Saturday night

I thought I’d post one final piece for today. Most of the students are off doing something – playing cards, watching “Princess Bride” in the church hall, and who knows what else – but a few are in “bed” and I’m getting things organized. The power just went out so the heat is off – yes, the tents are heated – as well as the lights. I’m running on battery. Anyway, I thought I’d post a little something about what we’ve experienced thus far.

As we flew into Gulfport/Biloxi we could see the blue tarps on many rooftops, damaged buildings here and there, and rows of FEMA trailers. Even from the somewhat “isolated” distance of the aircraft it was sobering. As we drove from the airport we could see a bit more close up. It’s hard to know what of the roadside debris is routine and what is residual storm debris. When I saw two chairs I thought that perhaps this was more than “routine.” We took highway all the way so we weren’t passing through neighborhoods but we could still see the impact of the storm(s). Ruth and Bob told us to keep in mind that we will see homes that look “fine,” perhaps a little patched up here and there, but they appear okay. However, many of the homes that look “fine” are actually severely water damaged and may still end up being razed. They’ve worked in homes where the water surge was well into the second floor. They talked about the people with whom they’ve worked side-by-side and come to know and how for some the relief work really raises their spirits while others remain quite depressed.

It will be an interesting week in so many ways. I hope that we are able to have three students post their thoughts each day so that you can hear what they are experiencing, learning, etc. Tomorrow is going to be a late day as we don’t plan to return from New Orleans until around 8 or 9 in the evening. But, if we can’t post then we’ll try to play “catch-up” on Monday. I’m off to bed.