M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I

I don't know why but I just really like to spell Mississippi. It's fun, it has a certain rhythm to it =) Ok, so I got back almost a week ago and still have not posted about it! Shame on me! If you have no time and can't read the whole post I'll shorten it for you: Mississippi trip=AMAZING <---and for anyone who reads this and actually went on the trip will actually understand the full extent of what that means lol =)

Ok, so the long version, which won't be that long because the whole week just ran together and I can't remember what we did when, and I don't have much time to do this anyway. So hear goes.

We caravanned (sp?) to Miss. with three vehicles and had just a major blast getting down there. We drove straight through and the one stint that I drove, through Dallas Texas, I got lost for an hour. That was an adventure. If you are a Dallas driver I have this to say to you: SHAME ON YOU! GO TO ANOTHER STATE AND LEARN HOW TO DRIVE! I have never had to deal with such rude and aggressive drivers, it was irritating. But also fun because it was an adventure. The highway system there is seriously a total labyrinth, if you don't live there, there is no way you're going to find your way around. It was pretty incredible.

So we got to Camp Gospel Sunday afternoon, about an hour before we had planned to be there and had sort of an orientation and then spent the rest of the day on the beach. We were only a stone's throw away from the beach, it was fantastic. The water there is soooo warm, lots of jelly fish, no sharks, it was good. Later on in the week I went with a group of the guys all the way out to the post that said "Danger (something else I don't remember)" on it, that was fun. I think the drop off point was right around there. It was like a quarter or so mile out in the ocean and the water wasn't above my head yet. You know what a feat that is right? When I go to the pool five feet deep is pushing it for me keeping my head above water.

Monday we started working. We had such a large group between the Colorado Springs UCCS people and the Pueblo CSUP people (and a few from Boulder too), that we had to split up the groups. There were 36 of us total and we split up into two groups of 18. One group went to New Orleans (which ended up not working out, but you'll have to talk to one of them to get the whole story, it was pretty awesome), and then my group stayed in Pass Christian and pulled nails all day. Now pulling nails doesn't sound particularly exciting, I know, and honestly it was pretty monotonous, but this guy that we were doing it for had found all these boards that were just going to be thrown away and decided to keep them because it was such a waste. Well, once all the nails are pulled out (there was a lot of wood, we spent all day there and got through maybe a quarter of it), he is going to build a house for himself and his daughter and anyone else that needs a new house. Sweet huh? So it was worth it.

Tuesday my team went to New Orleans to do the house the other team was supposed to do on Monday but couldn't. We had to gut the entire house, it was quite an experience, especially in the not-so-safe neighborhood that we were in, with the "crazy" neighbor. The neighbor was the most interesting part of the house, he was ranting and raving the whole time we were there, it was a bit scary, so I stayed away from him. We ended up leaving the house unfinished, but we came back Friday and finished it and the neighbor was a lot different. His ranting and raving had stopped and he was relatively quiet the whole time we were there. I know it was because we had been praying for him. His whole countenance was changed, he was a lot happier to see us and more welcoming since it was "his neighborhood". I think there is a chance that some other volunteers will be helping him with the properties around there that he is taking care of. What was the most sad is that he just kept saying "They don't care, they just don't care God!", not about us, but about everyone else in general. I think he really appreciated what we were doing, since he hadn't seen anyone else doing it.

Wednesday and Thursday I don't really remember as individual days. I know that Wednesday I was totally exhausted and could barely get anything done. Over those two days we moved a party boat, rock on for the "Man Flesh" and "WO-Man Flesh" that accomplished that, cleared a bunch of tree and bush debris from a house, gutted another house that was going to be demolished, and something else I honestly can't remember. It was great. You would be amazed at all that we did and all that still needs to be done. Some of what we were doing was really small, I mean pulling nails and moving bushes? How much does someone really need that done? That's what you think when you start it, but it's a big deal to the people you are doing it for. It's a big deal to them that you are there sacrificing your time and energy to do some really hard work that you aren't getting paid for. Then again some of it really was a big deal, like gutting houses. Those people can't get a new house built until their house is gutted and they can't afford for someone to come out and gut it for them. So what we did for them was a really big deal too, it means a lot to them, because we gut their home they are able to have a new one.

Going down there you really don't see a whole lot of damage left on the outside. When we got there I was kind of wondering where all this so called devastation was. A lot has been done, there are a lot of buildings and homes that are looking good now. The problem now is on the inside. Black mold has completely destroyed a lot of these homes, they look great on the outside, but when you start pulling off dry wall you see 1) how weak the dray wall is and 2) how much black mold there is. We were wearing masks the whole time because of how dangerous it was. And you wouldn't even know it until you start taking it apart.

Hey if you're reading this and thinking this sounded kinda cool, you should really go sometime. Even just for a few days, it's worth it. The Katrina disaster is still very much a reality for the people in the Gulf area. We have the luxury of forgetting about it because the only thing that still effects us from the hurricane is the price of gas. There are tons of people still living in trailers because no one will help them anymore. People don't care, so it's up to us to start caring again and go and take care of our own people, and by our example maybe the nation will start to care again too. Big hope huh? A little irrational? Maybe, but we certainly can't afford to put a limit on God and what he can do. God can use one person to change the heart of a nation. He can use one group of people, people like us, to change the heart of a nation, to make that nation remember to care for it's people no matter how different they are. So if you are able, find some one to go with and just do it.

If you are interested in going with our group there is talk of going on a three week trip sometime this summer, and they also for for a week over Thanksgiving break, one or two weeks over winter break and then the week for spring break. There is plenty of opportunity, so you have no excuse on that end ;)