Pearlington Presentation

We unplug ourselves from our normal lives to go on a trip to Pearlington. But, then we come back and start everything back to the same. I was out of town mostly before I left with way too much work and the same routine starts again. We made enough time the Sunday after to make a quick summary to the congregation during Interest and Concerns, but we are going to make a presentation to encourage others to go with us.

We will have a presentation during the Sunday School hour on November 11. Please come to the Fellowship Hall at 9 AM on Sunday.

Last Day back at Pearlington

We left Pearlington after the catfish lunch at the First Missionary church. A 6'X6' deck is a lot easier to build than the 12'X24' deck that we worked on all week. We started in the morning and 5 of us finished it before lunch.

Billy and Harry J mowed the field in front of Shirley Thompson's house to help her set up an area to kick off the Adopt-a-Family program that she is starting. I think that Billy was just looking for another opportunity to play with the big trimmer, but for whatever reason, that trimmer had been taken to the shop for service. He had to settle for the regular weed eater.


We left from the Missionary Baptist Church and stopped a few times to gas and rest. Billy, Scott, and I arrived back at the church around 1 AM. All in all, a very long week, but we feel like we helped at least one family move closer to getting back in their home. Before we left, Kendra came over with her young son and her daughter Mia who turns 2 on Sunday to introduce herself and thank us. Just those few minutes getting to know her that you can help the three of them living in one room makes our sweat and blood and time sacrifice worth it.

We will be back to Pearlington during Spring Break 2008. I think that is March 21 - 28. Please join us.

Day 4 back in Pearlington

On Thursday, we finished the 12'X24' deck on Kendra's house. Don researched how best to build the stair risers. But, we found that the best way was to call in the professional. Pastor Glenn running OHAAT sent over Pastor Wyatt who cut one riser for us to use as the template for the other 2 risers needed. We worked with Pastor Wyatt for less than 30 minutes, and he probably saved use the day of measuring and contemplating the right way to do it. One group finished the other half of the joists, one group nailed down the deck planks, and another group worked on the stairs. What a fantastic team!
Norma and Marie used the nail guns on the steps. They are now known as the "Nail Gun Sisters." We had a tough time getting the nail gun from Marie to give Norma a chance. I think that they both had the same smile as Billy the other day with the trimmer.




Look at that straight line down the deck. Harry J designed a battleship that was exactly square with every line matching. For a 12' X 24' of anything to be exactly square is quite a feat, but we did it. We will be checking every 6 months to make sure that it stays square. I think that the house will move before that deck.

The deck is a huge step for Kendra's house. Now that the steps are there, they will be able to get the electrical and plumbing inspection done (the code inspectors will not climb a ladder and each house has to be built up to be above the flood zone) and then the insulation and then drywall. Kendra was able to watch the progress from across the street where she is living in one room in her aunt's house (single wide trailer) with her baby son and daughter who will be 2 this Sunday.

The other big event of the day is at the PDA camp. Two important mission activities occur while at the PDA villages. One activity is working on houses to get people back into their homes. The other activity is getting to know other Presbyterians (not everyone there is Presbyterian) from across the country. We set our date to go to Pearlington based on the date that Jane Els from First Pres in Garland, TX confirmed. To help recruit people you always need gimmicks. What better way to interest people than with food. Texans always do everything bigger and better (or so they say). So, Jane and I encouraged each of our groups by the food competition.

In Texas, BBQ means beef and they brought brisket. In SC, BBQ means pork. Harry D represented SC with fantastic pulled pork cooked in crock pots that we took. His presentation started with "BBQ means pig. Bringing beef to a BBQ is like taking a cow to the Kentucky Derby." Some of the Texas group conceded defeat during their second pass to the food line. I mentioned this yesterday but it still is important on Thursday when we had the Texas brisket. The brisket was very good and normally might beat a lot of people's BBQ. But not Harry's pork with the secret recipe sauce. The Texas group was staying on Friday night and had packed away some of the leftovers of the pulled pork for Friday night dinner. Harry D told Jane, "I liked your roast beef."

Texas had the better dessert - five pecan pies. We focused on the BBQ competition. Our dessert was Banana Pudding from a big can that we found in the village kitchen. (Some people even asked for the recipe for the pudding that night.) Jane has already called for a dessert competition for the next trip to Pearlington. Are we ready for that? I think that we can give it a try.

Day 3 Back in Pearlington

The post last night is this morning instead. The food tent becomes a gathering point in the evening, because you can't stay outside with all of the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes find you anyway, but it just seems a little more fair when you can see them under the light of the tent. Everyone was gathered around until I decided it was too late to think straight.

You should have been here yesterday. If anyone had a video on us yesterday, then they would have an instant YouTube classic. Seven men trying to square up a deck is very entertaining work. We spent a lot of time working on a 1/4" out of square. The house foundation seems to be about 8" out of square, but we want to be proud of our work when we leave.

We laid out the 6X6 posts. You can barely see the strings diagonally across the corners. The idea is to get the length of each to be the same. Once we figured out the right point to measure, we were right on.

Laying out the 2X10X12 to hang the joists.

The deck is taking shape and will be very strong walking out the door. We hope to finish today. We will need 9' for the steps (the deck is 66" off of the ground). The steps might end right at the street...

Tonight was SC night for dinner. Harry D, Norma, and Marie did most of the work. Harry's special sauce was fantastic. I do not think that anyone has had better BBQ in years or more. A few of the TX group were conceding defeat after their second pass through the line.

We have enough to share tonight with the TX shot in the cookoff.

We drove past Shirley Thompson's house last night and John and I stopped in to drop off the bags with the Dawsey's. I do not have the time to relate the visit. John and I almost didn't get out of there. They wanted to visit for a long time, feed us, get us drinks, just like they were when we came down in April. They remembered me as the guy that would come and go real quick. They remembered Mary and Valerie - Valerie was that older women that rides a Harley and jumped the ditch. JL made pictures for us. It was hard to get out of there, but we needed to get back to work.

I need to stop now. My group may wonder if I am shirking responsibilities. This morning we have Potty duty.

Day 2 in Pearlington

We are up late here at the PDA camp. Don and Scott are entertaining me as I write tonight's entry. Last night, I turned the lights off and was the last to bed (at 10:15 local time). Worn out people turn in early. This morning we learned that the other 2 groups have so far spent most of their time floating drywall. GA today said that they met Larry the Professional Drywall guy that showed them how to get things moving. They may be able to start taping and mudding by the end of the week.

After yesterday's success with the 6 windows, Billy, Harry J, and I followed up by putting in 2 doors at Kendra's house. Scott, Don, John, and Harry D were able to finish up the framing at their assignment when they found enough 2 X 4's to finish the work. Marie and Norma helped out at the church preparing lunch and cleaning up. I got a call around 3:30 from Norma that they were done with that work. I wonder if the cleanup took until then (I think that they sat down for a bit of rest and for good reason). Everyone had to work a bit slower today. It was hot, humid, and uncomfortable all day.

Kenny and Roger worked further on Sam's house with another group putting up insulation with One House at a Time. We are all getting to know Glen Locklin. The group has 6 houses that are currently framed. He just needs volunteers to help with the next steps and we are helping this week.

Tomorrow, the 2 groups will combine to work on a deck at Kendra's. Glen brought us materials all day, so I think that we will be good to go for the week. The deck needs to be 24' wide by 10' feet long to cover the original porch slab. To remove the original slab costs about $900 and then you have to wait and pay more to get the slab removed. So, we will cover over that slab.

Here are some pictures of today.

I had to get a picture of Billy and his new favorite machine: the power trimmer. We know what he would like for Christmas. Look how happy he is and how cleaned up the yard is from yesterday.








Here Billy and Harry are lining up the first door of the day. I did help. I only stepped away for a second to take the picture (and get a drink, and wipe off the sweat, ...) We needed the door in because it rained hard later and we kept the floor dry by getting everything put up.




Here, John, Scott, and Harry D arrive to survey the work for the rest of the week. The slab should be covered up when we are done. Notice that Billy is still working with his favorite trimmer. He went through 2 tanks of gas today with that trimmer. Don has probably already picked up a hammer and asked Harry J where he could help.

OK. I am back to being the last one up now and the only live target for the mosquitoes. I am fighting them off as fast as I am typing. I am losing the battle with a dead trail of mosquitoes on the table around me. Now, I need to think of the morning inspiration. Our group is responsible for breakfast and dinner tomorrow. Signing off until tomorrow....

We are back in Pearlington

Our group from Summerville, SC led by Dorchester Presbyterian Church is back in Pearlington at PDA Volunteer Village #6. More than half of the Mighty 13 that came down to Pearlington the first week of April 2007 came back. My first impression is the cliche: the more changes, the more the same. The first picture to the left is our group's first stop of the day. This picture still represents Pearlington. Rebuilding is happening, but the FEMA trailers are still here.





Check the picture to the left. I think that Greg Hazelwood is trying to have a sense of humor that he had riverfront for a time. His house was a stop for one of our group today.

Our group of 11 is joined by Jane El's group from Texas and 8 men from First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, GA. In our group, Roger drove down from near Boston to go with us. Not as large as the group in April, we have a bit more experience of how the rebuilding process works with the PDA in Pearlington. People that have been here before (which is most of us here this week - only a few newcomers from all 3 groups) has more patience with getting assigned to work at different houses.

I will save the soapbox and inferences about government help and people getting themselves together for another time. For now, here are pictures of our day working around Pearlington. TX and GA were sent to different houses.

Today, our group of 11 split into 3 groups.

• Norma and Marie helped cook lunch at First Missionary Baptist.
• Two years later, the church still feeds lunch to the volunteers. They clearly expect fewer volunteers - one row of tables is gone.
  
• John, Scott, Don, and Harry D went to Greg's house to help with framing.
  
• They stopped in the afternoon when they ran out of 2X4's.


• Billy, Harry J, and I went to Dallas Tremmel's next dooor neighbor to put in 6 windows.


• No big deal, according to Dallas. I had forgotten that "no big deal" for Dallas meant that we might spend the whole day there, and we did. Later in the afternoon, John, Scott, Don and Harry D came over to help us finish. Billy got an early shower trying to hammer the nails during the rain.


• Roger and Kenny helped at a "One House at a Time" house to build up the bracing.
  

Let me try to describe the pictures uploaded here.

Billy, Harry J, and I started at Dallas Tremmel's next door neighbor's house (Kendra MacArthur) with no windows installed. I didn't remember to start taking pictures until we had one window finished. That window is the only window screwed in. We ran out of screws and switched to nails. You make do with what you got. That window is also the only window that I screwed in. Billy did the outside work after that until the afternoon helpers arrived.





Help arrives in the afternoon on the church bus.













Harry D and John measuring. They were making sure to follow the rule "measure twice, cut once."












Do you know what Scott is hammering? Hard to tell from this picture...












It takes two on the inside and one on the outside. Billy has things under control with Scott and Harry J helping from the inside.












While we were there, Marie and Norma came over and with their help after Billy's inspiration to clean up the yard, we created 2 stacks of debris and recovered some good, usable building materials. We also destroyed some fire ant hiding places and they paid us back in kind.

Back to Pearlington

In a few weeks, our group heads back to Pearlington for a week of work with the neighbors there. We will be camping out in the plastic pods provided by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). I almost wrote our group from Summerville, but one of the guys going with us is flying down from Boston. Our group should be larger than the Mighty 13 from April. About half of that group from April is going this time. I think that we are doing a great job giving an opportunity to members and friends of the the church to use their talents. Hopefully, the planning and recruiting will get easier. We still have to battle the thoughts of a lot of people that the Katrina-damaged areas should be back on their feet by now. Once you go there, you will see that the scale is so large that 5 years may not be enough.

After all, Charleston had pretty well recovered from Hugo after 2 years. I will scan in an article in the Post and Courier from Saturday that made this type of statement. Enough for now...

Pearlington here we come in a few short weeks. We have a few spots left to go if you are interested for the week of October 6 - 13.

Felix Missed/Ignored

Maybe I was busier this past week (I know that I was), but I didn't really see much information about Felix in the media coverage that I scanned. I remember a lot more coverage for Dean. But, evidently since Dean didn't get a high death count because of where it hit, the next Category 5 storm didn't rate much attention. Particularly since Felix was never at any risk to hit the U.S. For a while, Dean had a chance to hit the southeast Texas coast. To the point that the Texas governor had declared an emergency and activated the National Guard. Ho-hum, we are complacent now when a Category 5 makes landfall. Never before have 2 Category 5 hurricanes made landfall in the same year, but no big deal. Hurricanes need a big death count or costly destruction to get attention. And, Felix I guess you are not there yet.

Felix went through similar areas as Hurricane Mitch a few years ago. But, CNN only mentions maybe 40 as dead. If Mitch killed more than 10,000 with 8,000 missing, then you expect bigger numbers. But, do we care? Probably not. Our president is more focused on proving that the war in Iraq is making unexpected positive progress in some areas than what we could or should be doing to help our Central American neighbors.

So, we do what we can. Mississippi is within driving distance. Hopefully, we won't need to be anywhere else to help recover. Recovery from Katrina will keep us busy for the next few years. See you in Pearlington in a few weeks...

Katrina - Two Years Later

Two years ago, many people were figuring out how to live through and recover from Katrina. Many more people from around the country and the world watched the events unfold with all of the national networks, like CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS providing live coverage of landfall and the destruction. The Weather Channel provided great details of the expected landfall and surge in between the constant commercials and local forecasts. Who would have thought that the effort needed to rebuild is still as important today as right after the storm?

As the storm hit, people answered the call and adjusted their lives to help those in need. The Pearlington Recovery Center is one result of that call. That call still is made. 20 people from our church will be going back to Pearlington, MS in early October. Do you feel the call to go with us? Leave a comment and get involved with us from Summerville, SC.

I sat on a plane from Charleston the other week with some women from New Orleans. They are white and upper-middle class. They contend that everyone who is willing to work has gotten help and that the people who have not rebuilt are waiting for the government to rebuild for them. I think that this impression is pretty widespread. CNN was addressing that impression last night on AC 360. My belief is that the impression may be true for a few. But, the majority of middle to lower-class (the largest share of people flooded and destroyed by Katrina) need some help and hope to get back going. How many of you have the $20K or $30K available to rebuild your house, furnishings, and the time to fight with the insurance companies and other agencies? We as Americans have expected that help with our donations and call to government for action. But, is our expectation being met? You won't find out for sure until you go for yourself. Talk is cheap. They need you to volunteer, to provide hope and help.

To see how important the work is and the need is, check out the following link. They have documented some stories of survivors of Katrina and their lives 2 years later.

MediaStorm - Finding the Way Home

Watching Dean

When you watch Dean, you know that the energy of the storm will have to go somewhere. Dean keeps pulling up the warmth of the water and with no shear to slow it down, it has to grow. You don't want it to hit your house, but you worry for the places and people where it may be going. For instance, I would like a catastrophic storm like Dean has become to hit an error with the ability to prepare and opportunity to recover. Bermuda is a good place. They have money, the building codes, and the government structure to handle a hurricane with minimal loss of life.

I pray for the people of Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. The money in those countries is so small and held by so few that most of the people will have little opportunity to protect themselves, even if they receive a warning. Dean will cut like a buzz saw across Jamaica if the track holds correct. And, unfortunately I almost wish it would hit Texas if it doesn't dissipate. I think that Texas is better equipped to handle Dean than northeast Mexico. The tourist spots on the Yucatan will do OK. Wherever there is money, those people can get away and rebuild.

Go down to New Orleans. People with money have found a way to rebuild. The people that were completely dependent on the government support are still waiting on the government to do the work for them. If they had money, they may have left and not returned. Let's hope that many people can rebuild after Dean comes through. I think that the issue is economics not ethnicity.

That leads to a larger question. We Americans love Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic for vacation when we go to the areas with money. Should we take more responsibility to share our wealth (not just our tourism dollars) to improve the lives of people in the islands around us? We supposedly went into Iraq to remove a dictator that was not good to his people. What about these island countries with a barely functioning government? Our church and others in the Presbytery support a Haiti mission with St. Joseph's home for boys. Rather than grass roots, should our government which has spent $450 billion and counting, help out with a few billion?

Wow, this post took you on a roller coaster.

Montreat Youth Sunday Service

4 of the high school kids from our church that went to the Montreat Youth Conference provided the church service yesterday. They focused on not waiting for the world to change, but to act and that any little thing you do can impact the world. One of the songs shown depicted how much money was spent or could be used in different areas of the world for that particular music vide. That video made our 7-year old son cry because other people are suffering, hungry, sick, poor, etc. I do not think that he could emotionally handle what has happened in Pearlington and the areas around it.

Their service focused on action and they changed the service around quite a bit from the normal Presbyterian service. You weren't watching and listening to the pastor at the service, but were asked to participate in the service. For the Prayers of the People, they suggested coming forward to pray or writing a prayer on posters at the back of the church. Our 7-year old went to the back and wrote in his own handwriting that he prayed for for the poor not to be poor. So, Margaret, Leigh, Harry, and Lauren and Dorothy and Russ and the other helpers, you had a pretty moving service. Can you find a way to keep that energy going and help spread your energy to others?

We face a similar challenge in keeping everyone interested in going back to Pearlington and highlighting the need for help there.

Planning meeting on Sept 8 instead

I am hoping that the third announcement of a time is a charm. Several people thinking ahead (not like me) told me that Sept 1 is Labor Day weekend and that many people will be unavailable for a meeting that night. Therefore, by popular demand, we will move the planning meeting to Sept 8. Now I need to settle on a time and make sure that the time doesn't conflict with college football schedules. The college football season starts Sept 1 and becomes a priority for our family on Saturdays if Auburn is on TV. BTW, Auburn host Kansas State at 7:45 PM ET on ESPNHD Sept 1.

Let me check schedules before I confirm a time. Several people have mentioned being available in the afternoon. For now, let's tentatively set 2 - 4 PM as the meeting time on Sept 8.

Planning Meeting on Sept 1

Now, I may find out if anyone actually reads this blog. I messed up the voting with the poll and had a date listed that I cannot meet. The official signup sheets will be in the church starting on Aug 26 with an announcement made during Minute for Mission. The planning meeting at our house will be Saturday Sept 1 at 5 PM. We will talk about our plans, watch the video from Slidell, and learn who we need to recruit as a cook to make some fantastic SC BBQ to compete with the Texas BBQ that Jane and her group from Texas will be bringing in Oct.

Please let me know if you can attend Sept 1 and if you are interested in going to Pearlington with us from Oct 7 - 13. Space is limited. Last one signing up gets to ride on the roof of the church bus.

Vote for meeting time

Please use the poll on the right to vote for the best afternoon or evening or multiple times to talk about what you can expect on the trip. If you have been before and have committed to go again, then this meeting is your opportunity to encourage others to go with us. Get anyone thinking about going to attend and keep recruiting.

Please come to the informal gathering at our house. We can order a few pizzas and watch the video made in Slidell as Katrina came through. If October doesn't work for you, then maybe December works better. We are all called to make sacrifices, and your time on this trip will be a sacrifice that will be rewarded many times over by the people that you will meet and the travelers that you will get to know better.

Vote on the right. I expect to see you with us sometime in August.

Title image

I decided to tinker with the blog layout today, but I wanted to keep the picture that had been behind the title description for a while. This picture is very symbolic to me of the problems in the area.

The trailer is in the background behind the boat sitting on top of the car. I am assuming that the boat is in their front yard. This picture was taken while we were in Pearlington, MS the first week of April 2007. More than 19 months since Katrina, the people living in the trailer see the destruction each time they go out their door. It is difficult to put lives back together and be optimistic about the future when you can't even clean up the past.

I read recently that depression is on the rise there. No wonder. And, now with the weather getting very hot especially down there, I suspect that the amount of volunteers there is dwindling. But, we are going back in October. And, I would like to go back again very quickly in December. Will you find the time to go along with us? About 10 are committed to go so far, there is room for another 10...

Live Earth 07-07-07

Hopefully, you are enjoying some of the music provided by the concerts. The messages presented around the music are pretty important for us on the Earth as well. If you have the opportunity, then viewing the concert on Universal HD is the way to go. Click here to go to the official Live Earth blog. You can use the Carbon Footprint calculator to learn how much CO2 your lifestyle generates.

Because I am fairly lazy and I use IM, I downloaded the latest Windows Live Messenger. Just by changing my display name, Microsoft is making donations to different causes. If you already IM and use Windows Messenger, then how easy is that to do?

Watch Jackley Video and Plan

Please vote using the poll on the right to suggest a date to get together and watch the Jackley video and to prepare for our trip back. If you know anyone in the area interested in going, then you should invite them to attend. You will get to meet people that went in April and hear their stories and be inspired to go. If you know any electricians or plumbers that we should recruit to go with us, then please let me know. We have reserved space for 20 volunteers. I think that 10 people have already committed to go. At our house, we can order pizza or something easy to watch the video.

3 Months to Pearlington

Three months to go until we go back to Pearlington. Are you excited yet? If you need some inspiration, then head over to Jane El's blog to read about her mission trip to Mexico. If busloads of high school kids can take time out to help, then you can find a week to go to Pearlington with us. You will start seeing the signup sheets and hearing us talk about it during Interests and Concerns at worship. You won't have an excuse that you didn't know about it or have enough warning to prepare. Let's get ready for Oct 7 - 13.

When I get a bit cynical about the way our country appears to be heading, I can read about good things that groups of people and young people are doing. I never heard of "gap years" when I was in college, so you could take off for a year and live off of your surroundings doing mission work etc. But, I read about it more often. It is actually a good trend for kids to give them a purpose and re-emphasize values. Check out what Jane is describing on her trip. I am heading off on a tangent very quickly about the state of our country and our privileged kids not understanding how hard they will need to work and...

Video from Slidell

A video continues to make the rounds to show the true-life as it happens effects of Katrina along the lake in Slidell, LA. This video came to me from Diane from Jane Els who got a copy of it from Dallas, resident and PDA coordinator in Pearlington. If you get a chance, then watch the video. You will begin to understand why 5 or 6 years after Katrina, we may still be volunteering down there to help rebuild.

Almost 2 years later, what Katrina did and has done is still amazing to watch. The video evidently was out there pretty quick, based on the articles that I found describing it. I was either overloaded with all of the images and other stories or was at the point that I couldn't watch anymore that I must have missed it.

The man shooting the video never says his name but he does tell us his address so that when we find the water tight bag with the camera we know where. I do not remember the address offhand, but I found out that his name is Kennard Jackley when I did a quick search on Google. Kennard is retired from the Merchant Marines. I bet that he has a lot of stories and would be wonderful to listen to. He was even smart enough to have shrimp ready on the grill for cooking. I might have been nervous with the gas leaking bubbling up through the water next door to him, but that was probably the least of his concern.

With the devastation occurring around him, Kennard still has a sense of humor. I lost count of how many times he mentions how mad Mother Nature is and that this is one bad "mammi jammer." He starts off like most people that stayed behind; not expecting much and noticing that other than wind and rain things are OK; but that changes when the storm surge comes up Lake Pontchartrain and the waves keep coming for hours.

The video is amazing. While watching it, I felt more perspective on how much we are looked after. The video may help you understand Rev Burton's sense that he prayed all night and God kept watch over him. In Pearlington, Rev Burton hung onto a tree as the water rose 30 feet around him. You need to read the story on another of the Pearlington blogs; I certainly wouldn't do his story any justice.

In the video, you see the water washing away houses and trees. The structures and people that survived safely were shielded. This protection certainly help my belief in God. Luck and chance cannot drive our time on Earth. Watching that video reminded me of the protective hand of God that our neighbors described when an F4 tornado went through our neighborhood in TN ripping off their second floor and turning our house to a pile of rubble. Mother Nature can certainly be a bad mammi jammer.

The only thing missing is the timestamp to give us all of the details and more stories about himself and others around him. He was prepared enough to keep a generator on the second floor to keep his video camera and cell phone charged. He has enough of a sense of humor and style for this video to become a real made-in-Hollywood movie.

I found this link with an interview of Kennard Jackley by PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/storm/view/jackley.html

The Challenge

I mentioned a week ago that I suggested a date to our group about going back to Pearlington from Oct 7 - 13 to meet up with Jane's group from TX. I do not know if Jane is the leader of the group there, but she is our contact point. For now, I will call them her group. Fortunate for us probably, Jane is a bit more proactive and forward-thinking to plan ahead. I have a feeling that we were several weeks or months away from deciding on a date amongst ourselves.

The Mighty 13, so named by Cheryl B upon our departure from Pearlington because 13 of us went from Dorchester Pres, should expand to the Mighty 20 or 21 for the trip in October. We booked up the last available slots at the PDA Village in Pearlington for that week in October. Already about 8 people have committed to go on the trip.

The first challenge is to get the word out and confirm 20 people to help rebuild for a week. If I need to give a presentation each week and keep talking to everyone individually to keep everyone interested, then I will get a lot more rehearsed in the presentation each week.

I would like to find out if anyone is reading these posts. I have fun writing down my thoughts about Pearlington each week, but it is nice to know that someone is reading. In Jane's reply of excitement that we had reserved the slots for the same time, she mentioned coordinating meals because the groups rotate the chores at the camp (breakfast, dinner, devotions, and cleanup). So...

Here's the fun challenge: what about a little food competition between "everything is bigger" in TX and "we do things proper" in SC? How about TX BBQ (brisket, sausage ...) vs. SC BBQ (mustard-based pulled pork)? My mouth is watering while I type. After one trip there, I now expect to gain weight not lose weight. We will do some good work that week - too bad it can't be next week. Based on our last trip, I know that the Mighty crew from DPC will win the snoring competition each night.

Let me know your ideas and thoughts by leaving a comment.

Going Back in October

I now have a very good blog-pal in Texas, Jane Els. We communicate back and forth on our blogs and email. Our group met her while we were at Pearlington for the first week of April (if you read any earlier posts, then that statement is obvious). She has a mountain of energy and is always looking ahead. She has already talked 20 people from her church to go back to Pearlington in October (October 7 - 13). I guess that the presentation that she made last week about her mission trip to Pearlington had a good effect.

I am going to organize a group from our church to go that same week. I have already received good responses from 4 or 5. We may get the last 20 spots for that week. Barely in May, the camp in Pearlington that will hold about 75 is almost fully reserved for that week in October. That continued response more than 20 months after Katrina highlights the compassion and energy of the American people and Christians.

I would have liked to go back in June, but I wasn't getting as enthusiastic a response to going then because of the triple-H (hot, hazy, and humid) in June plus I was running into schedule difficulties. Deciding the sacrifice that you have to make along with others around you is a problem. To say selfish is a strange word, but I did get inspired after I went, so I am encouraged to go again. I found that I could help. My wife and family were at home and didn't get to experience the inspiration of the residents and the power of volunteers. I might be selfish to want to get back and miss out on family events like seeing our new nephew or my great-grandparents. So, with others hesitation and my own debate, I am not pushing for June. But, I do not like waiting until October. Maybe before then, I can sneak down there to check on things.

The Volunteer Village #6 in Pearlington is evidently very miserable in July and August. So, we are back to October as the next time. I hope that the residents can continue to be patient and have hope. We are afraid of the heat, but they have to continue with their current setup.

I have no idea if anyone reads this blog, but if you are reading this post, and you can free yourself from other obligations during Oct 7 - 13, then leave a comment or send me an email. We will keep a seat on the bus or Expedition for you from Summerville, SC.

Technology and People

Technology is a wonderful thing when it is used properly. For this week's entry, what was I going to discuss?? Well, besides being inspired by the Pearlington trip, which inspired me to create this blog, which required experimenting with the tools and capabilities of Blogger provided freely by Google, I am now inspired with Google's other tools, especially since they are mostly free. For $10, our family now has our own domain, snjgamble.com. For just a short amount of time spent prettying up the site, it is good to go. And, I was able to adjust some coloring to make it the appropriate Orange and Blue, like this blog. I am digressing after digressing now.

Using a free program from Google called Hello to get a profile image to the blog was interesting - not as easy as it sounded. Posting an image to a blog and then removing the post after copying the src link isn't the most convenient. Hello may not be useful to me. I do not have a lot of pictures or time to chat pushing pictures around.

Then, I found Picasa. And now you can see the image here today. I was experimenting with pictures from our Pearlington trip. With Picasa, I put a collage together of one of the families that we met and worked with. Since then, this collage has been asking me to post it each day from the computer. I didn't ask the people in the pictures if they mind... I will beg forgiveness if needed. All of this post was done by clicking one "Blog This!" button on Picasa. For all of that easiness, Picasa includes the little square icon below. I leave the icon in the post because Picasa deserves some credit.

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To get back to the people part of the post; take a good look at the picture. Do you see any sad faces? Can you tell who the volunteers are and who the workers are? While working with the residents - they work alongside us when they can - you get to know them and they get to know you even if only for a week. You are happy to help and they are happy to have you visit. Everyone draws from that good energy to get real work done. The 2 volunteers in the picture (did you figure out which 2?) glued down a tile floor in a large room in just one day. I bet that when they got there, they thought never would they finish in 1 day. Well, they may have known they could do it, but I wouldn't have gotten it done in a day.

Unless you have been there, I don't think that you intend to make relationships with anyone for that week. You go to work hard to help someone get back into their home. But, you end up getting to know the residents that you are working with and the people that you are volunteering with. And, you get to share smiles like in the picture. The girl, JL, made a comment that she hesitates to make new friends every week because she has to say good-bye at the end of the week. I heard another girl a little older than her make the same comment to a group of volunteers at their house.

How strong are these families, and especially the kids, to live through what they have for the last 20 months, and still smile and be friendly getting to know people each week knowing it starts over next week? I think they are super strong, and it makes me want to go back and see how much stronger they have become.

Our Volunteer Work in Pearlington

Our Work started Monday morning, April 2. I had no idea what to expect, but I was hoping that someone in our group would be able to lead us through the tasks. I can usually follow instructions. But, I am a man so without explicit instructions I can do more harm than good. I can usually put something together and have missing bolts or backwards pieces if I do not have instructions.

As I may have said before, I am pretty unskilled at building a house. I can do most repairs around the house, but I usually hire out the skilled projects. Here is one example. We decided to change out the spray hose on the kitchen sink because it smelled (there was a leak at the bottom of the hose that was going bad). I decided that I could replace the hose myself. After several hours and a couple of trips to Home Depot, my wife had to make an emergency call to a plumber because I had removed half of the spray hose from the kitchen sink and couldn't finish it. I did get some tools that didn't really help and she couldn't use the sink for a couple of days. The plumber saved me because he said that he had a lot of trouble as well and then explained that it wasn't installed properly to get to the piece that needed to be removed. He said that if it was properly installed then I might have been able to do it myself. He had better tools than I did. I like to think that he was being truthful, but maybe he was just helping my man ego.

So, for my second post, I am already off on a tangent... but now you know the types of skill that you don't need to have to be an effective volunteer worker.

The picture above describes what we saw when we got there. Wayne's house had most of the drywall hung, taped, and mudded. Electrical outlets appeared to be in place. Now, we had to figure out what to do. Some earlier crews had written notes that we didn't quite understand. We decided that we could finish sanding and prime the walls for painting. Eight of us for three days learned how to do finish work with mud and putty knives. Luckily, a couple of guys had more experience, so they could help teach us the proper techniques. This trip reiterated for me that taping and mudding are not my strengths after another person came right behind me to fix what I had done. The moral to this post is to highlight that even without many skills, our group found a spot to make progress. Even if our 3 days of work only move Wayne 1 day closer with a professional to moving in, he is at least 1 day closer.

I met Wayne on Neighbor Night at the PDA Village and was able to see how strong he is. If all of the residents of Pearlington are like the people that we met that week in Pearlington, then Pearlington is an excellent place to live. The positive energy of the residents will keep Pearlington a strong community when rebuilt. They will need our help for a while longer.

When my wife and I had to rebuild after a tornado, we had a ready supply of contractors to hire and it still took 10 months to rebuild. The people of Pearlington do not have ready access to hire professional contractors. The contractors are busy from Florida to Texas. Drive across I-10 and you see the wide-ranging impact still. The casinos must be paying the contractors the most money, because the casinos appear to be further along rebuilding than most other places. The big name gas stations are back in business, but the mom-and-pop gas statisons are just like they were as Katrina hit.

At this point 20 months after Katrina, my guess is that the families that could afford to rebuild themselves for the most part have done it. Everyone has stopped waiting for the government grants and aid and is rebuilding on their own with our help. To continue the rebuilding, the people (not just in Pearlington) will continue to need our energy and hope. They do not want to rely on us for help, but I think that our help is needed to keep their spirits high and continue to show that Americans do care.

On my next trip, I hope to be more efficient and bring along a plumber and electrician. Our group at Wayne's was done fairly early with priming and we could have done a lot more work on his house if we had some directions about plumbing and wiring.

My Birthday Present

I started this blog as a birthday present to myself to do what I say that I should do. I want to tell my view of what is going on in deep south AL, MS, and LA after Katrina. I feel empowered to step out into the world with whatever eloquence I can muster on the keyboard and reach out to others so that they can make a difference like I hope to do.

I didn't complete much when I volunteered with a group of 13 from Dorchester Presbyterian Church in Summerville, SC to go to Pearlington, MS and stay at a Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) Volunteer Village for a week. I knew that I could drive a group to get there. Maybe that would be my biggest accomplishment. I am not a home builder nor overly handy around the house (let's see if my wife comments about that). My strengths and skills and work passions are with enterprise computer software solutions.

With that strength I was able to help mud, sand, and prime a house and help roll out linoleum in another. I was able to help at 4 houses in 4 days edging the residents of Pearlington closer to getting back their home. Most importantly, I answered the call to go and volunteer. In listening to that call, I was able to share in the hope of America by working with volunteers coming together from across the country and world to meet people that are gracious and hospitable in light of getting their material life and sometimes their family member's lives washed away. The strength that the residents have to welcome new groups of volunteers each week is impossible to describe without being there. So - just go!

More than 19 months after Hurricane Katrina, many people are still not in a home. As described in other volunteer's blogs that have inspired me to write here, like Jane Els, everyone is working towards a "new normal" after Katrina.

I encourage you to get involved to continue the rebuilding like the many groups and individuals that have volunteered already. You will gain hope while doing what is right and expected of us as people in a first-world community. Particularly as Americans, we need to be a role model to other countries not by what our government does.

The biggest work that I have to do right now is to turn my thoughts into some coherent read rather than some rambling rant. I agree with Dennis Miller that a good rant is always needed, but he has better pictures and writers than me. Please have patience as I post, edit, and delete until I get a good rhythm.