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Journal for Ocean Springs, Mississippi Relief Response Team

Monday, September 19, 2005

Our day started early this morning. I was up at 3:30 am in order to get to Friedberg Moravian by 4:30 am.  Mark came to pray with us and to see us off. We had a little trouble finding John Wigney in Charlotte. The “BP” station that we were to meet him at had changed names. John’s wife saw us pass by them so called on my cell phone to let us know about the name change. The trip down was a time of fellowship and a time of getting to know each other. The last 40 or 50 miles down were the hardest. There was traffic congestion like I have never experienced before. We saw many cars with Louisiana license plates returning to view their homes and to salvage what they could. At our last gas stop, we met a family with a large U-haul trailer going to retrieve what little that they had.  They planned to “start over” in North Carolina, “far from the coast”. 

After a time of confusion looking for street signs, we finally found this church. The Lord has really blessed this congregation. The church is virtually unharmed except for some water damage on the bottom floor.  This entire neighborhood has been totally destroyed. Where there were homes, there is now rubble. Along the beach roads, the houses have virtually been washed away. We saw a car that literally was wrapped around a tree from the force of the water as it came ashore. The pictures that we have seen on TV have become a reality.  Most of the guys have never witnessed anything like this.

We were truly led to this church building. We talked with Nickie and she told us that 30 families from this congregation lost their homes completely and 75% of the rest of the congregation suffered damage to their homes. I pray that we can be a blessing to this congregation to fulfill our commitment to the Lutheran church. Lord, thank you for keeping us safe this day.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

          We started our day around the table with breakfast and sharing.  Our devotions were out of the Upper Room.  Butch and I went over to the office to meet with Tara, our hostess here.  I noticed that she had our names on the project board for today. The place that we were assigned to needed a lot of work.  We met Ann, the next door neighbor, and she was so grateful for us helping Mary Nesbit.  We later met Debbie across the street and she too was so thankful that we are there.  They both seemed just as grateful as they would be if we were working on their houses.  Ann wanted to go and get us a hot meal for lunch, but we assured her that we came prepared to feed ourselves.  Later Debbie and a friend came over and brought us several bags of ice.  The love that we have received here could only come from Jesus.

We finally met the pastor here and he asked us to help him move his belongings from upstairs in his home to the downstairs area.  The house can be repaired but it will be very costly.  The damage is water damage from the flood and is not covered by insurance. Several people told us that this area is the historic district of Ocean Springs.  Most of the beautiful homes have been totally destroyed.  Many sites have nothing left but a house number and a name hand painted on a board and nailed to a stake or a tree. We have seen small tents on sites where magnificent old houses used to be.  We also saw a house just down the street from the church that appears to be completely intact.  The lady that lives there was mowing her lawn, trying to lead a normal life.  The houses on both sides of her were devastated.
 

Our team is really beginning to bond.  After devotions this evening, we had a time of sharing.  Two of our team members really shared deeply for the first time.  Everyone had something special to share.  Thank you Lord for being with us this day.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 (Evening)
 

         Most of the building debris piled in the street in front of the church came from houses that were located two blocks away along the beach.

We talked to the family living on the corner across from the church to see what we could do for them.  Her reply was “we have a roof, so go and help those who do not.”  There is a spirit of love and hope in this community that warms the heart.  I really do see Jesus in the faces of many here. We could not have assembled a team from our Moravian church that could have represented Jesus and the church any more than these guys have.  Thank you Lord for allowing me to be their team leader.

There are many “disaster teams” here with make shift signs on their trucks and vans.  There are also many who have come here to take advantage of the residents by offering their services for money.  Signs are placed everywhere advertising their services.  My concern is that people will tire of coming down to help, and those who are out to pad their purses will be these residents’ only means of help.  I pray that many will see the long term need for help in this community. We can look across the bay to high rises and a larger population, but with the bridge out, we can only imagine what the devastation is like over there. Storms of this magnitude make no distinctions of class, race, or anything else.  When you have lost all of your earthly possessions, all that is left is Jesus, and in that we are all equal heirs to the throne.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Today was a day of emotions, both high and low.  Breakfast was another good time of devotions and sharing.  We have really bonded as a team.  The guys are so together that there is teasing and sharing with everyone.  No one escapes the teasing of the others.  This is an outlet for the pent up emotions that we feel. Our first assignment today was to “bleach” a home that had been stripped inside.  We worked with a young thirty-one year old school teacher named Kim Andrews.  Her home and belongings were flooded.  Kim lives in a middle class development that is less than four years old.  Kim had no flood insurance so she is saddled with the entire cost of rebuilding her home.  This is so typical of the stories that we hear.  Kim lives just over a mile from the water and that neighborhood is 14 feet above sea level.  The water line damage in her home was eight feet from the floor.  She said that she and her neighbors never even thought about flood damage that far inland.  It was such a joy to work alongside of her and her father (he lost his home too).  We spent an extra hour there just sharing with her.  We had our lunch in her garage and invited her to join us.  That time together made the trip worthwhile.  She lives in Biloxi, Mississippi suburbs.

Our second assignment was back in the same general area to take down a tree for Leah and Grey Bray.  Someone else removed the tree this morning before we arrived at their house. Our next stop was back at the home of Mary Nesbit to finish up from yesterday.  After only a short while there, we had a serious accident that resulted in Wayne Stanberry having to go to the hospital.  His shock and pain was felt by ever member of the team.  It was then that we realized how much we had bonded.  Debbie, a neighbor across the street that we had made friends with took Wayne (along with John Wigney) to the hospital.  We prayed immediately and claimed that his leg was not broken.  When the staff at the hospital ran routine tests on Wayne, it was determined that he was suffering from severe dehydration from working in the extreme heat here. Without the accident, we would not have known just how sick he really was.  He was treated for approximately three hours at the hospital and then released.  We take him back in the morning for further tests and a check-up.
 

This evening was another emotional high.  The prayer and praise team had practice for an hour or so (close to two hours).  It was awesome to see the joy in their faces and the praise from their voices.  I was so moved that I called Tommie and took the cell phone up into the choir loft so that she too could share their joy.  You would never know the losses that these people had suffered.  We talked with each of them and had a circle of prayer in the front of the sanctuary with many on their knees. Our supper did not come off the grill until well after 9:30.  It was late for our time of laughter around the table.  Devotions and prayer time were extra special this evening.  There were tears as each shared emotions of the day.  It is really becoming a reality to us as to what all these people have lost. It is so inspiring to know that after everything is stripped away, we still have Jesus. Thank you Lord for keeping me safe this day.

Thursday, September 22, 2005
 

Each day has gotten better than the day before.  After devotions this morning we cleaned up the tents from the churchyard and packed them away.  They were put up last week for the group from Montreat.  We had to store them away to protect them from the coming storm.

         Earl, Linda’s husband joined us this morning.  We went to strip sheetrock from Linda’s parents’ home.  It was really a time of sharing and he really joined in with our team.  Earl and Linda’s parents were so impressed how each team member did his job without getting in the way of the others.  They were greatly surprised to learn that we had only worked together as a team for three days. We were serving in a small community close to Biloxi.  The next door neighbors needed some furniture moved, so we stopped and went to help them.  They were an older couple and she was so disturbed over the damage done to heirlooms that were brought over from Germany.  Their house already reeked of mold and they were trying to stay in it.

After lunch we came back by the church for our afternoon assignment.  Earl led us to the site and then stayed to work with us.  Linda told us this evening that he was so blessed and enjoyed working with us that he called his office and took the day off. Our afternoon assignment was to remove all of the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and then to strip out the sheetrock and insulation.  Mandy worked right with us and her daughter was such a blessing.  It is so hard to imagine being able to laugh when one is facing such tragedy.  When we left, Mandy gave me a bear-hug, just the same as my girls and grandchildren.  I later learned this evening that Mandy’s husband just left her with two small children rather than face the devastation at their home left by the storm.

Wayne’s ministry was here at the church office today.  Since the doctors would not let him go out to work with us, he had a telephone ministry today calling the members of this church about their needs and prayer concerns.  Wayne said that when asked for prayer concerns, nearly everyone said to please pray for the people in Texas.  He was so passionate about his sharing about today that it was a blessing just to hear him share.

Our devotion time and sharing time in the evenings gets longer each evening.  This is really a great band of guys and I am so thankful to be a part of this.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Today was a little different than the previous days.  With another storm coming, there was a sense of urgency for many people to get their houses secure if possible.  Our first assignment was to place a tarp on the home of John and Billie Wright.  Their daughter, Loretta told me that her dad was just simply too old to do it.  He is 72.  When we arrived, he wanted so much to be useful, that I asked him to cut fastening strips to hold the tarps in place.  He was so pleased to be “useful” and wanted to repay us someway.  I suggested that he cut some more strips to be used on our next project. After we finished, we all gathered with the family for a time of conversation and sharing.  A wall of water came down less than 20 minutes after we had covered their home.  We all gave thanks for the rain holding off until after we finished.

We came back by the church at lunchtime to check on Wayne and to get our next assignment.  We were just before leaving the church when another frantic call came in for a roof tarp.  We answered that call, but most of us were uncomfortable working in the rain on a roof.  The house was covered without incident, and the rain no longer came from the ceiling.  Earl and Linda seemed so grateful that we took the time to cover their house also. The home that we worked in this afternoon was the worst working conditions we had encountered so far.  As we were ripping up carpet and laminated floors, I found a watch and a bracelet among the rubble.  Mike found some family photos in an old wet bag.  Most of the photos were intact.  Linda promised to take them to their owner.

We shared supper this evening with George and Donna, a couple from Maryland who are here to serve.  They are living in their camper and I think that they welcomed the fellowship and the hot meal. Butch, Mike and John have been our cooks this week and they have done a great job.  I am so thankful to them to come in after a hard day and cook for the rest of us. Thank you Lord for letting me be a part of this ministry.  I pray that you will allow me to return with my wife Tommie to serve your children in your name.

Al Gambill

Ardmore Moravian Church

The team members were as follows:

Al Gambill, Team Leader – Ardmore Moravian     

 Butch Hooks, Assistant– Friedberg Moravian

 Ken Sevier – King Moravian                              

 Wayne Stanberry – Friedberg Moravian

Mike Lumley – Friedberg Moravian                      

 John Wigney – New Beginnings Moravian

(We are grateful to Br. Al Gambill for allowing us to publish his daily journal of the first Moravian Hurricane response team to the Gulf Coast in 2005. It is an inspiring text that gives us many insights into how such a team works, with us not getting dirty and sore as they did. He hopes this will be the first of dozens of teams to serve. If you are interested call the BWM office for your province.)