Hurricane
Katrina Relief Efforts
Stories |
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| September 24, 2006 |
| Cathy
tells how much needs to be done even though its been over a year. |
| Paul and I visited St. Rose de Lima Parish in Bay St. Louis, MS, following Camp Trinity. We left on the 24th of September to take gifts from the Camp Trinity families, for the St. Rose fund raising fair that occurred this past weekend. These were used for silent auction and white elephant booths. Gift cards were used to purchase bicycles as prizes, for the children, at the game tables.
Katrina struck over a year ago and many, many people are still out of their homes. It was a bit deceiving, as the trees and shrubs were in bloom and they masked some of the destruction. However a closer look revealed damaged or destroyed homes behind the FEMA trailers in the yards.
We stayed in a FEMA trailer and were appalled to think that families of 4 - 6 are living in spaces smaller than our family room. The bathroom makes an airline experience seem not so bad. The bunk beds - which would only work for a child or young teen - are in a corner behind the bathroom door. There is an electric outlet and a light - like is found in a car, over each of the beds. If you sit on the sofa - which is across the aisle from the table and benches, the only way someone can get to the bathroom or bunks, is to crawl over. You can sit on the sofa and eat from the table.
The people of St. Rose de Lima are grateful for all that Holy Trinity families
have done to assist. They are also afraid of being forgotten. Father
Sebastian works seven days a week trying to make life hopeful for his poor
congregation. A few have their homes finished and they are lovely. The
majority still need much assistance. Don't forget them. If
you think you can go down, sign up for a course at Home Depot and learn to
do wall board etc. and be in touch with Leslie Conwell.
Donations may be made to Holy Trinity and noted "Katrina Relief". Mark the envelope Att: Pat Betts. / Parish Life. Gift cards to Home Depot, Rite Aid and Wal-Mart. There is not a Target nearby.
Remember the people of St. Rose in your daily prayers. Thanks! Cathy
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| July 11, 2006 |
| Ryan
and Lauren tell a story of faith and hope. |
| "Florence and Paul's house had been destroyed by Katrina and now they were living in a FEMA trailer. They shared their first hand experience with the storm, and how God got them through it safely. Through amazing faith in The Lord, they overcame the storm and clung close to the fact that He is bigger than Katrina. Their strength and faith made us realize how insignificant some of our worries were, compared to the big picture".
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| April 23, 2006 |
| Jadwiga,
a parishioner, emailed... |
| “It is certainly one of the experiences of my lifetime to say the
least. The destruction is beyond imagination! Everything that is God
or man made is uprooted. What power it must have struck with to bring
this about. How people bereft of everything have such an intimate
relationship with their God is amazing!”
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| April 16, 2006 |
| Hear
what Rev. Sebastian Myladiyil, Pastor of St. Rose de Lima Parish
has to say in his Easter message. |
| An Easter Sermon on Recovering from Katrina |
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| April 10, 2006 |
| Bob, parishioner and father of two teenagers, took them and two friends to St. Rose. |
| He says, "The boys and I were never more moved than we were at the 9:00am Gospel Mass. One of the boys, wrote me a note stating that it was the best weekend of his life." |
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| March 28, 2006 |
| A volunteer’s
reflection on St. Rose Parish – Richard: |
| As an unskilled worker, I did ordinary things for and with ordinary people – who are living in extraordinary circumstances. |
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| March 21, 2006 |
| Here's
the words of another volunteer – Linda: |
| "I am
a middle aged woman called to prayer by action. A first timer
called to serve using power tools, hanging off the edge of
a roof, cutting roof shingles to specifications, caring shingles
up a ladder, teaching
a young man how to reload a nail gun . . . all in a days work. Four
roofs in 5.5 days. Tar fingernails, scrapes, bug bites...and
the most purposeful work I have ever done since birthing my
children. If
the roof isn't fixed, the drywall cannot go up . . . JUST DO
IT!" |
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| March 14, 2006 |
| Thoughts from a parishioner who went to St. Rose's to help – Jennifer: |
| "My
trip to Bay St. Louis to help with rebuilding was a wonderful
and life changing experience. Not only did our work seem
to make a real physical difference, but the people of St. Rose
parish could
not have been more grateful or hospitable. I would say as
much as we gave, we volunteers probably gained more from this
experience than the people we helped. My eyes were opened
to the great need in the Gulf Coast and I definitely plan to
go back to volunteer
again.” |
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| March 7, 2006 |
| Quote from a teen volunteer – Amelia: |
| “Each evening we drove around the area looking at skeletons of houses, stripped back to their bones by the storm surge; their contents scattered in the trees. Yet we had a full day of stripping blue tarp away to repair homes and lives to serve as a barrier between us and the sorrows evident here. The fact that we were here to help added a glimmer of hope to every disfigured house we saw. No orientation could prepare me for the kind of change that occurred in my world view after I visited BSL. Each of your experiences will be different and interesting, but I can assure you all of one thing: you will fall in love with this miracle of a town”. |
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| September 28, 2005 |
| John emailed that they have toured the parish and area. |
| His response was "WOW" and said he knows we have chosen the right place to help. |
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| September 17, 2005 |
| From a resident – Karran: |
| We are
fine, but we have lost probably almost everything in our house. We
can see roof damage and extensive flooding on satellite pictures. We
can't see Kenneth's truck at all. We have to restart our
lives here in Irving. Kendrick is in school, and we will
soon begin looking for an apartment. For now we are in
a hotel. We could use gift cards to Wal-mart/Sams, Linens
and Things and other stores for household items. We will
have to buy all of that to set up an apartment here. We
don't know if Kenneth will be able to keep his job. For now
he is not working. My job is trying to figure out how they
can pay me for now. However, I am owed a paycheck that was
due to me on 9/1/04. We will use insurance money to rent
an apartment, but we do need the other stuff. We have used
what money we have to buy food and clothes. We only came
with 2 days of clothing. Thanks for your concern. |
