The Faces of Pearlington

30 March 2006

There are many people that God brought into our lives while in Pearlington. There are many stories that we heard while there. God has been doing some amazing things. Pastor Rawls talks about the ministry of “walking alongside us as we rebuild our lives.” There is something to be said for just being with people. We did a lot of walking alongside – some of which was just being available to be called on for whatever task needed to be attended to.

Here are some of the people and their stories:

Ben and Sue Taylor – This was the family that we read about before we left. They had to reconstruct their house. They were blessed as they could use the existing foundation and studs. They have made great progress, but they have also had some setbacks. Their oldest daughter was in a car accident in February and was not expected to be walking until summer. She is now walking on her own. Her mother says that it is due to all the prayers from Mississippi all the way up to Canada. We went down to help work on their house. They had made much progress and didn’t have a lot of work for us. We did get their floor ready for the new flooring.

On Wednesday, they made supper for us. We sat in their house and just as we began to eat, Ben made the following statement, “This is the first time we have been in our house since Katrina with friends and having a conversation.” Sue agreed and added, “It is one of the few times we have been together as a family and not talking about the house and what work needs to be done on it.” What a blessing to be the first to break bread together with them in their house.

As we continued to talk with them, I made the comment that we did not do much. Before the words were barely off my lips, Ben said, “Don’t ever think that anything you do down here is insignificant. The work that you did has brought us one step closer to being in our house.”

Pastor Rawls and his church family – Pastor Rawls church was damaged in the hurricane. There is a group out of Florida that has committed to help rebuild the churches and the fellowship hall of this church is completed. This is where his church meets on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. His church family feeds the volunteers hot lunches almost every day – sometimes they feed over 300. Pastor Rawls always greets the volunteers and thanks them for their efforts. He is very upbeat and appreciative of all the efforts of the volunteers. We are on the other hand appreciated the meals that his church prepares for us daily. Some of his church members are still rebuilding their homes, yet they take time out of their day to feed us. That is the heart of a servant.

Larry Randall and Herb Ritchie – Larry reminds me of the typical cowboy – blue jeans and cowboy boots. Herb has his long white hair pulled back into a ponytail and looks very distinguished. These men are from the community and are committed to seeing that Pearlington is rebuilt. They are both at the recovery center from 7 AM until at least 10 PM. These men lost their homes in the hurricane. They are in the process of rebuilding and both live on limited incomes. They work on their homes after they complete their work at the recovery center. They have had some of the teams come and do the bigger projects. Larry needs crown molding and base molding for his house. Herb needs to buy paint. There are currently some volunteers that are willing to work on Larry’s house, if he had the supplies – but he doesn’t have time or the money to get it. There is another team coming in this next week to paint Herb’s house, but he is in the same boat. My church sent down some money with us to help those in need. We took Larry to Lowe’s and told him to pick out his crown and base molding. He was shocked and amazed and as we told him what we were going to do, his eyes began to glisten. His wife was in tears. Herb wasn’t able to make the trip with us to buy paint, but we left a gift card for him to buy the paint for his house. I heard later that both men shed some tears over this act of kindness. I have asked both of these to send me pictures when they are done.

Doug Pennington – is from Florida and his church has committed to Pearlington for the long haul. Doug is currently overseeing the reconstruction of the 4 African Amercian churches that were in town before the hurricane hit - all of which are rebuilding. His story is amazing. He retired early and had played all of the golf he wanted to play. He was watching TV after one of the hurricanes hit Florida a few years ago and told God that he would go and do whatever He wanted him to do. Three days later he got a call from someone at his church and has been in the disaster relief business every since. His vision for this community is larger than to just rebuild the church buildings. He has a vision for racial reconciliation. After completing the rebuilding of the churches, he wants to continue working in town to provide counseling and healing. He has seen much healing since the hurricane – hurricanes don’t discriminate. They are equal destruction destroyers! The community is beginning to come together and help one another. He is praying for a revival in this town. Let’s join with him in praying for revival and reconciliation.

Mary Lena became one of the people I got to know the best. She is a fun loving woman who has been working in disaster kitchens for many years. She has been to Pearlington several times and has been called in to help design their permanent kitchen. Currently the kitchen will be housed in an army tent until a more permanent facility can be constructed. We have a lot in common and she referred to me as her sister that was born into a different family. We had a lot of fun and thanks to funds from the BBC hurricane fund; I was able to buy some of the items for the kitchen. Every time we went to buy something, she would dance and say, “God is so good. He just keeps on moving in people’s hearts to bring this kitchen to life.” She was one of the hardest people to leave. She taught me a lot and even gave me the opportunity to cook for 150 people! Before we left, she pulled me to one side and prayed for the kids, my husband and myself. Both of us were in tears before the prayer was done.