by Mike Christensen

For most of my life, my knowledge of Mississippi was limited. Grandma taught me to spell Mississippi by singing a little song and I remember watching civil rights clips on television as a young man. There was also a song about people dancing on the Mississippi mud.

Since Katrina, Mississippi mud has a whole new meaning. The devastation from the storm in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi is well documented, and since the storm a tremendous opportunity to assist in the recovery has also existed.

The First Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis, MS, which is about 50 miles east of New Orleans on the Gulf Coast, has housed over 5000 volunteers from all over the country; people who have come to assist the church in rebuilding some of the 700 homes the church has agreed to fix. Bethany is sending another team from April 21-28. The trip will cost $200 plus airfare.

On my last trip to Mississippi, I met Jack and his wife Erma. Jack and Erma were in their 80’s, in poor health, and had been living in a FEMA trailer for 15 months. I was asked to stop in at Jack’s house and install the toilet in his bathroom, even though I was already working on another house in the neighborhood and supervising a group of Baptist women from North Carolina who were painting and installing trim in a house across the street. Jack greeted me at the door and when I explained who I was, he greeted me warmly saying the toilet was in, but the pedestal sink was not. It was one of the final things to be completed.

Throughout the week, as I and another volunteer completed the installation, I had several conversations with this grateful and thankful couple. Like many affected by the storm, they were unable to do the work necessary to return to their home or to afford the cost of rebuilding. The insurance company had only reimbursed them for a small part of the overall cost and they did not have the additional money needed. Without volunteer assistance they would have been unable to return to their home.

This story is repeated over and over again in the aftermath of Katrina. Please consider coming to Mississippi in April to help restore people’s homes. You will be warmly greeted, much appreciated, and forever thankful that you did.

Sign up for the trip by March 31. Contact Mike Christensen: 365-7808, mikechristensen47@gmail.com.

(Pictures courtesy of Evan Silverstein and the Presbyterian Church (USA).)