9.12.2005 |  Biloxi

posted by Jon
12:30 | SAY SOMETHING |



We were there for 2 days. Our trip started at 3AM Saturday morning and ended last night around 10:00PM. Luke Brodersen, Daniel DeLoach, Jim B. Jordan, Nathanael Mosley, Col. Mike Ruff, Raimey Saddler, and myself comprised the group from Trinity. The whole extended Linn family, John and Liz Owen, and Josiah Alldredge were other locals from the Panhandle that went.

We were stationed at First Presbyterian Church sandwiched between the Gulf (right in the Church's backyard) and Keesler AFB. The ladies at the church provided several of the meals, but we also had MREs and Red Cross lunches. There was a tent for showers, a tent for dining, and a large room in the church where we slept.

The destruction extended for miles and miles of the coast, and we spent our time in Biloxi and Gulfport, driving to houses the Church had told us about to repair roofs, cut down and remove trees and house debris. It was an insane amount of work, and the heat and the smell from the flooding were unrelenting, but you didn't hear a word of complaint. Instead, spirits were soaring among those who were being helped as well as those who had the opportunity to help. It was an experience I will never forget.

Hwy 90 looked like it had been bombed. A constant convoy of military Humvees traversed this stretch of highway sections (some of the sections missing or hanging precariously). Helicopters were always overhead. A large casino barge sat on land in the middle of a hotel a few hundred yards from the Gulf. McDonalds, Sears, Waffle House, and many other shops and restaurants on 90 were thoroughly gutted. The houses facing the Gulf were either completely gone, or a few walls or pieces of roof barely hanging on. One of the homes that had been completely destroyed belonged to the family of this guy Patrick. We rode with him to see what we could recover of his parents' possessions, and left only with a small table, a large decorative pot, and a few photographs. It didn't seem to phase him, and he helped us work throughout the weekend.

Rev. Skinner preached an emotional sermon on Psalm 127 yesterday. The message really hit home later on when I saw a black woman cry and hug a young boy who had just helped her load her car with food and supplies. The Lord is truly building a house through us, both those in MS and those of us from other parts of the country. Nathanael, Joel and I are planning on going back this weekend, and every weekend after that we are able. There is no visible end to the work over there, but we will get it done, Lord willing.

Pray for the pastor and elders of First Presbyterian Church in Biloxi, and all of those who lost their homes and livelihoods over there. Pray that God will use this time of trial to bring his children closer to Him and one another, and that His Church will grow as a consequence. If you can, try and go yourself to an area that needs help. Those of us in Florida know what it's like to suffer through a hurricane, and we know what it's like to receive help from family, friends, and even strangers. Now is a good time for us to return the favor.