CMCC Katrina Relief Blog

(Below is a paste of what I sent Rachel - I had a message for you [Douglas] all typed and it did not go through. Only have a short time so…)

There is still a need for clothing and bedding - see below about the Willow people - they run the clothing store. We will get a contact today and address if we have anything to send. Here is the deal: It should be NEW - it should be presorted by gender, adult, kids, and then possibly size.  They need warm weather type clothes - its does get cool so long sleeve shrts are good, too.

- mens pants
- plus sizes for women
- under garments

Willow took and cashed a $4000 check yesterday and went to buy clothes - probably Biloxi, Wal-Mart. Nothing is really opened here,  but the need is big and not going away.

I just did not want people to think it’s over yet. Read on…

Well yesterday was pretty busy - devastation is bad - just awful.  And we have not even seen the worst of it yet.  Planning on going to the beach (about a mile away) around 3pm today.

Willow is here and they run the clothing warehouse; fancy name for a big tent.  But they set a record of people they served at over 900, with 800 the day before and 700 the day before that.

The need for clothing and bedding is still high.  Kids and infants are taken care of - it’s men pants, bedding is like gold, pillows, towels, plus sizes for women. They are starting to get people form Louisianna as the centers are treating them poorly over there.

This is the largest center in Mississippi and it’s not really all that big. Like a tent city - much like you would see on the TV show MASH.  I have to pick Douglas up tomorrow morning - he will be here through Friday.

We may leave and drive through Friday night after dinner since we would be leaving early Saturday.

Flies and bugs are everywhere - the flies are really nasty.  This area we are in they found about 30 dead bodies - some in cars, some on the roof. All that of course is gone - but the devastation remains.

Christian Life Church (CLC), through which we are doing this work, is from Orange Beach, Alabama.  They will be here until they are no longer needed and right now that carries them through the end of the year.  If the church was not here - there would be no one. FEMA is not around. No National Guard, but the med center which I strolled into - is guarded. This guy wearing a SWAT t-shirt came up and I thought it was just a shirt until I saw the gun. YES SIR!!  As for us we are next to them (across the fence line) but not guarded.

Sleeping was not bad - and the semi- air-conditioned tents are cold. They were great to sleep in. I miss my cloud - but the cots are not all that bad.  Good thing I brought the sleeping bag.  People were getting phone calls at 4:30 am.  Like, who is calling you?? There are about 120 people in the tent.

I never thought my experience as a forklift driver would come in handy. It’s been 14 years since i got that license - but they need the help here.

So we made it through the first day - hoping to meet more people and get some stories today.  Trying to establish a connection with willow to get them clothing.

Well, have to go sling some trash, clean some toilets.

- Contributed by Tim Walters

We left the Tampa Bay area this morning around 5:30 AM.  As we got into Alabama and then Mississippi we started to notice more and more mangled billboards and roofs with blue tarps on them.  Once we got off I-10 it was just a short drive south to Waveland.  The sides of the road were littered with all sorts of debris.  Most striking were the cars lying upside down and on their sides along the road, piled together by Katrina’s storm surge.

We arrived at Camp Katrina around 3 PM local time.  The best way to describe the scene was organized chaos.  In the parking lot of what used to be a K-Mart were dozens of tents and trailers.  FEMA operations were next to a tent for insurance claims, which was next to a tent with job placement services, which was next to a mobile medical center.  In the middle of it all was the relief center operated by Christian Life Fellowship of Orange Beach, AL.

We were given a tour of "Camp Katrina." The relief center consisted of several large tents - one where people could get clothing, another which was like a store with food and toiletry items, and another was for meals, all of it given away free. Pastor Jimmy of CLC told us at first they had trouble with people taking much more than they really needed, but over the weeks they reassured people that they were going to be here to help for as long as help is needed, and most people now just take what they need.

After we brought our gear into the sleeping tent, they put us right to work.  Don and Joseph worked on the kitchen team preparing and serving dinner.  Tim and Paul worked on the maintenance team collecting trash and filling generators with diesel fuel.  There are at least 200 volunteers here from all over the country, and it was amazing how well everyone worked together and how eager everyone was to help those in need in whatever way they could.

Every evening things wrap up with all the volunteers joining together for a time of worship and a short devotional.  We’ve only been here a few hours and already we can tell God is really doing things in the lives of those being helped and those doing the helping.

- Contributed by Paul Steinbrueck

Hey there, Cypress Meadowers!  This blog was set up so that you can hear (or at least read) firsthand, about the experiences that our people are having up in Waveland, Mississippi, as they serve those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Stay tuned for updates from our Relief Teams who are in the field.