Day 4: The Dream Team

It's already been four days since we started working on Denise and Ben's home. And, it's been a great time. My teammates are John and Saba. The three of us, who didn't know one antoher before this trip, are now inseparable. That is not a stretch. We have become fast friends, spending most of our time working and laughing. Non-stop.

The homeowners that we are working with are great are great as well. Denise, who's about 56 years old, could single-handedly build a home herself, if she had the strength. Instead, we settled on her showing us how to use a nail gun, a skill saw, and a table saw. Yeah, I know. Where am I?! And, then she surprised me again today by showing me how to fix a plumbing problem they had in the kitchen. She literally took the plumbing apart under the sink, cleaned out a few pieces, and put it all back together. Honestly, I would never have done that. Now, I know that I can. As surprised as I was, I also became a bit sad when I realized that the only reason she knows how to do all of this is because she's basically rebuilt her home twice in the last 4 years. Once, right after Katrina (of course) , and once right after hurricane Gustav. In Pearlington, MS, after hurricane Katrina, most of the natural protection from the water (which is only 8.5 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico) was lost. Now, flooding is unfortunately a common occurrence here.


So why does Denise and Ben stay here in Pearlington? Because, they simply love where they live. From their neighbors to their town, they can't even think about living anywhere else. Before I got here, I would have thought that rationale was ridiculous. Now, I completely understand. Everyone on their street helps one another out all day long trying to put their lives back together. Then again, wouldn't most neighbors come together in a time of crisis?

We spent a lot of time with Denise this week talking about God. The people here also have a tremendous amount of faith in their Lord Jesus Christ. After hearing their stories, you begin to understand how they were able to gather up the courage to get up from the blow they took almost 3.5 years ago, and rebuild everything back to the way it was. Katrina would not win. I saw a billboard today that said, "Katrina was big, God is bigger."

Which brings me to one last experience that I want to share with all of you. Take a moment and go to YouTube. Search for "Pearlington's Prayer." It's a wonderful video set to a song written by a local beauty pageant winner. The images that are displayed are all pictures taken by locals who witnessed the strength and destruction from Hurricane Katrina firsthand. I hope it moves you as it moved me. All the best.