Meaty Monday: Our Flood Recovery

I drive through Palo every day. Appearances are misleading however because the truly damaged homes are hidden from the main roadway.

There are huge mounds of destroyed appliances, furniture, and other trash that have been pulled from gutted homes. It is, I believe, intended as a temporary dumping grounds, and one that has pick-up trucks visiting every time I drive by. The mounds are as big around as a city block and as high up as a 2 story house, so that strikes me as a LOT of damage for such a small town.

The very popular gas station/convenience store that acts as a traveling hub for Palo was completely destroyed. The rebuilding there has gone very quickly, with the building already up with windows and roofing. They have begun laying concrete even! From what I'm told, the people of the town have pitched in whenever possible because of how important that business has been to their everyday lives.

There's also a large dumping pile near the river for sandbags. It's pretty amazing how big the piles are growing. The clean-up work is going to take a long time, and then the clean-up from the clean-up will be big too!

Jim, I do appreciate your assessment, keep in mind that your being on the ground is better spot to see the evidence of what the receding waters have left while I sit from a far. I also appreciate your taking the time to give me and the other readers the information and sites from which to help us in CityTeam determine how we can help. For your information, we are still operating a camp in Bay St. Louis which focuses on the rebuilding and also the community development activities. I would hope that the recovery will be quick and well done for the families that have been affected by the flooding. Once again thanks for your input and I will share it with our team who will be on site this week to determine what we can do not only to meet the physical housing recovery needs but also seeking to meet the spiritual needs of the residents. Blessings you and your ministry, joe