St. Paul's United Methodist Church
VIM Work Camp - Gulfport, MS

April 14 - 22, 2007

We wish to thank all of the people who have supported us through their prayers, the Creative Hands and the Bridge Builders who made and stuffed bears, and those who provided financial gifts.  Please continue to pray for us while we are gone and for the people of Gulfport area who need our support.

Members of Creative Hands and members of the Bridge Builders made bears for the children we encountered in MS.  Ms. Avery accepted two bears for her grandchildren who were in school and Crystal, in the pink shirt, received a bear at the Adam's house.  The other bears were given to other work teams who requested bears for the children at their work sites or donated to a local hospital emergency room.

Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15

The major portion of the St. Paul's VIM work team was sent off from St. Paul's with Ron offering a prayer for the people we will serve and for safety on the trip to Mississippi.  We were on our way at 7 am.    On the trip from Pittsburgh to Gadsden it was mostly rainy and foggy, especially when Norma was driving.  When the fog lifted sometimes we could find Dave in our lead truck.

We had a little trouble finding the First United Methodist Church of Gadsden, but when we arrived we found very nice accommodations.  We were offered the keys to the church, were told the security system was shut off and we would have breakfast served at 7:30 am.  We also had full use of the gym facilities, including the track, exercise room, and showers.  Thank you, Bob Milavec!  We had a wonderful breakfast of egg casserole, biscuits, and assorted breads.  At 8 o'clock, after breakfast, we moved on toward Gulfport, MS.

We started to see leaves on the trees and the sun was shining.  We arrived at Gateway United Methodist Church in Gulfport, MS at about 4 PM.  We chose our rooms in which we would sleep, went out to dinner, and then met with the coordinators, Brandon and Stephanie Janson, of the Gateway response center.  We were assigned two homes on which to work.  One in Wiggins needed an old roof removed and a new one put on.  The second home is in Wiggins, also.  It needs new flooring throughout the house.

Monday, April 16

Kent and Sarah are doing a fantastic job of taking care of the meals.  For breakfast, we had cereal, toast, bagels, coffee and juice.  After breakfast we gathered our tools and materials together and headed for our worksites.  At the one house the old roof was removed, holes in the roof repaired, an overhang braced, and the roof covered with roofers felt.  We were very grateful for the assistance of Dave's team in finishing the felt before the day was over. 

Dave's team removed carpeting and tile from a hall and family room, working around much large furniture and many knick-knacks.  After moving bookshelves and noticing sawdust, the work of termites and ants was discovered.  Shortly after we reported this to the site coordinator, an exterminator appeared to make an assessment--impressive!  Dave and Beth spent a few hours shopping and more time trying to convince us of how tough it was.  When they returned with carpeting and sheet linoleum, it was determined the linoleum was not appropriate (would need to be seamed and pattern-matched  in the middle of the room and would be quite difficult to get smooth).  We lobbied with the home owner and site coordinator and were able to convince them to use Pergo wood flooring.  At that point, Dave's team went to the site of Dick's team where we left the "A Team" (for Type A personalities) to finish putting felt on the roof. 

Most of us walked into Gateway Church at 6:30 as supper was being served!  As we were about to finish eating, we got a phone call from the site coordinator.  He had been bringing supplies to the church, took a corner too fast for the loaded trailer and spilled about 35 gallons of paint on the highway, the trailer, the truck and himself.  Fortunately, there was no other damage and we have some interesting pictures!  He needed help reloading paint cans that hadn't broken open, so some of us went to help with the cleanup.  Later, Kent, Clay and Norma made a shopping run; Kent was after food, Norma was the driver, and Clay needed a basketball so he could get some exercise while the rest of us sat around in the evening.

Dave presented a bike safety program for the local scout troop.

Tuesday, April 17

After breakfast and devotions, we loaded up and headed for our worksites.  Dick's team got busy on the roof, but also put in a new vent for a water heater which was not previously vented.  Dave's team put Pergo on most of the family room floor.  They also took out wall paneling and insulation to dry out and repair the termite-damaged wall and dug a trench to prevent further damage.  Once again, Dave's team went to Dick's site so the A Team could try to finish putting shingles on the roof in case the prediction of rain was accurate. (It turned out to be so!)

By the time supper and showers were done, most of us were ready to just sit and talk or go to bed.  Beth and Linnea, however, went to the beach, where they went wading and tried to spear flounder with a group they met on the beach.

Wednesday, April 18

Dave fixed the brakes on Stephanie's bike.

Rain!!  Not a good day to finish the roof.  Dick's team and Norma stayed at Gateway church where we did some work for the church: cleaning, building shelves for donated tools, etc.  Once they built the shelves for the tool storage area, they organized all the materials and equipment in the storage area.  Bill sanitized the entire church.  Mary took Sarah and Kent shopping for more food -- we are eating a lot and well!  Dave's team went to their house to continue installing the floor.  They also painted the wall that had been repaired the previous day and did other small repairs in the house.  Part of Dick's team and Sarah drove through the damaged areas along the gulf coast west to Slidell, LA.  Henry and Bill volunteered to serve as salad chefs so Sarah could tour the area. We were able to visit Mrs. Batista's home in Slidell and the site where Dick's crew worked in Slidell and they look just great.  Each woman is so excited about the work done on her home by the volunteer groups over the past year.  Mrs. Batista was moving into her home today.  Soon the FEMA trailers will be gone.

Thursday, April 19

The morning began with breakfast and while we were in devotions, Dick was interviewed by John Shumway and Larry Richert on KDKA Radio.    Podcast of Interview (click Here to Listen)

When we arrived at Miss Adam's house, we found that Cruise, the 19 year old son had gone to the hospital with a serious tooth infection and remained asleep most of the day while we hammered away at the house.  He is to have the tooth extracted at the hospital tomorrow.  His brother, Leotha, arrived from school later in the day.  Miss Adam's brother, Griff, who also lives at the house, was there with Cruise. The team finished the roof, installed two interior doors and the back door, wired the light outside the front door and the living room overhead fan and light, and redirected the water, draining from the washer, away from the siding and window at the back of the house.  The washer was outside the back of the house and was powered by an extension cord to the outside of the house.  We reluctantly left at the end of the day because there is so much more work to be done at this home.  Krystal, the 5 year old granddaughter who was at day care today, received a bear that was sewed by the Creative Hands at St. Paul's and stuffed by the 4 and 5 year olds from Bridge Builders.  This gift was offered to bring comfort to young children we met on the trip.

Donna, working with another team staying at Gateway UMC, asked for two bears for the children at the house at which they were working.

Today at Patricia's house we got to see the final product.  We finished putting down the molding in her family room, and cleaned and moved the furniture into the right places.  What used to be a dark room with no sunlight and old 70's deco is now a bright room filled with sunshine thanks to 4 new windows (put in by a previous team) and all the dark paneling painted over in a lovely cream color.  The laminated wood floor goes perfectly, and for the first time in over 1.5 years Patricia could start to unpack her things.  Previously, everything was piled in her living room from the day she heard the tree crack and fall and came running in.  We bought her a Welcome Mat as a parting gift, so that she would feel welcome in her new room.  She kept saying "I feel like a stranger in my own home."  While there are still things to fix; a new kitchen floor and carpeting for the master bedroom, she can now unpack all her belongings and she and her two grandchildren can begin to live again, instead of feeling like refugees in their own home.  Even the cable TV worked!

Friday, April 20

Since both teams had finished work on their houses yesterday we stayed at Gateway UMC today and worked on projects at the church.  Dave and part of his team installed a sewer line for our coordinators Brandon and Stephanie's trailer.  Brandon and Stephanie live in a travel trailer at the church and had to use the church facilities since there was not an adequate sewer line for their trailer.  Other members of Dave's team and Dick's team continue to work on the facilities at the church.  They installed smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and first aid kits in the sleeping quarters.  Several of our members organized the excessive number of blankets, sleeping bags and air mattresses that have been left by prior teams and are not needed.  Extra items were donated to the church's yard sale which was scheduled for Saturday.  Mary and Norma worked on the program for our service Friday evening.

We all went out to lunch at a local restaurant recommended by the church woman who were working at the yard sale.  Following lunch Dave's team left for a tour of the gulf coast in Gulfport, Bay St. Louis and  Waveland to view the destruction caused by the eye of Katrina.  Bill and Henry volunteered to help Sarah prepare dinner so Kent could go with Dave's team.

We met in the church's sanctuary at 7 PM for our final meeting at Gateway.  Mary led us in a memorial service for Kitt MacMichael, with Bill reading the Scripture.  Several members spoke of Kitt's involvement in the live at St. Paul's UMC and her influence on their lives.  Following the memorial service small gifts and awards, prepared by Norma and Mary, were presented to each member of the team.  We also made a plaque with the name of each member of the work teams and the cooks to leave at Gateway.

Saturday, April 21

Very early today we ate a continental breakfast then left Gateway UMC at 6:30 AM for the long trip home.  We bid farewell to Linnea who was flying home to Los Angeles, to Henry who flying back to Pittsburgh and to Bob who was staying in Gateway for a couple of days to visit with a friend.  The trip was uneventful.  With no rain to contend with, we made very good time driving and arrived at Aldersgate UMC in Bristol, TN, at 6:30 PM.  We were warmly greeted by our hosts Dick and Betty Haga who live next door to the church.  Dick Haga suggested a local BBQ restaurant about 20 minutes away for our supper.  When we discovered that Dick and Betty were going to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Sunday we invited them to join us for dinner as our guests.  After returning to the church we met in the sanctuary where Norma led devotions.  We left the service with the words of "Them Bones, Them Bones" echoing in our heads.

Sunday, April 22

We left Aldersgate UMC at 7 AM, drove a few miles into Virginia and stopped at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant to eat breakfast.  The weather continued to be beautiful and since we were making very good time driving home we decided to take a break before lunch and stop at the New River Gorge Visitor Center near Gauley, WV.  The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived back home at St. Paul's UMC around 4:30 PM.  We were reunited with our families, unpacked the trailer, and went our separate ways. 

This was quite a journey for all of us.  We traveled over 2000 miles during 4 days through 7 states.  We helped 2 families in their recovery from Hurricane Katrina, helped to organize the tool center at Gateway UMC and made it safer for the volunteers who will follow us.  We learned that poverty makes the impact of these disasters far more painful.  We made new friends in Mississippi and bonded with members of our own group.  We are so good at holding our emotions in check, to share our deepest feelings only with our spouses or those closest to us.  We saw each other sweaty and dirty, with our emotions at our lowest as we dealt with the loss of Kitt and her dedication to mission and the death of the people at Virginia Tech, and at our highest when we felt the Spirit being given back to those who had lost hope and felt the Spirit well up within our own tired bones as we shared our time and talents with those who needed it.  This group worked, hurt and laughed together and as always we came away from the experience with each of our lives changed forever.