Pearlington MS is a small place and as we are told, much smaller even now than before Katrina.  Our "home away from home" is on the site of the old Post Office that was destroyed in the storm.  We arrived about 6:30 local time and Heather gave us the quick tour and we got some supper.  Tonight, we are the only volunteers here but there will be 17 more joining us tomorrow for the week.  We look forward to providing much needed help to this community and building friendships with people we know as well as those who we will meet throughout the week.  These are the things that I believe God has called us to do.

More later,

Blessings,

Dave

Tuesday - Greetings from Pearlington,

Today was a wonderful day even though it was cold last night.  It was sunny, and we were doing good things for good people.  Work progresses and we are hoping we can get done this week so John and Lindsay will only need their final inspection to move in!

I took some pictures as we drove to the job site to show that there is still much to be done even though Mike says there are a lot of new houses from last year.  The first picture is right across the street from John and Lindsay's and I can only assume there was a mobile home on this site before the storm.  Only a well and a porch left.  The abandoned trailer is an example of the damage done that's still here.  The foundation is all that remains of the next one and we saw a couple getting into their car from the FEMA trailer on this lot. This is someone's home!  Even now, a new MEMA (Mississippi Emergency Management Agency) was delivered today down the street from John's.  The guys were putting it on blocks and tying it down to keep it from blowing away in the next storm. A different John, one of the leaders here at PDA, says this could go on for 2-3 more years.

At lunch, we had a short talk from the pastor of a neighboring Baptist Church who works at the Stennis NASA Spaceflight Center just up the road.  He also sang us a wonderful song.  Not unlike the devotion last night, he said he knew we were Christians because we were doing what Jesus told us to do, serve those in need. Remember that not just Mike, Chip and I are here, but all of Fairmont because of your support of this trip through our mission budget and the donations given to be used here in support of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in Pearlington. In this way you too are serving those in need.

Until tomorrow,

Dave Keenan

Wednesday

Greetings from Pearlington,

We had another beautiful day today in Pearlington. The tasks around camp are rotated among the groups and last night was our night for dinner and devotion.  I think we did a great job on dinner with hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, applesauce, and ice cream.  No one went home hungry!

Mike did a wonderful job leading devotion and telling the story of a dying old man in Hospice that was volunteering with Habitat in Dayton.  Even though he was confined to a wheelchair with an oxygen tank, he was on the job site painting trim.  When Mike asked him why he was spending this time of his life working on a house, he said that he had recently found Jesus and his biggest regret was that he had never volunteered any of his time to anyone.  He really felt called to do as much as he could with the time he had left.  Mike relayed the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20) it all made sense.

This morning we put up lights, worked on baseboards, and got some of the plumbing done. Since it was raining on Sunday and we worked all day, we decided to take this afternoon off and see how New Orleans was faring and do a bit of sight seeing.  New Orleans still has a tremendous amount of work to do but there's a lot of activity and some obvious progress.  On the other hand, we saw many FEMA trailers, abandoned homes and apartments and even an 11 story building with windows broken out and a lot of damage.  Sorry I didn't get any pictures, I was driving and the streets were busy.

Tomorrow we're back to the house, looking to get as much done as possible before the end of the week.  We really hope the electrician is back tomorrow.

Blessings,

Dave Keenan  

We did more electrical work, paint, and cleanup at the house today. Here are a few pictures of our work.  Mike hooked the lights under the house with an extension cord to check the wiring and they work!!  Two guys from Chicago, Grant and Kent, worked with us all week; you've probably seen them in the pictures.  The electrician (Ralph) and Kent were working to prepare for the power to be hooked up which we hope will be tomorrow.  We plan on spending a half day tomorrow and then get on the road north. I've included a picture we took of our work crew and John and Linsay Bolden, the family that will be living in the house with their three children (I had the number of children wrong earlier.)

Almost time to go, more later.

Dave Keenan

As we get ready to leave, I thought I give you a short tour of the camp. We stay in Pods made of fluted polypropylene sheets.  They sleep three, but the camp wasn't crowded this week so we don't have to squeeze all three of us into one. We have a shower facility and places to wash up.  There are porta johns that get pumped three times a week and we have a big tent that is used for dining, free time and devotions.  We have to do chores and I got a good picture of Chip taking out the trash.

The group picture includes most of the people that were here this week except for the staff.

I'll probably send a few pictures of the final day's work after we get home, but other than that, that's all for our trip.  Hope the updates helped you keep up with our work and the use of Fairmont's support.  I won't be in church on Sunday as I'm off on another trip for work but will be back for Mother's Day.  Mike and Chip will be glad to talk with you about the trip.

Blessings,

Dave Keenan

Since I've spent time talking about the problems, I thought I'd show some progress.  There is a new Community Center going up right next door along with a new playground. The house Mike and our crew last year saw being built across the street looks like it's finished and Mary's house (the dark brown one our group worked on last year) was complete last September and she's living there.  Mike and I stopped by and saw Mary and her mom, she's doing fine but not working so she can take care of her mom.

There are many other houses and even a new business, a Corn Dog stand that's open from 11-7 each day! The church on the main street has been completely renovated. I've also included a picture of the bank and the post office.  We've had people see our Presbyterian Disaster Assistance shirts and come up and thank us for the work we have done and tell us how much they appreciate our help. We told them we were glad to be here and do what we could to help them out.  PDA has helped a lot of people here and it's clear to us as we move around town.

Dave Keenan