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.

Very early this morning, we returned home from our United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Work Trip to Mississippi. We arrived last Sunday afternoon at our home for the week, Seashore United Methodist Retreat Center in Biloxi, Mississippi, about 2 blocks from the Gulf of Mexico. Also housed here is an organization known as Samaritan's Purse, an outreach arm of Billy Graham Ministries. It was an enlightening experience sharing meals and daily devotions with this group.

We worked for 6 to 8 hours Monday through Thursday, and (because of rain most of the morning and a decision to take the afternoon off) about 1 1/2 hours Friday. This turned out to be about a day and a half installing five windows at one home, a day and a half putting a new roof on another, and just over one day stabilizing and starting a roof on a storage shed at a third home.

I came away from this astounding experience with several vivid impressions that I would like to share with you. The first is the unbelievably vast extent of the devestation wrought by Katrina. The images that you have seen on TV and in pictures cannot begin to tell the story. The area of destruction covers about 90 miles of coast line in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and extends about 30 miles inland in most places. Buildings along the coast mostly have empty space for a first floor and significant damage at higher levels. Along US 90, the highway that hugs the coast, there are countless tall signs (McDonald's, Burger King, motel signs, etc.) with no buildings left at all -- usually just a concrete slab. At this point, approximately 5% of the repairs to homes have been done, mostly the easier ones. Estimates (probably conservative) are that it will take at least 10 years to repair or replace everything. One truly astounding statistic is that in Biloxi and Gulfport (where all of my assignments were located, about 15 miles from Biloxi), about half of the population on any given day is residents and the other half consists of relief workers. On the last day we took a swamp tour, and the guide told us that during the storm, water levels in and near the swamp were 14 feet above normal.

Another indelible impression is the enormous gratitude of the people we are trying to help. They express this in many ways. Before we even arrived, during a layover in Dallas, we encountered a young couple who live in Biloxi. We had a nice chat with them, and the young man said (as soon as he realized where we were headed and why), "we can't say it often enough. Thank you for doing this." At the first home we worked on, the man of the house, a 73-year old black man who grew up in that house, lived in Colorado for years, and came back just before his mother died, said, "you've done so much for us. What can we do for you?" I'm still trying to decide how to answer that one! I did thank each of the home owners we tried to help for asking us to come help them. We also suggested to them that they could come help us when we have our big earthquake! At the second home, the lady of the house, a widow of almost 70, gave us coffee (several times), cookies, donuts, and home-made corn dogs. As one home-owner on another site said while she and her friend were feeding the volunteers a chicken dinner, "we may not have much here in Mississippi, but we have hospitality!" These people, many of them, have lost almost everything, but they perservere. And they help each other as well.

But as important as the work of rebuilding homes is, much more vital is the fact that the volunteers are there with the people. Because everyone there suffered, they have no one to tell their stories to, no one to actively listen. This is a gap that volunteers can help fill. We bring them more that windows and shingles and drywall -- if we do it at all properly, we bring them hope. VIM and the numerous other organizations involved are rebuilding more that just infrastructure, they are rebuilding lives. I'm grateful that we could have a tiny part in that effort.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank some folks who made this effort possible and made it better. To our three leaders, Norm Hardin, Diane Jackson, and Charles Rhodes, thanks are woefully inadequate but very necessary. My special thanks to the leaders of the work team we were on, Bill and Jenn Dornbush -- thank you for your knowledge, your leadership, and your patience with novices. To the people of First United Methodist Church and Christ Church United Methodist, thank you for your support of prayers and financing. Thanks to VIM for providing the opportunity, to Seashore Assembly and the wonderful staff for your hosting, and finally to the people of Biloxi and Gulfport, for giving us an opportunity to serve and for truly appreciating our efforts.

It is Wednesday night of our second week and I am just now getting around to posting. Our schedule is busy, starting at 6:30 for breakfast. We have group devotions with all on campus and then meet with just our group to get the days assignments. We gather tools and supplies and are off to work. We eat lunch at the worksite and return before dinner at 6:30. We gather as a group to sing, share experiences and worship, then early to bed to start another day. Busy, busy, busy!

I was on the hauling crew for a couple of days. We rented a large truck and went to a UMCOR warehouse that is 45 miles from Biloxi. The first day we carried 6 pallets of sheetrock and worked as a team to unload. That crew hauled materials another day also. This was a big help, as delivery of supplies is limited to a trailer load at a time if SUMA has to do it.

For most of the time I have been working at the Jefferson house. Elvin & Annie are senior citizens who own the house. He uses a motorized scooter to get around and she uses a cane. One of their daughters lives in a FEMA trailer in their driveway. There are 4 generations living on the property, with 3 year old Lulu being the youngest.

The Jefferson house is raised off the ground and flood water only reached the porch but 4 trees fell on their house. The roof has been repaired. Our jobs were to fix the kitchen ceiling, floor and we advocated for a safe handicap ramp for Elvin's scooter. The one that was there was rickety and way too steep. If the ramp was wet the scooter wouldn't go up it.

We analized the ceiling (with popcorn texture) and decided the sheetrock was sound. The plan was to prime it to cover the spots and paint it. WRONG DECISION! As we put the primer on it turned into our "chicken little" ceiling, droping large chunks or texture to the floor. After the primer was on, we couldn't scrape off the texture. We scraped, sanded, reprimed and even three days later with the final coat of paint, bits were flaking off. We evened it out the best we could and it does look much better with the clean white color.

The kitchen floor needed the tiles removed and the subfloor replaced. Then we were able to lay new floor tiles and it looks beautiful. We finished up yesterday after almost a week and gave their kitchen back. They were so gracious during the construction! All day today they were inviting neighbors in to see their new kitchen and laundry room. We were back today working on the ramp. It looks like we will finish it before we leave for home.

The weather has been changable. Each day is different. It rained almost everyday last week and then cleared with high humidity. It was hot! This week it is cooler and more like home. They say we may have more rain tomorrow and Friday.

We took time out to play last Friday afternoon. Many of us took a 2 hour swamp tour. There was lots of wildlife and it was a beautiful open marshy area. Several of us went to New Orleans on Saturday. It is hard to believe the destruction that is all around. They say maybe 5% of the work is done after 14 months. 3 of the guys went fishing in the Gulf and brought back lots of fish to barbeque. We need some down time to offset all the sad things we see.

Pastor Greg & Joe will be back on Sunday and will have pictures to help tell the story. Ask any of us about the trip but allow time for lots of stories.

Diane Jackson

My name is Allan B. Jones. My wife Karin and I are going on the Bilixi trip for the second week (Oct. 22-28, 2006). We are members of Christ Church United Methodist in Santa Rosa, CA. We are "amateurs" at this sort of thing, although willing workers and "go-fer's". We did participate in a Seeds of Learning mission trip to El Salvador about 3 years ago, where we learned how to create ties for rebar. I am an office worker, and Karin does short-term in-home care. I am also a former United Methodist pastor.

We are excited about the trip, as well as just a teeny bit apprehensive. It should be fun and exciting to meet new people, see a new area of the country, and hopefully be able to help those who need it just a tiny bit.

Hello,

I am one of the team leaders for our Volunteer in Mission (VIM) Trip to Biloxi, Mississippi from October 15 - 28, 2006. We are 42 people of all ages. We range from teenage to older adult. Our skills are "varied" and many of us are "willing helpers" rather than having specific construction skills. They tell us we are all needed. We are from 4 different church families. Santa Rosa First United Methodist , Christ Church United Methodist Santa Rosa, Novato United Methodist and Modesto First United Methodist.

Thanks to the support of friends and church families our fundraisers have been very successful. We have been able to give scholarships to 5 people, reduce costs for the entire group and we are taking a gift of $1,000 to the people of Biloxi. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for supporting us with your prayers, thoughts and gifts.

We are excited to have this web page to share our pictures and stories with you. Please check back on a regular basis to see what is happening. You too, are a part of this adventure. "Our task is to help rebuild houses, but our job is to be the hands and feet of Christ, showing his love to those in need."

Diane Jackson