One of the most appealing things about staying here in Pearlington is the amazing people I have met. Like no other place I’ve traveled to, this community has come together to help one another. The same small town unity that spreads the local gossip so easily has also, it seems, spread the resources and connections.

After the eye of Hurricane Katrina came straight through the town of about 1,600 every building was either destroyed or severely damaged. The only fresh water left after the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico rose between 12 and 20 feet above the ground was at the artesian well of Larry and Beth Randall. They can look back now and laugh at the nudity in their lawn as people came to shower. Even the small outhouse they built as a community shower, toilet and vanity still stands outside their home.

But the Randalls didn’t stop there, after the disaster relief organizations left, the couple started the Pearlington Recovery Center using the land and buildings of the former schoolhouse, as a base for the rebuilding effort.

The PRC, where the Pearlington Team and I are staying, is made up of six bunkhouses, a few temporary cottages, some military tents and a half dozen trailers that have housed and fed volunteers from organizations across the world. The PRC also has what has come to be known as the Pearl Mart in the old gymnasium. At the Pearl Mart the community can come to get supplies from ice and water to building materials and even borrow tools.

Other members of the community have raised tools to help as well. A man I met today, who asked not to be spotlighted for his work, has worked since his retirement over a year ago to repair his neighbor’s homes. Right now, he has a few of our Experience Missionaries from South Carolina are working with him to take the rotted sheetrock from a home built in 1922 that sits only a hundred yards down the road from his own home.

It’s reassuring to see that the workers that come to the area are only the supporting cast of the effort, and that the community has decided to spend its time swinging a hammer rather than reaching for handouts.

- Matt Grager

The last few days of this rural mission trip, the team from Montgomery, Texas spent in Pearlington brought the Vince and McArthur homes even closer to completion. The team resolved the plumbing problem in the Vince home and began working on some electrical issues they had discovered. Also, members of the team enjoyed time visiting with Kendra McArthur’s former caregiver, Dot, who is currently housing Kendra and her two children until their house is finished.

On Wednesday afternoon a few women visited a loving, Christ-filled woman named Lily. Each woman was blessed through listening to this elderly lady’s stories about life after Katrina and her faith in God. Full of praise for her Heavenly Father, she radiated His love to her guests.

Another highlight of the week here in Mississippi on this adult mission trip was Wednesday evening, when the Montgomery Team blessed our team of interns by taking us out for pizza. Each of us thoroughly enjoyed this time of fellowship. The evening was completed by joining another team of volunteers for worship and evening service in Bay St. Louis where Glenn Locklin shared a message of encouragement. Glenn’s wife also thanked the groups present and discussed her personal growth through the last few years, helping to create the atmosphere of mutual edification. Members of each team stood to retell situations at their worksites that had positively affected their attitudes.

We were sad to see the Montgomery Team leave early Friday morning, but we exchanged emails and might even have the chance to spend more time with one member, Sharon, later this summer as she hopes to return once again.

-Cheryl Knowles

Our peaceful Sunday quickly became a frenzy of activity when the mission trips for the summer began, a team of ten from Montgomery, Texas, arrived over an hour ahead of the time we had scheduled. While this added some pressure, Team Pearlington enjoyed the surprise because it eliminated any potential nerves and prompted a pleasant alertness. For most of the Montgomery team, this is their second year serving in Pearlington through EM, and they have enjoyed reconnecting with people and projects from the last time they were here.

The team has been blessed with a few new volunteers, however, one of which is a contractor, David. This has enabled the team to meet most of their goals so far on the two houses to which they have been assigned: Joe Vince, whose home they helped construct last year, and Kendra McArthur. Both houses are almost finished and the future occupants are very eager to move in; the homes mostly require some electrical, plumbing, and painting final touches. Based on the statuses of both houses, it has been helpful to have a smaller, more experienced team working on them this week.

One setback occurred yesterday when they turned on Joe Vince’s water and discovered that some previous work on the plumbing (before this team even arrived) had left a leak. The team is disappointed that this will delay the finish date even more, but thankful that they could be the ones to catch the leak because of David’s expertise. During debriefing in the evening, the team discussed God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge, recognizing that He has a bigger plan than any of us can see right now.

While half the group has been working on the construction described, the other half of the group has been helping cook and serve lunch at a church close by that prepares food for hundreds of volunteers each day. The meal is a tremendous treat for hot, tired volunteers and some locals, giving everyone a delicious taste of true southern cooking. These women are also spending their mornings painting a building, which they finished yesterday, for the Pearlington Recovery Center, cleaning PRC facilities such as showers and the kitchen, and washing laundry that has been sitting in wadded, bug-infested piles for probably months. In the afternoons these same volunteers are visiting a few elderly community members and listening to their stories. Everyone involved seems to enjoy the reciprocal impact.

-Cheryl Knowles

Team Pearlington is truly experiencing life in the deep south…and loving it. Cory and I arrived by car at the Pearlington recovery center late Friday night, while Mark Danielle flew into New Orleans the next day. Autumn Merritt, Trip Coordinator for the Pearlington EM site last summer and our Staff Advisor for this summer, accompanied them as well, and stayed until early Thursday morning to show us the ropes.

When I say “life in the deep south” I am referring to swimming in the Pearl River (the locals say alligators rarely come to that spot), rooting for a chicken to poop on the square for which you bid a dollar, looking forward to fried pickles after pouring concrete for three hours, and listening to hour upon hour of country songs sung by locals who sound just as if they could be on the radio. Of course those are classified as “highlights.” Also part of this reality is chasing cockroaches around the bunkhouse some nights before going to sleep and wondering if it’s worth showering when the humidity seems to eliminate its results ten minutes later anyway.

We are even more excited, however, about the relationships we have begun to build here, both with those who run the Recovery Center and also with some locals. Two of our very first contacts were Larry and Beth Randall, who have always lived in Pearlington and are helping realize plans to rebuild their hometown. Larry is one of the directors of the Recovery Center, the place where we all stay and through which we are working, and both he and Beth open their home daily to dozens of volunteers. The other director of the Pearlington Recovery Center is Glenn Locklin, also known as “Big Glenn.” He carries the title well, and still dresses in styles he learned from his biker days. Glenn has an incredible testimony and has definitely earned all of our respect; he left his home in Tennessee after Katrina to help out in Pearlington, and now his family lives here too. He oversees most of the construction along with Ricky, another local, whose church we visited on Sunday

Another highlight of the past week has been connecting with a returning volunteer, Tomyra Redman, who plans to help out in Pearlington until Thursday. She has joined us on all of our adventures since she arrived, helped us adjust to this foreign culture, and most importantly kept us laughing. The five of us, also joined by Larry, Beth, Glenn, and Ricky, enjoyed trying our voices at karaoke last night – a very serious pastime around here.

We are all very excited for our first team who is arriving on Sunday evening. Although a small team, we know God will work through them and us for His glory, and that relationships and Pearlington homes will continue to be built.

-Cheryl Knowles

Between May 24th and May 28th, Team Pearlington sampled its upcoming summer by training at Miracle Camp in Lawton, Michigan, along with several other Experience Mission intern teams. Our team of four, consisting of Mark Shoemaker, Cheryl Knowles, Danielle Faust, and Cory Nussbaum, spent its time in intense training for both First Aid/CPR and Wilderness emergencies, reviewing the philosophies that lie at the heart of Experience Mission, and learning one another’s strengths and weaknesses.

One of the highlights of these five days was a scavenger hunt that finally resulted in the task of building a “boat” with a given amount of money. The set of rules required the boat to float for a rather lengthy portion of the lake and to include at least four different materials in its composition. Instead of picking the simplest, most practical items, we used this challenge as an opportunity to display our team’s creativity and style. Team Pearlington took the longest amount of time to actually build its boat, but the completed project was a masterpiece. Amid the laughter and doubts of other teams, the ship, perhaps surprisingly, not only stayed afloat the entire length required, but also left its passengers dryer than almost any other team. While creative and sturdy, this unique barge, originating from plastic tubs, ropes, wooden planks, and beach balls, was slightly less than aerodynamic, and posed quite a challenge for even the strength of team members Cory and Mark who pulled and pushed the ship almost the entire way.

As we worked together to complete the given tasks throughout these five days, Team Pearlington began to come together and feel united. Each of us noticed both strengths and weaknesses in the other members, something that will be key in leading a smooth summer in Mississippi. Each member left training curious and excited for a summer filled with challenges, learning, and new relationships.

We, Experience Mission, along with One House at a Time, have been working on the inside work of George and Lulu Jones house since the beginning of the summer. George and Lulu Jones have been fighting for almost two years to replace what they lost in the storm. They have not had much success other then their faith in God and humbling themselves to accept donations. Their house literally ripped in half when the floods and hurricane winds swept through Pearlington, MS leaving them with a mess. In 2000 George’s health started deteoriating and since then has undergone several surgeries on his neck to restore discs that were out of place. In 2002 Lulu suffered a stroke which has had various effects on her health and hindered her ability to get a job. George is a retired veteran from Viet Nam and is on a fixed income, thus leaving them with no chance of a loan.

It is going on two years that George and Lulu have been living in a FEMA trailer that is parked where their house used to be. Right beside their trailer they park their car, right on the tile where their kitchen used to be. They have been fighting to keep their heads up high as they wait their “turn” to receive help. Although they have no house, the one thing you notice when you drive by is how they take care of their yard. Their property is spotless and their grass is green in contrast to the other yards spotted with debris and mud. This yard is just a symbol of how they take care of their lives and hope that the future will be bright.

Autumn Merritt, Experience Mission

www.experiencemission.org

Pearlington has waited almost two years for something to call their own. This past Tuesday marked a great day for Pearlington when they cut the ribbon for their own library. This temporary facility expected to stay at least three years is full of books, software, DVD’s, computers, magazines and other learning materials critical to Pearlington’s education.

It was such a great ceremony that offered hope to this community.  Despite the clouds that looked like they would drop rain on us, there was a large crowd from the community, volunteers, and politicians as no one wanted to miss this event.

It is a privilage to be able to serve as summer staff with Experience Mission as the mission trips help with the effort.

Joe and Ora have lived in Pearlington, MS since 1963. Like most every person in Pearlington, they lost everything they owned when Hurricane Katrina came through Pearlington and ripping apart the insides of their trailer, making it unrepairable. They felt their age making these devastating circumstances even harder, as they did not know how their home would be rebuilt. Joe is 55 and Ora just turned 50. Both of them have worked hard all their lives to make a living. In 1980 Ora was diagnosed with Lupus and has struggled with that since then. She says that it has been the Lord’s strength that has carried her through and given her the ability to work.

Times have been difficult since the storm for the Vinces. They have lived in their FEMA trailer for two years with minimal space. They said one of the hardest things is that they don’t have room for their grandchildren to come over and spend the night with them. The trailer is so small it is also difficult to cook, as it gets so hot so fast, and the space is so cramped.

Ora calls Pearlington “Holy Ground” She says that this really is where the Lord is present and that He is guiding them through. She said her hope has come from all the volunteers that have come through using their time and resources to help rebuild them their homes. She said she looks forward so much to the day when she will be able to call this structure that we are building her home.

Even with all of the trials that Joe and Ora have faced, they are still smiling and so thankful for what they do have. Joe comes out after he gets home from work each day and lends a hand in building his house and they both take time to come outside and get to know the volunteers. An amazing couple who we are more then blessed to know and be able to share life with for this summer.