FRIDAY

The bloggers are tired. Want to know about our day? Just ask us Sunday at church, or wait till we have motivation to write. Pictures will be posted by the time we get around to it- don't hold your breath, we're aiming for next Labor Day.

Peace Out. It's been real.
A. Hawkins
L. Connor

THURSDAY

            Every morning seems to come earlier for us.  The majority made it to breakfast and prepared for a long day of painting.  Jack, Denis, and Bob spent the morning on Hollywood Boulevard putting some final touches on Sam’s shower.  Everything is all set except for a minor problem… The hot water is cold and the cold water is hot.   So they will spend the morning tomorrow hopefully correcting this error. 

            We were a little unprepared when we arrived at the Boudreax’s house without any supplies to paint with.  After a quick trip to BBM Betsey, and her merry band of youngsters grabbed the necessary paintbrushes, rollers, and trays.  While they were gone, Hal got started power washing and Johnnie made sure to show Abbie and Lynn her bright red amaryllis in the backyard.   Johnnie is very proud of her garden and even offered to send Betsey home with some seeds.  When Betsey came back with the paint supplies she also arrived with Vietnamese pastries for the bakery down the street.  They were amazing!  We need to find something similar at home.  Or maybe not, seeing as I think each one was a days worth of calories…

            Now that we were prepared to paint, we were all a little surprised that the paint color was completely different.  Johnnie had told us yesterday that she wanted to keep the house the same color, but when we opened the buckets the color was a yellowish tan.  We debated what to call the color but names that we brainstormed were “mustard”  “honey mustard” and “baby poop.”  That should give you a nice visual of the color.  The homeowners seem very happy and don’t mind the change because it had been a purple-gray since before Katrina.  Everyone worked hard and we have the whole house scraped with half painted with a first coat and a few sections with two coats.  This will keep us busy tomorrow and a group next week will finish the trim. 

            When we started cleaning up around 3:30, Dave realized that his rental car was dead.  No one seemed to have a set of jumper cables and Budget Rental couldn’t come and jump the car for at least an hour.  Luckily, Abbie was on the ball and had the ingenious idea to ask the neighbors. (A trip to Starbucks is a huge motivator!)  Johnnie’s nephew lives right across the street, so it was a logical first stop.  Abbie and Lynn met a large shirtless man, who did indeed have cable for us to borrow.  After a few tries the car was ready to go and we were off on our Starbucks run!

            Back at SUMA we started a few loads of laundry and took showers before heading to a restaurant recommended highly by those who had come on trips before.  After a long drive, we arrived at The Shed.  And yes, it is just a shed.  They have amazing BBQ and the atmosphere is unlike anything at home.  You sit at picnic tables outside and the waitresses yell your name across the open lot when your food is ready.  We had a great time and enjoyed a dinner all together and moment to relax after a busy day.

            And finally, tonight for your entertainment each member of our crew has a sentence about our day or trip so far. Enjoy!

Love,
Your favorite Bloggers, AH and LC

Abbie- IV of Starbucks, too blessed to be stressed

Jack- It’s good to be Kate.  (After wearing Kate’s nametag all day).

Hal- It’s been great to interact with our clients.  It’s been a lot of fun

Dave- I love DEMO!

Lynn- My camera got power washed today and it’s spending the night in a bag of rice.  It needs your prayers.

Denis- I would do it again. 

Kate- I love running next to the beach and I hate scraping paint.

Ryan- The skateboarding in the south is great because there are many more spots than up north.

Tyler- The security guard at the Seashore Oaks stinks, and I actually enjoyed working down here.

Kevin- Oh wow.  That’s it!  (Quoting our wonderful site coordinator, Tim)

Jen- JAACK!  (As his horn is honking for the millionth time)

Bob- I feel like I’ve found a new family. 

Mary- The highlight of the trip for me was the emotional Baptist service and I’m happy everyone has 

gotten along so well.

Olivia- Clearly, vegetarians don’t belong in the South, and I like commas. 

Betsey- As official den mother and oldest person here, I have thoroughly enjoyed my trips to Dairy Queen with all of the youngest kids.

WEDNESDAY

         Wednesday woke us ready to put in another long day. Breakfast was served. Lunches were packed, the stragglers were corralled and we jumped in to the cars and head to Hollywood. Hollywood Boulevard, Biloxi Mississippi, that is. While Sam Taylor, the home owner, would like to tell you it’s the second ‘Hollywood’ the poverty is clear and damage is still visible. When we reached the Taylor’s house we finished painting the peach colored trim, touched up some of the white spots and our most skilled carpenters went to work on the bathroom, hoping to finish the installation of a new shower.
         One thing that made our time at Sam Taylor’s so rewarding for many was his ability to just sit and talk with us. His stories are powerful, profound and often gut-wrenching. No matter the story or its outcome he made it known that he feels so blessed, and thanks God for everything. Beyond the physical labor that comes along with a mission trip, the connection with the people is what really sustains us- knowing you are making a tangible difference in someone’s life- even if all you do is serve them food at Loaves and Fishes or build them a house- their gratitude is beyond words. If we remember nothing more from Sam, it will be what he preached; ‘common sense,’ cause in the end it’s all you really need.
          Once we said our goodbyes to the Taylor family, we met Bob and Craig at BBM to get our next assignment. We drove to the other side of Biloxi to meet Johnni and Carroll and their three dogs Buddy, Gypsy, and Benji. Johnni and Carroll live much closer to the ocean and Johnni actually grew up right down the street from her current home. Johnni was so happy to see she started to cry when Abbie introduced herself. She said that we were a blessing and couldn’t believe we had come all the way from Massachusetts to help her. It was one of the moments when we remembered the real reason we were here. We will spend the rest of our week scraping, painting and replacing some molding. At first glance we thought the paint was in good condition, but once we started scraping we found more damage, termites, and other paint problems. Before we left Johnni and Carroll told us their Katrina story. When the storm hit, they only had a few minutes to retreat to their attic to avoid being swept up in the storm surge. They looked out their front door and could only see water coming down their road. All of us looked over to the road and couldn’t even fathom the sight. You can’t see the ocean from their house and the idea of the ocean taking over this neighborhood was impossible for us. They made it up there with the dogs and stayed there for 5 ½ hours. Carroll kept opening the trap door to see how high the water had come. When the water finally started to subside, it have risen 11 feet in their house. Johnni showed Lynn and Betsey a mark in the garage she refuses to wash that shows how high the water was. Johnni described her feeling during the storm as, “calm and I’m a nervous person, but I know it was out of my hands.” They lived in a trailer in their front yard for months and spent Christmas in there until their house could be fixed. We look forward to working with them and getting to know them better.
             After putting in several hours at Johnnie and Carroll’s scraping and taking down shutters, we were all exhausted. The sun had been beating all day and we know longer had the shade that was so abundant at Sam’s house. We packed in the cars and raced back to the showers. Some went for runs, some walked on the beach, others just enjoyed their surroundings or caught up on e-mail. 5:30PM crept up and we all headed to the SUMA’s Cafeteria for dinner.
              After, dressed in our finest attire we drove to the First Baptist Church in Biloxi where we got to experience a service unlike our typical Protestant New England service. A modest church, light blue exterior with limited parking spots, set off the main road- with an interior with bare white walls but filled with love and compassion, a true uplifting environment for all. We were all scurried to the back few pews where we sat expecting to sit through a quick service and leave. Little did many of us know that this run-down blue building could offer such joy and peace, it gave many a chance to reflect, as we listen to singers, scriptures and testimony. Between the Amen’s, Praise the Lord’s, God Bless, and the many other formalities. We really did feel the blessings. Our testimony was singing “Here I Am Lord” for the congregation. Some of the people from the Connecticut group were singing along from the pews and we heard a few Amens from the First Baptist congregants. It was our small way of saying thank you for letting us join their service. I think it’s safe to say that First Baptist renewed us and inspired us to continue God’s work.

And as a man at Loaves and Fishes said to us, {May “God bless all of you and I’ll pray for you, you pray for me ‘cause you know we all need”}

And as always, "god be with you till we meet again,"

Hawkins and Connor. Peace Out!

TUESDAY

         Today started off as dreary and drizzly.  6:30 breakfast found many still asleep, yet that did not stop us from arriving at our worksite by 8:00AM, ready for a hard day of work. Since the crew on Dewey expertly finished their flooring assignment on Monday, they joined the Hollywood crew. The rain subsided and we had the chance to tackle painting the exterior of Sam Taylor’s house. Sam is a charismatic 67-year-old with many stories to share. Having spent his whole life in Mississippi and watching his surroundings evolve around him, his opinions are clear and his convictions, deep. His house abuts the Keesler Airforce Base; a staple in the Biloxi community since opening in 1941, and his house was once part of Keesler, along with many others in the surrounding neighborhood.

         Since we had completed scraping and power washing on Monday, we got straight to work painting; the house was to be repainted white with what some describe as orange, others as peach, some say salmon trim.  Despite discrepancies concerning the color of the trim, we had almost completed the work by the time the day was done.  Rotted wood had been replaced around the windows in hopes of lowering Sam’s energy bill and we finally got the extension ladders necessary to paint the highest parts of the house.  Hard Hat Hal consulted a very cheerful Tim about what to do with the oversized hole through which some wires run into the wall and where, as we were told by Sam, “the squirrels come in and try to eat my house.”  Despite knowing he had an allergy to latex, Denis thought using the latex paint would be a great idea.  He was surpsied when he broke out in hives and needed to leave the work site early to take a shower and some benedryl.   Miraculously he was good as new when he walked to McDonalds for a quick snack hoping to make it back before the Cutler Mobile returned. Sounds planned huh?  Meanwhile, Jen and Kevin were instructed to begin construction in the bathroom, but both escaped when they found a cockroach that then a multitude, and could not be return to the scene of the crime.  As a result, Dave, Jack, and Bob stocily braved the insect infested bathroom disassembled the bathroom’s fixtures and carried them out to be delivered to the dumpster, dropping debris everywhere they went.  Having sawed a rusty bathtub in half to get it out of the door, Jack noted that the tub was now for “half-assed people.”

             At 10:00AM, Lynn, Mary, Kate, and Olivia went over to Loaves and Fishes, (the local soup kitchen,) to contribute their expertise in using can-openers, mopping, washing dishes, assembling care packages, and serving food.  Kate was dismayed to learn halfway through serving lunch that she was supposed to keep track of how many she had served. The severe language barrier between Massachusetts and Mississippi was made evident as everybody had difficulty understanding Snake, the dishwasher, and others. Not only do Bostonians not know how to follow direction, they also have trouble following through with mediocre chores. It’s no wonder we’ve made it this far; Olivia learned that she does not know how to use a broom, while Lynn and Mary struggled with the world’s most non-automatic, automatic can-opener.  Lynn and Olivia also spent some time filling bags with necessities for the homeless with Sandi and Joie who work at the kitchen. They quickly learned not to mess with Sandi, who smoked at least two cigarettes while they were gathering items and shouted at the people awaiting their goods.  Joie was nice, telling us how she hoped to open her own shelter and drug rehab program.  Lynn got her email address and hopefully MCC may be able to contribute to help her cause in the future.

            Following the end of the work day, the tired volunteers met at Back Bay to listen to Shari Prestemon, the executive director of the Back Bay Mission.  She supplied us with more information about the different ways BBM works to help those in Biloxi and the surrounding towns and cities. During the middle of her introduction Abbie, Lynn, Dave and Mary walked in Starbucks in hand. The awkward stares were worth the caffeine infusion, especially for Abbie and Mary who usually visit Starbucks daily. When everyone was settled, Shari shared that 1/3 of their operating budget is the money raised by churches around the country.  The volunteers that come down to the mission equal $1 million dollars of labor each year.  We were all amazed by this figure and it really proved how important the work camp volunteers are for the Mission.  Back Bay Mission works on 50 homes a year in the area and is expanding in different areas as well.  One of the many projects they were starting was building affordable housing in the surrounding communities.

          Once the meeting ended the crew raced back to the dorms for showers before dinner. Abbie was covered head to toe with paint, a true testament to her hard work!? When 5:30 arrived everyone headed to the cafeteria for a hearty meatloaf dinner. Upon return Dave played guitar as many sang ‘Here I am Lord’ and many walked on the beach, skateboarded and caught up on e-mail, while Abbie and Lynn were confined to slaving away on this blog, for your reading pleasure- hope you enjoyed!

Good night!

And 'god be with you till we meet again'

Respectfully Submitted-

Abigail Laura and Lynn Elizabeth

MONDAY

            Day 2 started bright and early with breakfast at 6:30…  It was a little too early for some of us, but we were all on the road headed to Back Bay at 7:30.  Bob and Craig, the project coordinators gave a short orientation into the jobs we will be doing.  They told us about the financial state of the Back Bay Mission, which is pretty dire right now.  Federal aid has stopped and they are currently waiting for their next round of funding.  Unfortunately, they have been waiting for over a year and have had to be very careful in the aid they provide until monies arrive, and even then it will be tough.  Currently they can only work on properties in Biloxi because the state aid they are receiving is only coming from that city.  They are beginning to think they will not be able to afford a Blitz Build in 2011.  The jobs we are completing this week are odds and ends that fit into the budget. They could not stress enough the need for funding, explaining how different this mission trip will be compared to ones in the past- with less flexibility buying supplies etc. they are mainly tackling cosmetic tasks, painting etc. The few homes that they really gut or renovate are for those in such unlivable conditions it’s almost unsafe not to.

            Bob and Craig, volunteer and Consturction Manager from the BBM, assigned us to two houses for the day.  The first house was in need of painting and molding around a window which needs replacement, (but we will not have the funds to replace).  The second house had laminate tiles that needed to be installed and old tile that needed to come up. 

Our group corralled and some of MCC’s finest went to work on Dewey Circle…Bob and Denis Hause, Kate and Tyler Caputo, and Jack Besemer worked their magic ripping up old flooring and installing new laminate flooring. Did we mention they had to move lots of heavy furniture in order to get to/see the floor!

Meanwhile, the rest of us drove off to Hollywood Boulevard to work on Sam Taylor’s house. There, we were given our assignment: scraping and painting the exterior of the house, replacing a piece of wooden trim and power washing the house. Not in that exact order, but you get the picture!  The crew found themselves hard at work, scraping paint, pulling off molding, and caulking around the windows. Sam Taylor who owns that property was thrilled to have us working on his house and sat outside admiring our efforts all afternoon   Kevin Ravesi was a pro with the power washer, Dave, Mary, Jen and the rest of the crew worked tirelessly. During a lull in our scraping, Lynn shared her strong desire to ‘landscape’ the front yard. We suggested beginning, and ending, with raking leaves. Seeking approval from Tim, one of the volunteer coordinators, we got permission to rake. When Olivia, Abbie, and Lynn had accumulated quite a pile of leaves we decided we need to figure out where we should dispose of such a massive pile. Abbie asked the homeowner who in turn requested that we put all the leaves BACK to their original location!! Lesson learned.

Hard Hat Hal needed a razor blade from the house on Dewey St. with the rest of our crew, so Abbie volunteered to ‘run’ over and get it and convinced Lynn to join, as it is really a two-person job! Abbie convincingly told Lynn that the house was “Just 0.2 of a mile, ohhh it will take 4 minutes or less.” Lynn should have known better that 0.2 really would equate to more like 0.60 ;) Since they were still wearing their Back Bay nametags, safety goggles, and masks it was really no surprise when people looked at them as if they were crazy.  Between Abbie’s idea to run and Lynn’s brilliant handheld GPS we made it there in around 10 minutes??  Give or take 15. 

While our crews were constructing away on Dewey and Boulevard, Bestey and Ryan were cooking away for the clients at Loaves and Fishes, the soup kitchen associated with Back Bay Mission. Betsy was well recognized at the kitchen, several members of the staff and clients recognized her from previous trips as did our chef here at SUMA, who was the previous chef of Loaves and Fishes! Ryan and Betsy served both breakfast and lunch for those in need. From what we heard breakfast consisted of leftover pizza and oatmeal. Not my ideal breakfast, but for the people being fed, a hearty meal that would sustain their stomachs and their pocket.

            Back at SUMA (our home base) it was a mad dash to the showers before dinner.  Bestey did a load of laundry for those who wanted to get some items cleaned.  After dinner many sat around doing homework, blogging, and enjoying the sunset.  In celebration of Lynn’s birthday a few of those over 21 went to Beau Rivage, a casino down the street for a quick drink.  We all shared some birthday cupcakes and relaxed for the evening.

             Peace out from the 39530,

            The Biloxi 2010 Crew

            And God be with you till we meet again,

            Your Biloxi Bloggers, Abbie and Lynn

SUNDAY

            …And the epic adventures of MCC’s Biloxi trip begins! After long flights and drives, the entire MCC crew has safely arrived at Seacoast United Methodist Assembly (SUMA).  Back Bay Mission has a very large group, so we are staying down the street.   At SUMA, we are staying in two dorms that Olivia said, “Have a very camp-ish feel.”

Sunday’s story began by waking up at what felt like the crack of dawn for some of us (aka 6:00-7:00AM) and enjoying the sunrise, running, or just waking up. At 7:30 breakfast was served in the cafeteria.  Cathy, the cook prepared bacon and pancakes for us, along with coffee, juices, cereals, etc.  After a nice breakfast to jumpstart our day, everyone split up and got ready for the day.  Some went for walks on the beautiful beach right across the road from us while others searched for an Internet connection or went back to the bunks for a quick shower before our day to New Orleans.  Lynn and Abbie went for quick jaunt down the beach and were fascinated to find a sea turtle.  Unfortunately the turtle was dead…  We still found it pretty interesting!

Our three cars left around 9:15 for New Orleans with a stop past Clementine and Lucious’s house from several years ago on the way.  It looks like they have moved into the house and out of the trailer, which has been parked in the front yard since our first trip down.  After passing multiple Waffle Houses and billboards advocating spaying and neutering your pets, we made it to Louisiana! 

            New Orleans showed us the two extremes of Louisiana now:  a well restored, built up French Quarter, but also districts still trying to rebuild from the destruction from four years ago.  Bourbon Street is thriving with tourism while the outskirts of the city have driveways that lead to empty lots and front stair with no houses.   Many of the houses still have the marks used after the storm to assess survivors and abandoned properties.  It was surprising to see that so many of these marks were still on homes and hadn’t been painted over.

            Everyone enjoyed their time in New Orleans and got a taste of the city (especially when we found a Starbucks!).  Abbie and Lynn met a few locals who shared their wisdom about the city and how Katrina affected them.   Dave saw a funk band called MoJo Man playing in Jackson Square for the Ironman competition.  He found it amusing as the band competed against the Kaliope music coming from the paddlewheel boat docked in the river.  The Cutlers met up with Kate’s sister-in-law, Kaya, who joined us for dinner.

            Dave, Jack, and Hal impressed us with their driving skills when we hit a nasty rainstorm as we crossed back into Mississippi.   Tonight, we had a meeting at Back Bay to meet everyone and see the new dorms.  The old trailers are gone and the new dorms are beautiful!  During our meeting we met the other group joining us at Back Bay.  They are from Portland, Connecticut and are a very large group.  

Half of the group ended the night with a necessary trip to Walmart and we all gathered around Dave and his guitar for a sing along.  Tomorrow, we will find out our work assignments and start the work we came to do! 

Blessings from your crew in the South,

The 2010 Biloxi Crew 

And 'God be with you till we meet again'  from your Biloxi bloggers, Abbie and Lynn