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East Sylva mission team aids hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast
A mission team from East Sylva Baptist Church joined hundreds of other North Carolina Baptists in Gulfport, Miss., recently to help with repairs in the region still reeling the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Local fund-raising efforts began in March with the goal to help Gulfport residents rebuild their homes and lives.
N.C. Baptist Men went down the day after the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast and have remained to help. The National Guard armory in downtown Gulfport serves as a base for the relief efforts that are being done by the group. Volunteers are housed and fed there, and the facility also serves as a warehouse for tools and supplies. The entire operation is organized and staffed by volunteers.
Members of an East Sylva Baptist Church mission team work to repair a roof on a home damaged last fall by Hurricane Katrina. The 26-person group spent a week in Gulfport, Miss., as part of a larger relief effort organized by N.C. Baptist Men.
The group was divided into two teams and worked on three homes in the area. One group, led by Roy Cloer and Ronnie Buchanan, put a roof on a house located beside an inland waterway in Gulfport. On the last day team members also assisted a neighbor, who was born in Clyde, by putting shingles on a storage shed. Another group, which was led by Gary Cessna and Josh Day, installed Sheetrock in two homes near Pass Christian. All three families are still living in FEMA trailers located beside their homes.
“These folks have gone through so much and are still trying to get their lives back to a normal routine,” said team member Mark Haskett. “The news media did a great job of showing us the damage created by this monster storm but seeing the devastation first hand left us speechless.
A mission team from East Sylva Baptist Church traveled to Gulfport, Miss., the week of July 9 and worked on three area homes. The East Sylva contingent was part of an ongoing effort by North Carolina Baptist Men to aid the Gulf Coast region that was devastated last fall by Hurricane Katrina.
“Residents that we worked with shared their firsthand accounts of survival during the storm that struck last August. It is amazing that more lives were not lost and many residents were thankful that the storm struck during daylight hours which allowed them to be able to see where to run or swim,” he said.
East Sylva’s youth minister, Kenny Chapman, was on his second trip to the Gulf coast area and said he has seen a trasition.
“Most roads were impassable on my first trip,” Chapman stated. “I can see the progress that has been made as efforts have shifted from cleaning debris to actually getting people back into their homes.”
The group also had the opportunity to survey damage from Biloxi, Miss., to New Orleans. The destruction left many communities deserted with the FEMA condemned markings on all structures.
One individual walked up to East Sylva’s pastor, the Rev. Tommy James, at a local seafood restaurant and placed enough cash in his hand to pay for the entire meal for all 26 members.
“The folks of Gulfport were so grateful for all that is being done by North Carolina Baptists. Everywhere we went people were thanking us for taking time out to come down” said James. “It was such a blessing to see how God is working to help people rebuild their lives.”
Team members included Shana Brooks; Ronnie Buchanan; Gary Cessna; Kenny Chapman; Roy Cloer; Josh, Jake and Jared Day; Karen Echelman; Krysta Edwards; Mark, Tammy, Brittany and Emily Haskett; Tommy, Jennifer, Tiffany and Steven James; Bobby McMahan; Eddie, Pat and Natalie Palmer; Cheryl and Heather Ward; and Kaitlin and Paige Wood.
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