BACK HOME AGAIN!

It's hard to believe how quickly our time in Mississippi flew by! We arrived home Sunday, March 19 right at noon (minus Brad & Rebecca, who flew home on Friday and Saturday, respectively). From what I heard, the trip home was much faster than the trip there, mostly because everyone was so tired they slept most of the way!

A couple days have passed now since we have been back and we have had a little time to process some of the things we experienced. Already, some of the students have had phone conversations with the homeowners that they worked with. It's fun to think that some relationships have been built that will most certainly last beyond this trip.

This time something that really hit me about the trip was the fact that in the world and especially in the family of God we all need each other. We were created to live in community and when storms, disasters, and hard times come upon each of us (as they most certainly will at some point in time) God has given us the gift of each other as one of the ways to help us through. I went down to Ocean Springs thinking that I was there to help others, and found that I was helped in my own time of need. When I had my own personal storm, it was a homeowner named Linda who we had helped on both of our trips who then came to my aid, and it was the students who were there to help the residents of Ocean Springs who also helped me. I want to give a special thanks to each of you who went on the trip for allowing yourselves to be agents through which God's love flowed to me!

There is still much to be done in Ocean Springs and in the coastal areas of Mississippi and Louisiana. I drove through New Orleans on the way to the airport on Saturday and I was shocked to see miles and miles of flooded out, wind-damaged, unoccupied homes. Even in Mississippi, where the rebuilding process is much further along, it is estimated that it will take at least 5 years to get things fairly close to the way they used to be.

Once again, I encourage each and every person who reads this blog to consider the needs of the hundreds of thousands who have been affected by last summer's hurricanes and to arise to meet those needs in any way that is within your means. If you can go, then go; if you can send money, then send it; if you can donate supplies, then donate them; and if you can pray, then pray. I have been shown anew that each of us needs to do our part to give hope and help to all of our neighbors, near and far.

If you would like to know some specific items that are needed, organizations that you can donate supplies or money to, and people that you can be praying for, please contact Rebecca at heyrebecca@csf.net. Also, we may be planning another relief trip this summer, so keep checking the blog or talk to Rebecca for more details!

You can also check out some pics from our Katrina Relief Trip 2 on the CSF Photo Site. Thanks for reading our blog and God bless!

(posted by Rebecca at 4:59 pm on 3/21/06)