Heading to Perkinston, MS

This is the story of a wonderful mission trip to Perkinston, MS that came about because of a Instant Message conversation that started 48 hours earlier. Shari Crooks and Cathy Young, both of Veritas Christian Academy (Homeschool Cover), were talking about how they'd like to go help the Hurricane Katrina victims. 48 Hours later, we were joined by Sarah Pavlik, also from our cover, and Jeanette Lawson, a nurse at Huntsville Hospital and were heading south to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Within 24 hours of our decision to go and spread God' love, homeschoolers from all over, friends and family had responded to our request for donations far beyond anything our human mind could've imagined. Cathy had also been able to contact Pastor Daniels who leads a flock of 35 + in a small southern Baptist Church down there. He then put us in touch with the Perkinston Volunteer Fire Department. It is an all volunteer force that is working 24 hours a day right now. They don't even get paid and are more worried about those in need then themselves. We are so thankful for all the help and please know, this is an ongoing journey. We can't take it all in one trip so more are to come. So, come enjoy the ride with us and see the wonderful things that God did before, during and after our trip. All this is to bring Glory to HIM!!!!! Not us.

Last night we got the trailer hooked up to Shari's truck and did a few test drives with Alan Blackmon, the family who had donated the trailer for our use. We then got the truck and trailer packed with as many things as we felt we could take, without putting on too much extra weight. The only thing we knew we had coming the next day was the linens that the hospital linen service had donated.

On Friday morning, Jeanette went to pick up the linens only to find the "box" they had promised us turned into 24 boxes. She called to see if I could bring the truck out to pick up the items from there. So after meeting her at her house to pack her car up from donations she had gotten at the hospital, I headed out to pick up the linens. Unfortunately, I was only able to take half but they told me they'd hold the rest until Monday and then we can send them in the next shipment. I then headed for Shari's and we finished packing the trailer and moving things to the middle for weight balance.

Well, after a long prayer of praise and thanksgiving, we left out of here on Friday morning at 11:30am, packed and energized and feeling filled with God's glory. We were told that because of the size and weight of the trailer we had been blessed with, our trip would go from 6 hrs to about 9 hrs. It was the first time Shari had driven a trailer and we threw her in with a 25ft one. Our trip was pretty smooth but I think the most ironic thing was that as soon as we crossed the Mississippi border, you started seeing downed trees and it only got worse from there. I called Pastor Daniels and let him know we were in his state and well on our way. He was so thankful and couldn't wait for our arrival. He said there'd be help to unload when we arrived.

We were absolutely blown away by the tree damage we were seeing so far north and yet so thankful there wasn't much damage. We saw areas that looked more like either tree-top tornadoes might have hit or even regular ones. There was a stretch of about 3 miles that looked like a tornado had run right along the side of the road. Trees gone but thank God, no damage to the road. Entire areas of the median for miles lost all the trees. Once we got closer to Hattiesburg (which is about 40 miles north of Perkinston), we began to see more building damage. We were so thankful that God had allowed us to make the entire trip in daylight. It allowed us slow preparation of the horror we would see Saturday as we traveled in to Gulfport. The closer we got to Perkinston, the more severe the damage.

Pastor Daniels (that's him and his wife Elsie in the pic) had asked that when we got to the Wal-Mart in Wiggins, a small town 5 miles north of Perkinston, to please call him so he could meet us at the Fire Station. When I called, he was traveling north on Hwy 49 (the highway to take us there) and was only about 2 miles from us. He asked if we would stop so he could escort us in. WOW! The timing, the love and the place we were going, ALL of it was God's perfect timing. Within about 30 seconds of stopping, a local Deputy pulled in behind us. It was after curfew so we figured it would happen. We had been instructed on what to do but also knew Pastor was close by. By the time the Deputy made it to our windows, Pastor was there and happended to personally know the Deputy. He informed us the only reason he had stopped was because our signs on the camper told him we were bringing relief aid to his area and he was worried we were broke down. God is amazing. So after a big hug from this wonderful man, Pastor Daniels, and introductions, we followed him to the fire station. We had to laugh because he has the same truck as Shari's (whose name is Jake by the way), the one we were in. Same year, make, model and color. We thought that was God's sense of humor shining down on us. (We quietly name his truck Jilly Sue to give Jake a friend)

When we got to the station, we were blown away because there were probably about 25 people awaiting our arrival. The best part was, they were waiting for us personally, our things too, but the welcome we personally received blew us away. Hugs and smiles and even little babies there to welcome us. They instantly began unloading, after they hugged us, and couldn't believe the items we were able to bring. We found out later they were all there specifically for us. We were supposed to be their last load of the night. After we were done, they asked if they could park the camper for us and help us to get set up. With their skills of driving the fire trucks, we were thankful for their offer because Shari was not about to try the whole backing up thing.. We began to get things separated when a semi truck arrived, unbenownst to them, from Iowa. (Again a God wink because it was from the area in Iowa that Sarah is from) So God allowed us to help them unload this truck and then begin the sorting again. During the unloading a call came into the station about a structure fire and some of the helpers had to respond. It was so neat to see the concern even with all they had individually lost and were dealing with. We continued to help them separate and sort until about 1am.

During that time, we continually had power issues with camper and there were times they were more concerned with that then everything else. The extension cord we were using wasn't heavy duty enough, a fuse blew, and other minor things. But they wouldn't rest until all was fixed and we were comfortable. At 10pm, somewhere in the middle of a Hurricane damaged city, the fire chief was able to find a fuse, the specific one we had blown, to get the Air Conditioning working. Not only did he find one but two, incase it blew again. Remember, the curfew is 6pm so WalMart and all other stores are closed. We still don't know where he went but God works through people in mysterious ways and in 5 minutes, our air was working. After spending some quality time listening and sharing with the great people of Perkinston, we all decided to call it a night about 1am. Before Pastor Daniels and his wife Elsie left, they prayed for us and over us and thanked God for our safe journey to them.

I can't tell you how much these men and women of Perkinston, MS touched our lives in such a special way. They are manning this volunteer station 24 hrs a day right now so that no one goes without. The firefighters that have to stay at night sleep on a cot, an old couch and the back seat of a van. WOW! All so that other's don't have to go without. We also found out that the doors of the station were blown off in the Hurricane so once all is said and done, they will not be able to close the doors of the station until they can afford to replace them. They also keep their protective gear in boxes and the bugs are eating into them. They need rubber containers to keep their items safe.

That night we took a little time to decompress before bed and spentd a few minutes reflecting on the day. We thanked God for the safe journey and bringing us to this group of people that we now so joyfully call "family". Our hearts were so full that night and yet we were looking so forward to Saturday when we'd be able to take on the mission God had set forth.