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!