Highlights: April 06 Mississippi Mission Trip as reported in The Link
MPC’s second mission trip to Mississippi began at 4 a.m. on Saturday, April 22 when a group of nine sleepy individuals left the church parking lot, six in a van, and three in Phil Miller’s pickup pulling a trailer full of tools, camping gear and work clothes. Tim Miller, Jim Huffman, Nancy Davis, John Christophel, Carol Lown, Shawn Green, and Phil Miller were joined by Bryan Wood from Grace Covenant Church and Gene Sours from Loch Willow Presbyterian Church in Churchville. Our little caravan stopped in Christiansburg to pick up Kelly Miller, and after breakfast continued on in the long-awaited daylight through Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The long trip gave us ample time to get to know each other better, so by the time we arrived in Gulfport about 7 p.m., we were beginning to feel like a real team. Brian Phelps flew down to join the crew on Monday. For Brian, Phil and Tim this was their second trip to Mississippi working for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
On Sunday morning we attended worship at 9 o’clock. Working on Sunday is optional for the mission volunteers, and our team was in agreement that we would wait until Monday to begin. Tim and Phil drove us to Kelly Street in east Biloxi where they renewed acquaintances with families they assisted in November. Eight months after Katrina, those who returned are still living in FEMA trailers. We decided to drive west along the coast to see the devastation left by Katrina, and eventually drove into the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, which was so severely flooded when the levees broke. From the comfort and safety of our van, we saw hundreds and hundreds of small broken or destroyed houses, now abandoned, which used to be homes and neighborhoods teeming with life; now it’s like a ghost town. As you might imagine, photos can not begin to tell the story of this human tragedy. I was struck by the spray painted symbols and numbers still marking each house left by search teams months earlier.
Another lasting impression of the Gulf Coast is the sea of blue tarps . . . homes and buildings with wind damaged roofs still awaiting repair.
On Monday morning we tackled our first assignment – replacing a roof on a large home not far from our camp. Pete, the owner, was a kind, retirement-age man still working the midnight shift at the local DuPont plant. His was the last house on the street to be repaired; he had been waiting since August with blue tarps covering the holes still letting the rain in. Under the hot sun the team worked to remove the old roof, replace two leaky plywood panels, put on new roofing paper and begin placing the new shingles. Tired and sunburned, we returned to camp for dinner and devotions. By Tuesday noon the new shingles were in place, and we left a very appreciative Pete just as a rainstorm was beginning.
As we completed our first job, Pete gave us a generous check to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) organization, so that others in his community could benefit from the kindness of strangers.
Tim Miller thoughtfully listens as homeowner Pete shares his story of riding out the hurricane. MPC sent a crew of skilled workers to Mississippi. As it turned out, one of the most important skills was an open ear and heart to those who need to tell their story as they get on with their lives in these trying times.
Our second assignment of the week was working for Dottie. Dottie was a middle aged woman with a permanent disability who had not been back to her home since Katrina. Dottie’s elevated home had been flooded with two feet of water by the storm surge from the back bay of Biloxi.
Another PDA team had mucked out Dottie’s house removing the flooring and cutting out moldy drywall 30 inches above the floor in every room. The PMC Team was a perfect match for Dottie’s house. Our electricians, carpenters and drywall hangers had plenty to do. As it turns out even carpenters can be helpful with electrical questions.
Mud man, Brian Phelps helps bring Dottie’s home one more step closer to being livable. By the third day someone could be heard saying “We get it right, because we do it four times.”
Our third job brought us back to east Biloxi, not far from where MPC November’s Team worked. The November Team mucked out these homes. Now six months later, crews are taking steps to make the homes livable again. These homes were flooded up to the roof line. This home belonged to a Vietnamese family.
Licensed electrician, Bryan Wood made our crew a very valuable commodity. Under Bryan’s supervision the crew was able to rewire this home in less than a day.
The home owner, who did not speak English, quietly looks in on Tim Miller with great pleasure. The family is living in a FEMA trailer in their side yard.
The final assignment for the MPC Team was to help the Orange Grove Camp convert a tool shed into a functional kitchen that could serve meals to the many mission teams who will come and go from Gulf Port over the next two or three years.
Camp Coordinator, Elizabeth shares her vision with the team of how this tool shed that she inherited might become a real asset for the camp. Phil designed the interior while the rest of the team went to work to make it happen.
The MPC Team gathers for our final farewell to Elizabeth and Camp Orange Grove. Elizabeth says that she can always make room for a MPC Team. And God knows that there is plenty of more work and hugs to be shared with the folks in need along the Gulf Coast. All of the MPC Mission Team felt themselves part of the greater MPC family and were proud to represent MPC in Mississippi. We were particularly thankful for your support, encouragement and prayers.
Text by Carol Lown and Shawn Green
