These photos, taken with a Canon S50 digital camera, were taken in Gulfport, Mississippi 15-21 January 2006. I was a disaster relief team member from the Biltmore Baptist Church, Arden, North Carolina (near Asheville and Hendersonville, in western North Carolina). We worked with close to 400 other Baptist men and women on other teams from North Carolina. Individuals from several other states were also there, working with the North Carolina folks. Some of them were not even Baptists! The cooking team and clean-up team slept in the Pass Road Baptist Church, along with the women working with the construction teams. The construction team men stayed at the Gulfport National Guard Armory.

Many people do not know that Southern Baptists have the 3rd largest relief agency in the United States, behind only The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army (NOTE: As of October 2006, the Southern Baptists have the SECOND largest relief agency in the U.S., second only to the Red Cross). Baptist disaster relief teams are currently working all over the world to bring comfort and assistance. The Gulfport initiative is an ongoing and long-term effort. North Carolina Baptists have committed to rebuild 600 homes in the Gulfport area, over a period of two years. The work is hard and the hours are long, but the rewards are great. In addition to physical needs, the teams also minister to the spiritual needs of the disaster victims. The t-shirts worn by some of the other North Carolina team members sums up our mission. On the front they said, "We're Here to Help". On the back they said, "Jesus is the Reason".

Since I am tool-challenged and make it a point to never put a hammer or saw anywhere near my anatomy, I took the mass feeding training to do kitchen work. Accordingly, many of my photos are of the team feeding areas, as that was where I worked. The church parking lot was my world from Sunday through Friday afternoon. On Friday, I was able to take an hour and a half break and take some photos of the disaster areas along the Gulf Coast. Much of the debris has been cleaned up but, as you can see, much more work is needed. I have already signed up for two more one-week trips (April and June). Please pray for the hurricane victims and the relief workers in the Gulf area. If you would like to help with donations or would like to work with one of our teams, please contact your local Southern Baptist church or the North Carolina Baptist Men's Disaster Relief Organization at www.ncmissions.org/ministries/response. If you are unable to work with a team, you can still help through direct financial support. Donations may be sent by mailing a check, designated for the Disaster Relief Fund, to:
North Carolina Baptist Men,
P. O. Box 1107 Cary, NC 27512-1107

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