Salem Katrina Team Report November 21, afternoon

I have asked each team member to offer their thoughts to include in our blog, and finally, Wayne and Mary had a quiet moment to email me the following note. It concerns the same lady we discovered to be tenting five feet away from a chicken coop with birds dead since Katrina struck, and full of rats and snakes.

Dear Friends and Family,

We are traveling today east to join friends for Thanksgiving at hunting camp in Georgia. And especially at this time we have so much to be thankful for. We have just spent two memorable and eye opening weeks on Mississippi's Gulf Coast where we helped those in Pascagoula, Gautier, Moss Point, Ocean Springs and Van Cleve recover from the disastrous effects of Katrina. It has been almost 3 months since they were impacted and you can add to their woes rain, cold and mold now. But the situation is as it is and the real story is of the people, their desire to regain the life style they had and their outreach to others.

Just one story to share today. There are so many but this one is burnt on our hearts right now.

About four days ago we were told of a lady who was living in a tent (not welcome at Red Cross shelter with animals) with her six dogs. Her husband had been sent north to recover from a bad head injury received two days after Katrina. Her power had been cut off by the power company.

Wayne was sent to assess the situation and try to get power to her. He immediately called for help as this job had issues beyond his capabilities. So we called the Singing River power company and got in touch with a clerk, Angela. It turns out this young lady is aptly named as she jumped right in to help us. She contacted a local crew and dispatched them ASAP. She made a personal contact with a retired electrical contractor and he went out to meet with Wayne. As he shared his expertise with Wayne, he added that he was glad that a Methodist could add to the Presbyterian Disaster Relief effort. Well, after several hours they had the power distribution problem fixed and a plan was in place to replace all the wall receptacles and switches where there had been 5+ feet of water in the home. The power company came back, said everything was as good as new and turned the power on. When Wayne asked the contractor how much we needed to pay him he answered – There are no debts here. All our debts were paid by Jesus on the cross!

Now that blows me away everytime I think of it but it is just one of many stories we can share. As it turns out this nice lady had been promised a trailer 4 weeks ago by FEMA. It turned really cold in Gautier mid week so we all moved generator to her site, gave her room heater, meals, etc. to get her and the dogs through the cold. She even came to camp and had her first hot shower in almost 3 months. Wayne went to Rotary and talked to a county commissioner, he called and talked to the Mayor and eventually the city manager trying to light a fire under FEMA. The next morning there were 3 FEMA men out at the site preparing for the trailer which is supposed to arrive this week!

And this story is just one of hundred we all were involved in during the two weeks. The works was labor intensive but also a lot of advocate/social work for those unable to do for themselves.
I tell you all of this not to be bragging or looking for any self applause, but to show you that anyone can help these people if you can just be there. A week to 10 days is about the right amount of time and the opportunities to help will continue for months, maybe years. Think about it!

So you see why we are so thankful, we have had a life changing experience and seen the work of the Lord up front and personal. WOW

Love to all, Happy Thanksgiving
Wayne, Mary & Dixie The Dog

What a blessing to this lovely lady to have had Wayne and Mary come into her life, all because her daughter's professor (a Presbyterian who called the PDA office in Gulfport) brought this faithful Catholic to our attention. Today I took a disabled vet to the VA. We met with a patient advocate from the Paralyzed Veterans of America and he used his influence for some quick help. The VA gave our "client" new crutches, and an appointment for next month to work on his leg braces and basic medical needs. The storm took his home, his mother's home, his wheelchair, his car, his wheelchair lift, his glasses, his hearing aides, braces with special shoes, dentures and all his clothes. Until we took him he had no ride available to the VA. It was sad to note that handicapped parking for this gentleman was over a quarter of a mile from his destination, something no civilian hospital would tolerate for disabled clients.

I was disappointed that Wal-Mart refused our gift card to replace his glasses because we were a few bucks off the total. After dropping our new friend off, I went to the Ocean Springs WalMart and added the necessary extra money. There, I met Joanne Vogel, RN, who is down from South Dakota volunteering at our local free clinic. She was at WalMart's optical shop doing exactly what I was doing for a woman she met, but didn't have enough to pay the bill. So, the nice folks of First Presbyterian of Salem have bought a lady a set of glasses...I don't know who she is, but Ms. Vogel is taking care of her for us...we split the bill for the glasses between us! And I have new respect for wonderful nurses!