Tuesday

“We are the hands and feet of Christ. And so we need to be Christians who visit those widows and orphans who live in darkness and in the shadow of death. We are to bring the light of Christ to little children who live in inner-city hell holes, hearing gunfire every night. We are to rescue widows in Third World countries who are surrounded by dark paganism, by teaching them truth and economically empowering them. We are to support Christian groups… that rescue runaway children from the hidden hovels where they are forced into prostitution. Visiting is about more than bringing a plate of cookies to the nursing home. It’s a radical, exciting, even dangerous mission of bringing Jesus the Redeemer near to the hurting who live ‘in darkness and the shadow of death.’” Amy Sherman, Sharing God’s Heart for the Poor

Our desire as seventy servants strong is to bring the Kingdom to Mississippi. So many here are hurting. After two days of working hard, there is still so much to do. We find ourselves overwhelmed at times. Imagine how those who live here are feeling after a year-and-a-half.

Accommodations:
We are bunking in style this year. Air-conditioned trailers with electricity, bunk beds—some with bathrooms. Hot showers every day in a shower trailer. Hot meals provided daily with southern hospitality by a team from North Carolina.

Weather Today:
Hot and humid all day. Cool evening. Sad to hear about anticipated snow in Indiana. Flip flops will seem a bit crazy on Friday when we return.


Team McQuiston
Nate and Susan Mowery, our 16-year old daughter, Anna, our 14-year old daughter, Abby, and a friend Richey LaFond, for the past two days have been helping a widow in her 80’s, Martha Bridges, get her life back in order following Hurricane Katrina. She lives in Gulfport, MS, about a mile from the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of the hurricane, she, like so many in the storm’s path, lost her roof and the rain came into her house and substantially damaged the interior and its contents. Groups before us were able to replace siding, the insurance company replaced the roof, and other interior drywalling, carpeting, and painting had been done. We were able to finish painting the interior of her house, hang cabinets in her kitchen, do basic plumbing, replace the subfloor and rebuild the shed around her gas water heater, clean, haul, and hang fixtures in her bathroom. When we left her, she was truly and deeply grateful for the work we had done. We were able to finish what a number of people before us had started. Through the work of many, she has been able to return to some normalcy in her life. And we were blessed by being able to help. I believe we received the greater blessing.






Pat Fox, my son Garrett and I (Ken Ney) have been working at the home of Nathan and his mother. Their home was severely damaged when 2 large trees fell on their home during the hurricane. The wind and water then did the rest. It took 8 months for their FEMA trailer to be delivered, and they have been living on the site of the home ever since. Nathan, a young man in his mid twenties, is a self-employed landscaper and has been doing most of the reconstruction of his house himself. He is quite handy, but he simply lacks the funds to complete his home. On top of all of this, his grandmother passed away 3 months ago.


Our job has been to try to get the home to a point where Nathan and his mom can move out of the trailer back into their home. We have been painting, installing counter tops, laying flooring, purchasing appliances, and wiring outlets. Our hope and prayer is that we can complete enough of the job to accomplish the goal of getting them back into their home.

His story is just one of countless thousands repeated throughout this town. Even though it has been 18 months since the storm, it is still hard to get my arms around the scope of the devastation. The physical toll is obvious, but the emotional, psychological, and spiritual toll is even greater. This has been a moving, life changing experience.

Today, the McQuistons, Pam and Abby Fox, and Chyrise, Kalen, and Charlotte Ney worked again at Pastor Bosarge’s home. There was still much mudding, sanding, caulking and priming to be done. We finished our second room and Brian and Sheila Bosarge were so happy with the results, that they said they may not texture the walls afterall! The Bosarge’s pastor a church and since Katrina, have been sending teams from their church and sponsoring teams from around the country in the recovery efforts. It was finally their turn to receive help. Numerous small teams of people have come in to help them rebuild their house from the slab up. With three children, they are anxious to live in a home rather than the church that they helped plant. Their biggest reason for wanting to move into their home is so more people can use their facilities in the church to continue the Katrina efforts. They work 7 days a week serving their own church family and the people who come to help rebuild in the area.

The Meador Family finished up at the Gardner residence. Nick and Ben painted pots and planted impatiens for Mary’s back patio. Hollyn navigated an 8’ ladder painting ceilings. The Gardner’s were very appreciative. We are off to a new adventure today.

Team Wright
Painting, painting and more painting. I think we took on ten miles of trim today. Carpentry, free from injury. Carpeting. Drywalling. Lots of sweat equity. And still a ton of laughter and good spirits. Kids are proving they actually CAN do housework. Something to keep in mind for future reference.

At Jonie’s house, found a sander to rent this morning! Answer to prayer! We were able to rent it for two days. Cleared out the home for the floors to be sanded. Amy cleaned blinds and finished trim painting. Isaac, Avery and Luanna painted closets and walls galore! Eric helped Pat sand the floors and Pat will be sore for days chasing after that sander for the entire day! Got a lot accomplished and a special surprise from our homeowner. She brought us lunch today! We sat out in her backyard and had our chicken lunch. She had to return to work, so could not stay but what a special treat! We met the neighbor who is working diligently to get her home back together also. She remarked how grateful she is to have spring where there is a newness to the buds coming back and it helps her focus on bringing her home back to life!

Prayer Requests:
Our very special homeowners have a variety of needs for prayer: Ruth, 84, has had shingles for several years. In the past, she had surgery on her spine. Standing and walking are both very painful for her. She has a doctor’s appointment Wednesday morning. Please pray for relief from her pain, wisdom for her doctor. She is a very faithful little lady. Helps others. Goes to Bible study and church meetings, in spite of her pain. Richard has been living in his car. He doesn’t even have a bed—that will be fixed. Please pray for our team to be lead by God in how we are serving him, as he is not one to verbalize his needs. We don’t know where he stands spiritually. Jonie has had both of her knees replaced. One of them has been causing her great pain. Don’t know her spiritual condition. Arlan is a school teacher. The hurricane has brought great financial stress to the life of his family, as he didn’t have flood insurance because it wasn’t considered necessary since he lives a fair distance from the shore. He had six feet of water on the main floor of his house—lost everything there—and his roof collapsed. Arlan describes himself as overwhelmed. Please pray that we can make a difference in his life.

Richard, one of the homeowners, watching the progress

Team Bridgeway
In the morning, the Clough/Cross/Roth group performed some drywall work, taping and mudding one room for a retired gentleman. Following this, we joined the group led by Darren and Joe for the rest of the day, as we worked on a bedroom at a different house. After tearing out the ceiling and some subfloor reinforcement, we spent the rest of the day hanging drywall, taping and mudding.

For the crew led by Rick Harding and Paul Francis, the order of the day was finishing the flooring and installing the tub in a bathroom, as well as a lot of mudding and sanding (see a trend yet?). This crew has had the privilege of working with Otis the past several days, a local man living day to day, relying on God to guide his steps. Pray this for the team as well, that we can be flexible and responsive to God’s leading.