Katrina at 3

The 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is tomorrow, Aug 29. Camp Coastal Outpost, the camp that First Parish has used as it's base for the past 2 years, is closing. Visit their web site (campcoastaloutpost.org). I'm sad to see the official closing announcement, even though I knew it was immanent.

Wed Jul 2: Back home with some photos

What the Bay St. Louis coastline looks like now - not much different from Feb 07 in some spots, but in others there's been more redevelopment.


The old dining tent - the new Cafe Blue Hills tent.


The boys showing off their Cafe Blue Hills sign.



Our group poses in front of the famous Camp Coastal signpost.

Thursday/Friday from Camp Costal

Thursday
This should have been yesterday's post, but we got back late last night.

The day was spent between 2 sites, with the group split between those sites and Lowes. We'll finish up all 3 home sites today. The 4th site, which is interior painting, has just materialized – actually it's the paint that has just materialized, so that's on for today and possibly tomorrow.
We went to Mobile Ala after work to have a look around and to have dinner. The dinner was really good, and I think everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves. Mobile is kind of quiet. We were in the historic district, and it had a small town Main Street feel to it. We walked around before dinner, Graham and Garrett took “artsy” photos, but there were very few people walking around. As we left after dinner, which was around 10, it seemed to be waking up a bit from when we arrived. We got back to Camp at 11:30 and fell into bed (which is why this blog posting is a bit late).

Bill just reported to me that several busses carrying around 160 volunteers is due to arrive tomorrow. After that, according to Jackie, the numbers dwindle, which is part of the reason the Camp is slated to close in August.

Something that I was hoping for: to see hwy 90 between Gulfport and Biloxi look better that it did in Feb 07 – and it looked much better. There are more homes and businesses being built along the beach road, and there is more landscaping and some tern nesting areas being put in. But, the VA complex still looks like it has the original storm damage, there are numerous vacant lots, and the Waffle House sign in front of the empty lot is still there. A lot of the redevelopment is high end and high rise, which is probably changing the original look of the area.

Something else – Waveland and Bayside look much better. Hwy 90 has more businesses and hardly any debris on the roadsides. The neighborhoods are coming back slowly, but again it may not be the same people who were displaced by the storm.

Friday
Today our group split again, half going to a house between Camp and I-10, and the other half finishing the leftover items at the other 3. I'm happy to report that all of the painting (ceilings and walls) was finished at the house near I-10, as were the leftovers at the other sites. We've finished our work and are enjoying our leisure this evening.

Some recollections:
-boiled peanuts in a crock pot: gas station on I-10 in Alabama
-Bobby Duval: cajun
-daily thunder storms
-Doc from Michigan: funnier than heck (since it is a Church sponsored blog)
-mango smoothies
-Dave's voice
-relaxing in the Cafe Blue Hills: formerly the old mess tent
-Kiln library parking lot: public WiFi
-Jackie's big smile
-96° and humid
-ice cold water and shade
-24 oz can of “Budweiser & Clamato”: same gas station on I-10 (I'm not drinking it!!)
-Ben, his wife, and their 3 kids: their newly painted home which replaces the trailer that the storm swept away nearly 3 years ago, his wife's smile, his kid's red cheeks, and the many times he said “thank you” to us.
-laughing and working during the day, and laughing and relaxing in the evening, and at all times enjoying the company of my 7 great companions.

Andy

Wednesday From Camp Costal

We worked at a house in Bayside (near Waveland south of hwy 90) today. We worked on punch list items: installing moulding, plumbing, installing closet doors, installing a window sill, and general site cleanup. We have a couple of items to finish up tomorrow. I'm really happy with what we've accomplished in these 2 days. Our group is working well together, and we are having a great time of it too. I'm not surprised though. If 8 people from First Parish were picked at random and sent off to volunteer here, I would expect the same.
We met several folks today; several of our group talked with the homeowners and some of their friends. They came away with some mixed feelings, but I'm glad that they talked with them. I'm anxious to get together later to hear what they feel, and to meet when we get back to Boston to compile some our memories so that we can share them with the Congregation.
Tomorrow we're scheduled to do interior painting at another house in the Bayside area., and I believe we'll meet that homeowner as well. We'll probably split our group and have one van cover the finish work at the first site while the second starts on the painting.
Jackie recommended a Cuban restaurant that's nearby, so we' may head out there for dinner, after a bite of Camp Coastal spaghetti that is.

Tuesday From Camp Costal

Our group is Matthew Najarian, Rosine Hekmat Afshar, Steve Zieselman, Bill Mullen, Alexa Golembeski, Garrett Pavlicek, Graham Strang, and me. We left Boston on Monday at 5:30 AM to spend the week in Kiln Mississippi.

We made our flights without problem, and arrived in New Orleans around 10AM. We have 2 6-passenger vans, so we've got plenty of room. We arrived at Camp Coastal just before noon. Dave, the facilities manager, and Jackie, the volunteer coordinator gave us our orientation, reviewed the Camp rules, and promised to have us on the job in the morning.

Since we weren't assigned any work for Monday afternoon, we drove around a bit, did some shopping, and went to the beach in Waveland for a swim. The beach was nice and clean, not crowded at all. The water was not as refreshing as expected, so the swimmers in the group reported to me. I guess they wanted something more like Nantasket - brisk. That part of the coast is still showing signs of the storm damage, while further inland there seemed to be much more recovery, which was great to see.

Today we were assigned work in Camp Coastal. We converted the old mess tent into an al fresco dining and relaxation area (Steve's idea), which we renamed “Cafe Blue Hills”. Graham and Garrett made the sign, which replaced the old “Dining Tent” sign. We also cleaned out a storage tent, and spruced up “The Showroom”, a tent near the highway that sells surplus supplies to raise funds (sheets, blankets, foldaway cots, bunk beds, and mattresses). It hit 95 today. It felt cool after working in the storage tent.

There's a few other groups here this week. One from Michigan, another from Iowa. We heard about the extent of the flooding in Iowa from one of the men in that group. There always seem to be plenty of disasters to go around.

Tomorrow we're finishing up a punch list at a house near hwy 90, and will probably do a few odds and ends like delivering insulation to another site. I'll have more details tomorrow.

Andy

Team 3: June 23, 2008

Our third team left at the crack of dawn Monday morning, after our send-off from church last week, the 15th. As we prepare to have a lot of work done on our Meetinghouse, we hold them in prayer for the work they do on the houses in Mississippi. We look forward to reading and seeing their updates, and trust that they have arrived safely and are enjoying their first full day of work.

Gulf Coast Trip Reflection

Bill Macmillan 7/1/07

I left for the Gulf Coast with some reservations and a lot of anxiety. I wondered what kind of “impact” one person could have on a devastated community. How much can I really do? Do these people really need me? How can I contribute? Would it be better to donate the money to be spent on travel expenses?

A few months ago, I asked my Dad, Bill, a general contractor and skilled tradesman, to come along with our group and offer some direction and maybe help us accomplish a little more than we might otherwise be able to do. I was pretty sure that he’d site his lack of connection to my church community as a reason why he would not, but his response surprised me. He said “maybe” and told me he’d check on his work schedule and with my mother and get back to me. A couple of hours later, he called back and said “Ah, ah, yeah, I’m going”. I was thrilled at the moment but my excitement quickly turned to doubt about whether this was a good idea. He’d be going with 17 strangers and me, and after all, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to be there.

On the Friday night before the trip, I called him to go over some itinerary details, the tools list and some last minute packing advice. As usual our conversation quickly turned to politics and then to a book he’d just finished, 1776, an account of the revolutionary war in that year and I’d just begun reading it. My Dad quipped that he “doubted whether Americans were capable of making such a sacrifice in the face of an incredible challenge like that.” Cynically, but with my usual hopeful caveats, I conceded there is some question as to American fortitude.

Fast forward to our arrival at Camp Coastal Outpost in Kiln, Mississippi.
It was plain to see that Americans are up to great challenges, surviving, of making sacrifice while staring down adversity by coming together to help others. Of the 300 or so people inhabiting camp coastal that day, at least 200 of them were under 25 years old. It was astounding and inspiring. The place was bustling with life, so many people happy to be there, to serve people in need and take part in something bigger than themselves. They were thrilled to be there and I was proud to be among them. I think everyone in our party knew immediately that they were about to do something very important that would further shape who they are –who we are.

After settling in and getting my bearings, I realized that the rest of the group was missing so I went looking for them. They were seemingly nowhere to be found until Jay Beaulieu and Pat Gallivan caught my eye, they were in the kitchen with the rest of the crew. They’d apparently asked how they could be of help and were enlisted to make sandwiches for the next day’s bagged lunches. I welled up and kept my distance sitting on a picnic table for a minute until my eyes dried. I approached the kitchen with an unprecedented feeling of pride to be with them. These were my people, a bunch of doers. It was truly a moment among moments. The momentum was building for something extraordinary. The combination of the First Parish Milton gang in the kitchen and the selfless volunteerism of so many young people had mooted my feelings of doubt about American’s willingness to pull it together in a time of need.

As our week progressed, everyone weathered the slow morning starts and their job assignments with grace. We completed some work on a few homes, a school bathroom and some even worked sorting through x-rays in a hospital that was decimated by the storm. We met the folks whose homes we worked on and received emotional gestures of appreciation from them. One woman told another in our group that she’s “sure glad [you] Yankees won the war.” Kent, a Deputy Sheriff in Hancock County MS, and the homeowner of the house we were re-siding fought back tears of appreciation every time we were with him. It was moving to be in his presence.

Throughout the trip there were a lot of laughs. Our evenings were spent in community and whether it was a car ride to the beach, a meal in the mess tent or a beer at the bar next door, we were receiving another benefit of such a trip, forming bonds with like-hearted people that will be remembered for a lifetime.

For me, the trip began being all about what I could do, a need to fulfill my responsibility to others, but as the week progressed, I learned that it was really about a need to affirm faith in myself and others, to see evidence that individuals can come together and facilitate change and know that others will follow and keep progress alive. We return with good stories, memories, new perspectives and pride. We return hoping to inspire others to go, as they are, to bear witness, make an effort and get more in return than they can ever imagine.