Why I love this vacation....

I'm spending a few days in Orlando on a vacation with my Gulf Coast Mission accountability partner and friend, Lauren, and her parents. We've done a little bit of the Disney stuff, but mostly we're just relaxing. Here are my favorite bits of this vacation so far....


1. I'm out of Gulfport for a bit. Out of the office, away from the phone calls, and getting a much needed break from those precious volunteers that I love so much.

2. I'm not using an alarm clock.

3. The sun is out and it is beautiful.

4. I went to Epcot for the first time. Did I mention that I've never been to Disney World before? Epcot was fantastic. A full 12-hour day. Lovin' it.

5. My diet staples this week have been chips, chocolate and diet coke.

6. I was able to relax enough to lay poolside and read a crap novel.

7. I am sleeping in a big-girl bed. Really, no twin bed for me!

8. There was no dump truck to awake me at 3 in the morning.

9. Lauren and her family are pretty fun folks to hang out with. They've been so wonderful to me. And getting to spend some serious quality time with Lauren is such a gift.

10. It gave me time to deal with my dad and his illness this week. We had a bit of a scare, but he's going to be okay. It happened while on vacation, so I was able to talk to him as much as I or he wanted to and didn't have to worry about focusing on other things (volunteers, bosses, homeowners, roommates, Mississippians, the general mayhem of disaster recovery, etc.).

Better get back out to the pool.....

Photos of the new pad!

Last night's State of the Union Address got me thinking.....

While sitting in a church in Gulfport, MS, watching the President, presidential hopefuls, and all of our nation's leaders on TV, being frustrated by everying he said about Iraq, Immigration, and Health Care (really- we only need to provide medical care for the elderly, disabled and poor children- really???), I can't stop wondering......


...what are they planning to do to help the thousands of residents of the Gulf Coast?








(All photos taken last week by the team from the Presbytery of New York City. To see more of their photos or to read their trip blog please go to: http://pnyckatrina.blogspot.com/)

BIG NEWS!

We're moving!

I'm pretty fired up about it. Living, working and worshiping in the same building has been a challenge. So next Friday, we're moving to an apartment. It's right around the block, which is great because we can still walk to church/work. As soon as I get the camera over there, I'll take some photos to show y'all. We're in the process now of getting the water, power and internet turned on (YES- I SAID INTERNET!!!! We're going to have WiFi in the apartment- hurray for modern technology...). Then we have the fun of furnishing and decorating the place. My address will remain the same, though, so cards, letters, and packages are still and always welcome at Handsboro.

Yippee!

And in the new home, I would like to be addressed accordingly:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Couni-dogg the Bibulous of Molton St Anywhere Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

The Jolly Inn to the Boom Boom Room

When you weekend is bookended by trips to the Jolly Inn for Cajun dancing and Ray's Boom Boom Room for a Saints party, you know you're not on the East Coast any more. I enjoyed a weekend of Southern Hospitality to which I can not find the right words to explain. Here are the highlights:

Fantastic Friday night dinner and fellowship with my housemates, Irvin (GCM leader) and Leroy (President of Mission Year). This was followed by a trip two hours south west to visit our friends at the PDA volunteer village in Houma, LA. We went Cajun dancing Friday night at the Jolly Inn and then enjoyed some quiet and rest in Houma on Saturday. Sunday morning, I went to church at First Pres in Luling, LA, where they are host to yet another PDA volunteer village. We hustled out of there in order to hit Ray's Boom Boom Room in the French Quarter for the Saints game.


It was the most fantastic football party I've ever been to, complete with a great crowd full of characters, free red beans and rice, free fried chicken, free grilled quail, free yams, free jello-shots and free cake. And they had a DJ blasting hip-hop music during the commercials. The whole joint was hoping the entire game. Too bad the Saints didn't pull out the win....but really, just being with that many excited people made the day a good one for me. I, unfortunately, forgot my camera, but my pal Emily remembered her camera! Check out her photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyhrhodes/SaintsGameAtRaySBoomBoomRoom.

New Photos

Click on my photo link to see this and many other interesting photos from the Gulf Coast!

New pics up are from my December trip to Houma, LA to visit Lauren and several from Christmas at Handsboro.

Happy Wednesday!

A quick prayer request

If you have a moment, please join me in lifting up:

1. The Presbytery of Mississippi Disaster Recovery:
We're going through some transition and we're gearing up for a few busy months of hard work.
2. Gulf Coast Mission:
Four months in, many more to go. Your love and support means everything.
3. Scott and Rebecca & family:
The pastor of Handsboro and Orange Grove Presbyterian Churches and his family have just moved into the manse, where we hope they will enjoy many great years of health and happiness.
4. The Gulf Coast churches:
Rebuilding is hard on a congregation- they need all our support!

In love,
Erin

Just a few thoughts....

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. "
Martin Luther King Jr.

It's another beautiful Monday on the Gulf Coast. We're celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by working hard to help all people recover from this storm. But I suppose we do that every day. Okay, I have to work on a special celebration for today. I'll get back to you with that.

After 4 months here, I realize that my perspective has totally changed. Destruction and devastation are part of my normal surroundings. Buildings fall down, windows are blown out, people burst into tears at any moment, houses have mold and blue plastic roofs, and piles of debris live on the side of every road. I'm not as sensitive to the shock of these scenes anymore. I am not as sensitive to the stories people share anymore. That scares me. The devastation and stories are still shocking. This place is not normal.

When I was home for Thanksgiving, I was shocked at the speed, efficiency and fun of the "outside" world. Maybe I need to work a little harder to get to that outside world and refresh my perspective.

But if I've only been here for 4 months and I feel that way, what about all those who lived through the storm?

In an effort to live have some "normal" fun, I spent this weekend hanging out with my GCM team. A bunch of us went out to hear some live music and enjoy a few adult beverages in Ocean Springs on Friday night. Yesterday, we met up with most of our GCM crew in Slidell, LA for lunch and a movie. Lunch was sponsored by my fabulous church friends back in Dickeyville, MD who sent a gift card to Chili's! Thank you!

I suppose, even with all of the crazy going on in this rebuilding process- we've always got food to bring us all back together again.

Mmmmmmm.

Warning: Political Post....Read at your own risk.

I just read the President's speech on Iraq.

I didn't get to listen to it last night, because I was busy trying to find a ways to work on my mission experience in the Gulf. Anyone who's talked to me lately, or read this blog lately, knows that I have been struggling with some of the challenges of disaster work and community living. That means I've e been seeking consult and advice from some loving mentors and praying a whole lot.

Last night while the President was speaking, I was attending a prayer meeting. We prayed for our pastor, we prayed for the Presbytery of MS Disaster Recovery, we prayed for each other's families, for sick friends, for our world leaders and elected officials, for troops, and peace.

Today I read the President's speech.

Maybe I should have prayed harder last night.

I'm a peace girl- always will be. I don't begin to understand the complexity of the situation we're in with the whole Iraq mess. I am glad I'm not in charge of solving matters over there. But I wonder if we're taking the right course of action, if peace is our desired outcome. I wonder how increasing troops makes for a swifter end to this conflict. I wonder how we're going to pay for this increase in presence. I wonder why we're spending precious resources abroad when our own citizens are in such great need. I wonder why we're going to strip more American families apart to send more troops to war. And I keep coming back to these three things:

1. God asks us to love one another.

2. Our own people are hurting. I live in Mississippi- a poor, broken state right under the President's nose. Before the hurricane hit, people here were poor and broken. They couldn't afford health care, food, fair housing. Why weren't we taking better care of our own? Then a huge storm hits and in the months and years that follow, we're hindered in helping them recover because so many of our resources are being spent overseas. People here are still living in MOLD! And that's just Mississippi- what about the health care and education needs across the country (Baltimore, anyone?), what about poverty in our cities, what about the violence and drugs our streets?

3. My brother-in-law is in Baghdad right now. His family at home misses him and needs him. But his country asked him to go over there and do what he can to ensure stability in the chaos, and safety for his family at home. He went- gladly. He believes that he is making the world a better place, and that he is serving God's mission in trying to bring stability and peace to his neighbors. He might be right. His explanation, carefully penned and mailed to me along with a photo of him in a big Saddam chair in Baghdad, rocks every bit of my liberal argument, especially being so personal.

So I get back to the conclusion that I don't have any answers here.
I'm curious about what you think......


I guess I need to go pray some more. We all do.

It's still freaking Tuesday!

Okay, the positive vibe is lost tonight.

I am writing this from my tippy-toes, leaning my laptop against the window of the church and balancing it against my chest because that is the only way to get online here. What, you ask? Yes, there is WiFi in the church for all other staff and volunteers to use, but not for the GCM team. I don't want to get started on that.

I'm doing this freak-like on-line stalking in order to look for apartments in Gulfport because we are hoping to move out of the church. I love living here, but in order to protect my sanity and a bit of my privacy (read: people wandering into my bedroom at all hours), I gotta get out of here. For two months, that's been in the works.

I thought the lesson in all of this was patience. So I've waited.....something I am terrible at doing. Maybe that's not the lesson here. Maybe this is a lesson in creativity. Maybe I have to speak more creatively, pray more creatively and I definitely need to take more creative actions.

For example- lean against a window in order to surf apartments on the web.
Huh!

It's Tuesday, right?

So things have been nutty lately and I'm not totally sure what day it is. It's been forever since I've been able to get some online time- I don't sound frustrated with that at all, do I? Well, I should because I am. But I am trying to keep positive, so let's focus on the good, shall we?

A quick update:

It's beautiful here today! The sun is bright as I sit at PJ's cafe in Gulfport dropping a line out in cyperspace for y'all to read. My roommates are all back in town from the holidays. A volunteer work team from Linda's church was here last week doing clean up work and hanging out with us. We went into New Orleans with them this weekend and had a few precious moments with some of our fellow GCMers down there. I realized how much I am missing the rest of our GCM group. We're all doing similar work and dealing with a lot of the same challenges, fun, drama, excitement, and we never get to talk about it because we don't see each other often enough. So we're working on organizing a get together. It's so hard to coordinate, though, because we all have such different work schedules.

I've been really busy with home visits lately, trying to work with homeowners to get them ready for our conrtuction teams to come in and help out. I love working with the people, I just wish I could offer more help. But I am working on getting over that.

The Castlemans (pastor and family) are back in town and have moved into the manse. It is too fun having them right next door! I love it.

I'm attending a training for case managers working in disaster recovery this week. That's all I have to say about that.

So I realize now, that this doesn't sound like a positive post. The details of my life here often aren't very positive. But I am loving it. It is hard work and the drama is real and neverending. But I am learning about people and God's love for us every day.

I am so lucky to be here right now.

Who's in charge here?

So as I am driving around looking for homes that don't exist on roads that have no street signs, frustrated by procedures that seem to change on each and every person's whim.......God jumps in and sends me a big, fat reminder that I'm not in charge here. Today I just happened to turn down a street, while looking for a house on my list, when several people ran after me pounding on my car. They'd had an accident on their work team and needed someone to call 911. They'd knocked on the neighbors' doors and hadn't received any help. Just when they stopped and prayed for help to come, I turned the corner, with my little green car with the big "Presbytery of Mississippi Disaster Recovery" magnets on the side. I called 911, the ambulance came and every one was okay.

I'm not in charge of assigning work here. I'm not in charge of installing street signs. I'm not in charge of the work flow. I am not in charge of the policies or procedures. I'm not in charge of dumpsters or permits or volunteers or trash bags or anything, really. I am not even in charge of my own living situation (no, we still haven't moved yet). That's hard for me. But I have to keep in mind that I am charged with loving and serving. I just need to keep remembering that.

Good thing the Big Guy keeps sending me those reminders, eh?

I love you!

Happy 2007!

We had a great party tonight! Here are the best photos:

My New Year's Wish- December 31, 2006

New Year's Eve in Gulfport, Mississippi: sounds exciting, right? I bet you're jealous! You know you are!

When I was growing up I used to chat with my best friend Lindsey about spending New Year's Eve in New York City- at least once. Well, we've yet to do that, but I have seen the ball drop and/or the fireworks go off from the mountain tops of Colorado, the sunny beaches of Ft. Lauderdale, and the mob scenes of downtown DC. Never in my youth, however, did Lindsey and I dream of celebrating the turn of the year in Mississippi.

But Mississippi feels like the right place for me this year. The Gulf Coast is a little broken, still. They're trying to pick back up and move forward, but they don't really know how that looks just yet. They're not totally sure what they're going to be or how they'll rebuilding. Cities are still arguing out the planning processes. Developers seem to be shooting up everywhere- but also nowhere in particular- haphazardly. Confusion reigns in government, business and non-profits all over the coast. But neighbors have swooped in to help, coming from near and far to support, heal, love, build and laugh with those who have been through so much.

Since New Year's two years ago, when my little sister passed away, I've been pretty broken. I don't know how to rebuild myself. I don't know how to rebuild my relationship with God. I don't know what my future looks like- where I will be or what I'll do. I didn't live through Katrina, but I did survive my own storm. And, two years later, I'm still trying to pick myself back up and look forward. And that's without having to navigate the webs of building permits, mold treatement and smart codes!

Coming down here to help out with the Gulf Coast rebuild has been such a huge piece of the healing process for me; for my own personal rebuilding. It's work I can do to help someone else pick up. It's a way for me to pay back all of the family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and strangers who've held me togther for the past two years.

Today's reading in church was the story of Jesus as a boy getting "lost" from his family, and seeking refuge and understanding in the temple. I caught myself thinking that maybe the Gulf Coast and this Recovery effort can be my temple. So many people have struggled here and so much damage has been done. But for me- this chaos- it is helping me to rebuild. I've spent almost 4 months here seeing God's love touch lives, homes, pets, organizations, and even me, again.

The Gulf Coast and I aren't the only ones in the world hurting this New Year's Eve. War, illness, hunger, poverty, violence, hopelessness and so many other troubles are so very present in all of our lives. So my New Year's wish is that we can all help each other rebuild- ourselves, our families, our communities, our world. The only way I see that I can rebuild, that we all can rebuild is to put our trust in God's love. If we can start to share that love with one another, maybe we can all heal enough to move forward, together, in peace and joy.

May His love be with you all this evening and throughout the New Year!
Erin

HOLD THE PRESSES!

Important News Update:

I had to use my ice scraper on the car this morning! IN MISSISSIPPI!

That's all. We'll now return to regularly scheduled blogging.

Back to the Christmas report....

Christmas in Mississippi was fantastic, as I am sure you can tell by the few photos I posted yesterday. I had mixed feelings going into the holidays here. How can you have Christmas in 75 degree heat? Will the church be packed? Why am I not skiing? Where is my family? What about my favorite family Christmas traditions? Why does my tree have Mardi Gras masks and feathers all over it? Where will we eat? What will we eat? What about all of the families we're working with down here? Urg.

Christmas Eve was a rainy day. I had spent the day before gathering and delivering Christmas gifts and dinners for families donated by my church back home. My roommate Linda and I had stayed up until 2:30am wrapping gifts for Christmas Eve delivery to some needy families with whom we've been working. On Christmas Eve, I hit both the Episcopal and Presbyterian morning worship services here at Handsboro. At the Presbyterian service, a few homeless folks joined us for worship. It has become commonplace for homeless neighbors to come by the church requesting assistance with food, blankets, bus tickets, gas money, etc. It rarely happens on a Sunday. Pastor Scott had run out of money in his discressionary aid budget to assist these people, so he invited them to worship and agreed to request assistance from the congregation directly. They sat through the service and we all gave what we could to help them out. I spoke with them a bit and then gave them some of the money my home church had sent for Christmas needs. As we were talking, Scott and I realized that they had no place to eat Christmas day. Scott and his family had already invited all of the GCM volunteers over to their (not-yet-completed) home for Christmas supper, so it was easy for him to invite our new friends as well. We weren't sure if they would show up, but Rebecca (Scott's wife) and I started planning for the meal just in case.

The evening worship services that night were held at Orange Grove Presbyterian Church, the yoked congregation with Handsboro. As Linda and I were headed out the door, we ran into our new friends, from the morning service. They wanted to attend evening worship and didn't know how to get to the church. It was awesome. I couldn't believe they had returned! When they stepped into Orange Grove's sanctuary, several church members recognized them and greeted them warmly. This was the best true Christmas moment I can remember. And the service was beautiful, full of readings and carols- just the way I like it.

After church, Linda and I had dinner with some Episcopal friends. They opened their home to two ladies with no place to eat a proper Christmas meal. Another fine example of the Christmas spirit. And their family is pretty darn funny, too!

Christmas Eve finished with my two roommates and two of our GCM friends left in town all bunked in my room. We dragged all the mattresses in and had a big sleepover, complete with a lively White Christmas sing-along. A wind storm and flapping flashing awoke us all around 2:30am, so the crew slept in past my normal Santa-wake-up hour. Around 8:30 we got up and started with breakfast beignets, Grandma Grogan's sticky buns, cider, and gifts. Melodie was the proud recipient of a DVD Tetris game that we all enjoyed testing out. Somehow, without my family being here, it felt much like the Christmas mornings of my childhood.

Soon after the unwrapping was done, it was time to whip into gear preparing lunch. Our homeless friends arrived around noon and we all shared a great Christmas meal of jumbalaya and salad. That's Christmas in the South! Then I recruited Mical and Tyler to take part in my Christmas Cookie Sweatshop. We made sour cream cut-outs, peanut butter kiss cookies, and of course, chocolate chippers. Four hours of that done, we hardly had time to clean up and get to work on Christmas Dinner.

About a month ago, Scott and Rebecca had invited us over to the newly renovated manse for Christmas dinner. They were supposed to be able to move in on Dec. 15th. Well, the manse wasn't ready. So they moved into another temporary home and we had Christmas dinner there, with their family. It was fantastic. I enjoyed my first fried turkey and I am totally sold on it. We had all the trimmings- sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, the famous Miranda stuffing, ham, green beans, etc., etc. The meal was tasty and the company was cozy. We played Uno, Apples to Apples, and some sort of electronic password game for hours. It was laughter, joy, and insane competition- all characteristics of the Christmases I remember and love.

So somehow, without anything familiar available to me in Mississippi this Christmas, I had a very traditional, warm, loving holiday with good friends, strangers, and lots and lots of food. The Christmas spirit is alive and well in this disaster zone, in the families we work with, in this rebuilding congregation, in our developing GCM project, and I hope in all of you, too.

Merry Christmas- all year long!
-E

PS- for Christmas photos check out this link!

Christmas in Mississippi with the GCM gang! (Photos included)

I hope you all are surrounded by loved ones, good food, laughter, and God's love this holiday season!

Merry Christmas!
Love and Peace,
Erin

Blown Away!

Have I mentioned that I am a proud member of the most fantastic church around!?

Today I arrived back in Gulfport (I spent the night at a PDA volunteer village in Houma, LA) and was greeted by several stuffed envelopes and packages. My roommates put the big packages under the tree for us to open Christmas morning, but I opened the cards immediately.

Last week we had a toy drive and ran out of toys. I mentioned this to my sister and asked if she had any ideas of how to help. She did more than come up with an idea- she stood up at work and stood up at church and asked folks to give to the needy families of the Gulf Coast this Christmas. My little church in Dickeyville, MD and a few of Rainey's co-workers responded by sending me more than $700 to buy gifts, food, and other necessities for some of the families I've been working with down here.

I can't tell you how touched I am by this outpouring of love and generosity: my sister's actions, the church's support, and mostly by the very kind notes and cards that housed these donations. I am just blown away! Thank you! Bless you! I love you!

When photos say it best:

Meeting Mississippi native James Earl Jones at a Thank You reception at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi.



Also, check out new photos by clicking on the Erin's Photo Album link.

Go Skins!

Dad and I enjoyed the Skins victory in the Superdome this weekend! We had a full range of comments from Saints fans on our burgandy and gold jerseys. A man in the mall started it with, "Boo Redskins!", which was followed by another man in the stadium who caught me in the food line with, "We're going to eat us up some Redskins, today", but to me the winner was next man in the food line who quietly made eye contact with me and said, "Thanks for coming down here. It means a lot." Over-all there was a sentiment of gratitude from the city- that we'd come, spent our money, and contributed to their rebuilding effort. I had fun with Dad and the surprise Washington victory was a nice finish, but the true blessing of the day was getting to spend some time with the people of a great city, who are excited about bringing it back! And the beignets are tasty too!