Setting a pace....

Monday, April 2, 2007 – Right now, all the teams are chillin' in the auditorium while the youngins play some b-ball. We’re all in the midst of taking after work showers and settling in for supper tonight.

Our morning started out with breakfast at 7:30 am, after which we packed our sack lunches (brown bag lunches for the Yankees) for the jobsites. Team one consisted of: David, Mark, Kevin, John, Adam, Mike, Doug, Kyle, Jim, Michelle, and Sherri who all were assigned to the house from yesterday’s picture. Our goal for the day was to work on removing the old shingles and framing out an improved roof for the back of the house.

Down below, several others were faced with ripping up old plywood flooring and floor joists, under which we found about four inches of stagnant water along with a HUGE alligator (ok, maybe it was just a lizard). After removal, our goal was to replace the joists (level, this time) and the flooring.

Sharon, the owner of the house provided the team members with vivid images of Hurricane Katrina sweeping through her street and of her Mom’s house which was lost under 6 feet of water. She lost 5 pecan trees and watched piles of debris rush down the street in front of her house.

Team two consisted of: Brenda, Donna, Cynthia, Ronna, Kate, Whitney, Alex, Wayne, Rick, Marie, Peg and Kelsey. They were responsible for working on putting up, taping, and mudding sheetrock throughout a 2,000 sq. ft. house. (P.S. You can wring their necks if you want to when we get home... they didn't take any pictures for you today!!!!! Never fear, I gave them a hard time about it & they will hopefully have some from tomorrow's work.)

Both teams knocked off at 4:30 pm and headed back to the church we’re staying at to clean up. (6:30 pm)

Supper was great and everyone caught up on their chores before our Orientation & Worship Service at 7 pm.

The Orientation was an informative session about exactly what the Hurricanes… notice that’s plural… not just Katrina but also the storm that came through before Katrina & after, did to Pascagoula specifically.

>New Orleans was devastated strictly because of faulty levees.
>Slidell was destroyed by the freshwater of Lake Ponchatrain being picked up by hurricane force winds and being dumped on the area.
>Biloxi is the area through which the eye of the hurricane passed.
>Pascagoula was subjected to storm surges that were projected to be 10 feet high but were ultimately 40 feet high. Once the surges began, it took about three hours to peak and then another three hours for the waters to recede.

Although many people evacuated, many only packed enough clothing & supplies for a few days, expecting to return to their homes shortly. The condition of the homes and the debris in the streets caused officials to forbid the evacuees to return and many were left stranded with only what they took in their vehicles.

Our leaders said that the devastation was most effectively evidenced by the eyes of the people who were in shock… left to sit on their porches in sheer disbelief of what had happened.

As of today, only 3% of the homes in this area have been repaired since the storms came through and the first mission team to respond to the area was from Alaska.

After this orientation, the mood was lightened with Ray Stevens’ video, “The Mississippi Squirrel Revival,” which took place as you may remember in the First Self-Righteous Church in Pascagoula!

To wrap up the evening, we were led in worship by a musician named Christian from Knoxville, Tennessee who shared his testimony with us and challenged everyone to think about what God is calling them to do for His glory. (9:02 pm)

OUR ACCOMMODATIONS

These are the guys' cots.

View from the guys' cots looking out the front of our building.

The ladies' cots are in a side room.