Special Offering

Our church raised $1700 in a special offering last Sunday to support our mission in Pearlington. The church Session approved the group to take the money with them to support the PDA Village as needed. Hopefully, limited or no strings are attached to the money and the travelers can feel the call to do the right thing with the offering. The Summerville Presbyterian Church has budgeted (yes I said budgeted - like Dorchester Pres needs to be doing) money to take down to Pearlington. SPC has 4 people signed up, and DPC has 4 people signed up. 4 slots are still available. There is still time to sign up for the week of Oct 12th.

SPC will host a covered dish lunch in their gym from 12:30 - 2 PM on Sunday, Sept 28, to prepare for the trip. We will fill out the paperwork (Presbyterians always have to be decent and in order :) ) for the trip and set the logistics of when everyone is leaving and how many vehicles, etc.

We have cleanup work to finish from Katrina. Gustav and Ike have added to the damage in certain places (about 100 homes either west of Hwy 604 or south of US 90). Let's finish what we started and help get people back to normal even if it means helping them resettle. I think that it is time for discussion.

Special Offering this Sunday

Hopefully, the church Session approved a special offering for the special Mission Sunday service this weekend. This offering is planned to help our friends in Pearlington recover again from hurricanes, this time Gustav. Based on the coverage from Ike, I wouldn't be surprised if Pearlington had more flooding again from Ike. The PDA camp in Houma appears to be flooded again from the coverage on every news network.

One of the friends that we learned about this week are the Wades. They are the entrepreneurial type in town. They have opened the only new business in Pearlington after Katrina. Her husbands works at the Fire Dept and with her family, they were running the so-called by Jane Els "Corny Dog" stand.

When we were back there in April, we made a point of eating lunch there a couple of times. The food was home-cooked at the back of the pull-trailer by the family. Their home was flooded out again by Gustav. Based on information from Jane and Dallas, they really need help. Hopefully, we can provide some help, especially with the special offering.

In other sad news for me: I do not think that I will be able to go on the Oct 12 trip. I have a business trip to Australia around that week, and I do not think that I can pull off both trips back-to-back. Unfortunately, I had to make that decision to delay a trip to Japan because I didn't want to leave when Hanna was coming close and Ike's direction wasn't clear. Somehow, I will find a way to get there. My labor wouldn't really help too much, but I was always helpful getting people and things to the right places...

Smaller Group to Pearlington

Originally, we had split into 2 groups because I figured that we could start expanding the size of our groups to go. But, that expansion didn't happen. Only my name was listed on the week of October 5th. Therefore, I cancelled that week and was able to get Penny Noel to add a couple of spots for us on the week of October 12th.

I am excited to go, even if only to visit with the families and friends that we have met previously. They kept in touch before and after Gustav and expressed concern for us with Hanna. I am conflicted about what our role as volunteers should be going forward. The elevated houses did fine, but what about the ground level that were flooded again. I think that we work to move them to higher ground, either by elevating their house or moving to a different place.

In the articles with residents, I sensed a bit of fatalism after Gustav because they have been flooded out 2 times in almost exactly three years. The PDA staff is working very hard to get things back together for all of the volunteers. As tired as they must be, they are keeping their individual blogs updated and sending out emails to the volunteer groups.

Keep everyone in your prayers down there. We will be back soon. If interested in going during the week of Oct 12th, please let me know.

Back to Pearlington

We are still planning to go to Pearlington for the weeks of 10/5 and 10/12. If you would like to go, then let me know. We have 15 spaces for the week of 10/5 and I think that I am the only person currently signed up for that date. The 10 spaces for the week of 10/12 are full with 4 from Dorchester Presbyterian Church, and 6 from Summerville Presbyterian Church.

The pods that we sleep in stayed tied down to the pallet floor and floated off into the woods. According to Jane's blog (http://janeels.blogspot.com), the pods are salvageable. If they can recover the pods from the woods next door, then they can get the camp back together for us volunteers to make the trip.

Houma doesn't appear to be in as good of shape. They are just now being allowed there today to evaluate the impact and possible recovery of the PDA camp there.

Now Ike

Just when everyone is getting back settled after mostly evacuating for Gustav, now Ike appears to be heading into the Gulf. I think that if I was flooded by Gustav, then I might already be packing my things. The tense energy to have to watch and worry and make a decision to stay or leave has to be causing problems. I kept in touch with Dallas and the Lee's and they described a near panic to get out in front of Gustav. Don Lee stayed at the house that was under water with Katrina and he was able to keep the water out of their repaired house. Dallas's house is up high enough to be spared any flooding.

But, Pearlington saw a 19 ft surge in places, particularly south of US 90 and west of Hwy 604. Why is the surge occurring with storms that earlier were never a problem? Has the marsh disappearing along the MS coast like LA coast caused the issue?

Like Katrina, NOLA captured the media's attention during Gustav waiting to see the national tragedy unfold when the levees failed. The articles coming out of Pearlington are trickling out now. The NY Times has covered articles fairly consistently from there. The tone from residents is quite a bit different. After the first flooding, the talk is of rebuilding. I think after Gustav, that some residents are weary to go through the process again or to see what was lost after rebuilding. I think that the question of moving people should be discussed. After floods in the mid West along the Mississippi, the govt offers a buyout to help people relocate away from the flood plain. What about the same type of help for the families flooded again? I know, Mississippi doesn't have that type of program and Mississippi is not Iowa with a lot more black, lower income people. But, maybe that type of support is what we should be providing rather than helping rebuild houses that will flood again.

The comments from several of the residents interviewed in the different stories are as if they would leave if they thought they could. Maybe, we should help them relocate rather than rebuild. Maybe it is time for the discussion that has been avoided by everyone because it is not a politically correct discussion.

Ike looks like it will pass south into the Gulf. By the middle of the week, evacuations could be needed again. Ike is already a Cat 3/4 and maybe it won't be able to hold the energy into the Gulf. But, it looks like a buzzsaw right now.

Gustav is Coming 2

The hurricane models are lining up together on Gustav, and they make it appear that some part of Louisiana is going to get hit. That adjustment may help my friends in Pearlington, MS, but the storms have a tendency to drift east at the last minute. Plus, the worst part of the surge and winds are usually on the East side. I will be calling down to a few of the families and friends that I have met in my last few trips. I will be offering our home for them to come. The emotional trauma of knowing that what you just rebuilt may be destroyed again is pretty tough at this point. Tough people that stayed for Katrina are getting ready to evacuate. Knowing what the surge and wind can do now just 3 years earlier, I do not think that anyone can over prepare. The setup is similar to Katrina, about 4 days out the models consistently point. The storm is getting into 90F water. Get out of the way. Come visit us in SC.

Gustav is Coming

Not a good way to plan to Labor Day. Hopefully, Gustav will not follow predictions, but the NHC has been getting better and better. The models seem to be pretty consistent pointing Gustav towards LA/MS coast. The current path is on the west side of NOLA which will be worse for surge on the east side. But, once in the Gulf, Gustav has to hit somewhere. We have trips planned over 2 weeks, 10/5 and 10/12. We may need to move up the trip to next week, but hopefully not. If you are interested in what we are doing with the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), then please leave a comment with contact info. If you would like to go on the trip with us in Oct, then leave some contact info. We are sure to have a good work crew and excellent food. Our group will be meeting up with the group from Texas again. This time the food competition may be dessert.

Work for Trip 3 to Pearlington

I didn't take as good of staged pictures on this trip, but I did create a Picasa album of the pictures that we took.

Pearlington March 2008

We will talk with the other members in the group and with anyone else who will listen. The highlight of the week was probably the trip to New Orleans. That tour may be the thing that sticks with the group for a while, even the kids. Everyone grew more quiet as we drove around. Now that the trip has a chance to soak in, you should be able to get a little more perspective from the travelers.

Some items this week went pretty quickly. We built a frame for a well pump shed on Friday morning. The dedication of the guys staying at the PDA camp was highlighted at the end of the week. We decided to complete the well pump shed for Miss Susie after talking Thu night. We woke up at 6 AM to get to Lowe's when it opened at 7 AM to pick up the lumber needed. By 10:30 AM, we had finished the framing and were on the road home. The groups next week can put the sheets, roof, and shingles, and then deliver to whomever needs it most.

Trip 3 to Pearlington

Well, I have not been as good at daily updates while we are here in Pearlington. I will try to catch you up with some pictures over the next couple of weeks, while I tell you below about some of the work we are doing here.

First, progress is being made. Slow is a safe word to use without blaming. I would say frustratingly slow, but once you come to Pearlington and begin to understand the process and money available in Hancock County, you see that progress is made as it can be.

In some cases, the volunteers here may slow the process a bit because of the unskilled labor and energy to help but maybe misplaced. For instance, at Don and Lois Lee's house, where we are helping get within weeks of finishing we had to spend 2 days with 2 of us removing the flashing installed upside down and replacing it with white rather than galvanized to match her house trim. Let me leave that particular discussion for another time (I think that I said the same thing last trip - and the need to describe those thoughts faded because I didn't take the time).

This trip is different from the other 2 trips. We are all guys and we are split between the 5 of us at the PDA village and 8 of us staying at the Pearlington Recovery Center (PRC). At the PRC, the 4 pairs of fathers (grandfather) and sons (grandson) are in a big tent that can hold about 80 people. About 200 people are staying at the PRC (many of the groups with high school-age kids) with Spring Break like us. You can be encouraged to know that kids are interested in helping. Many of the kids are working on finishing the Missionary Baptist Church where the volunteers in town eat lunch each day. The dynamic is a bit different, although we have worked out arrangements to let them eat and work near us.

We have separate groups working at 3 different places. At one house, Doug/Connor, Bob/Ryan, Milt/Steven, and Scott/Preston are filling Dallas Trammel's yard with dirt and building a shed to cover the well pump to keep people from trying to steal it. Crime isn't really a problem I don't think. If you know Dallas, then you get a better idea of why someone might try taking hers. The 6 foot fence that she is building around her house might help, as well.
At another house, Matthew, Tony, Scott, Russ, and I are working to help finish up the Lee's house. So far, we have fixed the flashing, painted the fascia, installed a front and back door with storm doors for each, set an interior door, and nailed the trim. Matthew has done all of the detail painting work to clean up the backwards flashing that was painted after installing incorrectly. He was the hard worker of the day and received the honored job of installing the house numbers under Lois's supervision. She brought us the numbers and asked if we could put them up. She is getting excited. She said that she was moving a boxspring and mattress into the house tonight.
You should come meet Lois. On the next trip in April or after that in October or both. She patiently watches us discuss how we should do something, and after much talk and multiple measurements and sometimes multiple cuts, we have finished a particular task. Then, when we aren't looking, she cleans up after us and puts things into a burn pile or keep for others or later pile.

A little of her story is important. She has received only $5300 from FEMA to repair her house (that was submerged to the roof - we could see the mud caked under the roof boards when installing the flashing). She is living in a FEMA trailer now, and waiting on a Katrina Cottage. Luckily, her particular trailer didn't have the formaldehyde problem. You can get a little upset about that. A pastor from Michigan calls her each week asking if she is in her house yet. They worked on her house a year ago...

To talk about the fellowship at the camp, I sat down to type this entry out and upload some pictures about 3 hours ago. But, we have been talking with other volunteers from other churches and I am now one of the last 2 sitting up. Here are some pictures. The commentary can follow.

Last night, we took a road trip to New Orleans. Russ's cousin, Bill, took us on a road tour through the 9th Ward, downtown, and through St. Bernard's. The sheer size of the flooding for 15 miles x 15 miles is stunning. Being able to see the areas in person sets everything up. Pearlington is tiny, but has little national attention. The 9th Ward has the attention, but in many blocks of probably thousands of previously occupied houses, 2 are rebuilt by investors and are for sale. Should the areas be rebuilt? The discussion needs to happen. The current situation is to just wait them out - I think that the decision has been made - and is probably correct. The 9th Ward should be a national monument like Ground Zero.

Here is a picture of our group in New Orleans at the Industrial Canal break. More to follow tomorrow...

Back to Pearlington

We are heading back to Pearlington in 2 weeks. I have been unbearably busy with work, and that work is taking up its usual time and my personal, free time. My mind is cluttered. We have split into 2 groups to go back this time. I am leading a team of 14 people (including 4 father and grand/son pairs) for the last week of March during the kid's Spring Break. Then, another group will head out in late April. By splitting up, we are able to give more people an opportunity to experience the work and people of Pearlington and the energy there with volunteers from around the country.

I speak with Jane Els there and she says that it was a bit slow for a few weeks during the winter, but volunteers are pouring in. We were able to get only 9 slots for the week of March 23rd. And, we will end up using only 6 at the PDA camp. Since anyone under age 18 isn't allowed at the PDA camp or worksites, those 8 will be over at the Pearlington Resource Center (PRC). There is plenty of work for any group. We will hopefully connect with Pastor Glenn from One House at a Time who we had the honor to meet on our trip in October.

I am looking forward to it, I wish that I had more time to spread the word and energize others. We will see you there soon