By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS (October 12, 2006) \u2013 Kim Cunningham had resumed occupancy of her rebuilt Pascagoula, Mississippi, house for only two and a half weeks when she stood before the Hillcrest Covenant Church congregation to thank them for their help in reconstructing her home following Hurricane Katrina a year ago.
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\nA simple \u201cthank you,\u201d she explained, \u201ccan\u2019t do justice at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheila Gay, also of Pascagoula, had just purchased her house when Hurricane Katrina tore the residence apart. \u201cI was just numb,\u201d she said of returning to see what she once hoped would be her home. \u201cI really didn\u2019t feel anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cunningham and Gay were on hand when Hillcrest Covenant Church recently celebrated completion of the congregation\u2019s effort to rebuild 31 homes that Katrina had destroyed in the small community of Pascagoula – population 26,400 – located on the border of Mississippi and Alabama.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe numbers of lives you\u2019ve touched is unbelievable,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cThe hurricane was a devastating experience. You came and did in days what it would have taken me months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since October 2005, the church sent teams ranging in size from five to 200. Volunteers of all ages did work ranging from cleanup and demolition to installing cabinets and flooring. Specialized teams did electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling work. Groups also led programs that included a Bible school and tennis lessons.<\/p>\n
Don Steadman, Hillcrest\u2019s missions pastor, offered a \u201cconservative estimate\u201d of more than 8,900 hours of work logged by all of the volunteer participants. Workers installed 40,000 square feet of insulation, 70,000 square feet of sheet rock, 20,000 feet of electrical wire, and up to 3,000 linear feet of water lines.<\/p>\n
Hillcrest coordinated work with nine other churches including six Covenant congregations: Community Covenant in Lenexa, Kansas; Deerbrook in Lee\u2019s Summit, Missouri: Harvest Ridge Covenant in Shawnee, Kansas; First Covenant in Salina, Kansas; and Rouseau Covenant in Rouseau, Minnesota.<\/p>\n
The churches worked with the Eastlawn United Methodist Church, which also partnered with other Covenant congregations during past year, including Celebration Covenant Church in Omaha, Nebraska.<\/p>\n
One of the volunteers, Michael Gromer, took time off from his own contracting company to make more than a dozen trips to the area to coordinate the work. \u201cIt\u2019s about more than just building homes,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about changing people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lives were changed as relationships were built and friendships formed. Gromer told of a 60-year-old man who previously had not been to church, but who made several visits since volunteers began working on his home. \u201cIt\u2019s like being back with family,\u201d Cunningham says of her trip to Kansas City.<\/p>\n
Gay said it was important for her to work alongside the teams. \u201cIt\u2019s always about working together,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just be receiving all the time.\u201d Her cooking had become legendary among the workers, and Gay said it was a way for her to help. \u201cEverybody gets hungry,\u201d she said to laughter.<\/p>\n
Jim Sundholm, director of Covenant World Relief, reminded the congregation that they had accomplished more than just building structures. \u201cEvery house is a story of a family,\u201d he observed. Noting that many churches of different denominations worked together, Sundholm added, \u201cWe really are better together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Volunteers say the people of Louisiana have been grateful for the help. \u201cThey would see us wearing our tee shirts as we walked through a store and they would applaud us,\u201d says Shirley Posladek. \u201cEven if we weren\u2019t working on their house, they would stop us and say \u2018thank you\u2019 for being here.\u201d<\/p>\n