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Methodist help Biloxi residents cope with devastation
after a year
Returning from their eight day mission trip to Biloxi, Mississippi the
dozen members of Main Street United Methodist Church have a story to
tell. It's a story of both of love for their fellowman, coupled with
lots of hard labor. But it's also a story of success and hope; so
much
so that the group is already planning a return trip next spring to
help
others. Their first impression upon arrival — "'I've never seen such
devastation in my life," said Betsy Anderson, one of the volunteer
team
members. Leaving from the church on North Main Street in South
Boston members Doris Hedrick, Bob Duffer, Gene Haugh, Susan Rigg, Ed
Rigg, Troy
Wilkerson, Marion Wilkerson, Jean Church, Betsy Anderson, Meredith
Bowman, Thelma Crowder and Kenny Davis traveled by van and private
vehicles, along with the Boy Scout tractor trailer truck they
borrowed
to transport their equipment. Arriving in Biloxi after a somewhat
arduous trip — made more so by the fact that the main highway into
Biloxi was closed off (even after 18 months since Katrina struck the
area) in some sections where bridges had been washed away by the
hurricane, they went to work on the brick rancher owned by Ernest
and Lynn Smith. The home seemed okay, members said, when they first looked
at its exterior. But then upon opening the door, everything changed.
"When you walked through the front door, it just sucked your breath
away," said Anderson. "It was completely gutted."
"Over the next five days our little team helped give form to an
empty
shell. We removed the remaining junk from inside the house and the
attic. We demolished about 250 square feet of remaining ceiling and
installed a catwalk in the attic. We removed the old nails from all
the
studs and insulated all the exterior walls and under the attic
catwalk.
We hung about 95 percent of the sheetrock for the walls and
ceilings.
The old bathtubs and shower walls were removed and we purchased new
tubs, surrounds, and toilets, which will be installed by the next
team.
We removed most of the old vinyl kitchen floor, repaired several
trusses and installed new attic drop-down stairs. As rooms were
finished being sheetrocked, the nails were mudded and some taping of
the seams was begun. We also cleaned the yard and arranged for
removal
of all the junk and construction debris," wrote Pastor Ed Griggs.
The Smiths suffered from some tense times during the hurricane.
Ernest,
who is a truck driver, was at home with two of the couple's sons,
while
Lynn, who is a nurse's aide at a group home for the disabled was at
work. She had to stay with her clients during the storm and its
aftermath; consequently for ten days she did not know if her family
had
survived the storm. Nor did they know how she had fared.
Mission members were awakened by a 5:30 a.m. rivalry, follwed by
breakfast and morning devotions. By 8 a.m. they were on the job,
putting in insulation and sheetrock or simply cleaning up the
tremendous amount of debris left from the water that reached some
five
feet inside the house, completely destroying all the furnishings.
Their
work continued until 5 p.m. at which time they returned to Camp
Seashore, a dormitory where they stayed — all nine women in one room
with bunk beds and one bathroom for the use of all.
But it was all worth it when, as they readied to leave, Mrs. Smith
opened the door to the house where they had worked and burst into
tears
of joy. "The more she looked around, the more the tears flowed,"
said
Crowder, "until she had us all in tears." Meals were furnished, but
the local mission team paid for all their expenses —$1,440 for room
and board. "We weren't required to pay," said mission member Thelma
Crowder, "but we wanted to do so in order that other groups who did
not have the kind of support we had could take advantage of the free
housing and meals offered." In addition they gave the camp more
money for gifts to the kitchen staff and a $400 donation for a
United Methodist mission to the homeless in Biloxi. They spent
another $1,587 on materials for the Smith's home. Another $100 was given
to the couple who lived next door to the Smiths who allowed the
mission team to use their electricity for their work and the gas
ticket for the trip amounted to another $800. Rigg and the entire
mission membership extended their thanks to everyone in the church
and the entire community for their generous support of the trip. "We
were touched by the response of this community and we want them know
about this trip and how much need there has been and, still is, for
help for the people affected by Katrina," said Church.
Rigg wrote, "We enjoyed each other's fellowship the whole trip. We
arrived back in South Boston on Sunday afternoon, March 11, tired,
sore
and anxious for a long bath and a soft bed. But we also came back
with
a deeper understanding of God's grace and how we can be instruments
of
healing and witnesses of Christ's love to others. Through your
prayers
and gifts we have made a difference for one family to help them
recover
and reclaim their lives. There is still much work to do, both on the
Gulf Coast and other places, even here in Virginia, where people are
suffering .