Salem Katrina Team Report - January 15

As Joan and I drove to church, she was concerned about a young family whose house she had worked on still had a day's worth of mudding to do. She hoped a team would finish it because she was flying home. As we went through the breakfast line at the church, a guy who had worked with her said he and three team members would go there and tackle it! Isn’t that perfect? Also I got to hold the baby of a couple whose house Joan had mudded last week... it made this grandpa wannabe happy!

We enjoyed another great service and appreciated the skillful weaving of the letter from the Birmingham jail by Dr. Martin Luther King into the message. I thought about that letter all day, and how Dr. King’s protest meant so much, and how his defense at being an “out of town” visitor applied to me.

The sad part for me was Joan's departure, combined with the damage to the motorhome and impatience about how the insurance will cover it. So, I’ll wait here a few days longer. On the way to the airport, we drove through the devastation of Biloxi and Gulfport. On my prior trip two months ago, most access roads were blocked. The damage is profound, reminding me of riding the school bus in Stuttgart (where my dad was stationed) past piles of rubble--not yet removed, seven years past the war's end.

Returning to Ocean Springs after Joan’s flight departed, I took a power nap, and then headed for the church around 7:00 p.m. for dinner (a great stew, followed by a chocolate chip cake Joan reminded me not to miss!) By 8:00, with no sign of a pastor at hand to lead evening devotions, I led them. About thirty were there, patiently attending to the message and prayers, but things certainly did fall apart as I tried to lead in singing “Now the Day is Over”. I can’t carry a tune to save my life, and it turns out no one there could either. (Joan's piano accompaniment had guided us for two weeks--the gap is certainly noticeable now!) We painfully limped through to the amusement of a couple of students (and I know who they are!), but at least we kept going! I enjoy the time spent sharing about projects they had gone to and homeowners they had helped. It was also nice to hear a compliment about Joan's singing that morning.

I met Mark, a marketing manager with UPS who is volunteering with his church from Atlanta. We discussed writing journals, and I went on about how this blog is my first attempt to keep a record of events as they unfold in my life. I hope I’ll keep it up.

I picked up trash around the parking lot of the church-- a small gesture of thanks for their warm hospitality in allowing me leave the RV for some time after the fire.