Journal: April 2,2006
April 2, 2006
It’s Sunday afternoon and we are actually in Mississippi. I am excited for lots of reasons. Actually, I am feeling many emotions right now. I am thankful because we have arrived safely once more. I admit that I worry when we move. There is still much stress involved with the hooking up and pulling of the Montana. Each time we arrive safely I thank the Lord and surely His hand is on us.
I am excited about being here and being involved with Katrina relief. This effort is much different than I had imagined. It is not a ROAM project, but it is under the covering of the Church of the Nazarene through Compassionate Ministries. It is actually a Nazarene Disaster Relief work. NDR was formed and incorporated as a separate entity so federal funds could be procured. Bob Cantrell, a real live wire, was appointed to direct the work and has been here for six months and will continue for another year. Prior to this he had organized his own ministry, called Integrity Ministries, to do similar work. We are parked at Crossroads Church of the Nazarene where NDR has put in fourteen hookups for the "home team" as they call it. There are constantly others coming in without RVs and they are housed in the gym on air mattresses. One hundred people left yesterday before we arrived and there are several coming in tonight and tomorrow. They form teams of workers and go out to repair houses. I heard they have already worked on five hundred houses. I am sure there is a lot more to this than I know now and as the days go by there will be much to see and learn.
We have already seen enough to make us very sad. Yesterday, we drove through much of the disaster area. We drove out about fifty miles from this church base and witnessed first hand the immensity of the destruction. The TV news pictures have not been able to do it justice. I saw many photos prior to yesterday, but they cannot compare to actually seeing the devastation. It left me feeling glad that we’ve come to help, but sad that we didn’t come sooner and that we can’t stay longer. I have heard many say that it will take a long time to clean up, but long doesn’t cover it. It seems to me to be an impossibility. Yet, everywhere we went we saw disaster relief teams at work and there is a great feeling of hope.
We drove into Gulfport and went down route 90 along the gulf. It used to be the scenic highway, but now traffic goes even slower as everyone stares in awe at the total devastation. I would look out my window to the left and see the beautiful white sands of the beach along the Gulf waters. People were lying on the beach, playing in the water and generally just soaking up the warmth of the sun. Then, in total and extreme contrast, I would turn and look out the windows on the other side of the truck and see a wasteland of destruction. I saw people’s homes that have become piles of rubble or have been cleared off leaving just a concrete slab to remind them of where their homes used to be. I saw the remains of what used to be grand and beautiful hotels and condos. Some of the destruction has been cleared away and in some areas it appears to be just as it was after the storm. Where there are trees still standing they are stripped of foliage and littered with rags which might have been bed sheets or curtains or clothing. It was morbidly humorous to see a pair of men’s shorts up in a tree. There are trucks filled with debris and construction equipment everywhere. There seems to be hundreds of workers, yet after seven months very little seems to be restored. There is just too much! Anitarae kept saying that I would have to really dig deep for enough adjectives to describe what we saw. I am afraid that I am pitifully inadequate for the task.
It’s Sunday afternoon and we are actually in Mississippi. I am excited for lots of reasons. Actually, I am feeling many emotions right now. I am thankful because we have arrived safely once more. I admit that I worry when we move. There is still much stress involved with the hooking up and pulling of the Montana. Each time we arrive safely I thank the Lord and surely His hand is on us.
I am excited about being here and being involved with Katrina relief. This effort is much different than I had imagined. It is not a ROAM project, but it is under the covering of the Church of the Nazarene through Compassionate Ministries. It is actually a Nazarene Disaster Relief work. NDR was formed and incorporated as a separate entity so federal funds could be procured. Bob Cantrell, a real live wire, was appointed to direct the work and has been here for six months and will continue for another year. Prior to this he had organized his own ministry, called Integrity Ministries, to do similar work. We are parked at Crossroads Church of the Nazarene where NDR has put in fourteen hookups for the "home team" as they call it. There are constantly others coming in without RVs and they are housed in the gym on air mattresses. One hundred people left yesterday before we arrived and there are several coming in tonight and tomorrow. They form teams of workers and go out to repair houses. I heard they have already worked on five hundred houses. I am sure there is a lot more to this than I know now and as the days go by there will be much to see and learn.
We have already seen enough to make us very sad. Yesterday, we drove through much of the disaster area. We drove out about fifty miles from this church base and witnessed first hand the immensity of the destruction. The TV news pictures have not been able to do it justice. I saw many photos prior to yesterday, but they cannot compare to actually seeing the devastation. It left me feeling glad that we’ve come to help, but sad that we didn’t come sooner and that we can’t stay longer. I have heard many say that it will take a long time to clean up, but long doesn’t cover it. It seems to me to be an impossibility. Yet, everywhere we went we saw disaster relief teams at work and there is a great feeling of hope.
We drove into Gulfport and went down route 90 along the gulf. It used to be the scenic highway, but now traffic goes even slower as everyone stares in awe at the total devastation. I would look out my window to the left and see the beautiful white sands of the beach along the Gulf waters. People were lying on the beach, playing in the water and generally just soaking up the warmth of the sun. Then, in total and extreme contrast, I would turn and look out the windows on the other side of the truck and see a wasteland of destruction. I saw people’s homes that have become piles of rubble or have been cleared off leaving just a concrete slab to remind them of where their homes used to be. I saw the remains of what used to be grand and beautiful hotels and condos. Some of the destruction has been cleared away and in some areas it appears to be just as it was after the storm. Where there are trees still standing they are stripped of foliage and littered with rags which might have been bed sheets or curtains or clothing. It was morbidly humorous to see a pair of men’s shorts up in a tree. There are trucks filled with debris and construction equipment everywhere. There seems to be hundreds of workers, yet after seven months very little seems to be restored. There is just too much! Anitarae kept saying that I would have to really dig deep for enough adjectives to describe what we saw. I am afraid that I am pitifully inadequate for the task.
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