Christian Missions: This week, the epidemic that had the world holding its breath affected Pearlington in a most unusual way. With the Swine Flu virus sweeping across Costa Rica, First United Methodist Church out of LaGrange, Georgia changed their travel plans at the last minute, leaving behind the Caribbean Islands for hurricane relief work in the heart of the South. They met up with a YoungLife group out of Illinois and Main Street United Methodist from North Carolina at Pearlington to help finish up the last projects of the summer.

Since it was the second to last week of the summer, the Experience Mission staff was thrilled to have the extra help.  Even though work has flown by each week, there were still several key jobs to be finished before both the Bennett’s and Nick could move into their respective houses.  Because of this, one of the most exciting parts of this week was the amount of quality work that got completed throughout the city. From cranking out electrical projects to demolishing houses, teams tore through any and all tasks they were given. The Bennett’s saw their massive porch cover finished, kitchen tiles and electrical installed and Nick’s crew finished roofing, siding and decking. All the while, other smaller groups finished up incredibly crucial jobs at the O’Neal’s, the Crepeau’s, the Ackers, the Vince’s and the Vincent’s.

However, it wasn’t the work ethic that stood out on these youth mission trip teams, but their willingness to do anything and everything to help those in need. These teams left a fantastic impression on every family that they worked with this week. The community adored the servant’s hearts that they worked with, and many went out of their way to thank the volunteers over and over again. The week was a huge success, and Team Pearlington is praying for one final great week to wrap up all of their projects and end the year with a bang. And if God needs to use Swine Flu again to make that happen, then we are all for it.

*This summer wraps up 3 years of rebuilding in Pearlington, MS. The town is 85% rebuilt! Stay tuned for our new Hurricane relief locations, and check out other locations that we serve in, at New Orleans mission trips.

Hurricane Relief in Mississippi: We’re Alive! Team Pearlington survived a youth mission trip team of 150 people this past week and we had an awesome time!  Houston First Presbyterian Church is our largest group of the summer. Literally, our entire summer has been in preparation for this short term missions trip.  We have been making sure that things are lined up to accommodate this many people.  It was interesting to see how God worked this week because we found that even with all of the preparation we had done, problems still arose. The first work day we awoke to torrential downpours and it seemed like the week was going to be disastrous because the majority of the work projects we had lined up were outdoors.  We also had some last minute worksite cancellations.  We were sweating it out and praying that things would turn around.  

However, God helped details to fall into place and the week was a “home run”. He presented other opportunities for work projects and blessed us with eager and high spirited students and leaders who were flexible and energetic.   We were also blessed with beautiful weather on Thursday and Friday.  It is truly amazing how our Lord works even in the difficult times. This was definitely a lesson on trust in Our God, and it became very obvious that sometimes it is so hard to let go of all control in a situation and just give it over to Him. This team from Houston was a huge blessing to the community of Pearlington, Mississippi and the hurricane relief work, as well as to the Experience Mission Staff. We were very encouraged by the entire group’s positive attitude and dedication to work hard. There was never a moment when this team wasn’t asking how they could help whether it be in the kitchen or on the worksite. This team worked in a total of 15 worksites doing various things such as shingling, siding, demolition, flooring, decking, interior & exterior painting, staining, porch covers, and general cleanup and yard beautification.

Something that was very unique to this mission trip team was their tight knit community, which is surprising considering their large size. Their evening programs were very exciting and intentional.  We had fun dance parties each night and moving talks given by Brune, Scott, and Tim.  They have an interesting approach to missions.  They use it has a tool for evangelism.   About 2/3 of the students that came on the trip with First Presbyterian Church did not necessarily have a relationship with Christ.  The philosophy this group has about short term mission trips is to show students what it means to live out a Christian lifestyle through serving. Their theme for this week was in 2 Corinthians 5:20 and being “Christ’s ambassadors.”  Many lives were changed this week and many relationships were built both within the team and the community.

-Jim and the Pearlington team

*Interested in joining in the work of Experience Mission? Check out our website at www.ExperienceMission.org for more information and to sign up for upcoming 2010 mission trips!

When I stop to think about it, I simply cannot believe how fast this summer has gone. Far too fast. Every week has had its unique people, unique challenges, unique work projects, unique victories and unique stories of God’s grace. With five weeks behind me and only three ahead, I am sad to be on the tail end of the most wonderful summer I’ve ever had. I’ve worked HARD and sweated a LOT, but it has been so enjoyable. I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity to be working for the Kingdom and seeing God’s work up close and personal in so many others’ lives.

Out here on the Navajo reservation I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned about a slow paced life, one that treasures each conversation and is in a hurry for no thing. I’ve seen families care for each other, brothers and sisters tend to each other’s needs with such love. I’ve learned the significance of saying “thank you,” and meaning it. I’ve learned the importance of getting my plans out of the way and letting the Lord work his miraculous plan. I’ve seen first-hand how much more meaningful it is to work with someone instead of for them. I’ve learned a whole lot about self-less-ness. I always have to break that word down as I say it, because honestly, it’s more than I can chew.

Only by God’s help have I been able and willing to give up my “rights” and expectations for the good of those around me. Sometimes with my teammates I have to pull 60 percent while they are pulling 40, and the next day they pull 75.  In life, most relationships are not even or fair, they are a beautiful push and pull, give and take, and if each is selflessly giving their all- it always comes out even in the end.  Mostly God has taught me how to love others, not for what they do or even necessarily for who they are, but because they are my brother, sharing One Father, Creator of the Universe- each one created as a special miracle with the Lord dwelling in them, making them absolutely priceless.

Much love in Christ,

Laura Marie

Note: Want to see first-hand the remarkable ways of the Navajo people? Experience Mission offers short term mission trips to the reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Find out more information on our Summer 2010 trips at www.ExperienceMission.org

Youth Mission Trips: I can’t imagine a better week. We had two short term mission trip teams this week- Voyagers Bible Church from Irvine, CA and First Presbyterian Church from Ashland, OR. They worked so incredibly hard and from the minute they stepped off the busses they were serving everyone they met.

All of the girls from the CA group had determined before-hand not to wear or bring any makeup at all. What beauties they were too! They also wrote PHIL. 4:12 on their arms (“Do everything without complaining or arguing.”) And that’s just what they did! Even at meals, each person would ask someone “May I serve you?”, and they would go down the line together, each making the other’s plate, just as an act of service and a good way to get a chance to talk together. The Lord taught each student so much and I was amazed at the growth that happened as each of them shared with me what God had taught them through a new culture, new people, hard work, and lots of laughs.

The Lord displayed His divine pursuit this week as well. On Wednesday night as we sat in on the Navajo service, the Lord impressed on my heart to share my testimony with the group this week. So Friday night, while we were out having worship at the base of Shiprock, looking out across the plains, I shared my story, hoping it would be used by the Lord. That night, one of the girls came to me in tears, telling me that she shares a very similar story and she didn’t know how to escape from a bad upbringing and the traps of the world. I was able to encourage her in the Word and share with her more about the freedom in Christ. She experienced such a breakthrough and relief!! Praise the Lord for divine appointments and relationships!

-Navajo Nation staff

*Note: Experience Mission offers Christian mission trips to groups of youth, college, and adult. Interested in finding out more about the Navajo Nation? Check out our website at www.ExperienceMission.org for more information and to sign up for Summer 2010 trips.

So I have been in Washington serving as an Experience Mission Logistics Coordinator since the middle of May, and I have yet to write a blog. Go me. I don’t know why I don’t write more… it’s not like there is a ton to do around here. Apparently, I just find it too cumbersome. Nonetheless, I feel the need to start writing some blogs… so here is the first one, and I promise… there will be more!

This internship consists of living in the middle of nowhere in southwest Washington. While I know this might sound glum and boring, surprisingly it is anything but that. Cara McKenzie (the other intern this summer) and I have been on many adventures around town and we tend to be able to keep ourselves busy despite the lack of activities that are available in Chimacum and the surrounding area. Just to give you an idea of how out of the way we live; it is a good 40 minutes to the nearest Wal-Mart. The only thing this area really has to offer is extreme hippies, old people, and everything organic. Who would have thought that I could go though such culture shock in my own country?  Not me, but believe it or not, it happened.  This culture is far what I am used to in my Midwestern state of Indiana.  And so is the scenery. This, however, I am not complaining about. In fact, the scenery is by far the greatest thing about being out here. Ok, maybe not by far because my job is pretty sweet and I love everything that I am learning, but the mountains make my time here only that much better. 

This summer has definitely been a stage in my life that I am doing a lot of learning and growing.  I never would have realized this, and I rarely thought about it, but the amount of work, time, and energy that goes into running a mission trip is mind blowing. But Experience Mission does it, year after year, and I have to say I am rather impressed. I was completely unsure of what to expect when I agreed to come out here, but I knew it would be an experience I would never forget, and I was right. I have enjoyed every minute of working alongside the staff of Experience Mission (which, surprisingly, is about a whole 5 people!) We have had many good times in the office and we have quite a few inside jokes that have kept us laughing all summer. This has truly been an experience of a lifetime and I will treasure my time working with the staff of Experience Mission, the summer interns that are serving in various locations domestically and abroad, and the teams that make this mission organization possible.

Pray for God to continue to move and work in my life as a finish out my last month and a half in Washington. I know it is going to be an incredible journey, because it already has been.

Also, stay tuned for more updates on my experiences here as well as a blog from Cara and I about what exactly being a Logistical Coordinator for Experience Mission looks like.

Through Him,

Andrea

Note: Check out all the exciting things that are going on with Experience Mission on our website www.ExperienceMission.org

Also, check us out on Facebook (become a fan!) as well as www.twitter.com/LiveYourMission

Summer Mission Trips: Team Pearlington has truly been tasting Southern culture during Prep Week.  During this week we have been prepping a home for inspection so that the first of our summer mission trips team is able to legally work on the house.  It has been a ton of work!  We have learned so much construction and worked ten hour days.  The house is being built for the Bennett Family.  The hospitality of Stacey, Eddie, and their thirteen year old daughter, Miranda, has truly stolen the hearts of the EM summer Staff. They constantly come to the work site to chat and offer help or a cold drink.  We have truly gotten to know them and now consider them friends. 

The Bennetts have lived in Pearlington their entire lives and survived Hurricane Katrina.  Unfortunately, their home did not survive.  Stacey, Eddie, and Miranda evacuated from their home and took refuge at NASA for about a week.  After the storm the Bennetts realized that they had lost everything.  The Bennetts lived in a FEMA trailer for a period of time, but the mold negatively affected Stacey and Miranda’s allergies and asthma.  They currently live in a trailer that is too small and also affects Stacey’s allergies.  Another local community partner, Glen, feels very strongly that this family is well deserving of this home.  They do a lot for others in the community and truly have servant hearts.   On Friday night, the Bennett family took us to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. What a great meal!  Afterwards, we went to Miranda’s softball game with Stacey and Eddie.  We had a great time watching the game and talking. It was a much needed break from all the construction.  Team Pearlington is already amazed at how much we have been served and blessed in the short time we have been here. 

We look forward to see our relationships with the Bennetts continue to grow as God reveals his plans for us in Pearlington this summer. 

Note: Experience Mission will begin the third year working in Pearlington to help families rebuild their homes and lives after the devastation of hurricane Katrina. Summer volunteers from youth mission trips and adult mission trips will provide over 500 energetic workers. If you’d like to join a mission trip with EM for 2010, visit us at our website www.experiencemission.org

By Mo Scarpelli

Twins Arnet and Noel Le used to see their friend Trizznie Van every day in the neighborhood. He remembers her watching them play basketball, he remembers her playing Uno and checkers, and he remembers her sitting out on the steps leading up to his apartment building.

Two years ago, though, he formed a memory he wishes never happened – he saw her body wheeled away from her house in a body bag.

“It really shocked me,” said 16-year-old Arnet Le, who glimpsed Trizznie’s feet as she was taken out of her house a final time by the paramedics. “She’d talk about wanting to kill herself when she was angry, but I didn’t think she had the guts to really do it.”

Not more than a week after graduating from Gideons Elementary, the 14-year-old girl allegedly rigged two belts to a closet rod in her room in Capital View Apartments and hung herself.
The tragedy barely made the newspaper in a city of more than half a million people, especially coming from the Pittsburgh Community, a neighborhood where residents hear gunshots several nights a week.
But it devastated a core of people in the local neighborhood, too – the Salvation Army Lakewood Corps, to be precise.

“For her to turn up dead really shocked us into action,” said Captain Platt, director of the Lakewood Corps. “After Trizznie was buried, it really began to affect us that she was one of our kids. We decided we didn’t want to do outreach for outreach’s sake there – she gave us focus and mission for the kids.”
Captain Platt remembers first hearing the news. He grabbed a one of his cadets and drove to CVA, an area visited every so often by the Corps.

Platt, whose own daughter is only a couple of days from Trizzie’s age, shakenly walked up to the young girl’s house, ready to console and assist her family and neighbors.

“Some of the kids were outside talking, just hours after it happened,” Platt said. “And I realized, here I am trying to compose myself and these kids standing outside are already in the gossiping.”

To Platt, the scene was a clear example of how at-risk youth develop a defense mode that’s hard to break down.

“One of the chief survival mechanisms is knowing how to shut down any sense of pain,” said Platt. “It cripples you if you empathize or sympathize with all the pain you see here because you’ll see so much of it that you wouldn’t be able to function.”

Platt realized then the need for the Corps’ presence at CVA, where children may lose a sense of compassion amid violence and pain.

But the Corps as a whole realized the need for South Atlanta at-risk youth in general.

Captain Platt and a Lakewood Soldier, Jason Pope, approached CVA owner ** Leathers about creating a time and place to spend with the complex’s kids. He excitedly showed them a furnished basement already complete with books, games and a television. The area had been previously used for summer camp, adult English as a Second Language classes, and several other events during the year.
In just three months, the Lakewood Corps set up a full program with a Bible study, crafts, and free time with the kids.

Children’s ministry didn’t stop where Trizznie used to live, though.

Once the CVA program was up and running, Platt turned to another area the Corps visited often, but hadn’t quite dived into fully.

“My wife and I had been riding by Jonesboro [Colony Park] for three years and every time we did, we’d point to the community and say, ‘We need to be here,’” said Platt.

The Colony Park trailer park sits on Jonesboro road, across from a rundown liquor store and a welding factory. Most of the about 500 residents are Latino, and few adults speak fluid English.
Almost all the trailers in the park house at least three children. On sunny days, some come out to play on streets ridden with broken beer bottles and trash.

Platt and Pope wanted to form a constant presence in Jonesboro, but they lacked resources and helpers to show up four afternoons a week.

That’s when 24-year-old Daynas Viera, a recent graduate from Taccoa Falls College, found Captain Platt. She told him she felt called to minister specifically in Lakewood.

“It would scare the paints off some people to come here and minister permanently,” said Platt. “But Daynas did it. And as a Spanish-speaker, with her heart for kids, she was a perfect fit for Jonesboro.”
Daynas asked Platt what she could help with and his reply was, “Make friends.” After a Three Kings Day celebration for Colony Park families in January, that’s exactly what she and several other Salvation Army volunteers did in Jonesboro.

Now, more than thirty Jonesboro kids show up for the day’s activities.
Experience Mission volunteers also chip in each day for the summer. They lead games, scribble chalk drawings, and role-play Bible stories for the kids, but more importantly, they just maintain a positive presence for the Salvation Army.

“Trust is the most expensive commodity,” said Platt. “You could give Christmas dinners to a whole community, but that wouldn’t gain the trust. You need to have faithful accountability, people need to see you from time to time.”

Experience Intern Matt Crouch knows this – the first several weeks he spent in Jonesboro, some mothers would hardly crack their doors open for him when he asked if their kids would come out and play.

Now, after six weeks, mothers chat and joke with him in Spanish and then smile as he walks away, hand in tiny hand with their young ones, to where the Salvation Army hold activities.

“The parents have been burned a little more,” said Platt. “They hold their cards a little closer. If you lived in a jungle, you’d be suspicious of every little thing you saw, heard, or ate. When the Salvation Army shows up, what they really want to know is, ‘Are these people my friends?’”
Gregoria Sanchez, a 28-year-old mother of three, has been living in Colony Park for four years and speaks almost no English. She usually sticks around the house, but she is grateful that her kids don’t have to anymore.

“If they didn’t come, the kids would not go out, I would keep them here and they would play in a small room,” says Sanchez. “They are excited to go to the activities, and I trust they will stay out of trouble there.”

Sanchez’s main concern is that her kids stay in school. In such a tight-knit community, the children are influenced mostly by the teens around them – and the Salvation Army has noticed that many Colony Park teens drop out.

“If you are well educated, you will stay away from drugs and drinking,” says Sanchez, whose parents attended only primary school in Mexico. “I want my children to be well-educated.”
Platt knows many parents of at-risk youth in South Atlanta like Sanchez that would give anything for their kids to have better, but simply don’t have the resources.

“Every day I see a place where we need to be,” said Platt. “The fields are white, we want to be out there.”

As the Corps tries to maintain a constant presence in both Jonesboro and Pittsburgh, street ministry proves to be hard work for both Salvation Army workers and Experience Mission volunteers alike.

“The important thing to remember is that when Experience Mission partners with us, they become the Salvation Army,” said Captain Platt. “They are the face of the Corps, that’s how the neighborhoods see it. And it’s been a blessing, because we could make a lot of things happen without money, but not without people.”

**To learn more about what Experience Mission is doing, visit our website at www.experiencemission.org.

By Mo Scarpelli

At the Christian Community Center in West Baltimore, a familiar chorus is heard every day across the playground area: “Mr. Tom! Mr. Tom!”

More than 50 kids show up at the community center at any one time, where they take Bible classes, play on the jungle gym, and this past summer, spent time with senior high Experience Mission volunteers.

“This is the best summer I’ve ever had here,” said Tom Homans, director of the Christian Community Center on Hollins Street. “Experience Mission has been such a blessing. The kids especially love the one-on-one time.”

One-on-one time is something Homans, or “Mr. Tom,” has had trouble giving all the children that attend the Community Center since he stepped into the full-time position almost exactly five years ago.

And although the kids in West Baltimore have a laundry list of needs, Homans says their need for meaningful relationships should be at the top of the list, even if it’s somewhat new to them.

“You can tell from some of the kids, the way they act, they just need attention,” said Homans. “They need someone to come in and hang out and listen to them. ”

This kind of ministry can be new to some volunteers, even if they’ve been on the mission-field for years.

TJ Speer of Peqauannoc, New Jersey spent a week in Arizona in 2006 and then another in Gary, WV in 2007, working under Experience Mission. He says he spent most of his time building and repairing homes.

This summer, Speer got to see a different side of mission work in Baltimore when he spent a day at the Christian Community Center.

“Just having the chance to interact with them on a more friendship basis than a service level has been really meaningful,” said 18-year-old Speer. “It’s very important for them because some have troubled backgrounds. They get to see that people care about them and they take on a positive uplifting spirit.”

Sleeping just around the block from the community center and passing by old row houses every day, Speer noticed that West Baltimore is not the safest place for a child.

Homans says drugs and alcohol are a constant temptation.

“The kids in the neighborhood are out 24/7,” said Homans. “Some of them have been through some rough stuff, they want to be happy, so they can’t say no to drugs or alcohol.”

Actually, that was Homans’ brothers’ story. Before Homans considered himself a Christian, he watched his brother become addicted to crack cocaine.

“I thought I’d get a call that he’s dead, even though he had a wife and kids,” said  Homans, thinking back to just six years ago. “I didn’t think he’d ever get clean.”

But to Homans’ surprise, he did. Furthermore, he found God in the process. And then he told Homans about his faith, and instilled a sense of conviction in his brother.

“My brother - he helped me know God’s power,” said Homans. “God got a hold of him and one night, he just started witnessing to me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

Homans started pursuing his faith and volunteering with youth ministry at his church in “the County” (what Baltimoreans call the suburban area around the inner city). He heard about the Christian Community Center in Baltimore through his girlfriend and started stopping by to help out twice a week, when he wasn’t working.

“I felt called to work with kids and the church was a great place but my heart was really here,” said Homans, sweeping his hands to show his small office in the middle of the Community Center’s ground floor.

The Center first opened its doors in the fifties, in partnership with the Helping Up Mission, a drug rehabilitation center for men. In 1992, the Center became an independent institution, owned and operated by Betty and Charlie Horn, who still live in the area.

EM teams tour and help serve lunch at the Helping Up Mission, where volunteers get another shot at relational ministry - this time with adults trying to overcome their addictions with their faith.

The Helping Up Mission boasts a recovery rate of 67 percent - more than twice that of the average drug rehabilitation center. Mission employees attribute this to implementing faith in recovery.

Homans feels certain that faith helps everybody, no matter how hard the situation seems. After all, he was introduced to a living faith through his drug-addicted brother.

“If they don’t have the Lord, there’s not much you can do to help them,” said Homans of children and adults alike. “Around here, the temptation is so great to find pleasure that everyone needs the Lord.”

Experience Mission is facilitating mission trips to Honduras and Belize for Summer 2009. To learn more, visit <a href=”http://www.experiencemission.org”>ExperienceMission.org</a> or call the EM office at  360-732-0986

It’s nothing unusual to participate in a service project that benefits the community while on a short-term mission trip—in fact, that’s what one would hope for.

But Experience Mission is taking that model a step further. While partner community needs have always been taken heavily into consideration, EM has started an increased effort to let local community leaders determine the specific projects they need and see what can be done to support those needs, even if they fall outside the scope of a traditional short-term mission trip.

For example, in Jamaica this past summer, residents said they needed help building two new kindergartens. In Costa Rica the year before, residents of the village of Coroma said they needed a suspension bridge.

The idea, EM Executive Director Chris Clum said, is to make a more practical impact in residents’ lives and to inspire them toward a greater sense of ownership regarding community improvement efforts.

Clum said one concern has been making sure that such centralized projects do not take away from one-on-one time with community members—time that is practically guaranteed if home repair and construction comprises the majority of the work. But as it has turned out thus far, the inclusion of larger community projects has allowed for plenty of personal interaction.

“We’re actually engaging the community more, because we’re impacting more people’s lives,” Clum said.

Clum mentioned the schools built in Jamaica.

There, in the small rural town of Catadupa and nearby villages, Pastor Leroy Gordon of the Christian Fellowship Church and community members have maximized minimal government funding and led an effort to run community-based kindergartens for children between three and six years old. The classes of between 20 and 30 children are held in small churches without indoor plumbing; the children use pit toilets outside. The facilities were extremely basic, but they got by.

But newly imposed government regulations forced them out of those facilities and—if they wanted to continue holding kindergarten classes—required them to construct new buildings. The community of Catadupa, he said, would have to provide the government with blueprints designed by an architect. The process cost money the community didn’t have.

“What we have to do is hire people–skilled men–you are dealing now with a proper building,” Gordon said.

At that point, a grant from Canada-based S.O.S. became crucial, as did EM’s large volunteer teams. Gordon said the combination of the donation and enough manpower made it possible to make significant progress on the buildings, and this helped rally the community together.

“There was a tremendous sense of ownership in Jamaica,” Clum said. “This was their project, and we were just coming to help them with their project. The workers there were going to continue on.”

(Click here to read more about the school construction effort there.)

There was similar participation in Coroma, Costa Rica, the year before. The suspension bridge volunteers built would allow children to get the school and the elderly to seek medical care in those cases when the river there rose. Knowing this, community members took time off work to volunteer and took turns cooking for the volunteer teams.

Selecting projects like these does not, Clum said, mean that mission trips won’t involve plenty of spiritual outreach.

“The spiritual needs aren’t going to be met unless we’re connecting and engaging with people. So whatever we’re doing during the week, we have to involve interacting with people,” Clum said. He said if work projects don’t lend themselves to a great deal of interaction, a trip might incorporate outreach programs such as community barbeques, additional Kids Club activities or supporting Meals on Wheels programs in urban communities.

Clum said allowing the community to determine what the work projects will be is an important component of EM’s burgeoning Community Affiliate Program, in which community leaders are identified to work with residents toward year-round change, as opposed to solely relying on outside involvement during the summer months.

“The ownership rests in the community. Our role at EM is to help them connect to opportunities, resources and networks,” Clum said. “If one component is that they want teams to come down, then that’s great, but it’s part of their thing. And if it is one of those components—and we assume that it will be—then we bring the labor and the materials down there, and we go down to help them. It’s exactly flipped around, and exactly as it should be.”

Experience Mission is offering Summer 2009 mission trips to locations in the U.S. and abroad. Visit www.experiencemission.org or call  360-732-0986  to learn more.

Though Hurricane Gustav was played down as a near-miss storm that largely spared the Gulf Coast, the flooding and consequent damage did deal a devastating blow to the morale of many residents who had finally begun to regain a sense of stability for the first time since Katrina struck in 2005.

Some are calling it quits, including residents of Pearlington, Miss., an Experience Mission partner community. While Gustav’s damage was light in comparison to Hurricane Katrina and newer structures withstood the storm, a general sense of discouragement is sinking in among those who have twice suffered significant property damage.

Janyne Evans, 52, owns the popular Turtle Landing restaurant in Pearlington. She said two good friends of hers—who are also good customers—are choosing to skip town.

“They’re going to pack up and they’re moving out. They can’t handle losing everything continuously,” Evans said during a telephone interview. She said she had just gotten back to the Turtle Landing to find the bottom floor flooded with water and was assessing the overall damage.

As she spoke, she said, she was awaiting an evacuation order for Hurricane Ike.

Other residents who suffered through Hurricane Katrina, however, had cause to be thankful. While 137 homes in Pearlington suffered water damage due to Gustav, those built in accordance with more stringent new building codes remained largely unscathed.

Many of those homes, which are raised on sturdy posts to sit at least 15 feet above sea level, were built by EM volunteers in partnership with the Pearlington Recovery Center (PRC).

“All the new houses are fine, because they’re all on posts. None of them got water, none of them lost a single possession,” PRC Director Glenn Lockin said. “All the houses are perfect, which is just a blessing.”

Locklin said that while the storm set community restoration work back about 90 days, the return to normalcy seemed streamlined, and just days after the residents returned from a mandatory evacuation, Pearlington was up and running as it had been before. Still, he said that rather than the optimistic sense of community that has fueled much of the Katrina recovery effort, many people appear downtrodden.

“The faith is not here, which I was kind of surprised by,” Locklin said. “They’re nervous, and I do understand that.”

Locklin is trying to stay positive. He himself lost a car to the storm, but said he wasn’t sweating it too much.

“It’s all good. It’s just a car,” he said. “It’s not the same as a house—it’s not the same as rebuilding again.”

Back at the Turtle Landing, Evans said that despite her soaked restaurant and more difficulty on the horizon, she was fighting to keep her spirits up as well, since she had no plans to leave Pearlington.

“I’m going to try to stick it out because I got six years into it, and life savings. I can’t really just walk away from it right now,” she said.

Locklins estimated it would take about two more years to get Pearlington back to normal once and for all. Meanwhile, he’s also attempting to plant a Foursquare church there.

He said volunteer teams serving Pearlington through EM helped speed the recovery process along this year and enriched local youth—including his daughters—by giving exposing them to people from all over the country.

“We had a positive experience with all the groups. The kids had a ball, and we got a lot done. We worked on so many houses, it was scary,” he said.

Experience Mission is offering Summer 2009 mission trips to Pearlington and other locations in the U.S. and abroad. Visit www.experiencemission.org or call 360-732-0986 to learn more.