FEMA Trailers Set!

We were told by FEMA, while we were in MS, that because our team had done such a wonderful job of clearing the work sites of debris, that they would be able to set the trailers for temporary housing much sooner than expected.

We received word today that FEMA began setting the trailers yesterday!! Families can now begin the process of moving back into Smithville! :)

Homeward Bound

Having put in four hard days of work, at 9 different work sites, in record high temps for Mississippi, our team boarded the bus for the long ride home to Arizona.

One of the neatest things to see on a mission trip is how relationships are formed and bonds made. We left just barely knowing each other, but came back as a family, with memories and bonds that will go on, long past this trip. The trip to Mississippi was reserved and mostly quiet, with everyone sitting mostly together as families. The ride home to Arizona was totally different! Everyone was spread out, people were playing games, watching movies, and laughing with each other. We left as individual families, but returned as one BIG family!

Everyone on this trip did such an amazing job of enduring long bus rides, miserable working conditions, heat exhaustion, and in just dealing with each other in general. What a great team!

Day Four

Today was our last day to work, before heading back to AZ. The guys finished up the work for Mr. Estes, and the women and children worked at Sav-A-Life, sorting clothes and donations. They also worked on getting the church vans that we've been using all week, cleaned out.

As you can see, our team has been working REALLY close together at times! :)

Here's a picture of the guys and Mr. Estes, after the job was finished at his home.

Dana and the Sav-A-Life team bought Bill's Hamburgers for the team for lunch. The team loved them! Bill's is a staple in Amory, MS, and I always have to stop by for one, when I come home to visit.

Later in the afternoon, we all met up for a bus ride into Tupelo, MS to shop a little at the mall and to enjoy a catfish buffet at Cravin' Catfish. This was eatin' like most of the team had never experienced. We all had a great time and left as full as ticks!

Tomorrow, we begin the trip back to AZ, so keep us in your prayers!

Day Three

Day three proved to be a tough day for a handful of our team members. Several were sick and throwing up in the morning, from heat exhaustion. Mississippi has seen record temps this week. Luckily by the end of the day, most were back to feeling well and enjoying their time here.

There were two work sites that our team would be working on. The first was a city block, in downtown Smithville, where the houses were gone, but debris still needed to be removed.

The second site was the home of Mr. Estes. He had lost his parents, and Aunt in the tornado. The siding on his home needed to be replaced. Someone had donated the soffit for the siding, and he just needed someone to put it up for him.

Pastor Joey divided our team up into two crews to go and work these sites.

Later in the day, the team that had been working on the city block, moved over to the warehouse to sort clothes, while the crew installing the soffit continued to work on Mr. Estes' home.

As always, with this bunch, a little fun was in order.

The FEMA rep who was in the area, told Pastor Joey that our team had done such a wonderful job cleaning up the fields on Monday, that they would be able to bring in the trailers for temporary housing much sooner than expected! Praise the Lord!

Day Two

We began early again today, to get a jump on the heat. We finished up the field that we were working on yesterday, then moved into a nearby neighborhood to start the clean up there. There were two elderly couples who needed help cleaning debris out of their yards.

We then went to the site where the Smithville medical clinic used to be. We spent time clearing that site of broken glass, and paper patient charts. We found one medical chart for a patient, buried in the dirt, jammed up under a tree stump, in the roots. We dug it up and it was completely intact.

Volunteers were being fed at the community center in Smithville, so we stopped by and picked up a box of bagged lunches to take back to the church, to enjoy in the air conditioned building.

Our team spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning and organizing at the church where they've been staying.

After a dinner, that was once again provided by the church, the team went out to the theatre in Amory, to enjoy a movie.

Work Begins

We began the day at 6:00am on a piece of property on the outskirts of Okolona, MS.

We helped Mr. Roberts, who had lost his trailer, and had several fallen trees on his property. He is limited in what he can do, due to injuries sustained in war. Our crew began working on removing the fallen trees with chainsaws, and cleaning up the area.

Mr. Edwards had a tree that he wanted to stand back up, so our guys jumped on board to help him!

Later in the morning, we moved to Smithville, MS, where we began clearing fields of debris.

This Bible was found in the field near Mr. Cox's home. It belonged to his parents, one of which lost their life in the storm. He said that when he stumbled upon it, it was opened to Psalm 23.

I found this hymnal, while combing one of the fields. Notice the hymn it's opened to.

Of course, this crew always has fun and a few light-hearted moments!

Tiffany Smith and some of our ladies, worked with our younger children at Sav-A-Life, to help organize and box up donations.

Our team did a tremendous job today, working in high temps and high humidity. What others thought would take days, our team managed to complete in hours.

A HUGE thank you to Dana and her Sav-A-Life volunteers for keeping our crew fed! Not necessary, but MUCH appreciated! One thing about the women of the South, you will not go hungry!

After we stopped work for the day, Joey, his Dad, Ashley, and I drove through downtown Smithville. I had yet to see it, and let me tell you, it was shocking to see. All the pictures I had seen up until now, did not tell the complete story. Even a month after the tornado, there is still so much debris, so much destruction. It's unnerving to see.