 years and had never prayed or brought religion into the game. In little league you have a pledge you say as a group prior to the game but that is all. The woman were concerned about my loud personality and drive to win. It turns out that the part that I feared and was most apprehensive about was my favorite part. It was that at the end of the game, close or not, good or bad that holding hands in a circle in the middle of the field alternating players that you left all on the field at that exact moment. No matter what thecalls were, no matter how well or how bad you played, whether you won or lost it was left there on the field.

For this trip we all had our own concerns and worries. Mine was all of the religious events surrounding the trip. It is after all a Methodist Church group going. I was not sure how religion fit around construction. My father had taught me to fear and respect religion. I am on my best behavior when I do go to church which is not often. We often joke that I am in the C & E club (Christmas and Easter). Any other occasions are just a bonus for my wife. I do not let my concerns regarding church affect my children and Nate and Chandler as well as my wife go most Sundays. My concern was how to be on my best behavior for three weeks and not embarrass my family. I have been raised on construction sites and have never seen a group of Bubba’s and Billy Joe Bobs use religion on jobsites. I was not sure that the two belonged together. I was as surprised as the next guy that again it was one of my favorite parts. I enjoyed starting the day with a large group with common goals and common interest in helping others.
This trip showed the best in all who went. We all learned construction and people skills. We made friendships that did not exist and increased the ones we already had. We gave to the community and received the satisfaction of helping others.

I have to reiterate the message from Mayor Holloway. Do not forget the region and remind others that help is still needed. It is a unique area in the United States and it is unfortunate they will lose so much of their architectural identity.

My last story for this trip happened in Texas between San Antonio and El Paso. I was behind an SUV who was behind a big rig. The big rig kept refusing to pull into the slow lane on our 2 lanes. It was miles before the SUV could pull around the truck . As he did finally go by he flipped off the big rig driver instantly creating road rage in the trucker. The big rig proceeded to chase the suv down the highway reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour. I was on the phone with 911 describing what was going on. The operator asked for more info like the make and license number of the big rig. I was there following the truck getting the info. Other cars must have called in to report the suv being chased by the big rig being chased by my truck. When we went through El Paso I ended up with a state trooper following me. It is then that I realized the 911 operator never asked what vehicle I was in. I was given an escort by the trooper 150 miles or so all the way to the border. Better than a ticket but slow going.

It was great to be home in time to hear Pastor Joe’s comments and see Pastor Greg’s slide show. It was our moment as a group to see the final fruition of our work. It is always easy to feel good working for those less fortunate. I enjoy building with habitat for Humanity for the same reasons.

Then after church it was a great day at trunk or treat with Natey and Bing.

Until next time,

Brian Garrison

Fridays are always such a great day. You look forward to the day ending and starting your weekend. I actually felt the opposite. I have enjoyed every aspect of the build and being with the work teams. I have had the advantage of seeing and being on all the jobs but the disadvantage of not being a member of any one team but more a small piece of al of them. We have adccomplished a lot during this week.

I was supposed to be out all day finishing projects but decided to help Jim Current tarp his rv before heading out. The winds are up and the rain is starting again with severe weather passing through and flooding parts of New Orleans. I started out with Jim and we ended up off the correct roads and out in the sticks. Jim was good natured and it actually was pretty funny to both of us. First we were not getting wet and second we were seeing more parts of Biloxi. I was taught by me father to be fearful and respectful of all pastors, reverends, ministers, fathers and clergy. It was a rather difficult way to grow up. This trip if nothing else has let me see the human, normal side of all of the pastors here on the trip. They all are characters and are all really funny. It was a great way to spend the morning. To bad I always pay for these starts with scrambling to make the deadlines.

I went to see how the ramp was going and spent the rest of the day with the ramp team. We cut the posts and installed the handrails while receiving a reminder of the Mississippi weather I have come to hate. It was humid and raining. We just made our deadline and I gave the wheelchair ramp a test ( I could not have the owner getting hurt )It worked great and the owners were so thankful. I still cannot tell if it was that we were finally done after taking over their house for two weeks or because the ramp was done. hard to say maybe a little of both.

We loaded up and headed back to camp. The other crews were all in and unloading.

It is always hard to leave a party and I am glad I was one of the first to leave rather than one of the last. It was hard to stop the progress we had started and leave. Maybe we will go back, maybe we will go somewhere else. If I have a vote it will have better weather as there are people in need everywhere including home, but if I have a vote maybe Tahiti of Fiji need some love.

If anyone is bored and needs to get out of the house on a saturday may i suggest habitat for humanity? Chrisine can always use the help.

Brian Garrison