Saturday, December 24, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report for December 24

Merry Christmas, all. Our smaller Salem team, consisting of Joan and Wes Carter (me) plus our youngest son Ben, wish you the very warmest greetings. We are so grateful for the support of old Salem First Pres on this mission, and we certainly long to return to Oregon after so many weeks. I think we will turn West to begin the journey home around the 10th to the 15th of January.

Tonight we celebrated Christmas Eve with Joan's dear friend Clara Webster, and we were invited to Saint John's Presbyterian Church here in Jacksonville for services at seven. We met John, Pamela's husband and all the members of their team at the services.

To our three older children in California and North Carolina, God Bless you every day of your lives. You have brought us such happiness, and we have learned so much from each of you, especially Audrey who was the first of the family to do Habitat work, and we follow in her boot steps.

To all the soldiers, sailors and airmen defending our country, thank you for your sacrifice and we pray for your safety and for your families.

Merry Christmas to all those who have felt the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. We are amazed at your courage, your strength and your faith. Thank you for letting our church join you these months. God Bless.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report for December 22

Joan and I were proud of Ben as he jumped right into the swing of things, joining the crew managing our base camp at D’Iberville. Ben worked on emptying a kerosene fuel tank for repair, repairing the pallet walkways and other tasks. Our evening in D’Iberville ended, as usual, with a great campfire and a Christmas carol. There were, as usual, a group playing cards in the meeting tent, ignoring the cold and the generator's noise.

The next morning we were up and packed, heading for Jacksonville to spend Christmas Day with our old friend Clara Webster. Her great news was that son Chris has been accepted for Navy flight training, his goal since age three. He should be commissioned in August and then start earning his wings. Of course, they aren’t quite as good as Air Force wings, but they’re okay!

We wish all our dear friends and loved ones a joyous Christmas. We haven’t been able to do our usual cards and gifts, having chosen a demanding mission here in Mississippi instead. We’re tired but rewarded after five weeks, and we will be in the Gautier or D’Iberville PDA camps for about two more. After that, we’ll reconsider how long we can continue working, based on budget and fatigue factors.

Friends, please remember that everywhere along the Gulf Coast there is terrible damage, not just in the New Orleans area. Here in Mississippi, 65,000 homes were totally destroyed, and many more damaged. Those damaged ones are what we’re working on because they can be reused, made ready again for their owners.

I have mostly been working veterans issues, and am amazed at the number of elderly war veterans (those over 65) who are living on Social Security alone, and who are not aware of VA pensions for low income veterans. Other vets have injuries they’ve not even tried to get VA compensation for, and we’re getting great help from the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Paralyzed Veterans of America in bringing their claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The local VA hospital was not badly damaged by Katrina, but many, many staffers lost their homes and are now living in trailers on the VA campus. Problems also are worsened by the nearby Keesler AFB hospital being totally closed down from damage, and not able to care for their retired population.

Please remember that we need money, and gift cards for Wal-Mart, Lowes and Home Depot where we get supplies. We also need sewing machines and two travel trailers for office space for the local PDA camp managers, who otherwise have to work out of plastic tents. We have also been specifically requested by the Gautier Presbyterian Church to bring household items to replace the damaged or lost furniture, area rugs, washers, dryers, etc., which their members need. Pam Martin is coordinating this program. Please, if you're driving to the disaster area, consider renting a UHaul and filling it with the extra stuff your church members all have around their homes.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report December 21

We raised $11 at our last Katrina information table for which we are grateful, but our financial needs continue on a greater scale. Today, we spent $67 on propane, a heater device, and hot cocco to heat for our camp fire devotions with the adults and about 40 college kids still working this Christmas season. Tomorrow we need to buy 100 gallons of kerosene for the tent heaters...that fuel is $3.27 delivered in less than 500 gallon orgers. Send some money, folks. The Red Cross handles lunch and the city's Katrina Disaster Center feeds us breakfast and dinner, but all our supplies and gifts to storm victims have to be paid for.

Joan and Ben have arrived finally, and it feels wonderful to have family again. The weather has been quite cold at night...around freezing! Pity the poor folks still in unheated tents.

Most of our camp volunteers here in D'Iberville have been helping set up the new PDA camp in Gautier. Using a leased cattle pasture, PDA is setting up a fairly permanent camp for that area. They've finished assembling the tents, and yesterday were digging in the water lines. As you can see from our long-horned neighbor, we truly are in a cattle pasture, plus the occasional horse!

I've been able to help Phyllis Wright from Hillsboro run her blog, and also help Steve, the manager of the Gautier camp. All three of us have been bringing food and other supplies to Sonny, manager of Rose's Deli who has become famous for helping the area's poor with her free meals, food supplies and anything else she can do. She arrived late to meet us because she was out buying one neighbor a hard-to-find 4X winter coat...with her own money because the gentleman is unemployed! She has simply stopped earning money and is serving as her area's only soup kitchen, feeding up to 120 storm victims each day.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report - December 19

I forgot to mention the great campfires we've been having each night. Here are the kids from Monmouth Methodist-Presbyterian a couple nights back. Last night we had devotions around the campfire with about 30 folks. Tonight - same thing plus I'll try to have hot cocca!

We had a wonderful service yesterday at Gautier Presbyterian. Their little church is all decorated for Christmas and they're certainly ready for the celebrations. Chris Bullock is pretty much over the flu, thank goodness.

We were given a small tree from a church which sent many to Gautier Pres, and I set it up in the D'Iberville PDA camp where we're staying for these weeks. Phyllis Wright from Hillsboro, who has volunteered to be Steve's secretary, helped set it up, and now we feel much more seasonable, even in tents. Thank goodness the mud is drying out a bit, and the pallets have helped keep the tents much cleaner.

We have volunteers here from Athens (Georgia) Charlotte, Monmouth (Oregon) and Tampa. The camp should be up to about 75 volunteers by tonight, and hopefully the camp at Gautier will be up and running either tonight or tomorrow, depending on the mighty efforts of the crews putting things up.

Remember romance? Here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a little mold mask certainly won't bother two lovebirds trying to kiss!

We should continue to stress that teams coming to this are need not buy and carry drinking water with them. We have supplies here and it is much more practical to buy what you need at local stores. We would much rather your precious cargo space be used for tools for us to use, or for household items needed by local families.

Pam Martin from Gautier Presbyterian Church has prepared a list of what each church family has lost in Katrina. She coordinates replacement area rugs, microwaves, end tables, sofas, armchairs and all the other things typically found on a family's first floor. Please...get in touch with her to bring these vital items to Gautier. In particular, she needs a good sewing machine. Also, both the PDA camp in Gautier (www.gautierpdacamp.blogspot.com) and the Gautier Pres (www.gautierpresby.com) need camper trailers for the camp managers' use. One was donated by a very generous Presbyterian for the D'Iberville camp and now we need two more.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report for December 16

Several of our old hands (Steve, Brian, Phyllis) worked putting up wallboard at a Gautier trailer today, helping a gentleman who'd done much of the work himself before running out of steam and getting too cold to finish. Steve's dad Larry is here to visit him until Sunday, and we've tried to let him know how proud we are of his son.

Gee, only nine shopping days until Christmas! Only in the Carter family, we've all decided to exchange only cards and love this year...this is our Katrina Christmas, like so many folks down here.

Yesterday was spent with an elderly gentleman who was brought to us by the food contractor for the FEMA tent city next to us. He was confused, had bladder problems, and was out of various medicine. It took half a day, but we found wonderful help from the local D'Iberville Free Clinic and their volunteer physician. One of the nurses from our PDA camp was working there and we got to talking, and I learned with great joy that she's from Andover, Massachusetts where Joan and I lived for so many years.

We were blessed with our two college groups each using their contract buses to pick up loads of pallets from the WalMart about one mile away. We need them for building sidewalks, otherwise we're swimming in mud.

Our area PDA manager, Mr Dan Grimes, has insisted that no pallets or gravel be used at the new Gautier tent city that's going up. We have several of us volunteers with decades each of military field service and between us we cannot grasp the need to avoid using pallets to keep the tents up off the mud, or for not using gravel or other filler to somehow level the area. There must be a very wise reason to avoid such otherwise obviously necessary steps in camp living. I'm here to learn and I'm eager to discover the reason...so are the many other Army and Air Force professionals with field experience who are shaking their heads, wondering about it. This is something we learned to handle in our military field sanitation training. Something I want to draw from my Christian and my military training is how to be a good follower, especially here in Mississippi, so I want to support Mr. Grimes on this and other issues. It will all work out.

I phoned our son Ben who graduated yesterday. One of his contributions to Katrina was to tell Joan and me to work in Mississippi...to not travel to Vermont for his ceremony. We are very proud of him and eager to see him at the Gulfport airport on Tuesday when he comes to volunteer.

Lunch today was from the Red Cross which tries to deliver to places where there are victims or volunteers. Like us, they are volunteers doing their bit to help out. What else can one ask?

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report for December 15


Wow, it rained buckets last night! Rain started just as we were returning from the town soup kitchen where we eat, and it became severe, with thunder and lightning, around eleven. The plastic tents were drenched in most cases, with at least small puddles inside.

Thank goodness we got the pallet sidwalk built yesterday so there is less traffic through mud, but the powers that be might consider putting the tents onto some sort of platform, perhaps four pallets, to get them above the mud and rain, and to also strengthen the floors which otherwise will be damaged as folks walk on them over the uneven ground. Just my suggestion....

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report for December 14


I got back to Mississippi last Friday, and am now waiting for Joan and our son Ben to arrive next week.

“Oh, my God. Oh, my God!” exclaimed the woman behind me on the flight into Gulfport. She was seeing the wreckage of Katrina for the first time, and it made a terrible impression on her....on all of us! We landed and while taxiing to the gate, the man in front of me was on his cell phone and then flagged a flight attendant…she waved back and indicated “when we’ve parked”. When we reached the gate, he said there’d been a death in his family and he needed to turn around and fly immediately back to Houston, which the crew arranged for him. I spoke with him in the terminal, and there learned that it was his wife who had died in an automobile accident after dropping him off for his flight. What could I say? I felt so inadequate, and after holding his shoulder and offering to run whatever chores in Gulfport he needed done, I left. Since then, I’ve wondered what was wrong with me - why the heck didn’t I offer to stay, to get him a cup of coffee, to offer something more. Fine Christian I am!

That evening I drove to Jackson to pick up part of the team from a church in Monmouth (near Salem), and enjoyed the drive back with them. Great group, headed by Gale and Denvy Saxowski who’ve led many such mission trips before. Our Dodge van has proven useful to them. Despite their 3AM arrival at camp, they were up and working first thing – good for them! We’re all staying in the D’Iberville PDA camp while the new Gautier camp is set up over on Martin Bluff Road which is closer to our work sites. There is a displaced family camp next door set up by Navy SeaBees using Army tents...looks like the set from the TV series Mash.

We met our first hero of this week. While off to breakfast with the Monmouth folks, we ate with a family from Georgia here volunteering for awhile. Their 5-year old son, Nicholas, gave another child his Game Boy to help make up for that kid’s storm loss. Great kid who will be a good man, that Nicholas! And, he walked around and gave each of the cooks a big hug! Does life get any better?

Our camp manager Steve is doing great running things. Teams reporting to Gautier will find themselves well-taken care of by him. He has already got a Christmas dinner invitation for himself, and most of the camp will be shut down between December 23-26. It seems most relief activities of all area agencies are closing during the actual Christmas days.

Needs: I need some money, folks. I need to give money to a two meals a day “soup kitchen” that is run by “Sunny” in Gautier, called Rose’s Deli. Google her! She’s become quite famous and you’ll learn a lot. She runs a small deli next to a gas station and after Katrina simply started cooking for free and giving away food to the needy. She quickly went bankrupt but her rent has been taken care of for some months by physicians with the RICE organization who met her…but now she has run through those funds and needs $600 a month for her rent. She and her family pay for her soft drink syrups, meats, and breads, but the rest is usually donated. Steve and I drove around and collected over 150LB of food for her pantry, but she’ll go through that in handouts in a day or two for the 50 or more families which turn to her for help. I need money for victims’ glasses. I need money for wood planks to be placed under tents to raise them from the mud. I need money for propane for people who can’t buy it…FEMA only covers the initial two small tanks and its cold here now. You get the idea. Send money, please. If you don’t want to send it for Katrina (“Salem Katrina Relief” at this church or yours, please send it for relief of the earthquake victims in Pakistan.

This place is a terrible mess but it is much less of a mess than three months ago. The people are in pain living this way and it hurts a lot during Christmas to know your family is still in an Army tent, hoping to get a FEMA trailer someday, which you’ll in turn be forced out of by the middle of next summer. There are lots of good contractors but so many rip off artists you want to run them outta town! Everybody’s nerves are shot and you can tell from the aggressive driving. They’re nice folks who want their lives back so they can be nice folks again. Today I noticed many small backpacking-style tents for people camping between the local WalMart store and the interstate. What a terrible mess.

About the D’iberville PDA camp. This is a little plastic tent city set up in the town’s baseball field. Along side us are a contractor’s trailer village and rows upon rows of Army tents set up for displaced families. We’re between the two. Our little blue tents are manufactured in Canada and they are indeed plastic, and open up for assembly much like an accordion fold. They have plastic floors and I imagine they’ll last a season or so, longer if they get wood under them to get off the mud. I think there are two to a tent. Heat is provided by kerosene burners, with the warm air piped into the tents. Nearby generators make sleeping hard until you get used to wearing ear plugs. No electricity in the tents yet but maybe someday.

Our great PDA manager works out of a donated trailer some kind Presbyterian sent down and thank goodness for that! There are two small tents without sides which serve as a kind of storage area and gathering place, not very comfortable in the wind and cold, much less so when it rains. We’ve built a wooden walkway only part of the way through the camp using freight pallets to try getting off the mud, and there is a little snack bar originally used during the ball games where we heat coffee in the mornings. Not too comfy but it gets the job done. Meals are eaten over at the city’s food kitchen…very basic but the cost is right. Last month, we were able to cook for ourselves back in Gautier and this new arrangement saves food preparation time as well as clean-up...and its free.

I invited the Monmouth folks over for a campfire and we had our own devotionals last night. Got to know them a bit better. Sure is nice to visit after a day's work. Supposed to have pretty bad weather tonight and for the next few days.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report December 8

We're having the usual travel delays, this time being stranded in Houston overnight because of icing troubles somewhere delaying flights. At least the hotels are close to the airport here, and prices are good.

I heard yesterday from the PDA Gautier camp that all teams are being moved over to another local PDA camp temporarily. Here's Steve's message:

NEW DIRECTIONS AND, ALSO THE LOCATION WHERE WE WILL BE STAYING.

With some complications with our new camp site, we will be staying in D'Iberville, till our new site is ready. We will still be working in the Gautier area. To get to the new camp you take exit 46B you take a right at the first signal which is -------- street, go straight through the plaza, make a right on Lamey Bridge you cross the bridge and it is going to be on the left hand side right after the bridge. The tents that we will be staying in are blue and white and are located on the baseball field. If you have any questions at all please contact me (Steve) at (228) 229-4547

I'm picking up the Monmouth team tonight in Jackson, and then tomorrow will drive around trying to find a bed-down location for 15 folks from a Hillsboro 4-Square church which has been at the Gulfport Naval Station and has to relocate. Anybody have an invitation?

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report for December 5

Joan and I had dinner (the salads at Olive Garden are great!!) last night with Phyllis Wright from Hillsboro Presbyterian who is an individual volunteer heading to Gautier. She's been requested to help camp manager Steve with the administration of the many folks reporting there to help...looks like about 150 workers by mid-January. We set up a blog for her at www.hillsborokatrina.blogspot if you'd like to visit and encourage her work.

First Pres Newberg called this afternoon with a great idea. Their pastor has two older but very reliable pickup trucks to donate, one of which he's having a new transmission put in, and these are much needed by the PDA camp for hauling crews and supplies. Now...how do we get the trucks from Newberg to Mississippi? Anybody got six days to enjoy a beautiful early Winter drive to the Gulf Coast?? Give me a call!

The trucks offer another great possibility. Gautier Presbyterian is surveying their members to determine who lost what...what each family needs to replace Katrina furniture losses. These trucks can be loaded with over 500 lb of furniture plus they can each tow the largest UHaul trailers. If you have or know where we can get items such as area rugs, televisions, sofas, end tables, coffee tables...all the stuff you'd find on a family's first floor, please give me a call. We'll try to get things arranged to get your surplus to a family which really needs help setting up house again!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Report for December 4

We had our last Sunday at old First Pres for many weeks. The sanctuary was decorated for Christmas so beautifully and the choir was great. I heard our Random Ringers bell group for the first time and certainly enjoyed them. Joan and I set up our Katrina information table and raised just $11 more (interest does seem to be dropping...is this "Katrina fatigue"?) towards the team's expenses and answered so many questions - folks do remain interested! We began to be aware of missing Christmas at home, and of missing so much of the season's happiness at First Pres...please don't forget us, Salem!! Ain't no snow in Gautier!

I fly back to Gulfport on December 8 and Joan arrives soon thereafter, then by Phyllis Wright on the 15th. and we're joined by son Ben on the 20th after he graduates in Vermont - sure wish I could be there, Ben! The day after I get in, I drive three hours north to Jackson to pick up two teams flying in from Monmouth. We're gettin' busy again! The Monmouth teams total thirteen college students and adults, with leaders Denvy & Gail Sikowsky. They'll be working out of the new PDA camp with Steve and his crew. I've also been trying to find the PDA camp a large Army tent for their field kitchen, but no luck so far.

Other volunteer teams: flights to the Gulf Coast go into Gulfport, but good prices can be found into the Jackson, MS airport. Check it out! Even New Orleans, 110 miles away, is a reasonable choice if you get a great price for a large group of people...makes the two hours driving worthwhile.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Salem Katrina Team Update for December 3

Good morning, Team. A couple Gautier updates. Pam Martin has agreed that they'll survey the church membership to determine what items other teams can bring to them to replace lost and damaged household items. Many teams could simply load a UHaul, which rents for at most $260 coast-to-coast) before they head for Gautier and thus bring much-needed area rugs, lamps, sofas, washer-dryers and the like. We prepared a form letter to send to teams heading to either the PDA or the church camp to solicit such items to be brought to Gautier.

Salem is helping Gautier via the Internet. We now publish their church web at www.gautierpresby.com, Rev. Chris Bullock's blog at www.gautierpresby.blogspot.com and the PDA Camp 1 blog at www.gautierpdacamp.blogspot.com Cost is nothing because blogs can be published for free, and the work is welcome.

Our team provided the PDA funds to get Victor some pocket money plus a bus ride home for the holidays, but sadly, he lost his wallet somewhere on the lawn - they're still looking for it. The wonderful news is that the teams working in Gautier heard about it and immediately raised $800 to get him home plus a bit of holiday money. Victor heads to the hospital soon for a much-needed hernia repair, then off to Indianapolis for Christmas. Feliz Natividad, Jeffe!

Remember the RICE guys? Super news about them: Steve is replacing Julie as the PDA Camp Director. Imagine...Mayor Steve. His Honor Steve. Boggles the mind, right? Absolutely wonderful news and what a perfect reward for his very, very hard work for so many months. Steve isn't perfect, however. A week or so ago he was working at a home and walked right over a monstor nail. Right...it went clean through his boot and the foot inside, and Steve had the pleasant job of pulling it out. A couple stitches, a tetanus shot and a week or so on crutches hasn't slowed him down a bit! Question: is it proper for these college guys to shag a free meal off volunteer teams now that they run the place? Heck yes!

The PDA camp has a new address, moving one mile or so closer to I10, off exit 61. Steve will get us details on the facility soon, but obviously they'll have power, water, etc. for the work teams. They are slowing down now but will ramp up again by the end of next week. Steve really likes the new Canadian tents, now that winter is setting in. The PDA camp is now at 6300 Martin Bluff Road, Gautier.

Chris Bullock is organizing the Gautier Presbyterian Church work teams, with funds already in place to hire a site manager like Julie. He expects 20 to 30 volunteers working out of the church, sleeping in the two rooms at the east end, and using the fellowship hall as before.

Tomorrow I'll give Virginia our final accounting, or at least final without the last fuel bills, for the mission. If anybody has receipts I'd sure appreciate you faxing or emailing them to me today for our report.