As some of you might know I volunteered with the Red Cross and Im currently posting while taking my break from a laptop connected to a cell phone somewhere on the Mississippi coast in a town I dont know the name because it does not exist anymore.
I got to RDU airport in Raleigh at 10am, arrived in Jackson, Mississippi then took a helicopter ride down to the coast. And though I couldnt see or know how far the coast was from a map, I knew it from the mounting devestation I saw from above. When I landed I was greeted by the local Red Cross members, given a clipboard, a box full of cash and paperwork.
I sat down in a trailer with no air conditioning but a fan hooked up by a generator. I used icepacks and a personal neck air conditioner I bought at one of those gadget stores recently to keep myself cool in the heat. I made sure the fan was for those comming in to get relief in more ways than one.
The first that came in was a lady with her 4 year old child. I gave the little girl a teddy bear from a stash I brought with me personally from donations from my local community. The lady then thanked me for being there and as she filled out paperwork I asked if there was anyone she needed to call with my cell phone. She jumped at the chance and called a relative in Wyoming. Through her tears I played with her daughter giving her mother the first break in almost 4 days. She was recently divorced and had no family in the area but a group of friends that helped her out. Much like many of the faces I saw today it had a look of both despair and thanks. I gave her vouchers, information and directions to the other areas near me that would give her help and assistance. At the end I gave her $100 cash and a reloadable Red Cross Credit Card with more for her use for either shelter, housing or transportation out. With that I recieved what I felt was the most grateful and loving hug I had ever recieved in my life. And I watch 2 strangers, whom I might never see again walk out, and I cried like I had lost my best freind. I wiped away my tears, sat back down and called for the next one to come on in. Where this process repeated again and again.
Though Im only here untill Tuesday, Im using my Labor Day to help those in need, I know this expierence will change me forever.
I see homes moved hundreds of yards away from where they once stood. I see people sifting through what was once their lives, now reduced to nothing more than yesterday's trash. PIckng out whatever they could and holding on to whatever they can find. I seen groups of people, holding each other and still praying, still having faith. And I even saw a few people getting back to work. 25 people working togeather to fix one house with parts of other homes so they can all hunker togeather and face another night sheltered from the elements. I personally will be sleeping in a tent I brought from home and am sharing it with a family. A George and Wilma Henning with their 2 children Maggie and Tommy. I got one of those huge 3 room tents. Im sharing anything I brought with me, and letting a group of children watch "Aladdin" from my portable DVD player while Im writing this. Ill be getting off my laptop to allow a few others to use my internet for awhile so they can have some contact with friends and family as well as using my cell phone.
Everyone this is real, not a movie or a fabrication. I ask all members of this community to call the Red Cross and please give. Anything will help.
Ill post again one a day to tell you all how Im doing and what I see.
Its eeire here right now, how clear the sky is, no buildings or lights, lots of stars and a calm clear ocean. I will forever be changed by this.
I got to RDU airport in Raleigh at 10am, arrived in Jackson, Mississippi then took a helicopter ride down to the coast. And though I couldnt see or know how far the coast was from a map, I knew it from the mounting devestation I saw from above. When I landed I was greeted by the local Red Cross members, given a clipboard, a box full of cash and paperwork.
I sat down in a trailer with no air conditioning but a fan hooked up by a generator. I used icepacks and a personal neck air conditioner I bought at one of those gadget stores recently to keep myself cool in the heat. I made sure the fan was for those comming in to get relief in more ways than one.
The first that came in was a lady with her 4 year old child. I gave the little girl a teddy bear from a stash I brought with me personally from donations from my local community. The lady then thanked me for being there and as she filled out paperwork I asked if there was anyone she needed to call with my cell phone. She jumped at the chance and called a relative in Wyoming. Through her tears I played with her daughter giving her mother the first break in almost 4 days. She was recently divorced and had no family in the area but a group of friends that helped her out. Much like many of the faces I saw today it had a look of both despair and thanks. I gave her vouchers, information and directions to the other areas near me that would give her help and assistance. At the end I gave her $100 cash and a reloadable Red Cross Credit Card with more for her use for either shelter, housing or transportation out. With that I recieved what I felt was the most grateful and loving hug I had ever recieved in my life. And I watch 2 strangers, whom I might never see again walk out, and I cried like I had lost my best freind. I wiped away my tears, sat back down and called for the next one to come on in. Where this process repeated again and again.
Though Im only here untill Tuesday, Im using my Labor Day to help those in need, I know this expierence will change me forever.
I see homes moved hundreds of yards away from where they once stood. I see people sifting through what was once their lives, now reduced to nothing more than yesterday's trash. PIckng out whatever they could and holding on to whatever they can find. I seen groups of people, holding each other and still praying, still having faith. And I even saw a few people getting back to work. 25 people working togeather to fix one house with parts of other homes so they can all hunker togeather and face another night sheltered from the elements. I personally will be sleeping in a tent I brought from home and am sharing it with a family. A George and Wilma Henning with their 2 children Maggie and Tommy. I got one of those huge 3 room tents. Im sharing anything I brought with me, and letting a group of children watch "Aladdin" from my portable DVD player while Im writing this. Ill be getting off my laptop to allow a few others to use my internet for awhile so they can have some contact with friends and family as well as using my cell phone.
Everyone this is real, not a movie or a fabrication. I ask all members of this community to call the Red Cross and please give. Anything will help.
Ill post again one a day to tell you all how Im doing and what I see.
Its eeire here right now, how clear the sky is, no buildings or lights, lots of stars and a calm clear ocean. I will forever be changed by this.
You are amazing!
