Sunday, June 10, 2007

We made it!
Well, most of us are here together. Due to some car trouble, George and Brad are not quite here yet. Hopefully, they will arrive tomorrow. Hallie is flying in around noon tomorrow. Then our team of 17 will be completely intact. We arrived here around 3:30 this afternoon. We first met one of the camp managers, Megan, and an intern (Jenny) who is in Seminary and working here for training, then moving to a camp in Louisiana. We also met the construction site Manager, Tilly.
You'd think when you got here, that there will be free time at some point, but it really does go by quickly and there's so much to do. We took time to drive down the coast. Those of us who were here last year were delighted to see some progress. There were people on some of the beaches, and that was so great to see--since they were completely uninhabitable last year.
We have learned that the rebuilding of this entire area will take many years. This PDA (Presbytery Disaster Assistance) camp is the central headquarters for all 6 camps (4 in MS and 2 in LA). That means this camp will be here the longest. The plan is for it to remain here for 5 years--2 down, 3 to go. If you haven't seen with your own eyes, it's hard to imagine at least 5 years of rebuilding any area. It was great to actually pull in here and know our way around. We helped with dinner, then had orientation followed by some short vespers. We checked out the chore chart and found what days we will be cooking, cleaning, etc.
After devotions, we met with Megan to outline what we wanted to fix for 2 breakfasts and 2 dinners. While some of us outlined the dinner and chore plans, Rob and Pastor Myers met with Tilly and got our job assignments. We will again be splitting into 2 groups. From what we know so far, one group will do painting and the other will install a ceiling, plus painting.
We were again reminded to go out to these sites with open hearts. We were reminded to wear our PDA shirts whenever possible, because it lets everyone with whom you come in contact know that they have not been forgotten. Many here feel the rest of the country has forgotten about what happened. The people running these disaster assistance programs know that there are still hundreds of thousands of people still hoping for help. We are to do everything we can to encourage that hope.
After all the details of tomorrow were worked out, we had an AWESOME angel food cake, which was to celebrate Pastor Myers' upcoming birthday. Elizabeth James made her famous angel food cake, and we owe her a big thank you, because it was fantastic!
Thank you for your send-off and for all the support, both prayers and monetary support (and all the work that went into the fundraising luncheon). That's what makes it possible for us to have this privilege.
~Your Faith Team