Plum Creek Mission Team

The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek sent 17 volunteers on a Mission Trip to the small town of Pascagoula, Mississippi September 3-9, 2006, to rebuild homes for families victimized by Hurricane Katrina. The Mission Team worked on 11 homes installing sheetrock, tiling floors, blowing insulation, installing electrical work, and painting. Each home provided an opportunity for the team to not only work to physically rebuild the homes, but to minister to the residents’ spiritual needs also. The trip was coordinated through the Presbytery Disaster Relief Effort, headed by a couple from Atlanta, Georgia, who moved to Pascagoula to help people rebuild their homes and their lives.

Although it had been an entire year since Hurricane Katrina had rampaged through the Gulf coast, the Mission team was surprised by the quiet and stillness as they entered the city of Pascagoula. The little things that give a city character were missing. As they continued into the neighborhoods, unkempt lawns, garbage piles and white trailers parked near each home drew their attention. Though some of the homes were still in tact, the devastation was still unbelievable – a year later.

The remains of this kitchen show the effects of the Hurricane.

Over 900f the 250 families at the First Presbyterian Church of Pascagoula suffered damage to their homes: 45 were totally destroyed, 70 were still in some stage of repair. Those homes that were not destroyed by the fierce Katrina 145-mph winds were devastated by the 24 foot storm surge. The Mission team heard many stories of people stranded in attics as the water continued to rise. Some did not make it and the receding water left further tragedy in its wake - mud, mold, and destroyed personal belongings.

Those that had evacuated returned to find homes uninhabitable. Trailers that were for recreation were provided by FEMA as temporary homes. Plastic pipes that ran into the city sewers attached to the trailers and garden hoses brought water into these would-be homes. The number of remaining trailers was alarming to the team, and so was the discovery that these homes were merely shells - some with electric, some without, some with running water, others lacking what most would consider basic necessities.

This patio shows some of the destruction Hurricane Katrina left behind.

Many people are still waiting for government grants in order to rebuild. John and Betty, both in their 80s, had their entire first floor filled with mud and slime from the seawater. Just a month before Hurricane Katrina John had broken his hip. Shelly, a cancer patient, and Debbie, returned to their home to find only studs and a roof left. The stories go on and on.

As the Mission team listened, the stories they heard were not ones of despair but ones of hope and thankfulness. Thankfulness that they had homes to return to, that they had a place to live; thankfulness that the Lord had provided volunteers to help them rebuild and give them hope for a new beginning. But more importantly, it gave the families hope that there was an end in sight and that they were not forgotten. As the Mission team reluctantly entered the Gulfport/Biloxi Airport to return home they were reminded again of that hope and thankfulness by a huge banner that read, “Thank You Volunteers.”

Of the 11 homes the Mission Team worked on, they helped four families finish rebuilding and move into their newly rebuilt homes. The team hopes to return in January 2007. To see more pictures from the Mission Trip to Pascagoula, Mississippi please log on to the church’s website at: www.plumcreekchurch.com.