Kiski Gulf Coast Disaster Assistance Team

 Sunday – another beautiful day, weather-wise. Most of us worshiped at the 8:45 contemporary service at Ocean Springs Presbyterian Church, where Dr. Ed Cake, the No. 2 volunteer at camp, is a member. The rest of our team attended the 11:00 service, and Lee Blose sang with the church choir!

     After worship, 5 of the women took off to tour New Orleans, and 4 carloads toured Biloxi. We visited the Katrina Memorial, the Camille Memorial (which has been extensively repaired from Katrina damage), saw flourishing casinos next to boarded-up buildings and still-empty lots, and walked barefoot on the beach!

     During the rest of the afternoon at camp, we put up a large tent, met other work teams from the Newport, Washington congregation of former Kiski pastor Jim Patton, and some Methodists from Newtown, PA, got better acquainted with one another, and anticipated the “shrimp boil”. A local shrimper and spouse donated 100 lbs of fresh (and we mean FRESH, heads and all!) shrimp to the camp in gratitude for the fine shrimping season they’ve had. Lisa Lyon & Lee Blose got to dig in and help rinse & sort them, removing the odd anchovies and squid.

     “Mr. Bill”, the No. 3 man at camp, was the chief cook of the shrimp boil, which consists of a very large pot filled with water, potatoes, corn on the cob, onion, garlic, spices, smokey sausages, and SHRIMP! Mr. Bill’s house was the very first D’Iberville home to be repaired after Katrina – he and his wife moved back in as soon as one bedroom and the bathroom were ready, on December 24, 2005. Now Bill, who is retired, spends a great deal of his time helping others repair their homes. Be sure to check out the photos of the feast!

     During orientation after dinner, Dr. Irene McIntosh, the No. 1 volunteer at camp, told the story of D’Iberville and Katrina, the week leading up to the storm, the immediate aftermath, the 2-1/2 years since, and the future. God has told Miss Irene in no uncertain terms that the work here will be done on May 31, 2008. That’s in large part thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who have come here, whose work is valued by FEMA at a minimum of $18.02 an hour per person, depending on the kind of work being done. With about 290,000 volunteer hours to date, that’s a value of at least $5 million, probably more like $7 million! Those sweat equity hours will offset the amount of money D’Iberville will have to repay FEMA. Their hope is that sufficient volunteer hours will be worked to prevent local taxes from being raised to repay FEMA.

     We all received our work team assignments for tomorrow, when some of us will be roofing, others painting, hanging doors, installing soffet, cooking, doing telephone & door-to-door assessments, and otherwise having a wonderful time!

     We thank you for your continued prayers for us and for the citizens of D’Iberville.