August 29, 2005 changed everything on the gulf coast. From landscape to language, and everything in between; you see and hear the effects in the everyday way people interact and live down to the smallest details. I guess its what they call “the new normal.” Obvious changes include new buildings, vacant lots, and remaining rubble. But even the way people think and talk has changed. “Before the storm” and “since the storm” has become the commonly accepted way to reference time.

Katrina stands as a watershed in the world-view of the gulf coast. This past Sunday I distributed a pamphlet which included William Bradford’s 1723 Thanksgiving Day proclamation. Before the service, I mentioned to one of our church members that I had a tract about the “First Thanksgiving.” They automatically assumed I meant Thanksgiving 2005 and began to discuss that day.

For nine weeks we had been sorting through water logged remains and mountains of destruction. Living in tents and vehicles, and campers; military style MREs (meals ready to eat) provided the main source of food along with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and American Red Cross. Third world country living conditions slowed the progress and we probably had not yet realized how long of a road we had ahead of us. We were still trying to locate family members and friends to discover whether they had survived the storm.

Then, like a Hollywood Thanksgiving miracle, new friends from across the country flooded into the area with turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce and vegetables, dinner rolls, pumpkin pies, and every thanksgiving fixing imaginable. A large event tent erected in a freshly cleared field of devastation provided a place of worship amid the ruins. Even an inflatable playground graced the property for the children, who for the last nine weeks, had not had a safe place to play. For a few hours we knew what it must have been like for the pilgrims in a new world as they celebrated their “First Thanksgiving.”

Betsy Serral first traveled to Lakeshore in the summer of 2006 with her church, Providence Presbyterian of Hilton Head, South Carolina. She quickly fell in love with Lakeshore and has become one of our most valued partners and closest friends. She has made her way to Lakeshore over a half dozen times since then. In her most recent trip, an extended stay in the summer of 2009, she noticed that our very old utility van, used to transport building materials to the work sites, had been pushed well beyond its time of usefulness. On her return home, she took the initiative and raised the money necessary to purchase a new vehicle for the rebuilding ministry here. We now have a 2004 Chevrolet Express utility van. Thanks Bets! We love you.

In the four plus years of the Rebuild Lakeshore ministry we have had literally thousands and thousands of folks make mission trips to work along side of us on the gulf coast. Contractors and construction workers to teenagers and college students, soccer moms and business men to senior adult groups, and everyone in-between have pitched in and accomplished their part of the efforts God continues to do in our community for his glory.

Helen Cox, a college student from Georgia made a mission trip to Lakeshore this past spring break. She shares her experience below. The child pictured with her at the block party belongs to the family her group helped bring shingles to the dump. I praise God for everyone, like Helen, willing to come minister help and hope, in the name of Jesus Christ, to folks in our area. She writes:

This is a story about a mission trip I took with Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) over Spring Break. It made such an impact on my life that I want to share it. When I signed up for the trip, I thought I knew what I was signing up for having already been to New Orleans on several previous mission trips. God got my attention from the moment we arrived. This trip to rebuild Lakeshore, Mississippi was unlike any previous hurricane relief trip I had experienced. God showed me and taught me many things.

On March 14, 2009, I boarded the bus along with 21 other students from Berry College and Georgia Highlands College. Previous volunteers had warned our team of the biting gnats. When we arrived, the bus began to fill with gnats, and as we stepped out to get our luggage, we found them everywhere. Unpacking the luggage from the back of the bus, I began to wonder if I was going to regret coming to Lakeshore. When I got to the site of where I would be living, an old military quanza hut, and found I would be sleeping on an old military cot with my sleeping bag; I began to question myself again.

The host church, Lakeshore Baptist Church, was itself in as much need as some of the homeowners who they were helping. This church was destroyed by the hurricane. The fact that there was not even much of a building did not stop “church” from happening. Here God showed me how a truly faithful congregation looks. The members of the church were devoted and maybe the most welcoming group I have ever met. Each week they open their doors to hundreds of volunteers who are visitors to their church.

On our first day of work we were split into two groups. My group did many small, oddball jobs. Some of the things we did included helping around the church, completely demolishing an old RV and sorting its scraps. Then on the third day, our group was sent to a house. The homeowner had been gathering up shingles and taking them to the dump to dispose of them. When we arrived, four of us got in his car and took a road trip to the dump. During this time, we learned a lot about the homeowner. Once at the dump, we put on our gloves and climbed in the trailer and began throwing shingles in the dumpster. It was a small task, but it saved the homeowner almost an entire day because of our help. At the end we were not sure if we would see him again so we said our goodbyes took a picture with him just in case. I really enjoyed being able to go and help him. Two days later, we were told that after lunch we were going back to the house. This time we learned to fire caulk, and use caulk guns.

One of the groups there that week planned a block party for the end of the week. We went out in the community with some other groups and went house to house handing out flyers and spreading the word. I will never forget how we had hesitated at this one house because the couple looked somewhat rough. We went ahead and not only were they interested in coming to the block party, they had previously donated some clothes and stuff to the church. One of the neatest things was seeing how everyone wanted Lakeshore to thrive again.

Together we reached out to the community, rebuilt houses, and did small tasks for those still struggling to come back from the hurricane. I will never forget this trip. Oh and incase you are wondering, despite all the gnats I still would go back to Lakeshore in a heartbeat. I have no regrets.

Helen, thank you so much for your faithfulness and your willingness to share your experience. And btw, we don’t always have gnats.