MMUMC VIM team on the Gulf Coast

2006-08-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on our Mission . . .

I stepped out from under the bright red-and-white striped tent to look at the beautiful beach. White sand. Waves lapping gently against the shoreline. “Beach open between the fences” said the sign at the edge of the road. Two boys play in the water, beneath a sign warning, “Storm Debris. Keep out of the water. ” To my left, a long pier, with most of its cross-planks missing. To my right, empty beach and beautiful water. US 90 separates me from the beach, two lanes each way with a sandy median strip. The occasional car races by. “Last summer, you wouldn’t have been able to cross the highway here; too many cars.” Jason Griffin is from Mississippi and he knows.

I’d just finished lunch at God’s Katrina Kitchen, a tent ministry on the edge of destruction. The rest of the VIM team – 21 in all, 3 from Good Shepherd UMC in Silver Spring, the rest from Metropolitan Memorial – is finishing up. It’s about time to load up the vans and head back to St. Paul UMC in Pass Christian.

We’d been here two days, working inside the church. It’s hot, very hot, with humidity to match. The church stands on Clark Ave, a street devoid of other intact structures. From the outside, it looks fine. Inside, evidence of destruction. The previous group had done the framing with 2x4’s, put up sheetrock in the sanctuary, built the frame for the chancel, created a movable scaffold for ceiling work. The windows are new. The side porch is new. There is no electricity. We run two 100-foot-long, 30 amp extension cords from the utility pole outside. They are our only sources of power for everything, including the life-saving fans. Day one: Insulation – terribly itchy in the heat. Long sleeves, long pants, gloves, masks, eye-guards, head covering. Take a cool shower to get the insulation off; a warm shower drives it into your open pores.
Day 2, today, one group finishes the insulation work. Sheetrocking is underway. Careful measurements. Move the scaffold from the sanctuary into the fellowship hall. It’s too tall to go under the entranceway. Four strong people each side, tilt it over, move it in. Then lift straight up a piece of sheetrock to the three people standing on the top layer of the scaffold. Hold it in place with the “dead-men” supports. Screw it in before it slips. Repeat – until the angled part of the fellowship hall ceiling is finished.

Then the rest of the sheetrock – ceilings, walls. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Careful cutouts for lights, vents, kitchen fixtures, bathroom fixtures. Make sure you don’t reverse the measurements. “Measure twice, cut once” or else “Measure once, buy twice.” The truck learns the way to Home Depot in Gulfport without being told; it also discovers Lowes, Lumber 84 and Philips Lumber Yard. Another group working nearby tells us about Martins Hardware and Kiels Lumberyard, both in Pass Christian. Kiels carries 2x10s. Martins carries sheetrock mud – we go there a lot. Neither carries sheetrock or gutters or shingles.

There’s a leak in the roof. Craig Scherer and Pat McConnell know what they’re doing, so in the heat, they’re on the hot roof. Ripping out old shingles, putting new. Measuring for the gutters and downspouts. The frozen bottles of water of water that last all day in the cooler melt in 20 minutes on the roof. Craig comes down and soaks his hat in the ice melt from the cooler.
The sound of the saw and the rat-a-tat-tat of the air-driven hammer as team members cut and nail in cross pieces to support the kitchen cabinets we hope will be there some day. And again as the plywood is cut and nailed in to make the platform for the chancel area.
At the end of the day, back to Mt Zion UMC for a shower. Heaven is a shower. I think about the folks after the storm. In the heat. Going for days without a shower. Misery piled on top of misery.

I’d heard the news reports. I’d seen the pictures. I wasn’t prepared. There was not a lot of debris where we were. There was not a lot of anything. The shock was the emptiness. Houses – gone. Lots – empty. Drive along past what looks like a fallow field and then you realize: This isn’t a field. There used to be houses. The weeds have grown up to cover the foundation slabs. The occasional stairs to nowhere that mark where there once was a front porch. The fine old mansions along US 90 – destroyed or demolished or falling down. FEMA-trailers in yards – sometimes the yard is empty, sometimes the house is falling down, sometimes the house looks fine. Along I-10, a FEMA-trailer park. “FEMA-trailer” – it’s pronounced as one word: Fematrailer.

An old couple comes by to see the progress on the church. They used to live nearby. Now they live in Jackson. She shows me where her house used to be. Nothing there. They’re delighted that the church is recovering. They hope to move back one day. Maybe.

Back at Day 2, at God’s Katrina Kitchen. It’s an incredible ministry, run by volunteers, existing on donations (www.GodsKatrinaKitchen.org). Breakfast, lunch, dinner – anyone who wants to eat is welcome. Donation requested, none required. No questions asked. We ate lunch there every day. One day, the Domino Pizza delivery guy did, too. Two ladies sit across from me, both locals, both suffered from the storm. The older one got her Fematrailer two weeks ago. She’d been living in her car or a tent since January. The other woman has a house – with a blue tarp roof. Still waiting on repairs. They bow their heads over the meal. “Lord, thank you for sending us all these people to help us.” I think I’m going to cry.

Everywhere we go. “Thank you for coming.” “Thank you for helping.” “Thank God for sending you.” “Thank you.” It’s humbling. We’re doing so little. It feels like we’re trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. We’re only here a week. They’re here everyday. Day after day after day.
Why are we working on a church when there are so many houses that need repair? Hope. That’s really what we’re building. Hope. If there’s a church there can be a community again. Not tomorrow, not next week. But there will be a community. No, that’s wrong: There is a community. A community being reborn, born anew, born from above. And in the community, the church stands as the strong reminder: “God is in the neighborhood. You are not alone.”

Joye Jones, Team Member

2006-07-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

Our trip has come to a conclusion much faster than we had expected. It really did seem to fly by. It has been quite a week. We’ve laughed a lot, sweat even more, cried a little and mostly felt a sense of our faith and love being blended into a solid week’s worth of incredibly rewarding work. Most of us agreed that we could have and would have stayed another week, if it were possible. We’ve all become more experienced in various aspects of general contracting and had the knowledge and patience of our leaders to make it such a productive week. Part of that productivity was that every single member of the group stepping up and doing anything that was asked of them.

For me personally it has been a very humbling experience. We have so much available to us and are truly lucky to live the lives we do. Imagine your house, your car, your grocery store and your church either being washed away or so badly damaged that it is uninhabitable. Now imagine its 8 months later and all that has been done is that those things have either been demolished or gutted and are awaiting repair. There are people that are living in tents and trailers on the cement slab that use to be the foundation for their home. It will take years for this area to recover. If there is any kind of silver lining in this disaster it is that volunteers and many, many church groups are mobilizing and coming to this region to help with the rebuilding and healing process. It has warmed my soul to the core to see signs of Christian love and humanity making small steps in the rebuilding process. If work continues at this pace the region will start to return to a sense of normal life. More importantly they will know that there is hope and that the rest of the country still cares and will do what it can since they are still in great need.

It has been an honor and a blessing to get to know this wonderful group from Metropolitan and Good Sheppard. I look forward to seeing them around our church communities and possibly on future VIM trips. We came across a t-shirt at the work site that had a cross on the front of it with the saying “It’s not about me”, and the back read “It’s all about him.” I’d like to borrow that and modify it slightly to become the parting thought for our group. VIM 2006, Pass Christian Mississippi – It’s not about me, it’s all about him . . . and helping them. Well done VIM team, it’s been probably the most tiring, but easily the most rewarding week of my life.

(Written by Matthew Hale)

2006-07-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

One of the blessings of our trip to Pass Christian was to have among us three persons representing Good Shepherd UMC in Silver Spring, Maryland. Rev. Joye Jones, their pastor, brought a particular resonance to the team because she served as the Associate Minister at Metropolitan Memorial from 1995-97. Interestingly, Good Shepherd was the first church that I worked in while I was a student at Wesley Seminary (I was the Assistant Minister assigned with the youth ministry portfolio). Joye and I are friends and serve together on the Board of the Ordained Ministry for the Baltimore-Washington Conference; so it was a delight for me to have her with us.

Each evening Joye led us in our closing meditation. One of her messages told of a lunch time encounter that she had on Tuesday, July 25, 2006, at Katrina’s Kitchen. Here is her story in her own words:

“I saw across the table from me an old white-haired lady. She was saving the seats beside her for 2 friends. She is a native of Gulfport but has lived in Pass Christian for a long time. She owns 3 acres of land off Menge Road. She lost everything in the storm. A week after the storm, she was evacuated against her will (she agreed to leave for “a couple of weeks”). She returned to Pass Christian in January. Two weeks ago, she received her FEMA trailer. In between she slept in her car or in a tent her sons had set up on her property.

“She was joined by her friend – younger, maybe around 60 – who brought their meal. Her friend started to eat but the old lady said, ‘Aren’t you going to say grace?’ They bowed their heads and the first thanks they gave was – ‘Thank you for sending all these folks to help us.’

“The younger woman still had her house but it has a ‘blue roof’ – an emergency tarp used to protect houses from further damage. She hoped the roof guy would come today, but no one had come yet.

“When I got up to leave, they thanked me for coming. I asked God’s blessings for them, and quoted Paul – ‘My grace is sufficient.’ They nodded, and the younger woman was on the edge of tears. Everywhere we go, people say, ‘Thank you for helping us.’ It’s very humbling.”

Thank you so much, Joye, for sharing this story with all of us and for joining our VIM Katrina Team!

I am also deeply thankful for all of the other 19 team members who were with us this week. I can honestly say that this trip played out without a single moment of disharmony. As I write this I can honestly say that there were no negative moments – only many, many positive moments that seemed to emphasize our unity in Jesus Christ, a unity that can (if we will allow it) overcome everything else. Randy said to me today, “This is the best VIM trip!” His words might be true for others of us on this team who have been VIMers before.

Here’s a brief description of how each team member contributed:
Sally Atwater – Power tools and insulation
Christina Avila – Carpentry, dry wall, guttering
Sarah Bohlinger – Dry wall and insulation
Sarah Capper – Dry wall and air transportation coordinator
Lee Crockett – Our General Contractor – steady, unflappable, quiet, immensely likeable
Kevin Fain – Dry wall
Jason Griffin – Insulation and dry wall
Matt Hale – Carpentry and dry wall
Joye Jones – Gofer, mudder, measurer, and evening devotions
Eliza Hamner-Koenig – Insulation, dry wall, and breakfast chef each morning
Jeremy Koenig – Dry wall and breakfast chef each morning
Ashley Lawson – Insulation and dry wall
Jamie Lawson – Dry wall
Leilani McConnell – Insulation, mudding, and final cleanup crew
Pat McConnell – Roofing, carpentry, electrician, handyman, and final cleanup crew
Shirley Moyer – Insulator and chief dirt collector (her words!)
Randy Oberdick – Carpentry, dry wall, and guttering
Craig Scherer – Roofer, carpentry
Lindz (her own spelling) Scherer – Dry wall engineer
Dick Schleicher – Dry wall, mudder, ground transportation coordinator
Frank Trotter – Team leader, gofer, dry wall, mudder, morning devotions

I want to tell you how amazing it is that only 4 members of this team had been on one of Metropolitan’s previous VIM trips. Over half of our members are 30 or under! This alone says great things about the future of the church. Several of them have already approached me about next year’s VIM trip (whatever that may turn out to be). Many, many thanks to all of you for all you have done in the name of Jesus Christ and for

Tonight, we drove to Gulfport to visit the Cross Point Church where Brenden Lawson is the youth pastor (a Baptist church located in Newport News, Virginia). Jamie Lawson, Brenden’s older brother, suggested that we could worship together one night. When we gathered with all of the youth (over 100 of them) and their counselors, we were surrounded by a sea of white and blue church T-shirts. All of the Cross Point members were here in Gulfport on an amazingly well-organized outreach effort to respond to the Katrina disaster. They had erected an entire campground complete with sleeping and eating accommodations and a worship center.

Though we were with them only a couple of hours, we were blessed to hear Brenden led the worship through voice and guitar (all of the songs were written by him).

When I was a youth in the Methodist Church, I learned a benediction that I close with now: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.”

(Written by Dr. Frank Trotter)

2006-07-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

On our way to New Orleans we took a detour to Rte. 90. At the end of Rte. 90 there was a bridge that did not connect to the other side. It was broken by hurricane Katrina. We all walked to the shore and took pictures. There were cranes in the background working on its repair.

We then began our decent to New Orleans and drove through a section of New Orleans called Bywater. Several homes were destroyed, but there were volunteers abound and residents working on restoring them.

We then went to the 9th ward. I had never seen so much devastation. It blew my mind. Every single house was destroyed. While driving down the road we ran into a large group of volunteers with “I Love New Orleans” t-shirts. They were Methodists and we took a picture of them. We also drove to where one of the levees broke, the Industrial Canal. In the background was the New Orleans skyline.

As we made our way into New Orleans, Frank spotted a truck that read, “Jesus is Lord”. We made a few u-turns to catch up with it and took a picture.

Shirley and Kevin recommend a restaurant called Mother’s for lunch. It was a wonderful recommendation. As soon as we arrived we were told it was the best food in New Orleans. That was most certainly the truth. We all had Po boy sandwiches. Delicious.

After lunch we walked to the St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square and walked inside. There was a woman who worked there that we spoke with. She told us how grateful she was that we were there and how hard it has been for the city as there are not enough people to tend to the jobs.

Soon after, some of the group split to go shopping and see more of the sights. I went with Sally and Lindsey. We walked down Bourbon Street and heard live jazz. One thing that struck me about this city was the selection of t-shirts. The majority of them mocked the Federal Government as well as hurricane Katrina. Dick ended up buying one that read, “I drove to the levee and the levee was gone” if that tells you anything.

We then met up for dinner and walked to Orleans Café. Creole seasoning. Crawfish bisque, vegetable jambalaya. The food in New Orleans is fabulous!

On our way home we stopped at the famous Café du Monde for beinets. We also bought some for the rest of the group. Too good to not share with everyone.

After such a day I came away with respect and appreciation for the people of New Orleans. Everyone is SO thankful for us being here. Everyone tells us God Bless you! After less then a year a lot has been done, but there is still so much to do. The city needs us. It needs us to help in so many ways. Another t-shirt I saw in New Orleans was “Re New Orleans”.

(Written Ashley Lawson)

2006-07-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

This morning a lean but determined drywall crew arrived at the work site, pumped up the classic rock station, and took on two bathrooms and the ceilings of the kitchen and classroom. Never has Bon Jovi fueled a more ambitious effort. We had a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment as we hoisted up and secured the sheet rock, with most of the holes cut for pipes and vents falling in just the right places. Several parishioners stopped by to visit with us and check on how the church building is shaping up. They shared our excitement that the rooms are starting to look like rooms. The parishioners’ friendliness and appreciation have been a great inspiration to us—a flavor of our time here that all of us will remember. We have been welcomed warmly at grocery stores, Wal-Marts, and by everybody’s favorite cop at the Home Depot, but it is especially heartening to be greeted by the people who will someday return to worship in the sanctuary where we have been working. It is good to be guests in their church.

I am struck each day by how much fun we have together—belly laughs over dinner, sympathetic smiles during particularly tough moments at the worksite, and kind words at the evening devotional time. After dinner we often sit in the pews of Mt. Zion, sharing about our lives back in DC, processing the devastation that we see on all sides, and remembering good moments from the day. There is something refreshing about leaving behind our usual patterns and taking on new roles of learners and leaders as the days here unfold. We all look forward to taking new skills, and new friendships, back to DC when we return.

After lunch at God’s Katrina Kitchen, we drove to Biloxi, one of the areas hardest hit by the hurricane. As we drove around the low-lying neighborhoods near the coast, we saw another example of the post-hurricane landscape that has become so familiar during our time in Pass Christian—blue tarps patching roofs, “do not destroy” spray-painted on the sides of listing buildings, and odd remnants of family life strewn unnaturally across now-empty lots. The devastation is overwhelming. Seeing Biloxi reminded us that the devastation stretches all along the coast. Town after town, and family after family, facing what must sometimes feel like an insurmountable challenge. Yet, when we talk with people, they are resolute in their dedication to rebuilding their homes and their lives, and returning to the life that generations have known and cherished.

We look forward to reuniting with the other members of our team, who spent the day visiting New Orleans, and hearing their impressions of the city and the rebuilding efforts.

(Written by Eliza Hamner-Koenig)

2006-07-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

We thought it might be fun and informative to have a few posts of just pictures. Here are some of various stages of the work:

Also we wanted to make everyone aware of the fact that tomorrow we most likely will not be able to post any updates, but will be able to post both Thursday's and Friday's news when we are able to get internet access again. (Matthew Hale)

2006-07-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 25, 2006

Jeremy and Eliza treated us to a delicious breakfast of French toast and sausage with real maple syrup, which fortified us for another full day of work at St. Paul’s. We piled into our familiar vans and continued work on the projects that had been started the day before. The insulation crew worked valiantly in the heat and humidity and completed their work. Several young men from the heating, air conditioning, and duct company spent the day with us installing gas lines. It was great to get to know some of the people from this area. A fierce thunderstorm with lightning interrupted our two roof men – Patrick and Craig. They had spent several hours repairing portions of the roof. But the roof is no place to be when lightning is in the sky and Rev. Frank ordered them down NOW! A beautiful rainbow appeared shortly thereafter. Reverend Joye Jones again kept everyone supplied with tools and other needed objects. The job was made easier because her brother, Tate Jones from Atlanta, donated the use of a pick up truck for this week. All of us are very grateful for this generous gift. Besides making innumerable stops at Home Depot, it found its way to every building shop in Gulfport. It is good to have Joye in our midst. She served as Associate Minister at MMUMC during the years 1995-1997.

Time for lunch! We hurried back to God’s Katrina Kitchen, which was doing a booming business again. The volunteers that serve are from all over the country. Jessica Ells and Ashley Leigh were part of a thirty-seven member team from the Stones Hall Community Church in Ligonier, Indiana. The menu was generous and good. We marvel at the organization and work that this endeavor takes. No matter how busy they are, the volunteers always have a friendly smile and a “Bless You.”

Work continued apace after lunch with much dry wall applied in the bathrooms and the sanctuary. Others were applying mud to seams and also covering screws. Those big projects took up the rest of the day. But no one argued when we were told by our boss that we could pack up and return to our host church- Mt. Zion. Anticipation for the good cooking of our ladies from St. Paul was high. They outdid themselves again. We had southern fried chicken, black-eyed peas and rice, and cornbread. Then, to top it off, we had an oreo cookie cream pie as well as a chocolate mousse pie. We have been blessed by the hard work of the ladies from St. Paul - Lee Hollins, Chairman of the Pastor Parish Committee, Sandy Castillo, Secretary-Treasurer, and Alma Dedeaux, Chairman, Financial Committee. Lee’s husband Walter also helped out. We are looking forward to several more dinners from our wonderful ladies group.

(Written by Shirley Moyer)

2006-07-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Monday July 24, 2006

Today our group awoke early to the wonderful aroma of a hearty breakfast that was cooked by Jeremy and Eliza – it was a great way to start our day. A small group left at 7 am for Home Depot - already a familiar place for us! – to pick up more supplies for the work ahead. The rest of us arrived at St. Paul’s around 8:30 and began to clean the debris from the church yard. We learned that 3 houses next door had literally been carried up and over a fence into the side yard of the church. Although the houses had been since moved, there was a lot of debris imbedded in the sandy group – including personal items like dolls and broken toys. There were some black widows in one section of the yard, so we had to be very careful in that spot! But we made good progress in cleaning the area. While we took a break, our Home Depot gang arrived in the pickup truck, with Randy standing triumphantly in the back.

We then opened the church and began all the projects we planned the previous night. It actually wasn’t that hot in the church, which was a nice surprise. We split up in our teams of carpenters, dry-wallers, and insulation installers – each with a team leader. Lee is our overall general contractor, and he is doing a great job of moving to and from the various projects, helping to ensure that they are going smoothly, troubleshooting, and joining the teams in the work. The teams worked with great purpose all morning – you could hear the hum of electric tools, machines, and discussions as we made a good start on the various projects.

We then took a break for lunch and headed to the coast, where there was a place for volunteers to have lunch. We piled in our vans, enjoyed the great air conditioning, and drove slowly on some coastal roads headed to the luncheon site. The devastation was incredible. There were numerous lots where the houses simply existed no more. There was an occasional boat lying in a green yard on its side purposelessly – clearly dropped there by the storm surge and never returned. And many of the houses that were still standing were not really habitable – many had painted X’s on the front with markings of “GAS” or “NO GAS” and various other indicators for building inspectors. We then headed down the coastal highway a few miles and came upon a huge tent where lunch was being served to volunteers – “Katrina’s Kitchen” – which was open to volunteers of all denominations with a great sign that read “Not one Church, just one God”. It was packed with volunteers from all over the country. We learned that the Kitchen serves 1,000-2,000 volunteers a day, which was a very heartening statistic. The volunteers were tired but friendly – it was a hopeful atmosphere. The open tent was pleasant – breezy with a great view of the Gulf. It was interesting and poignant that the beach stretched for miles in both directions, but almost no one was walking there on sunny summer day.

We then returned to the work site and continued our work from the morning. The groups made solid progress during the day. One note - Frank had to get an anti-inflammatory injection in the morning at a local hospital for some pain in his knee – but he is doing much better and joined us in the afternoon work. We then returned home around 5:30 and showered up for dinner – we let the insulators shower first because that is a messy job! Sandy Castillo, from St. Paul’s church, cooked us a terrific spaghetti dinner with her parents and grandchildren – they are very generous and kind and we are glad to grow closer to them and others here on the coast. After dinner some of us traveled in a van to a Gulfport Barnes and Noble, and we are typing and posting our blog here right now. It has been a great first day in our week’s actual work. (Written by Kevin Fain)

2006-07-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

THE VIM Team

Sally T. Atwater
Christina Avila
Sarah Bohlinger
Sarah Capper
Lee Crockett
Kevin Fain
Jason Griffin
Matthew Hale
Reverend Joye Jones (Good Shepherd UMC, Silver Spring MD)
Eliza Hamner-Koenig
Jeremy Koenig
Ashley Lawson
Jamie Lawson
Leilani McConell (Good Shepherd UMC, Silver Spring MD)
Pat McConell (Good Shepherd UMC, Silver Spring MD)
Shirley Moyer
Randy Oberdick
Craig Scherer
Lindsey Scherer (Also known as Lindz)
Dick Schleicher
Dr. Frank Trotter, Team Leader

The first group of the VIM team flew to New Orleans on Saturday July 22, 2006. That evening Minister Callie welcomed the 11 members of the VIM team during a blinding rainstorm. Our contact to Rayne UMC was made by two young adult members of Metropolitan – Steve Carruth and Heather Yost. Steve grew up in Rayne and he and Heather will be married there this summer. Rayne is one of the historic churches in the Garden District of New Orleans. In 2005 after Katrina’s onslaught, Rayne’s most significant damage was caused by hurricane Rita. Over 4 million dollars of damage occurred when the steeple collapsed into the roof making the sanctuary unusable. One symbol of hope was naturally formed in the days following the storm. Fragments of the fallen steeple formed a cross on top of the church. As a symbol of that hope Rayne has erected a similar Cross in the fellowship hall made from broken pieces of the timbers from the collapsed steeple. The insurance company was slow to help with the repairs. In the process of repairing their damage, they have turned their church into a volunteer-friendly habitat with teams from all over the country taking up residence often. The VIM team was refreshed both in body and spirit with their hospitality. Sunday morning the team was introduced to the congregation as well as a youth group from Oregon that had just finished a week of volunteering. The congregation warmly welcomed both groups.

The second group traveled by van carrying tools and supplies. The first leg of the trip was from Washington DC to Auburn Alabama. They were able to take a brief tour of downtown Atlanta on the way through. One of the team members has a relative who graciously let the group stay in their townhouse on Saturday night. From Auburn the final leg of the journey was from Auburn into Pass Christian including completing the entire length of Route 85, all 665 miles of it!

Both groups arrived Sunday afternoon in Pass Christian. The group that had traveled from New Orleans was first to arrive and also first to meet someone from the community. After setting off the alarm here at Mt. Zion where the group will be staying the Sheriff arrived asking Dr. Trotter, “Are you some of those Christian’s”? He had heard we were arriving and after determining that we were no threat to the Church was incredibly appreciative and thankful of our being here.

After both groups were fed and had done some grocery shopping we went to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, which is where the work will be done. The devastation is still very visible and almost incomprehensible. There is rebuilding going on and many houses have either been repaired or rebuilt, but the closer we got to the water the more visible the need for help and reconstruction became evident. There are still many vacant houses that have significant damage with very telling signs. One house was spray painted with the words “SOLD – Do not Destroy.” Another said “Nationwide – 911.” Some lots have nothing left except stairs and a mailbox. St. Paul’s has had a large amount of work done to it. Much of the sanctuary has been sheet—rocked. The area we will focus our attention on first, is the back of the church where the Kitchen and bathrooms will be. Those areas need to have insulation installed, fire blocks put in and sheet rock to be hung. Even in the midst of rebirth there are still reminders of what the Church endured including a water logged bible and a wheel chair covered in mold.

A meeting was held to discuss the plan for the week and how the groups would be divided into teams and what the teams will be doing. We had a prayer sang some heart felt hymns and concluded with the lords Prayer. In the morning after a Home Depot run the rebuilding will continue. (Written by Matthew Hale)

2006-07-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

We've arrived in Pass Christian. We haven't been able to get an internet connection yet so at the moment this is being transmitted by a cellphone. We're planning on finding an internet connection tonight and will be able to post what we've written so far and post pictures as well. Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to a productive day. Thank you for your Prayers and support. Check back later this evening for a full update. Matt

2006-07-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

Metropolitan's VIM Team to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to Leave July 22nd
[July 14, 2006]

Metropolitan's Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team to the Gulf Coast will leave July 22nd. Three members of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Silver Spring will join 18 members of our congregation to travel to Pass Christian, Mississippi, to rebuild St. Paul United Methodist Church, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

If you would like to support the VIM team's ministry spiritually or financially, please contact Dr. Frank Trotter at ftrotter@mmumc-dc.org or 202-363-4900.

You can also follow us in cyberspace by checking our blog, which will be posted here and will carry updates from our trip as well as our reflections on ministry on the Gulf Coast. We hope you will join us!

Sarah Capper
Team member, Gulf Coast VIM