123 Pirate Avenue is the last house standing for over 1/2 mile to the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina got the others, then the dozers cleared away the debris. In one of her lucid moments, the lady of the house called 123 Pirate Avenue her “Long Beach house.”
They are old, he is a Korean War Marine and she is the bride of his youth. Her Alzheimer’s makes it necessary for him to lead her around by her hand. He often sits beside her and just holds that hand. She says that he is a “nice young man.” He is angelically patient.
The Long Beach House is at elevation 23 feet above sea level. It lost the roof, the bricks on the south end, and was flooded about eye-level to a six-footer. Most of the things of their life are gone. One of the few remaining, a framed black and white photograph of the two of them sat on a chair waiting to be restored. Even with the salt crust and corrosion, they were a fine looking couple. The looks in his eyes say she still is.
123 Pirate Avenue is being restored. New wiring, drywall, plumbing, roof, bricks, and paint are being donated and installed with the help of volunteers from the church. Folks from more states than he can recall have been in and on the Long Beach House. It is looking good. They are living in an RV behind the church building.
He is busy at the church building. He is the guy who sends out teams of volunteers to work in town. The group from Central in Huntsville had planned to paint inside the church building but God had something else in mind. God wanted work done in the Long Beach House. The sheet rock in the church building was not as far along as was planned. His old arm had to be twisted before he would grudgingly send people to 123 Pirate Avenue. He is a servant and puts his needs last. He has heard of a guy named Jesus and tries to imitate Him.
There was no flood insurance and the homeowner’s didn’t pay much. There is no long term care insurance for her. He has lost so much. He can’t even talk to her about it - she isn’t there.
He has lost but he has gained. He delights in chatting at length about most any subject with the volunteers who come to help. He is well educated - spent his working life supervising natural gas pipeline and pumping station work. His rapport with the people of the church has grown greatly - he is admired. His relationship with his Savior is strong and vibrant. Listening to his prayers is like hearing a friend talk to a Friend.
He almost gets excited about the 123 Pirate Avenue but not quite. He speaks of it in terms of “if we live there again.” One of the children wants them to move to Texas and live in a retirement home. With his arm draped across his bride’s shoulder, he sighs and wonders aloud but softly, what to do. He will soon have to decide - 123 Pirate Avenue will soon be restored. What he decides won’t matter to her but his life-long friends, the church, are still there.
Katrina hurt the Long Beach House, but it is being repaired. The Alzheimer’s was there before the wind and rain.
Which is the real storm?
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Bless Your Heart
“Bless your heart.” It’s a phrase from the South, old fashioned and enduring. It conveys compassion and sympathy for a person caught in a difficult situation. That person is almost always a woman. Men seldom use this phrase, but women often do, woman relating to woman. With the connotation of “bless your heart” on our minds, ten Christian sisters from the Central church loaded up two vans on Friday, April 21, 2006, and made the long drive to Long Beach, Mississippi, to bring a blessing to the hearts of women there.
Long Beach has been the destination for 80 or more members from Central during the months since Hurricane Katrina demolished much of the small town and surrounding area on the Gulf of Mexico. Many hours of hard, dirty work have been spent handing out food boxes and water bottles, blankets and hugs, and most anything else needed by people who have suffered devastating losses. This trip would be different, though. We wouldn’t be mucking houses or raking yards or tearing out moldy sheet rock. This trip was designed for women to minister to the unique needs of other women.
With little warning, Katrina swept away things cherished by feminine hearts: baby pictures, family quilts, grandmother’s Bible, the china received as brides. Those are just a few examples. When the storm was gone, there was little time for grief. Instead there was a desperate struggle to survive accompanied by the urgency to rebuild. Together with their husbands, sons, brothers and strangers, these women picked up shovels and hammers to tear out what remained of their houses. From time to time they’d find a lost treasure and rejoice, just as the woman rejoiced when the lost wedding ornament-coin was found in the parable Jesus told. Surrounded by mud and stench, they endured conditions that offend a woman’s heart: clutter, debris, destruction, and disruption of relationships.
The ladies at Central were inspired with the idea of a mini retreat. We wanted to communicate to these ladies that we sympathize with their losses. We wanted to bring them, for just a short time, something feminine and fun, pretty, and even extravagant. Our vans weren’t packed with chain saws, axes, and work gloves. No bleach, Pampers or cases of bottled water. Instead we carried bright table cloths, potted plants, foot spas, and ingredients for a “girly” salad lunch. We brought colorful gift bags with cosmetics, lovingly made custom jewelry, and special chocolates. Our speaker brought a message of assurance that God provides and heals. The women from Central prayed, sang, ate, laughed, and cried together with the women of Mississippi. (Yes, guys, those tears you fear are healing to us.) We massaged and lotioned hands and feet and painted nails in preferred colors. It was “A Day for the Ladies.”
For a few hours those who came received a respite from the difficult circumstances they continue to face. They had time out in the company of other ladies to enjoy a bit of luxury. Instead of being the care givers, they were the cared for. The sisters from Central served, ministered, and took up the towel of Jesus to wash feet. The God who provides and heals did His work. He blessed the hearts of us all.
Sharon Ditto
Long Beach has been the destination for 80 or more members from Central during the months since Hurricane Katrina demolished much of the small town and surrounding area on the Gulf of Mexico. Many hours of hard, dirty work have been spent handing out food boxes and water bottles, blankets and hugs, and most anything else needed by people who have suffered devastating losses. This trip would be different, though. We wouldn’t be mucking houses or raking yards or tearing out moldy sheet rock. This trip was designed for women to minister to the unique needs of other women.
With little warning, Katrina swept away things cherished by feminine hearts: baby pictures, family quilts, grandmother’s Bible, the china received as brides. Those are just a few examples. When the storm was gone, there was little time for grief. Instead there was a desperate struggle to survive accompanied by the urgency to rebuild. Together with their husbands, sons, brothers and strangers, these women picked up shovels and hammers to tear out what remained of their houses. From time to time they’d find a lost treasure and rejoice, just as the woman rejoiced when the lost wedding ornament-coin was found in the parable Jesus told. Surrounded by mud and stench, they endured conditions that offend a woman’s heart: clutter, debris, destruction, and disruption of relationships.
The ladies at Central were inspired with the idea of a mini retreat. We wanted to communicate to these ladies that we sympathize with their losses. We wanted to bring them, for just a short time, something feminine and fun, pretty, and even extravagant. Our vans weren’t packed with chain saws, axes, and work gloves. No bleach, Pampers or cases of bottled water. Instead we carried bright table cloths, potted plants, foot spas, and ingredients for a “girly” salad lunch. We brought colorful gift bags with cosmetics, lovingly made custom jewelry, and special chocolates. Our speaker brought a message of assurance that God provides and heals. The women from Central prayed, sang, ate, laughed, and cried together with the women of Mississippi. (Yes, guys, those tears you fear are healing to us.) We massaged and lotioned hands and feet and painted nails in preferred colors. It was “A Day for the Ladies.”
For a few hours those who came received a respite from the difficult circumstances they continue to face. They had time out in the company of other ladies to enjoy a bit of luxury. Instead of being the care givers, they were the cared for. The sisters from Central served, ministered, and took up the towel of Jesus to wash feet. The God who provides and heals did His work. He blessed the hearts of us all.
Sharon Ditto
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Common
What do an engineer, a programmer, a financial advisor, a single mom with polio and two daughters, a fifth grade teacher and her banana broker husband all have in common? ---- Steve.
Katrina did a lot of damage to the houses of the single mom and the teacher and banana guy. The single mom’s floor was ruined and the teacher/banana guy lost a ceiling. The engineer/programmer/financial guy (professionals) knew next-to-nothing about floors and ceilings - enough to walk on one and under the other. So what does all this have in common? ---- Steve.
Steve?
Twenty-five years old now, when Steve was fifteen, his dad died. He stopped school and went to work wherever and on whatever. Work ethic, quick mind, good hands, “calibrated eyeball” - these are descriptors of Steve. When a family in the church in Charlotte “adopted” him, he learned to love Jesus and became “adopted” by Jesus’ Dad.
So what’s common? The Charlotte church hired Steve to come to Long Beach for six weeks and work on people’s houses. He has been there about eight weeks. Lately, he has been on his own time. People need what he can do. What can Steve do? If it is in or about a house, he can fix it.
Steve taught his rookie crew of three professionals enough so that a single mom with polio and two daughters has a new floor and a big smile. Steve and the rookies hung a new ceiling for the teacher and her banana guy husband and left them well pleased. Jesus’ light shined in both houses.
What’s “common“ about this? Nothing! Jesus’ brother, God’s adopted son, Steve, is not common nor is what he and the rookies did. It is “un-common.” It is never “common” when Jesus’ light shines --- ever!
Katrina did a lot of damage to the houses of the single mom and the teacher and banana guy. The single mom’s floor was ruined and the teacher/banana guy lost a ceiling. The engineer/programmer/financial guy (professionals) knew next-to-nothing about floors and ceilings - enough to walk on one and under the other. So what does all this have in common? ---- Steve.
Steve?
Twenty-five years old now, when Steve was fifteen, his dad died. He stopped school and went to work wherever and on whatever. Work ethic, quick mind, good hands, “calibrated eyeball” - these are descriptors of Steve. When a family in the church in Charlotte “adopted” him, he learned to love Jesus and became “adopted” by Jesus’ Dad.
So what’s common? The Charlotte church hired Steve to come to Long Beach for six weeks and work on people’s houses. He has been there about eight weeks. Lately, he has been on his own time. People need what he can do. What can Steve do? If it is in or about a house, he can fix it.
Steve taught his rookie crew of three professionals enough so that a single mom with polio and two daughters has a new floor and a big smile. Steve and the rookies hung a new ceiling for the teacher and her banana guy husband and left them well pleased. Jesus’ light shined in both houses.
What’s “common“ about this? Nothing! Jesus’ brother, God’s adopted son, Steve, is not common nor is what he and the rookies did. It is “un-common.” It is never “common” when Jesus’ light shines --- ever!
Monday, January 23, 2006
Katrina Patina
Lori Gordon is an artist who lives amid the ruin in Cleremore Harbor which is south of Waveland, Mississippi. Sharon and Joey and Leslie and I met her when we knocked on her FIMA trailer and offered her a blanket.
What a lady. Forty years worth of hers and her husband's art work was gone. In appreciation, they gave us two coins from his colletion that had been lost in Katrina then found. They called the coins "Katrina Patina" because the salt water had discolored them. I think we will keep the coins.
We were the Christians - they taught the lesson. In their loss, they gave.
Take a look at MSNBC's audio-slide story of Lori. http://risingfromruin.msnbc.com/2005/11/bay_st_louis_mi.html
What a lady. Forty years worth of hers and her husband's art work was gone. In appreciation, they gave us two coins from his colletion that had been lost in Katrina then found. They called the coins "Katrina Patina" because the salt water had discolored them. I think we will keep the coins.
We were the Christians - they taught the lesson. In their loss, they gave.
Take a look at MSNBC's audio-slide story of Lori. http://risingfromruin.msnbc.com/2005/11/bay_st_louis_mi.html
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
A Letter from Biloxi - More Good News and a Call for Help
Tony Callins shared this letter from Paul Warren, a minister at the Division Street Church of Christ in Biloxi. Good news like this is always good to hear. A cry for help too... maybe someone will know what to do.
Thank you you for all the prayers! I appreciate everything you all have being doing for us. it is always good to know when someone enjoys a gospel sermon,because that brings joy to my heart. our evagelistic efforts have been great here. we have baptized in the past few weeks a total of 10 new converts to christ through our relief efforts and sharing the gospel in the neighborhoods. our plan as a congregation is to rebuild . we have a mobile home trailer that will arrive here hopefully saturday evening. please keep praying for us here.
yours in christ,
paul warren p.s. if you know of anyone that can help in the efforts with our rebuilding project please give us a call or if anyone that can send sheetrock it will be greatly appreciated. hope to hear from you soon!!!
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