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.