Day Four-- Kiln, Mississippi

Our group took a drive before beginning our day today. We went to the Bay St. Louis bridge which was taken away by Katrina. Great pylons still dot the waters, and it was awesome and humbling to see what devastation a single storm had wrought. We stood there as a group, in a circle, and prayed fervently for the day's events and for the other groups as well.

"Bay St. Louis Bridge" photo by Steve Humberg
We were back at George's to wrap up the lower level of his home. On the way, we had all signed a new family Bible to present to them. In my inscription, I wrote a scripture reference to Isaiah 40:31. They were both so thankful and genuinely moved to have our team work on their home, and were very emotional as we said our goodbyes. We invited them to eat some bonafide gumbo at the church with us tonight and they said they would come if they could.

Our next assignment for the day brought us to the home of Marty and Sissy S. Their home suffered 9 1/2 feet of floodwater damage, which naturally destroyed everything in their home. Their two children Devin and Denae jumped right in and started helping us clean up the debris. At one point, I was even driving a four-wheeler with a trailer, hauling away sheet rock and debris.

The team worked incredibly hard today, and Sissy cooked hotdogs for the crew. While talking to Marty, we found out that he had played high school football with none other than Bret Favre. Apparently Favre really stunk up his last high school game-- the legendary NFL QB threw five interceptions. They lost 28-6.

George did make it for dinner tonight. He once again entertained us with his stories and infectious smile. I talked alot about being in love with my "Cajun Girl" and he just et it up. I'm going to miss working with George. Becky was away caring for her ailing mother who has Alzheimer's and sadly, couldn't make it.

The destruction in this area is still shocking, even here on day four. Cars are parked in random locations. Not 'parked' per se, but rather floated by the flood to their final resting places in the mud. While relieving myself in the woods today, I noticed a smattering of plastic objects in the unlikeliest of places, strewn about the forest floor by the water. It'll take years for things to ever resemble normalcy. Reminders will always be there if one looks hard enough, high in the trees, and under the layers of leaves.