Hurricane Katrina

This last September I went on a trip to Ocean Springs, Mississippi to help rebuild a home of a family there. It was a really great experience. The extent of the destruction was almost unbelievable. The trash 30 ft up in the trees showed how high the water was when the powerful waves came rushing in. All of the homes along the waters edge had nothing left but the piers standing. Peoples belongings were strewn everywhere, vacuums, clothing, microwaves, cars, etc. The home that we worked on only had 3 feet of water in it, and the water had flowed in and out within about an hour. We had to replace all of the drywall, insulation, and outlets below the water line. We worked hard and were at able to make the house habitable again. It was great to be able to be a part of people coming together to help those in need. We had a group from Indiana, two guys from Chicago, and 5 of us from Denver. All 15 of us came together to simply do what we could to help bring some restoration. The damage was so overwhelming, but we did what we could.

Ocean Springs, Mississippi

We interviewed this man who's house was destroyed. His resiliency and positive attitude was amazing. He said, "I always wanted a boat, and now I had one wash up in my yard. It has a hole in it, but I have a boat. I always wanted a palm tree, and now I have two of them in my yard. We're just going to rebuild. What else can we do? We can't give up."

These officers told us that this cross marks the place where the body of a 4 year old girl was found.

What's important?

It was amazing to see household belongings scattered all over the ground and hanging in the trees. It really made me think about what is important in life and demonstrated how the things of this world are so temporary. We spend our life collecting stuff that is so easily washed away with one wave.