This Wednesday morning brings rain. The color of the sky and the feel of the air are both soft here on Mississippi's Gulf Coast, like the accent and manner of the people, and the overnight rain has made the air cooler and softer still.
Our five teams gather after supper each evening for story-telling and worship and both nights - Monday and Tuesday - have brought their share of heart-breaking, heart-warming, mind-opening stories.
Picture all the hands from all over the country that have touched some part of one house that is being built here in Gulfport and hold that thought. I'll come back to it.
Sunday night we divided ourselves into five teams: "Framers" (they frame houses); "Sparkies" (they're good at electrical work); "Mudders" (taping-n-mudding...that's drywall work); "Rockettes" (they "rock" at general construction work, mostly carpentry); and "Manna Makers" (you guessed it - the cooks). Each team is laughing and crying and working hard all day.
On Monday night, the "Framers" told the story of their home-owner, Deena, and her family. Her son suffered a severe stroke in the late 1990s and had mostly recovered when Katrina came and they lost everything, home and all. Their new home is nearly finished now, but Deena was recently diagnosed with bone cancer. Their total monthly family income is $1,400.
Deena's first great-grandson was born Sunday, our first day here. She greeted the "Framers" Monday morning with a welcome and a request for prayers because the newborn, Chase, was diagnosed with a heart defect and was transported to Tulane University Hospital for specialized care. As it turned out, the first work the "Framers" did was a work of prayer.
The "Mudders" told the story of two men from a family who decided not to evacuate as Katrina approached. The two men and their remotely located home withstood the initial landfall and winds and, thinking the worst was over, they opened the door to look out as the eye of the storm passed over. What they saw was that the worst was not over.
A wall of water more than thiry feet high was coming from the Gulf toward their house. They managed to climb to the highest point inside and held onto the rafters as the water reached and surrounded them for six hours. No help came. Family members in another location called and asked the police to rescue the two uncles. No help came. Four days passed, and no help came. Finally, family members used a chain saw to cut their way across more than four miles of debris to reach the two uncles, and now their home is also nearing completion.
So many hands.
The "Sparkies" enjoyed the reward of actually putting the finishing touches on a home yesterday so that it can be inspected and the family can move in. The father escorted the "Sparkies" to the laundry room of the house and showed them the unpainted walls that were covered instead with handprints. Oregon. Pennsylvania.
As team after team came week after week for month after month, work progressed on the home. Arizona. Virginia. The family insisted that every member from every team draw the outline of one of their hands on the wall and, inside the hands, write their names and where they're from. New York. Mississippi.
Some added words of hope, love, and prayers. Tennessee. Kansas. The "Spakies" said there must have been around 70 hand-prints on those walls. Ohio. Georgia. On Tuesday, the "Sparkies" added their hands and names, knowing theirs would be the last. Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Washington, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Wyoming and, finally, California.
Our five teams gather after supper each evening for story-telling and worship and both nights - Monday and Tuesday - have brought their share of heart-breaking, heart-warming, mind-opening stories.
Picture all the hands from all over the country that have touched some part of one house that is being built here in Gulfport and hold that thought. I'll come back to it.
Sunday night we divided ourselves into five teams: "Framers" (they frame houses); "Sparkies" (they're good at electrical work); "Mudders" (taping-n-mudding...that's drywall work); "Rockettes" (they "rock" at general construction work, mostly carpentry); and "Manna Makers" (you guessed it - the cooks). Each team is laughing and crying and working hard all day.
On Monday night, the "Framers" told the story of their home-owner, Deena, and her family. Her son suffered a severe stroke in the late 1990s and had mostly recovered when Katrina came and they lost everything, home and all. Their new home is nearly finished now, but Deena was recently diagnosed with bone cancer. Their total monthly family income is $1,400.
Deena's first great-grandson was born Sunday, our first day here. She greeted the "Framers" Monday morning with a welcome and a request for prayers because the newborn, Chase, was diagnosed with a heart defect and was transported to Tulane University Hospital for specialized care. As it turned out, the first work the "Framers" did was a work of prayer.
The "Mudders" told the story of two men from a family who decided not to evacuate as Katrina approached. The two men and their remotely located home withstood the initial landfall and winds and, thinking the worst was over, they opened the door to look out as the eye of the storm passed over. What they saw was that the worst was not over.
A wall of water more than thiry feet high was coming from the Gulf toward their house. They managed to climb to the highest point inside and held onto the rafters as the water reached and surrounded them for six hours. No help came. Family members in another location called and asked the police to rescue the two uncles. No help came. Four days passed, and no help came. Finally, family members used a chain saw to cut their way across more than four miles of debris to reach the two uncles, and now their home is also nearing completion.
So many hands.
The "Sparkies" enjoyed the reward of actually putting the finishing touches on a home yesterday so that it can be inspected and the family can move in. The father escorted the "Sparkies" to the laundry room of the house and showed them the unpainted walls that were covered instead with handprints. Oregon. Pennsylvania.
As team after team came week after week for month after month, work progressed on the home. Arizona. Virginia. The family insisted that every member from every team draw the outline of one of their hands on the wall and, inside the hands, write their names and where they're from. New York. Mississippi.
Some added words of hope, love, and prayers. Tennessee. Kansas. The "Spakies" said there must have been around 70 hand-prints on those walls. Ohio. Georgia. On Tuesday, the "Sparkies" added their hands and names, knowing theirs would be the last. Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Washington, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Wyoming and, finally, California.
1 comment:
Dear Katrina Team,
What a joy it is to see a bit of each day as we pray for you, your mission, those coming to work far and near and all the people of the community.
Absorb all you can of God's work in this place and bring some home to the rest of us.
With deep love,
Sue Farley, Pastor
San Carlos UMC
San Diego District
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