Click on any of the links below to view many more photos from the Biloxi trip. Once there, click on any of the photos to view a larger size of the photo.

http://web.mac.com/jcords/iWeb/Site/A%20Biloxi.html
http://web.mac.com/jcords/iWeb/Site/B%20Biloxi.html
http://web.mac.com/jcords/iWeb/Site/C%20Biloxi.html

Final Work Day

Sorry I didn’t get this up last night. After a very good final day of work, we had a Biloxi Shrimp Boil

and then went out to dinner and then had devotions on the beach. It seemed 20 degrees cooler at the beach. This is strange in light of the fact that our project house is only a block or so up from the beach. It was a nice time of closer.

We did a final stick removal on the lawn, making it significantly easier now to do a regular mowing to keep the yard looking “decent”. The shingles that landed on the lawn during the storm killed much of the grass, smothering it. The shingles were everywhere; I cannot over estimate how many we cleaned off the property. There are likely still more to be discovered.






We emptied the shed behind the second house today.

It was one of the grossest things I have ever done. The stench from mold and rancid water was just shy of overwhelming. But, we got it done.

We also secured the fence between the yards and put up a new fence to keep the pets from going out the side yard.

The skilled folk continued the electrical and window work at the other house:





Unfortunately the air conditioners they installed the first day were stolen out of the house during the second night. This is of course discouraging.

There are many discouraging things here on the Gulf Coast. One of the more important works here is not allowing those discouraging elements to claim the day. Above all else the job of those working in the relief efforts is to be purveyors of hope.


You can be proud of every one of this team. They worked VERY hard. They worked consistently and persevered. I am proud to be a member of this team.

We travel today back to Kerrville, Texas on our way home to Tucson and the dry heat.

7/20/06

Pastor Perry writes:
Today was a rather different day for many of us. The TVLC team had to supply volunteers for KP (kitchen patrol) for all three meals. Four of us, including me, signed up to be the “Breakfast Club,” waking up at 4:30 a.m. to be ready to start helping with breakfast at 5:00 a.m. and continuing to help prepare and clean up for lunch. An awful early start, but it did mean cooler surroundings and an earlier end to our day. Another four took over for dinner KP.


Smaller groups of our TVLC team have taken on several different assignments over the week, with a mother and daughter assisting with phoning and clerical work at the Bethel medical clinic, one working in the food distribution center, one in the tool check out shed, the three most skilled men on electrical, carpentry and other work, and most of us at Mary’s house, as Pastor Jim has previously described.
Because of our earlier quit time, the four members of the “Breakfast Club” did a little sight seeing after I had the damaged spare tire on the rental van replaced. This was the most memorial part of the day for me. We drove several miles up and down Highway 90, which skirts the beaches and was where some of the most severe damage took place.

This is one example of hundreds like it up and down the coast. So much looks like a ghost town. There is an amazing contrast between businesses and homes that look like the one above and others, large and small, which look brand new, even the landscaping. There are several casinos in the midst of rebuilding. One of the largest has a countdown calendar on its video marquee announcing how many days until it will open: August 29, 2006, the one year anniversary of Katrina’s landfall. I feel sad seeing that this kind of business which makes its millions by exploiting people’s hopes is making the biggest and splashiest “recovery,” especially when, as Pastor Jim talked about in our devotion this evening on Ephesians 1:16-20, the ministry we’re a part of here is helping to encourage and sustain a real “confident hope” among Katrina survivors.

Another striking contrast was coming across the Hurricane Camille memorial ruins
and then, a little further down, seeing the new Katrina memorial.

The top of the Memorial is at water level during Katrina


The 1969 hurricane Camille was the biggest disaster the area had seen and yet Katrina was many times bigger. It just so happens that the Camille memorial ruins sit right in front of the ruins of Redeemer Episcopal church, in the midst of rebuilding.




I knelt down in the sand of what was once the middle of its sanctuary, overwhelmed by the thought of those who had worshipped there at one time and of those who had lost their lives. What devastation, and yet what hope! A hope sustained by churches like ours and others.

Like the one represented by a man I met this evening whose van actually has a logo on the side of it with an outline of those exact church ruins I knelt in this afternoon. He was from an Episcopal church in Maryland that has become a sister congregation to that very church. It is inspiring to see the Body of Christ at work in such real and inclusive ways.

It has been hard work but how grateful I am to have the privilege to work here with this team and with all the prayers and encouragement from TVLC. Hope has taken on a new and more powerful meaning to us all.

Wow what a day. It started a little overcast, which was nice because it kept some of the intensity of the sun off. We then identified a task in the backyard of the 1st house. It was a complete mess; overgrown, trash, a downed tree, debris, amazing amounts of trash. We worked hard all day and when we were done it looked terrific, and we felt great about what we had accomplished.

The other both great and heart breaking thing that happened today was that we saw pictures of the house before:


And after Katrina:


I cannot imagine having lost so much and then to try to maintain the hope that someday it will be nice again. Well we are working hard to bring that day closer. There will be a great deal of work to do after we leave, but we can see that we are making a difference.

Mark Biery, Bob Martin and Glen Weber worked on a different project today. They did a great deal of electrical work and felt that they were able to move the project house forward significantly.

Tomorrow some of our crew will work KP. Part of the need here is to provide a foundation from which the volunteers can go out. We have enjoyed the dinners especially and are grateful for the efforts of those who have tended to our meals. We will do our share tomorrow.

Here is another look at the trash heap that keeps growing:


Here is one look at the backyard.

We will have more tomorrow as we did not take many pictures today.


As I write this, I am awaiting word from Marilyn that she has arrived safely in California to be with her family there. May God bless Sylvia with the peace that comes from his presence.

Work Day Two


Perry girls choose a bunk

It did not seem as hot today, but it was certainly still hot. We got a lot done on the outside. I think we are finished with the trees and the tall grass as well as most of the trash in the backyard has been removed.


Why cut down trees?

A bit about the lady we are serving. She is disabled following two surgeries on her neck and is in pain most of the time. She is also suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome having stayed through hurricane Katrina. Many people did die here and she thought she would be among them.



One of the ways this stress manifests itself is that she has a very difficult time throwing anything away. This is pretty serious when things that are broken, moldy and mildewed, surround you. We learned today that several other work groups have come, but have left after finding her too frustrating. We are determined not to be “quitters”. We will hang in there with her and provide whatever help we can. Please remember her in prayer as she copes and as she is having a procedure tomorrow night that will likely take several days to recover from.


Here is one of the trash piles we have made.


Working hard and using what is available.

Marilyn talked to her sister today and senses that she should be with her family in Los Angeles, so she will fly out tomorrow. She goes with our prayers and blessings.

We had two little incidents today; sprained ankle and a nasty bump on the chin. We ask for your prayers of healing and safety.

Our devotions tonight were on the Good Samaritan and the way Jesus turns the question around to essentially ask “to whom will you be a neighbor?” We sense God’s presence and pray many blessings to you all. We are grateful for your prayers and support as we serve as an extension of TVLC.