Pearlington
University Baptist and CBF have been working hard all year in a little town called Pearlington. I've been down twice to work, and if there is a single person left in that town who did not lose everything during Katrina, I'd be amazed.
Click here to see an article about CBF's work in Pearlington. Be sure to watch the video as well.
The first home I went to belonged to an older woman. Her grandson was there that day, and he told us that that family "went swimming" as the flood waters came in. The floodline was over the rooftops of these little houses. It is a pure miracle than anyone survived.
Everything in that house was covered in mud. We had to shovel it out, carry the ruined contents of the house out to the street for debris crews to pick up later, clean out the maggot infested kitchen, and basically gut everything. The wet, heavy, stinky, moldy carpet had to come out. Everything had to be gutted. I've never seen a group of people work harder than the folks from UBC did that day. I've never seen people more willing to just jump in and get dirty and get the job done, even knowing that once they got covered with all that river muck, it would be a long day and a long ride back to Hattiesburg before they could get cleaned up again. I've also never seen a group of people get a bigger blessing out of helping others.
The second house I went to had already been gutted. We were there to start rebuilding. This house belonged to a family with several children. If I'm not mistaken, they said they were living in a FEMA trailer with two parents, three children, and two dogs. I don't know what model they had, but most of the FEMA trailers I've seen have just been tiny campers that would be a tight fit for two grown ups without the kids and dogs.
This second house also presented the biggest challenge for me. I have no skills. I have no skill saw. When I got to the church and realized that this was not a trip that many women were going on, I really wanted to back out. By that time, though, my Diet Cokes and granola bars were already in the pastor's jeep, and I was already loaded into a van with guys who did bring skill saws, and it just seemed like it was too late to speak up.
I'm very glad I did not back out. That's the day I learned what an important job a "gofer" has. They kept me busy. I even tried my hand at a few nails, but my skills were more need in the running and fetching department.
One day last fall in the children's sermon, Phillip brought out some little toy hard hats. He said, "Jesus always needs workers, and sometimes it's just our turn to put on a hard hat and get to work for Jesus."
One little girl answered, "I have a bow in my hair."
I've learned this year not to worry about bows. If you show up to work for Jesus, there will be something you can do.
I'm telling all of this to say that Pearlington and other towns along the coast still need our help.
If you have a church group or a student group or just a few friends willing and able to come to Mississippi to help, contact UBC or CBF. You'll be glad you did.
Click here to see an article about CBF's work in Pearlington. Be sure to watch the video as well.
The first home I went to belonged to an older woman. Her grandson was there that day, and he told us that that family "went swimming" as the flood waters came in. The floodline was over the rooftops of these little houses. It is a pure miracle than anyone survived.
Everything in that house was covered in mud. We had to shovel it out, carry the ruined contents of the house out to the street for debris crews to pick up later, clean out the maggot infested kitchen, and basically gut everything. The wet, heavy, stinky, moldy carpet had to come out. Everything had to be gutted. I've never seen a group of people work harder than the folks from UBC did that day. I've never seen people more willing to just jump in and get dirty and get the job done, even knowing that once they got covered with all that river muck, it would be a long day and a long ride back to Hattiesburg before they could get cleaned up again. I've also never seen a group of people get a bigger blessing out of helping others.
The second house I went to had already been gutted. We were there to start rebuilding. This house belonged to a family with several children. If I'm not mistaken, they said they were living in a FEMA trailer with two parents, three children, and two dogs. I don't know what model they had, but most of the FEMA trailers I've seen have just been tiny campers that would be a tight fit for two grown ups without the kids and dogs.
This second house also presented the biggest challenge for me. I have no skills. I have no skill saw. When I got to the church and realized that this was not a trip that many women were going on, I really wanted to back out. By that time, though, my Diet Cokes and granola bars were already in the pastor's jeep, and I was already loaded into a van with guys who did bring skill saws, and it just seemed like it was too late to speak up.
I'm very glad I did not back out. That's the day I learned what an important job a "gofer" has. They kept me busy. I even tried my hand at a few nails, but my skills were more need in the running and fetching department.
One day last fall in the children's sermon, Phillip brought out some little toy hard hats. He said, "Jesus always needs workers, and sometimes it's just our turn to put on a hard hat and get to work for Jesus."
One little girl answered, "I have a bow in my hair."
I've learned this year not to worry about bows. If you show up to work for Jesus, there will be something you can do.
I'm telling all of this to say that Pearlington and other towns along the coast still need our help.
If you have a church group or a student group or just a few friends willing and able to come to Mississippi to help, contact UBC or CBF. You'll be glad you did.
posted by Sharon Gerald | 5:31 AM
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