Evergreen SGV Habitat Projects

2012 Promo Video

2012-01-05T12:32:00.001-08:00

Well look here, it's a Promo video for the 2012 trip...

Click on the picture or link to view it..

http://vimeo.com/sgvhabitat/katrinapromo2012

2011 Presentation Video

2011-06-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks much to Gary M for putting together another fantastic video/slideshow for the year. We had our presentation this weekend, where we saw the premiere of the video. Gary was up into the wee hours of the morning putting it together, and we appreciate his efforts.

More on the fantastic presentation that Esther put together later, but in the meantime, please enjoy...

Meet Pray Love from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.
The final presentation video of the Evergreen SGV Katrina 2011 Gulf Coast Relief Mission project.
Credits:
Title screen - Ken
Music selection - Peter, James, Jeff L.
Photo post-processing - James, Corbin
Editing - Gary
Photos - Team members
Executive Producer - God

Presentation Speakers
You can watch the entire presentation, including our speakers, below by clicking on the videos!

If you can't see the above widget, you can see part 1 at http://vimeo.com/25207695 and part 2 at http://vimeo.com/25214764

2011 Commissioning Video

2011-06-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

Think I forgot to put up the commissioning video, which gave birth to the name "14 day team"....

2011 Katrina team Commissioning from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.
Commissioning held on 5/1/2011 for the combined teams.

Thanks to Alex Ho for shooting this.

Reflections from Tom

2011-06-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Tom I, part of the men's 1-week team

Tom has served on Missionary support groups for Mississippi before, but this was his first time going himself.

Our church motto is "Loving God, Loving Others, Make a Difference." I truly believe that the Lord allowed our team (Mens Only + the 2-week team) to "Make a Difference" during our stay in Mississippi last month.

There were numerous instances, but one of many instances the Lord impressed upon me was when He allowed a fellow brother in Christ to cross our path. His name was Matt. On Saturday, the last day on the Pascagoula jobsite, we were all having lunch together (Evergreeners as well as the other Habitat volunteers.) During lunch, the Lord brought to my attention one of the volunteers just walking around; I felt the Lord say "Go speak with him." So out of obedience, (but this also was forcing me to "step out of my comfort zone”") I went to speak with him and found out that he had just recently moved to Biloxi about 1-1/2 months earlier after growing up in Chattanooga, TN . Before relocating, and not really knowing anyone in Mississippi, he prayed and prayed about this move and he eventually felt the Lord wanted him in Biloxi. So he took a "step of faith" and moved. This is a lesson the Lord taught me - to listen for HIS voice (speak Lord, your servant is listening), being obedient and "step out in faith" as Matt did.

Matt had a job in Biloxi, but did not have friends or a church home for support and fellowship. About a week after arriving in Biloxi, he signed up as an HFH (Habitat for Humanity) volunteer and was given a date 5 weeks into the future and in addition, he was assigned to our worksite in Pascagoula. I believe the Lord provided me as well as our team with a divine appointment.

We co-labored, shared a meal, and had great fun/fellowship and then near the end of the workday, about 8-10 of us had the opportunity to lay hands and pray for him and pray a blessing over him. Knowing he didn’t have a regular church home in which to worship, we extended an invitation for him to join us at Mosaic Church the following day; a church where the co-ed team as well as some of our HFH brethren worship.

At the conclusion of service, as we departed for the airport to return home, one of Matt’s parting comments was that he came to help and bless others in Mississippi; but he found that he, in turn was blessed many times over by our team.

For myself and for many others on the team, it was quite a blessing to meet and minister to a new friend and fellow brother in Christ.

As an addendum to this, after worship service that Sunday morning, a few of us noticed that Paul, one of the guys we introduced Matt to, appeared to be taking Matt’s phone number. We found out that Paul later called him and invited him to Mosaic’s Men’s group and a Sunday evening bible study. In a subsequent email conversation I’ve had with Matt , he said "seemed as though I found that home church I was looking for. Love to watch God work! Tell everyone I said hello and thanks for the prayers……Y’all seem to have a direct line to Him."

The Lord had a plan for us to meet Matt that Saturday, and He also planned for us to attend Mosaic Church Sunday morning. All Praise, Honor & Glory goes to Him.

Tom praying for Matt

Notes from Ron N-"Blessed to be a blessing"

2011-06-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

Ron N

Ron N went to Biloxi for the first time this year, and although he had some initial trepidation, he came out a week later a man with even more purpose.

Heb 10:24-25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

I had the wonderful opportunity to serve with 17 other men on week 2 of our 2011 EBC SGV Katrina Relief Team

In reflecting on my experience, since our return, I am struck by how God met me on a number of levels. As a member of previous Katrina missionaries’ MSG’s, I had heard glowing reviews of the experience, the staff and the people affected by Katrina.

One of the first things I did upon our return was to request the letter that Brad Holland, our site supervisor had written to the church last year. It brought tears to my eyes as I read his comments with different eyes, having experienced his mission field first-hand.

One of his observations resonated deeply with me. He stated, “Many assume that a missions trip to Mississippi with Habitat is about building houses, but I tell you from living in this field of missions day in and day out, that volunteers come down not only to build the edifice of a house, but for the edification of the children of God – it is God’s children both in homeowners and in workers that are in need of edification…. This is the second mission; the one overlooked. It is the mission of edifying people; of community. This is the relief of the workers.”

I admit that the first couple days I was at the worksite, I was somewhat obsessed about not messing up on the job. Then, on Thursday, 5/20/11, I woke up at 3:30A in the morning to go to the bathroom (I know, TMI) and thought I would have 2 more hours to rest. God had other ideas. I felt He spoke to me to speak encouragement into people’s lives, and to be intentional in affirming certain individuals, including Brad. Notes I read from my MSG for the day reinforced this notion, even though they had been prepared before my departure.

I hadn’t really even spoken to Brad onsite much before Thursday, but after we had our morning briefing, I specifically approached him and told him how impactful his “epistle” had been to influencing me to consider coming. He was appreciative of my encouragement, and stated that he hadn’t been able to do much writing recently. I had no idea he was a creative writing major in college!

Later in the week, he did a rousing rendition of MLK’s service speech. I then asked him if he had done some acting in college. He said yes. Then, on our last day at the worksite, he played some on the guitar. I asked him when he would be breaking out the dancing, but that was one area he did not claim as an area of expertise. I left him with the moniker, “Renaissance Man.”

Before I went to Mississippi, I wasn’t sure if Brad could live up to his advance reputation, but after meeting him in person, he was as advertised and more. It was a real blessing to get to know this dear brother in Christ. I’ve friended him on Facebook and he sent me a kind message, “I was glad to have you here on the Coast, and am thrilled by your courage to come. You were in good spirit whenever I saw you and that, along with your edification of others was quite an uplifting thing on site…. Best wishes, and thanks again for your time, and the encouraging words. Brother In Christ, Brad”

Last Day.... Mosaic, flight home, except our luggage...

2011-05-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Mosaic
After our night at Antioch, we left right after breakfast to attend Mosaic.

When we arrived, we saw best bud Brad (in his "Newsies" outfit--sorry Brad, but we gotta call it as we see it...)

Although half of us had only been here once, the week before, it seemed almost like home. Matt, who had worked with us the day before on the job site, showed up as well. He had recently moved to the area, and was looking for a church and we invited him to join us at Mosaic. He was very moved because the first worship song we sang was his favorite, he felt it was a sign from God. Very cool for God to move through the music that way. It was funny that as we were walking away, we heard Brad saying to Dustin, the Sr. Pastor, "No, it was the asian guys that invited him.." and laughing.

Gary and Peter toured the extensive Childrens' ministries area, which is partially within the Skating Rink building that Mosaic uses, and partially rented space in a gym two doors down. The site is incredibly friendly yet secure. Jessica, the Family Minister, gave us a tour that encompassed not only the physical and logical aspects of the Kids' area, but really shared her heart for the kids, and how to connect them and their families to Christ. It was an added treat to see our Habitat bud Denise working with the kids.

The message was on Colossians, and really matched up with our efforts to reflect God in our attitudes and lifestyles.

Flight
We went to the airport, and found that the flight was full, with one of us on standby. Fortunately, no one had to spend the night, and we were able to fly out as a group.

When we touched down at LAX, we were greeted with a roar of cheers, as you can see in the video below...

Hugs, tears and smiles were shared with a group so large, we could have been our own church.

Unfortunately, we found out that all of our luggage had been delayed, and would arrive later that evening. Deliveries were made to our home the next day, Craig details this in one of his reflections..

But whether it was the work on the site, our friendships with our Habitat staff, encouraging Matt to try out Mosaic, or even coming up with a list of all our cell numbers, we're just trying to listen to God, do what we're supposed to do, and trust Him for all the rest. It's a big world, He's a big God, and the way it's all orchestrated is beyond the scope of our minds or imagination.

The more things happen, and if we can just get a glimpse of Him at work, then it reassures us to trust Him for the rest. And that's a lot of what this trip was about. We trust Him for taking care of the Mississippi Gulf Coast recovery, to take care of our friends there that we've met, and to care for our friends and family in our absence.
God is good, even when we don't realize it.

Reflection by Craig-Even in the small things...

2011-05-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Craig, team leader, reflects on our return...

Craig's Family greeting him at LAX upon the return

It was a glorious trip that ended on a somewhat less than desirable note. Upon returning to LAX, we discovered that our luggage failed to make the flight. That's sixteen lost suitcases and bags containing dirty laundry, work boots, tool belts, Stiletto hammers, and dry rub from The Shed BBQ. Yet, to a man, this became so insignificant compared to the blessings received from God during our time in Mississippi. This is only a "minor inconvenience," a "small bump in the road," or "don't want to let the enemy distract us in any way from what the Lord has achieve to and through us in Mississippi" were some of the responses to the situation. Commendable, indeed. But why did it happen? 1 Corinthians 2:11 says: "For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." Was the Lord somehow using this for his purposes? We may never know.

As me and my family, Steve and Shirley Ogata, and their "son," Pastor Ian Nagata, exited the baggage claim area, the last Evergreeners at the airport, Steve received a call on his cell phone. "Let's go back in" was the instruction he gave me, "They need the phone numbers of the men in order to deliver the luggage." Great. Why didn't they tell us that before everyone left the baggage claim office? (Note, "inept" was one of the words used to describe the service we received but, hey, I'll let Steve share about that) Then, it dawned on me. Peter Lau created and gave each team member a small card listing everyone's cell phone number in case someone got separated while in Mississippi. Or, in case Continental Airlines needed the phone numbers of team members so lost luggage could be delivered. Who knew that card would come in handy? Maybe Peter, but certainly God did.

As far as I know, everyone's luggage was delivered successfully on Monday thanks to that small card. Praise God for his perfect plan.

One side of our cell phone card

Last Day, we're back, and there's more..

2011-05-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks, we're back and hit the floor running..

We have some notes coming, but we're jumping back into playing catch up from over two weeks of not working...

Hopefully we'll be editing down the bucam videos too..

In the meantime..

Click here for pictures

Katrina 2011 05 21

Last Day on site, Antioch, and debrief

2011-05-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

New Life Goodbye
What a way to wrap up the week(s)

We had a bittersweet goodbye with Ken, from New Life Christian. We joked, praised and prayed, but soon had to be off for our last work day.

We left our accommodations and home for the last couple weeks, and hit the road for Pascagoula.

Our long goodbye prevented us from having breakfast before we left, so each of the five cars stopped by and picked up something for breakfast along the way. One car went to Hardees. We went just because we'd never been before, totally expecting it to be Carl's Jr. with a different name. We were wrong. But now Peter really likes the Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits there.

Work Site
Once we hit the work site, we met a partner family, Tish and her family (brother "J", Aunt Annie, Mom Gloria and Cousin Leslie) and a few more volunteers.

Emily and Phillip, both in the Air Force's meteorology division, were taking a class locally and wanted to contribute some volunteer hours to Habitat. They worked hard, and were a real joy to work, talk and joke with, while painting the siding in the blazing sun. We learned a bit about meteorology

Matt had recently moved to the area, and wanted to do something with his extra time. He was assigned to work with the self-named "A-Team" on drywall. Found out during the day that he was looking for a new church, so we're probably going to see him trying out Mosaic when we attend there Sunday at 9am.

It was a good hard day, and the other peopled changed the atmosphere a little bit. Made it a little more of a community effort, but the guys really were going full throttle to get as much as possible. Tommy didn't even realize that he was putting in the last piece of siding as the last act for our entire group.

The work was excellent, as the drywall crew did all the key components of the green house, while they did all the ceiling work on the blue house.

"J"
Of note, was "J," brother of partner family, a young man who had just graduated from college, he was a skilled, hard working man. Humble in speech, dutiful on the job. When a phone call came in, he would politely tell the party he was working and would have to call them back later. He treated his volunteer hours with the same respect as a job.

There were other things, including a dueling guitars with Brad and Rich.

We closed out the day with prayers for the houses, the neighborhood and of course, Brad and Denise. Denise read from the Bible for us that brought us to watery eyes, as we share a common goal and common God.

Philippians 1

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

and then Philippians 2:

Imitating Christ’s Humility

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Of many things we come here for, and we also take with us, it is our brother/sisterhood with Brad, Denise, and the many others we came to meet.

We debriefed at Antioch house, a tradition we missed with the CoEd team.

The debriefing is a time or reflection, praise and even confession of offense or failure.

Each person spoke about what they learned, enjoyed, where they grew. Leader Craig asked that we keep things "personal," in the sense that if you had something to say about someone, to first talk about yourself. In this environment, that was a good encouragement, as it's often easier to praise others, but taking the time to see and admit where God grew you.

Since some of the guys are typically more reserved, their honesty and candor was appreciated. Some even spoke about preconceptions about the South, and how impressed we all were with the Southern Hospitality.

Whoops.. gotta go, we're arriving at Mosaic for our last service, our service to God.
more pics and video later!

2011 One More Work Day

2011-05-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's coming to a close. It's surprising. As a member of the 2-Week (yes, we know, 14-day....) team, we arrived with the CoEd, had one day of solitude, and one more week with the Men's 1-Week team.

During that time, it was fun, moving, task-oriented, familiar and new.

At the half-way point, while we were saying goodbye to one team, and awaiting another, yes, the thought of "what did I sign up for?" entered a few of our heads. Working on the house for 2-weeks had a physical cost, but being away from home and work for twice as long was hard. But today, as we were working, it was hard to believe that we would only be seeing this home and our friends for one day more.

Pretty much, all the siding has been done, save the front of the blue house.
More surprising is the amount of drywall put in at the green house. They really moved fast. It's getting there, and we'll see what tomorrow holds.

One of our teams was working on this really quite pretty design element, above the porch. We're not sure who designed it, but it really gives the home character and style.

And yes, the A-Team as they call themselves, of Bu, Jeff H and "Ninja" Glenn did a lot of caulking today, which is a necessary, but unsung, job. Bu was working in the back of the house, by himself, paying painstaking detail to the job he had taken on. Caulk on his fingertip, filling in holes that some others might pass up. He said in a voice so boisterous, it betrayed the honesty beneath, that he was working for the Lord, and wanted to do a job of excellence. As much as we kidded about it, his detail to the small things was admirable.

The center was ours for the evening, as the Thrivent folks have gone home.

We're packing up, loading the cars tomorrow, then leaving from the work site after we pray for the houses, then going to Antioch house, now a tradition, for our downtime and debrief. It'll be a busy day.

We're coming home soon.

click here for some pictures of the day

Katrina 2011 05 20

Day 10-More and more

2011-05-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who care about the technical stuff (i.e. the CoEd team that can more clearly visualize what we're up to..)
There were four teams today.

a) Green Front Porch crew: Mo, Tom, Ron working with Denise
b) Green house drywall: Jeff L, James, Craig, Richard, Kelly
c) Blue House siding: Gary, Chris, Tommy, Roy, Ken, Peter, Steve
d) Ninja caulking crew: Jeff H, Bu, Glenn

We're guys. We're trying to be relational, but man, do we like to work.

But as diligently as we worked, we tried to interact. There was a lot of fun, a lot of interaction, and the vets kept trying to make sure the newbies were comfortable, because they sure seemed capable.
The weather is slowly returning to "normal," which means, hot and humid, but the guys seem to be managing it well. Fortunately, half of our team is working indoors or under an overhang, with the other half working under the shade of a tree for the morning hours, or caulking the siding, which is pretty exposed.

Ah, the caulkers. The jovial, vocal caulkers. It's an unsung job, but somehow Bu, Jeff H and "Ninja" Glenn seemed to be making it fun and exciting. However, we must remember that last week, Esther was doing the unsung job pretty well without the support of two other men....

Work was good, and then it was a time of hanging out at The Shed again. We were pleased to have Rick and his daughter join us, as well as Ken's family, Dawn, Elizabeth and Paulie. From the Habitat side, we had Brad and Paul, with the lovely Denise as well. We do have to say, they do clean up rather well.

The stories were fun, and sometimes touching, as Craig and Ken share similar stores about how to care for their wives in this particular season. Stories of volunteers and volunteering, motorcycles and relationships were shared over the BBQ. Oh, and speaking of which, due to them almost running out last week, we pre-ordered/warned The Shed of how many BBQ "rubs" we would be ordering.

Oh, also, we found out that Habitat made the news, and not in a good way.. .but it turned out well... Someone's been stealing their tools, but they were caught.

Click here for photos from today

Katrina 2011 05 19

And some videos from today...

Day 9 - Newbies getting the rhythm

2011-05-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

It's day 2 on the work site with this team. You get to have just a glimmer of what it must be like to see teams come and go. Brad, Denise et al are greeting and acclamating to the new crew, and you realize just how good they are at it, much less adapting work assignments for unknown crews. You get a little more understanding of how much an individual does contribute to the whole, and how much the ones keeping each house moving really are Brad and the rest of the Habitat staff.

Brad really does view this as a war against poverty and unaffordable housing. He's a smart, idealistic and charming guy, and I'm sure he's said those words many times before, but it's also quite apparent that he has meant them before, and means them today. And he invites you into the battle with him. It's sad that as Brad makes an inspiring, fresh speech, I've grown a little too familiar with him and take him for granted, wanting to get to work. Then I realize that I have to appreciate him in the moment, as the good leader, good man and good inspiration he is. Check and re-check, I'm back where I'm supposed to be, in the moment.

The Work
We attacked the siding with full force today, with three teams working on siding on the two homes, and a whole 'nother crew working on the interior with the drywall. A lot of our own team hasn't known the others all that well, and we're getting to know each other as we work together. As the housing, car rides and work details allow us to see more of the true character of each other, we learn to love them a little more.

Resuming similar teams and tasks from yesterday, there was less training and trepidation than the day before.

Actually, although there haven't been any incidents of conflict nor strife, I also know that some people that might have preferred working with certain others, I see unlikely pairings of the guys working together, and working together better than I would have imagined.

The good good weather
We can't believe how good the weather has been.
We actually broke out the sweatshirts in the evenings and in the morning going to the site.
But we're here for more than just hammering nails (or putting up siding). We're going to our devotional meeting in a few minutes. We're watching some of our video. Hopefully we'll get some of it up this evening.

Devotional Richard did double duty for guitar and the teaching last night. (Chris has been leading us in our singing every time we meet, with Carl helping us on guitar last week, and Richard for this week)
Richard spoke about being able to love people beyond our own means. Maybe not necessarily "difficult" people, but just people that we are difficult for us to personally extend grace (emphasis on our own efforts, not on the other person's situation). And how sometimes the best method is trying to love them with all our heart, and with God's heart too. We discussed how sometimes we do it based on our own abilities, but humbly putting our own agenda and feelings aside enough to let God extend to others.
Brad and Paul were kind enough to join us for our devotional/small group time last night. Able to pray for them with more intention, and mutually encourage each other.

Chris C really wanted this picture of Bu eating some ramen out of a large pot posted for you..

Click here for some pics from the day

Katrina 2011 05 18

And a video from the last couple days...

Day 8-First day of work for 1 Week team.

2011-05-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys.. we're really sleepy.
Perhaps it was the first day on the job.

Here's a thumbnail of the day..

Jeff L did the devotional today on letting his reflection be a better representation of who he is on the inside (letting Christ move in us and be more of our identity)
Jeff L's car wouldn't start. Please ask for the details, you might get different answers
Jeff's replacement car is a minivan, so we're driving one less car now.
Brad welcomed us, putting the 2-weekers among the new guys to have them run different sections
A few of us worked with drywall for the first time.
Hillary, a volunteer, brought us some white and dark choco chip cookies. Some of us had a few too many of them, they were excellent.
Apparently the 1-week guys bring more munchies than the CoEd team.
The 2-Weekers felt they hit the ground running, where the 1-Weekers were still in a haze from the red eye flight
Had a brief catch-up meeting
Celebrated Uncle Roy's Birthday, less out of actual date, but more out of tradition, with ice cream. Ate at "Quake's." The weird thing is, I think he treated....
We'll try to have more later, but we tweeted some pictures this morning. You can look at the link to twitter above to help you.

We'll try to have more later, but we're beat and sleepy :)

Note from Esther: God is Love (spending a day with Britney)

2011-05-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Brittney, her daughter Ayanna and Esther

On Saturday, we got the privilege to work with Britney. Esther, on her first Biloxi trip, was one of the people working with her the closest. She wanted to share some of her thoughts...

God is Love.

Today is Saturday, our last working day at the job site. It was a bittersweet day as the trip is coming to an end. I thought it was only going to be both our teams working at the site today, but when we arrived, another lady joined us. Her name was Brittney and her family lost their house from the Katrina Hurricane.

I was very excited we got to work with her today! She has a 1 year old daughter name Ayanna, meaning “beautiful flower.” She currently lives with her parents, with her weekdays filled, working as a Pharmacy Tech and going to school. Best of all, she is a believer! She even invited us to go to her church tomorrow! Awesome!

Today, she completed her first 8 volunteer hours! She needs to complete a total of 100 hours and also take around 12 classes that will assist her with this process. Out of the 100 hours, up to 40 of those hours can be earned from family and friends, and her dad is excited he gets to help out!

She said she was very fortunate when the hurricane happened. By God’s grace, she and her family was in Washington DC attending her sister’s wedding. All the flights were delayed for her return for almost 2 weeks. Her neighbor, however, witnessed it all, and even floated out of her house! The flood was around 8 feet high and it happened real quickly. Her parents did re-build their home, but now she’s trying to get one herself! She has a real positive attitude about this process. Recently, she just went to her first class and was thrilled and excited what else she will learn in future classes. She has a kind and gentle spirit and was very helpful doing and assisting whatever needed. She was glad she came out, wanting to use all the skills she learned for her future home. Her mom, Karen, and her daughter stopped by for a few minutes during the day and I felt even more touched meeting her daughter.

By the end of the day, we are able to lay hands on her and pray for Britney! The Co-Ed team also sensed that God wanted us to help her financially. She felt really touched and blessed!

God works in mysterious way and this was a tremendously great experience for me. Throughout the week, I felt I lost focus and kept concentrating on building these houses. After praying and meditating on Kyle’s devotional (teaching) on 1 John 4:7-11, my eyes opened. God is love and we are to extend this love to others. This mission’s trip is not just about hammering nails or putting up siding, but it’s about ministering to those around. God is good and brought Brittney to the job site. Although it was only 8 hours, but it was a great 8 hours of working together, chatting with her, and being able to connect with her. Hopefully she felt the love from us and was very blessed how we chose to come and help. Please continue to pray for Brittney for the other volunteer hours and classes she needs to complete! Also pray that the process in getting a home will go smoothly!

Day 7 - Arrival of 1-Week men's team, and work at New Life Disaster Relief/Biloxi Christian Church

2011-05-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

The men's one-week team arrived safely. We did a similar tour that we had with the CoEd team. Conner's Garden, where we left a card for Kathy, the woman we spoke with last year; Biloxi Lighthouse and Pier, Katrina memorial, CoEd team's site of last year; lunch at Cafe New Orleans, then back to our temporary home. The 1-Weekers then went to the Habitat office for orientation, and the 2-Weekers went to work.

The Pier, a place where many fish.
While at the pier, we had the opportunity to meet a couple of folks, Sean (sp?), who is suffering from a serious condition, as well as his friend Tony, who followed the fishing industry to Mississippi, but had his home was flooded by Katrina. We have to remember that even though his home wasn't entirely submerged, the damage was devastating. We were able to pray for them respectively. On the way off the pier, Gary M spoke with Dave, who was smiling ear to ear. Dave explained that he was a Christian, and was strongly encouraged by our willingness to pray for folks that we were just meeting casually.

Work Day
Biloxi Christian Church is celebrating paying off their mortgage with a mortgage-burning celebration. Ken, our facility director, thought it'd be a nice idea if the church looked a little more spruced up for the celebration. We did gardening, painting, performed some minor repairs including fixing baseboards, windows and a deck.

Now, we're minutes away from our evening devotional

2011 CoEd - The flight home, a new friend.

2011-05-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

Carl with Lisa, a new friend the team met on the return flight

Divine Appointment

Flying from Gulf Port to Houston the CoEd team made a new friend on the plane. Here's Carl's notes:

Lisa is a remarkable individual and she inspired me. Our plane ride back to Houston was a divine appointment … not a coincidence, as some would think! Lisa grew up in Sacramento where her parents live today. She finished her education and found a job and purchased a condo in the San Francisco area. However, she felt that God was asking her to sell her condo so that she can be mobile and able to move wherever God called her to go. Lisa is currently working to help administrate at a non-profit missionary organization to help out against trafficking children from Nepal.

So here’s where our encounter begins … the monies from selling her condo assisted her to take numerous trips to New Orleans/Biloxi area. She has worked with Habitat for many years and built homes from laying the foundation to completing interior work on homes.

Lisa was flying home from a conference for prospective new teachers in the New Orleans inner city. She desires to do God’s will in her life and is reaching out in faith even if it means leaving family & friends for a season. She has a godly heart and desires to know where God is leading her. If accepted into the teaching program, she would leave the SF area and move to New Orleans in September. Confirmation would come if she were to be accepted which she should know very soon.

The Katrina co-ed group prayed over Lisa to support her in her desire to become a teacher, asking for God to use Lisa in a very special way. She has such a testimony and caring heart for the children in New Orleans.

Please pray that Lisa will get into teaching program at Mississippi.

Pray that God will continue to guide and direct Lisa.

Pray that Lisa will grow in confidence of God’s will for her life.

Pray that Lisa be used by God to assist children.

CoEd team returning, 2nd Men's week flying out...

2011-05-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

We're assuming that the 2nd Week men's team are prepping at the airport soon, and the plan is for them to greet the CoEd when they arrive in a couple hours.
The 2-Week men's team pretty much have the whole church/center to ourselves, and since we've been eating so much fried food, we resigned ourselves to eating a salad for tonight :)

Steve O just walked in from his evening run. If he hadn't returned by 830p local time, we were supposed to send out bloodhounds.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from today, and

Katrina 2011 05 15

Our visit to Mosaic, Gulf Coast

another video from our dynamic duo of Carl and Esther (from Day 1)

Gary M's note... about noticing..

2011-05-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Gary M (with Gary H behind)

I have noticed this year that spending this much time with the various team members has had an impact on me. I am starting to pick up behaviors and characteristics from the other people as we rub off on each other. This is the way God meant it to be. Here is how they have each given me something to imitate.

Roy - quiet plodding along with humility and not for show.
Kelly - polite and always thinking of serving others
Esther - joyful and "thumbs up"
Gary H - wanting to learn and experience new things
Peter - being bold in engaging people
Carl - willingness to do whatever is needed
Bu - never complaining even though he wants to
Bart - searching the Scriptures for the truth
Chris - admonishing others very gently
Steve - never questioning God's ability
Lorin - appreciating even the smallest things
Tommy - speaking positively about other people
Mo - thinking before jumping in and doing
Kyle - having a passion for people and wanting Christ to impact their lives

Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
3 John 1:11

Note from Lorin: "God Instances"

2011-05-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Chris M, Esther, Lorin at The Shed

God definitely has a plan. I came to Biloxi expecting-but not knowing what to expect. This week, God showed me in many ways that He has all the details worked out.

First, I met Chris M. from Chicago and had a chance to work with her on Wednesday and got to know her. We both enjoyed each other's company and as Chris M. was joining the team for dinner on Thurs. someone rearranged the seat "assignments" in the cars so that Chris and I could ride to The Shed together.

Next, Bu noticed that we'd made a "connection," so he volunteered to trade job assignments with me for Friday so that Chris and I could work together again. (Thanks Bu, sorry your sacrifice meant that you had to clean up rat poop. You were a blessing to your "honorary mom.")

Chris spent the day cutting and hauling siding with me and we had a great time. We would not have had a chance to bond if:

we'd both chosen not to come work with Habitat
we'd both chosen different weeks
we'd stayed at different camps at night
we had not switched car rides
if Bu didn't take a "bullet" by making the sacrificial trade

These, along with a few other personal events led me to see that God's hand had orchestrated all these details and that they were not merely coincidences but were God instances. In the process of all the sharing, Chris and I both felt blessed by each other's presence here in Biloxi. Neither of us wanted to go home and we felt it was the Lord's divine appointment and provision that we have this time together. Chris shared that she felt covered in an unconditional love by our Katrina team. She even joined us in our worship and small group time.

We loved having Chris join us and she later mentioned how lucky we were to have our church and the love of the people there. She feels that the Lord is calling her back into a deeper relationship with Him and she credited our team with having a big part in that decision. Please pray that the feeling Chris experienced will continue to encourage her and that she will find a church group that will bless, support, and continue to encourage her.

LAX on, LAX off

2011-05-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

We just sent the CoEd team off, on their way back to LAX. They got off safely after a morning visiting Mosaic. It was a great church, and Dustin, the pastor, preached a good message from Colossians about being focused on God first, then marriage, then children and then work next. Sounds familiar....

The church meets in a roller skating rink, and is used almost all week long. Afterwards, had good time hanging with Brad and Paul at a local seafood restaurant. Once again, food was good, but sharing faith and life with them was better.

As we sent off the CoEd team, they knew they had done a good thing, with a week's worth of hard work behind them, and shared memories among them. We pray they have a safe and meaningful trip home. Just as Kyle had spoken a few nights ago, the mission began before they ever left L.A., and will hopefully not end.

It's odd to think that even as they fly, our church is just ending service back home, and the next Men's team will be flying out a few hours after the CoEd team lands. And we'll receive them in less than 24 hours.

We look forward to joining up with them.

Dear support groups...

2011-05-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

As we post pictures of Gary's "One Drop," we can't but help to think of our support groups. Time after time, we meet individuals that come out here on their own, or often church groups that come out here as part of a service mission. Either way, it's rare that we find folks that have the same level of support that we do from home. It's not bragging about how wonderful our supporters are, it's just being humbly appreciative of those that send us and partner with us.

We do believe the ease of our experiences and the extra-opportunities we have to bless and be blessed by others are largely because of the prayer support we receive from home. Every person out here has a group of several people to pray for them, for their safe travels, for their family and jobs they are separated from, and their spiritual health. But most of all, we feel this covering allows us to have faith beyond our own. We are able to see spiritual opportunities beyond our own eyes, and to act with confidence beyond our own strength. It's great when people are praying to God on your behalf. It's a great way to not have to do this mission on your own. And for that we thank you.
And we thank you for the practical things too. Notes of encouragement, comments on the blog, little snacks that we open as the trip goes along, and yes, a little bottle in Gary M's care package that makes sharing quarters with other men a little more manageable.....

Last day on the site...

2011-05-15T04:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our last day on the site. Also our last day working as a combined team.
Bittersweet, but quite rewarding.

Steve, Mo, Tommy and Chris went to another site for half the day and worked on baseboards . Chris was excited because it was something he could use back at home. They met Dave, a supply sargeant in the Navy, who volunteers with Habitat on the weekend. Eventually, he might be stationed in San Diego, so who knows, we might see him back at home.

Dave joined us for lunch, which we bought from Bozo's and took back to the site. We had lunch all together, including Brittney. Brittney was doing her first day of volunteer hours and had never worked with tools before. Although she expressed a bit of apprehension at first, within a couple of hours, she was confident and capable. She's raising a beautiful 1 year old daughter, who we met later in the day, and we enjoyed her company.

After finishing our work, we got to pray for the homes and area. Some of us wrote on the studs with verses or words of encouragement. It's very moving having worked on a home, and then being able to pray for the future owners. They really are beautiful homes, and we hope the families that move in will have a good life with them.

We'll be going to Mosaic tomorrow, to worship with Brad, Paul and Denise.
Click here for some pics from the day

Katrina 2011 05 14

Please enjoy this as much as we do...

Gary H's note from the second night

2011-05-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

Gary H at the Chop Saw

After arriving to Biloxi in the morning of 5/9 we took a drive in the Mississippi gulf coast to see the devastation aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was an eye opening experience to see so much damage that Hurricane Karina inflicted on so many people's lives and so much property damage.

We made a stop at a pier and at the end of the pier we approached a guy named Brian who happened to be fishing. I sensed from God that he wanted me to talk to him. Although I do not really know a lot about fishing I struck up conversation about fishing. Then the conversation became more personal about his work and his life. Although we didn't "officially asked if he has accepted Jesus", we told him why we were here in Mississippi. Our feeling was that when we had to leave, we planted the seed. My hope and prayer is that we planted the seed and that somebody that he will encounter later would reap the benefit of him someday receiving Christ. I emailed my MSG to pray for him. I thank God for taking me out of my comfort zone and approaching individuals I do not know and striking up conversation with them. I pray and hope for other opportunities like this

Katrina 2011 Reflections..

2011-05-14T04:08:00.000-07:00

During this trip, one of our members wanted to share their feelings, but has chosen to do so anonymously.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." I John 4:7

This mission trip has been such a blessing in seeing the love of Jesus Christ lived out through our team members. There have been many “God moments” on this trip where God was doing great things through our team members that we all marveled at and praised God for. It is so encouraging to see so many team members being intentional in stepping out of their comfort zone to meet and bless others.

The Holy Spirit is doing a great work through the men and women of this trip. In addition to being outstanding servants on the job site they have been sharing personal testimonies with people, ministering to people, encouraging Habitat supervisors, building relationships with other volunteer co-laborers, and being great servants on the job site.

The first day we arrived we visited the houses the teams from last year’s trip worked on. One of the houses the teams worked on was bought just four months ago and the home owner came out to meet us. The men were able to share how much it meant to them to meet the owner of the home they had worked on and had actually prayed for the previous year. The team was able to pray and bless the man and his family.

At a later time the team had stopped by a Gulfport pier and met a woman fishing with her son who had lost her house in Katrina and shared how hard it was. She shared how the church had built a house for her and had been radically changed by the love from the body of Christ. Her heart is for Christians to live seriously for Christ and help people in need. One of our team members asked if they could pray for her and she was moved to tears from the prayer and shared how she had never been blessed like that. There have been a number of other encouraging things God has been doing on the trip. We give God all the glory for everything.

On Friday the Coed team had finished cleaning and preparing eight mobile homes that would be driven up to give relief to the tornado disaster area. After finishing the team was able to prayer walk each of the mobile homes. They prayed for God’s blessings on the families who had lost everything and would occupy the mobile homes. They prayed they would find comfort from trusting God.

Thank you for your prayers and support. God bless you!

Katrina Day 4-Separate sites, one storm

2011-05-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today was the second day that the teams were split over two separate sites. The CoEd team went to work on the trailers, the 2-Week Men's team returned to the Pascagoula site to work with Brad.
As mentioned before, it was nice to be able to help in the recovery from the tornadoes as the FEMA/MEMA trailers will be moved up north, such as Smithville. We were told that although utility companies were in that area to reconnect homes to power, there were many homes no longer there to reconnect. Sad.

Bu's Sacrifice
On the way to last night's dinner at The Shed, Tommy's car picked up Brad and Chris M (whom we affectionately call "Chris Girl" to distinguish her from the male Chris on our team), rode with Kelly's car. Chris and Lorin really hit it off, and became even better friends.

When we arrived back home that evening, Bu asked if he could switch teams the next day (today), so that Chris and Lorin could spend the day together. It was touching. Bu's a good guy, but his unseen sacrificial act was humbling. So today, Bu and Lorin traded teams, so that Lorin could hang out with her new bud Chris. Bu made his offer without much fanfare, and it wasn't for acknowledgement from anyone, the least of which, Chris. In fact, I hesitate even to mention it here publicly.

Tonight, when we prayed for Chris, as it was our last evening with her, I felt that Bu's unseen sacrifice for Chris was analogous to Christ's sacrifice for us. Sometimes, unseen, unnoticed, but yet it is still there for us. But this type of sacrifice has not been unusual for the team members, as I see them intentionally trying to bless others, including their team members. And it's nice to know that they're just not on "good behavior."

The Work
The CoEd team worked with Mark, a fast-talking, personable good ol' boy that works for Habitat. they spent the day cleaning and painting trailers. Apparently part of his humor includes a stuffed mouse on a fishing line. There came a moment when Mark (and I suspect Steve O) tried to scare her with the scrambling mouse. As it "ran" across the room, Esther firmly turned around and said "I'm not scared."

The 2-Week team worked on the siding again with the folks from St. James/Thrivent, finishing the side and rear of the house. During lunch, half our team joined St. James near the beach for lunch, when a very fast moving, rainy and noisy thunderstorm struck the area. It threatened the work schedule, but an hour later, it was back to normal.

See the video of Chris (C, "Chris Boy") and Lorin during the storm below...

Meeting time.
At the end of the day, we gathered as a group and were able to reflect on our motivation and our attitude while serving. Kyle's devotional reminded us that if we are not serving using Christ's sacrificial love towards those we meet, and those with whom we serve. Chris M joined us for our worship, teaching and prayer time, we were able to bless and pray for her as a group, and then she joined Esther and Lorin in small group.

This is so much more than just hammering nails.

Pictures:
Click for some pics from the day

Katrina 2011 05 13

Katrina Day 3-The Shed

2011-05-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

The Shed

An annual tradition, we took the team and some of our new friends to The Shed, a local BBQ place. We weren't aware that a live rock band would be performing in the patio area where we usually sit.

Scrambling to find a more quiet place to eat and talk, we finally ended up in not-so-much-quieter patio, although it did afford us privacy.

Our Guests

Joining us where Chris M, a fellow volunteer from Chicago, Brad our site supervisor, and Paul, our supervisor from last year, now working outside of Habitat.

The meal was good as usual, but the fellowship was sweet. In Christian circles, you'll often hear that phrase, "the fellowship was sweet," but it really was. It was beyond exchanging laughs, stories, jokes and enjoying the company of good friends... We spoke about our lives, meaningful things, and how God has been present in our lives to bring us to this place in time. The mutual sharing was humbling and encouraging at the same time, all being (almost) shouted across a table of ribs and BBQ chicken.

This furthered our relationship with Brad and Paul as brothers, as family. Not only because we share similar values in trying to help rebuild Mississippi, or even attend churches with the same Bible, but because we share a sense of seeking God, meaning and peace in a life built on trusting a very faithful but often unseen God.

Chris joining our group was even better, as she had gone from being a nice volunteering woman who traveled down to Mississippi alone (flying to New Orleans and driving from there), to now a friend, and now someone we could pray with.

Our Purpose

Being here renews, restores and energizes our faith, while we try to do the same to the local community. But it's not about us. We're all trying to see what God is doing in the midst of the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, and then trying to see where we fit in. We're grateful that there's a place for us here.

Oh, and finally, there was a nice touching moment in the parking lot, where Bu had an opportunity to talk with one of our friends who is on the road to possibly proposing. His words were encouraging, honest and heartfelt, and then he prayed a blessing over our friend. It was humbling to hear his heart extend care and hope and responsibility to our friend, especially praying for a spiritual covering over him.

This trip is way beyond just hammering nails.

This is about growing our loving family. And loving them.

Pics
Click for some pics from the day

Katrina 2011 05 12

Bu Breakfast Day 2

2011-05-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

Bu's Breakfast notes..

And we're back!

2011-05-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but yesterday, blogspot had a glitch and we were unable to post anything to the blog.

Today was the second day of us being split up into two groups, the CoEd going to the trailers today, and the Men's 2Week team going back to the site (the previous day we had switched roles)

It rained in a pretty brief, sudden and cold windy storm, and then within an hour, it passed. Some of our crew was down at the beach to see the water turn rough and the oceans tremble. It was an eerie reminder of Katrina.

There's more to say and talk about, but we're about to head to dinner. More later, and more about a great dinner at The Shed (last night). And it wasn't just because the food was good. It was just a great time of fellowship

Some notes from Gary H

2011-05-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Gary H a first timer, is serving on the CoEd team.

"There was a gentleman named Rick who started working at the kitchen recently where we are staying.

During the time we were making small talk he asked me why I was here in Mississippi. I gave him my answer that I wanted to help and love the people of Mississippi and that I wanted to reveal God's glory through words and deeds. He said that was fine but it wasn't the answer he was looking for. He told me that the answer was that,"God has chosen you". He has chosen you to come to Mississippi to help the people. By choosing you it should be an honor and a special privilege to come and that I am totally blessed to be chosen. After he told me I was totally blown away that I have that honor and privilege to serve God. I thank God that he has brought a guy like Rick to remind me what an honor and privilege that I am given to serve God."

"In my next conversation with Rick who was working as the cook and working at the kitchen he shared that recently within the month that his son passed away. I could see that he was still sad about his son passing. So we talked a long time about his life and how he became a Christian.

That night I emailed my MSG to pray for Rick. The next day I approached Rick and told him that my MSG group and I prayed for him. He blew me away when he stated that,"I knew that you would pray for me". He told me that the day before when he shared about his son, he sensed from God that we would pray for him. I thank God for giving me an opportunity to minister to Rick and Rick ministering to me."

Day 3-Splitting the teams

2011-05-12T04:14:00.000-07:00

Today, the CoEd Team will be returning to the Pascagoula site to continue work, possibly with St. James.
The 2-week team will be going to clean up some FEMA trailers for repurposing. We'll be going just north of (what used to be) Lookout 49 (closed restaurant that we went to year 1), at 16041 Hwy 49, Gulfport, MS 39503. We're not sure what to expect.

Day 2-Working with St. James

2011-05-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

If anyone ever ever ever gives me (Peter) a hard time for going to Walmart again... I will remind them of this day.

I actually needed to go to Walmart for ... something... and was going to have Tommy drive me. But it turned out they needed two cars because there were over five people going. When everyone gathered to get in the cars. There were over nine people, so I declined, but over nine people? We only have fifteen on the team.. :)

St James
St James is a church from Pennsylvania, that we've met before while serving here. Today we had the privilege of working side by side with them on site. Our siding and paint crew got to work with them closely. Cindy was a crowd favorite, as she, normally a hair stylist, proved to be one of the most energetic and height-friendly volunteers, climbing to the top levels with Kyle, Bart and Chris.

Roy was working John and Mike, Gary H was being apprenticed by master chop man Gary M.

It was a good, and productive day. It's nice to see a house that's almost to completion, locking doors and all. In speaking with site manager Brad, we found out that Gary M's video, "All Work, All Pray," is being considered for a volunteer video competition.

Roles
We continue to understand our role includes exhortation. On the first day, we met several people along our journies, including a homeowner of the house we worked on last year. It's a rare, but beautiful experience. It's hard not to take it personally and be prideful, but we turned around and looked at the house that we saw built in three days by contract laborers, and it helps keep us grounded.

Brad and Denise are really like our family now. Not only because of our fondness for them, but also because we share faith. They inspire and humble us, we try to let them know how much we appreciate them. It's been encouraging to see them grow in faith.

Line for the day:

Lorin excitedly called home to tell her son, "I learned how to use a nail gun!"

He replied, "You got your nails done!?!"

Lorin was kind enough to make everyone at the Center, "Pineapple Princess Pies." They were delicious. She stayed up late last night making them for today.

(oh, and click on the photo below to access the slideshow for the day)

Click for some pics from the day

Katrina 2011 05 11

Videos Videos Videos!

First Day on the job

2011-05-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

It was a great feeling today to see old friends.
No, not the heat or the humidity, but Brad and Denise, our two site supervisors.

We arrived at our site, which is located at 2202 Choctaw Ave, Pascagoula, MS 39567. If you look at google maps, you can see what the site once looked like... a lot.. not "a lot" as in plenty, but simply, a lot of land.

Okay, so much to say, so little brain power.

1) We're happy to be back
2) Our newbies are excellent!
3) Brad and Denise are like coming home to family, we even spoke about our other family members (Spikes, Paul, et al) that weren't present, to catch up, just as you would do at a reunion.
4) rumor on the street is that Brad might enter our video, "All Work, All Pray" in as a volunteer video in some competition...
5) here's the rest...

(I type this, with Gary M by my side, editing video, while the rest of the gang has showered and gone off to have some frozen custard.. sniff.. Okay, truth be known, the guys are bringing us back some dessert.. :) )

Hot
It's hot. Not screaming hot like the first trip, but still, hot. But there are opportunities to work in the shade.

We're working on two houses that stand on stilts. Hopefully you'll be able to see from the pictures and videos.

Our Site Managers
Brad and Denise haven't changed, except in the area of their hearts.

Just chatting with them, it seems that Brad's growing in his faith, as is Denise, but also that God's been good to them providing them jobs that they love to do, and a church that helps them grow. Denise's transition from Americorp to Habitat staff has allowed her to put down some roots for a bit and get involved with the kids at her church (same church as Brad and Paul's, which we'll visit this Sunday). It's really exciting to hear how their hearts are being humbly moved by the significance of their work.

Work
Work is moving along well. Not that it was planned this way, but many of the newbies ended up painting siding. It's a hot job in the hot sun, but they did so with smiles and infectious laughter. Other work performed today was preparing for likely putting up the siding tomorrow, with our team being joined by 11 others that we haven't met yet. But except for two additional volunteers, who brought the gift of cookies with them to the job site, we had the site to ourselves. It was a good first day, hard work, and the heat got to a few of us. We're going to rest well tonight.

It was a lot of work on scaffolding, but unlike Mathias' work last year, we didn't have to construct the scaffolding, we were just able to benefit from a previous team's work. With the scaffolding in place, we were able to get straight to work, and move freely. It's very reassuring to know that you're part of a bigger picture, with one team coming before you, you doing your part, whatever that may be, and then handing it off to the next team. That really helps us in our overall faith.

Devotionals
Steve O gave the devotional this morning, about prayerfully keeping our eyes open to see God moving in the lives of those we encounter, while still performing well on the job site.

Peter gave a devotional last night about how we might be blocked from seeing God's movement among people because of various reasons (sin, distraction, pride, etc.). He confessed something that he once thought was a small sin, but realized how it was larger than he thought, and was affecting his preparation for the trip. Once he identified it as a problem, confessed it to God, and was able to see more clearly what God was doing in his life and those he might encounter during the Biloxi trip.

Click for some pics from the day

Some follow up news from yesterday
Sorry guys, was really busy and we were kinda tired, so we couldn't post up too much yesterday.

The plane trip went well, Tommy did a devotional during our layover, and we landed without incident.

We landed and visited the area, in doing so, met a few people along the way, talking about where there lives were at..

Gary M was able to pray for a woman and her needs at the airport...
Follow up to the follow up: Gary received an email from the woman he met, "L". She's doing well, and says she has felt our prayers so she thanks the team. She says she is interested in what we are doing here in Biloxi.

The facilities we are staying at, New Life Disaster Relief Center, are in the building of a local church. I mean, like the guys and girls are sleeping in converted rooms that are about 5' outside of the sanctuary. It's a little tight, but the atmosphere is really nice. And there's no place like home at the end of a hard day.

We toured some of our previous build sites, and to be honest, our hearts sank a little when visiting one of our build sites, the homes are ready to be moved into, but they remain vacant, a few had real estate signs on them from local realtors. The Habitat staff explained that some of the houses in those neighborhoods were pending some further steps for partner families, but that indeed, some homes were available for purchase, and no buyers.

Many people don't realize they qualify for Habitat homes
Others are unaware of the vacancies
and sometimes there can be a small and inaccurate preconception about Habitat homes.

Some people fear the homes are built not as well, but the truth is, they're often built better than local homes because they are exceeding local codes or energy standards. We know that most of the homes we have worked in have fantastic energy savings for their future home owners.
Some people fear that there might be a stigma attached to the home. I think it's in line with receiving charity... The truth is, no one can tell what is and isn't a Habitat home, except that it might be one of the nicer ones on the block, in my humble opinion.....

with that in mind, please pray for Habitat as a whole. Things are okay down here, the affiliate is doing well and managing well, but it would be a shame, whether in Mississippi, or elsewhere, someone didn't look into a Habitat home because of misconceptions and/or unnecessary fears...

Some videos:

----
Okay, now a juicy bit for you troopers who took the time to read this whole post...

Brad (Site manager, Biloxi) and Amy (from the local affiliate back home) bumped into each other while serving in Nepal last year, and chatted it up because Brad recognized the San Gabriel Valley Habitat logo from the cap we gave him last year. The two became fast friends.

The two are top on our list of our favorite people, but I've made it clear, that it's, selfishly, to our advantage having each of them stay put exactly where they are. :) But I'm just sayin..

Katrina Day 0

2011-05-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

With the covering and well wishes of many of our friends and family. the Coed and 2-Week men's team flew from LAX on the evening of Mother's day.

Pastor Victor and Team Leader Craig sent us off with a time of prayer, then our individual support groups prayed for each team member.

Thus begins the journey for the first leg of our trip.

We arrived safely early monday morning, Tommy took the lead by wearing shorts. A few of us forgot how warm and humid it can be in this part of the state.

We took some time at the new foot pier in front of the Biloxi Lighthouse, met some new friends, who told us that the weather had varied between 40 and the current 80 degrees in recent days.

After touring the area including several of our previous builds, lunch at Cafe new Orleans, orientation at the new Habitat offices, we arrived at our new home, New Life Disaster Relief Camp.

The facilities are smaller, reminiscent of the camp at Yankie Stadium, and have a much more family-run feeling.

Thanks for your prayers, and we look forward to our first day of work tomorrow.

Some photos for you...

Katrina 2011 05 09

Before we go, something Lorin wanted to share...

2011-05-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

Lorin will be 50% of the female contribution of our CoEd team. She's coming on the trip for a the first time, and wanted to share some of her thoughts..

Just a word of praise. I remember during one of our meetings that someone said that we should be sharing with others about our upcoming missions trip. Well, it's easier to do with friends, but I had an opportunity to bring up the upcoming Habitat trip to Biloxi while visiting with my doctor.

A few weeks ago, I dropped a container of frozen food on my foot and after the bruising went away I noticed that there was still a small lima bean sized bump on top of my foot that was causing pain. I put off going to the doctor as I didn't want to hear any bad news that might prevent me from going, but after a while I figured I was in denial and needed to find out before we left, whether or not the bump could affect my health. (Being diabetic, I need to be careful about foot injuries.)

Anyways, it turns out that it's a ganglion cyst caused by the impact. I can have it drained when I return. But the neat part is that I was able to share with my doctor about the Habitat trip and it turns out that she is a Christian and wants to hear about how the trip turns out. She also mentioned that she was looking for a church with a growing career group. I referred her to one of our branches and am praying that she will come for a visit.

Praise God that he gave me this opportunity to share and it wasn't as "scary" as I thought it would be talking with a relative "stranger." I'm not always sure what I should be saying and shy away from talking with someone about God-unless I know they are Christians. Praise God that through studying his word and prayer that he's making me bolder about sharing the gospel.

Another neat thing was receiving a sign of confirmation from the Lord that I'm learning to obey and hear His call. This past week a verse in James came to me about becoming complete in faith. I decided to add something about that to my original children's message. It was a blessing to hear Pastor Kyle give his message about the James passage just a few minutes after our children's message. I felt that it was the Lord's confirmation to me that I'm at least walking in the direction he wants me to go. I sometimes feel doubt and wonder if I'm doing what God wants, or am just going through the motions. Kyle spoke of satan's attack on our thoughts and I felt like that was so applicable to things I've felt.

Thank God that we have a loving savior who graciously guides us and plants people and his word into our lives so that we know that we are walking along his way. I keep looking for those "breadcrumb" trails to make sure I'm on the right track. In this world there are so many false trails and attractive temptations that if we are not familiar with God's word we can be so easily sidetracked. I need to remember that we are not of this world and that our treasure is not here, but in heaven. When I stand before the Lord and the white throne judgement I pray that I will hear the words, "Well done."

2011 Combined Teams prepping

2011-04-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

For our last (joint) meeting before we leave, we were instructed to "practice."

This is from our first year, where after a few hours of hammering (which we normally weren't used to), we noticed a little soreness in our arms. Also, we found that some people weren't too used to hammering in a nail. Let's not use someone's house as our first guinea pig.

So Kelly got us some wood, we brought our various hammers, and started pounding some nails in to practice

The Stilettos were out for side-by-side comparisons, and the veteran team members, well, they stood on the wood and pointed. :) Something tells me that Esther will be an interesting person to video....

2011 Team(s)! We've got three of 'em

2011-02-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

2011 Combined Team

Okay, it's been a few months since we had finished our last trip to Mississippi, and we've grown in some spiritual, some waistband, and some numerical ways.

We will be sending three teams to Mississippi this year, and the prayer letter is going out soon.

1) A 1-week Coed Team;
2) A 1-week Men's Team, which will fly out the week immediately following the Coed Team, and;
3) One additional Men's team which will stay in Mississippi for the span of both weeks.

One of the hardest parts for us in our trips has been working with the Habitat staff, only to leave them after just a week's work. So we're hoping to have more time to get to know and support them by staying through a second week.

We just had our second planning meeting since the teams have been announced, where we were assembling our information/prayer letter.

If you'd like to download a copy of our prayer letter, click here

Here's our team photos, and then a video introducing you to a few members of our team..


1-Week Coed team

(Back) Bart W, Art F, Steve O, Mo N, Kyle S

Lorin L, Esther L, Gary H, Carl A

1-Week Men's Team

(Back) James S, Jeff H, Tom I, Ken M

Rich I, Ron N, Jeff L, Glenn I


2-Week Men's Team

(Back) Craig K, Brent K, Kelly C, Brian "Bu" C
Chris C, Gary M, Peter L, Tommy Y, "Uncle" Roy N

Okay, the video you wanted to see... :)

Interviews featuring Gary M, Jeff H, Ron N, Esther L

Still not sure what smells she's talking about....

On an unrelated note.. this is Denise (one of our site supervisors from 2010)'s profile picture on facebook.. thought it was hilarious..

2010 Team presentation videos up

2010-07-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

At our church, after any team goes on a mission project, we typically have a presentation for the people back at home that sent us. This year, since we had the two teams, we decided to have a joint presentation of both the Coed and Men's teams.

Thanks to Brian Sueyoshi's recording, we were able to capture our combined team presentation on video.

Once again, you can double-click to see it full screen

Evergreen SGV Katrina 2010 team Presentation Part 1/2 from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

Evergreen SGV Katrina 2010 team Presentation Part 2/2 from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

2010 Leaders Summary

2010-06-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

From 2010 Men's Team-Day 5-Live

Notes from Craig Kakihara, leader of the 2010 Men's Team...

Pictured here with Calvin Harris, the HFH construction driver for whom he prayed at the job site....

After three years of leading Evergreen men to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, one question I am frequently asked is “How was this year’s trip compared to last year? Usually, my answer is “Every year is different.” However, one thing remains the same: God always gives me reason to thank and praise him.

1. Praise God for safety on the job sites –only one near miss as Peter, by the grace of God, was spared from falling off of the roof.

2. I thank God for team unity and the commitment each man made to ensure that this trip was all about Jesus and not self.

3. Praise God for people who received prayer from our team – Kathy, a future homeowner putting in sweat equity, received prayer at the job site. Calvin, a Habitat for Humanity construction staff member received prayer that God would continue to use him as a positive role model for Mississippi’s youth. Brad was our site supervisor for whom we prayed that God would develop as an effective leader. Loren, our wonderful Habitat Volunteer Coordinator, walking restaurant guide, and friend for whom we prayed over a personal situation.

4. I thank the Lord for allowing us to travel with and serve alongside our brothers from Lifesong Community Church. It was a blessing to see the Evergreen men reaching out to the Lifesong men and offering encouragement. From their blog:

“Yes, we have done many things separately. Things like team training, fundraising and commissioning. And yes, we are working on a different house than they are. But, we still feel a deep kinship with our brothers from Evergreen SGV because they are exactly that: our brothers. Psalm 133:1 reads, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Indeed, how sweet it has been to dwell with our brothers in Christ from Evergreen! We have been encouraged by their humility, by their faithfulness, by their generosity and by their love.

Yesterday, during our afternoon break, one of the Americorp members working with us asked if we were with those guys from Evergreen. Gregg said, “We’re separate but the same.” Those wise words from our team sage (we affectionately call him “Gii-Chan”), summarized this relational and theological reality so well. We are separate teams. We registered separately. We have separate team leaders and different church names on our T-shirts and name tags. But in Christ, we truly are the same. We serve the same Master with the same purpose for the sake of His glory. And in that, we truly are “brothers.” We share a bond and a love that runs deeper than blood. So every time we look two houses over and see our brothers working on their house, we genuinely feel how good and pleasant it is to dwell with them in unity.”

5. Praise God for the inspirational devotional messages shared through brothers like Craig Wakamoto, Brian Williams, Gary Murakami, Keith Fukuyama, and Pastor Jon Hori. These messages set the tone for the men “doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus” as Col. 3:17 teaches.

6. I thank the Lord for the testimony of Chris Chan who, because of a family situation four days prior to our departure, wasn’t able to make the trip and thus blessed his wife and family because of his obedience to God.

7. I praise God for the positive impression made upon fellow volunteer team Mandarin United Methodist Church who expressed their appreciation for the camaraderie shared with Team Evergreen. We even prayed together in the parking lot as our MUMC friends boarded their bus for the trip back to Jacksonville, FL.

8. Famous quotes from the mission trip: “The trip is over but the mission is not.” “When we’re in the Lord’s will, we feel his pleasure.” “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present.” “I’m just sayin…”

9. Praise God for Gary’s thoughtful multimedia show and inspirational sharing by Peter and Bu at our Presentation Luncheon.

10. There is so much more for which I can thank and praise God, but I don’t want to forget the over 200 kind and generous supporters, family members, co-workers, and friends. Thank you for sending us on this trip. May God bless each of you.

2010 Coed Team Compilation Video

2010-06-13T11:45:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Frank for putting up this look back at the Coed Team's experience in Biloxi!

Once again, you can click on the video to make it full screen

Coed Team 2010 from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

2010 Men's Team Compilation Video

2010-06-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the video that we used at today's presentation. Very moving. Thanks for putting it together, Gary!

If you're viewing this, it looks even better full screen (you can double click on it)

All Work & All Pray from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

Evergreen SGV (evergreensgv.org) Katrina 2010 Men's Team Final Presentation video. Summarizing the mission trip of 13 men in partnership with Habitat For Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast (hfhmgc.org).

See our blog at http://sgvhabitat.blogspot.com

2010 Men's Team-Day 6-Bu Cam

2010-06-06T23:22:00.001-07:00

Strapped the BuCam on Bu for our deplaning. Was nice to show you what it's like to be greeted by our supporters, and especially his family :)

SGVHabitat 2010 Men's Team-Day 6-BuCam-LAX-720p from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

2010-Men's Team-Reflection from Jonathan

2010-06-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

`It's been a couple weeks since we got back, and in some ways, it seems as if it was a year, some ways it seems like it was yesterday.

When we returned, there was much to do, including assimilate back into our "normal" lives.

Sorry it took so long to put this up, but here's Jonathan's Note:

Jonathan, an active member of Evergreen SGV's young adult group, Converge, was a first-timer for the Mississippi team.

As well as working in many capacities on the team, he also served as one of the chief videographers (and commentator). He started out kinda quiet, but by the middle of the trip, he was quite chatty. He said it was a function of getting to know the guys.

In response to Tommy Y's question of "what is one word that summarizes your trip?"

Humbled -

I am humbled by the way the Habitat/Americorps workers dedicate their lives in serving others. They have made a decision to signficantly change their way of life, move to a new state, and earn a very small wage to help those who are in need. God is using them, not only pour out love onto the locals, but to show us that there is much work to do in the missions field.

Overall

God opened my eyes and heart for the people in Mississippi during our missions trip, which was my first. I was very touched by the way the Habitat/Americorp workers dedicate themselves in helping others. They made a long-term committment in building houses for those who are in need, despite making below the poverty-line for wages themselves. I feel spoiled, living in Califorina, with so many luxuries nearby. It was a wake-up call from God. There are so many opportunities in the field to help and minister to people. It reminded me of the verses in Matthew 9:37-38, "Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'" It is my prayer that our Father can teach & use me to share about His love onto others.

It was also a blessing to serve with so many godly men from church. I've got the opportunity to get to know each of them more. Their heart for the Lord is a very admirable characteristic. I look forward to other opportunities in serving with them in the future. Praise God for all that He has shown us during the trip. God is good! All the time

2010 Men's Team-Day 6-The Return

2010-05-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Time at Antioch House.

After a great night's rest at Antioch House, we had a home cooked (and partially volunteer cooked) meal, then ourour last meeting as the combined teams. After some songs of praise and worship, Pastor Jon led us in a time of Communion, reminding us that the mission doesn't end when we stop hammering, but the work within and towards others continues.

...

Waiting it out in Gulfport/Biloxi

Kyle's Welcome back

Day 5-Additional BuCams

2010-05-18T04:27:00.000-07:00

Return to LA

2010-05-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

We're back.

Delay

Our first of two connecting flights was delayed due to a mechanical problem. There was a chance that we would have to reroute to Orange County/John Wayne six hours later. There was a chance we'd have to split up Lifesong and Evergreen, and even some within each team. But in the long run, we made it, all together, all on the originally scheduled flight.

That was interesting, running through Houston's terminal. I was going to put the Bu Cam on Bu as we ran through the terminal, but was afraid that it would look a little odd for a bunch of guys running through the terminal, much less with one with a little electronic thing strapped to his chest.

Interesting note: On the way to Gulfport/Biloxi, Jonathan didn't check in any luggage as his luggage could be stored in the overhead. But since the smaller plane for that last leg had limited storage, they would check it in at the gate.

On our return home, when we found out our first flight was delayed by 45 minutes and we'd be running through the terminal, one of the guys suggested that Jonathan check in his bag as regular luggage so that it wouldn't slow us down. We think it helped.

Running

A couple of the Lifesong guys were seated near the front of the plane, so much like "The Amazing Race," they took off running to the next gate. They made it to the tram, then to the next terminal and started the boarding of 26 people trying to make the connection (our combined team plus 5 others).

We all made it aboard the connecting flight, and it left the gate about 15 minutes behind schedule, but when we arrived at LAX, it was only a matter of a few minutes behind schedule, so we hope our fellow passengers weren't too inconvenienced. Apparently it was an oversold flight and there were still some people on standby, waiting to see if we were going to make it.

It actually became a talking point for some of us, since we were all in our team or Habitat Tshirts, and they had announced they were holding the plane for us, so they knew we were the reason.

Arrival

Threw the BuCam on Bu and deplaned. Went down the escalator to baggage claim, Lifesong and Evergreen team members intermixed...and then saw the kids.

The kids were screaming "Welcome Home, Lifesong!" :) It was cute and hilarious, as the Evergreen guys got some waves from some friends. It was so exciting to see the Lifesong guys get reunited with friends and family. The welcome was more than they expected, and really made them, and us, feel like heroes. I also think it shows what a church community feels like. How the other passengers knew that our church had sent us to help with Habitat.

Our welcome was right around the corner, further inside the baggage claim area. I'm glad that the Evergreeners had told the Lifesong families to meet them at the escalator. I really appreciate how much our team, both the guys, and our supporters were trying to make space for Lifesong and allow them to have their own special experience, while still making our own team feel loved and supported.

Fortunately, all of our luggage made it. Both teams.

We prayed, took group pictures and with pats on backs, hugs and handshakes, went our separate ways.

This isn't over

As was said by Pastor Jon of Lifesong, "the trip ends, but the mission continues." It's true on many levels. We're still updating this blog with pics, videos and thoughts as we are no longer in work/building mode. We still have to talk about our last day on site, and our time at Antioch house.

We're preparing for our presentation on June 6 at our church, just after 12 noon. And some of us are going to try and crash the June 13th presentation at Lifesong.

But beyond the tasks we have to wrap up the trip, there was a lot of good that the Lord did through our hands, and in our hearts, not only for the people of Mississippi, but for making us better men to love others better in His Name.

We walked away more humble, more encouraged, more in awe of how God works through so many people, whether they realize it or not, be they Habitat, Americorps, Mandarin Church, Camp Victor folks, Antioch house, and of course, us.

We see that God wants us to help rebuild houses and homes, but we realized even more how much He's allowing us to let Him build a place in the hearts of ourselves and others. He's reclaiming more than anything Katrina damaged, He's reclaiming hearts. That's what this trip was really about.

We'll have that BuCam video (coming off the plane) in the next few days stay tuned, but here are some others from the trip that we continue to keep posting.

Flight Info - Made The Connection. Same Flight, Possibly a Few Minutes Late

2010-05-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Running through terminal to see if we can make connection.

Let's see what happens..

Lifesong are guys younger and taller. We're taking escalator.

If we can make it, plane leaves in 5 minutes.

Okay. They held the plane.

On board. Arrival of continental 137 flight will be just after 4:00pm scheduled time.

Fellow next to me says that they never hold planes for him. Explained how 20 guys came to work for habitat. He said it was a good reason.

See you soon.

Flight Info Part 1 of 2

2010-05-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Our outbound flight from Biloxi to Houston is leaving a little late, and there is a chance we won't make our scheduled flight to LAX

We will keep you updated.

Important Flight Info! Our Flight May Be Delayed and/or Rerouted

2010-05-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Our outbound flight from biloxi is delayed and there is a considerable chance we will be delayed and/or rerouted to a different airport in the so cal area.

we will post our flight info as we find more information

thanks!

Day 5 - Last Day on Site

2010-05-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Sigh. Last day on site. Was a wonderful, glorious day. Many things happened, and for the most part, outside of our control.

Team T-Shirt

Like many of the groups before us, we left a team Tshirt, this one with our name tags clipped on, much like our CoEd team that came a few weeks prior.

We also put our names on the wall aside our Coed team, and prayed for the facility before we left.

The day started out with Craig K.'s devotional, but due to time constraints, and I guess, God's design, we had our devotional at the work-site. We shared the moment and prayer with other co-laborers before we worked.

We also presented site leader Brad with a baseball cap we brought from L.A., representing the San Gabriel Valley affiliate of Habitat.

The Rain

Since it was our last day, we ordered pizzas for ourselves, Lifesong and all the volunteers and crew. It was a warm humid day, and we were grateful for the cloud cover as we put the felt/tar paper on the roof, to make the home waterproof.

Little did we realize that the rain we thought would come tomorrow, decided to hurry up the schedule. After we had papered the majority of the roof, the rumbles of distant thunder chilled our bones. Within minutes, lightning strikes could be seen in the distance, and moments later, the rain started and then arrived as a full on storm.

We gathered our tools and equipment into the house and coaxed the Lifesong to make the rainy muddy trek three doors down to our place. With a bit of slipping, sliding and waterlogging, they arrived, we prayed and broke bread/pizza dough.

The odd circumstances brought both teams together, and many great moments of us sharing thoughts, hearts that went beyond just sharing workspace. We "found common in the uncommon" as one of the Lifesong guys said, trying to make sure that our crew and leaders knew we appreciated and cared for them. Spiritually, emotionally, and pizza-wise.

Some interesting situations occured...

Peter almost fell off the roof, and scraped up his leg, but it gave him time to spend with Kathy, a partner family that will be moving into the house next door to the team built in 2009. It looks like she moves in July/August of this year. She said we might get some brownies if we visit her next year. Peter and Kathy talked about faith, and we were able to pray about her, her pursuit of God, and her exciting new home.

While we were in the house during the storm, sharing pizzas, we were able to get to know the leaders of the other teams.

Denise seemed pretty interested to learn "Ultimate Ninja," which will be one more thing to teach the kids that she meets. Bu was happy to oblige.

Lifesong played some crazy head shaking game that we got on video (up soon). Kelley from Lifesong was able to humbly minister to one of our site leaders, Tommy.

We wrote verses on the walls, blessing the homes, the neighborhood, and our Americorps/Habitat staff. Although we hope to see them on our next visit, we know that things change, but as was said many times, we'll see them later, one way or another. God bless you guys, not so much for the work you do, but for trying to do it for the right reasons, for trying to put faith in action. Hold on to that.

Day 4 - Mandarin Church

2010-05-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, we do work. We also take a ton of pics. But you might see as the days progress, there's more work and less pictures.

Recap of the day

Started out the day with a special inspiring speech from our site manager, Brad. He's a gifted, charismatic leader, and we pray for him every day. With as much talent and potential, we hope he's able to use it wisely and can hear the voice of God speak to him.

Here's a video of his Martin Luther King impression, but more importantly, is the content of how we start our days...

We continued working on the one house, continuing the roof and doing some interior work, but we also continued to divide our forces, working on another house's subfloor preparation, as well as some significant framing of a third house with Spikes

Jonathan, one of the main videographers, was rolling around on the subfloor (ground) to do some work today, his shirt got quite a bit dirty..

The framing continued now that the subfloor had been built on Spike's house (next door). A few of the exterior walls were raised.

We ended the day with an off-site dinner just for our team. It was a nice time to get away for a bit just as a team, and the steaks and seafood at Taranto's was superb. We had planned to pay for it out of our own pockets, but when the bill came, Tommy surprised by treating us to dinner.

End of Day

We ended the day with a devotional teaching back at Camp Victor, with a brief teaching by Keith. His words inspired us to keep the focus on God doing work through us. Not just amazing things that happened to us during this trip, not just how we were able to work well under sometime challenging situations, but how to give credit, honor and glory to God for making all these things possible. It's simple, but it's good to be reminded of such things, whether at home or on the road.

Kaji (Brent), treated our team, Lifesong and all the other guests at Camp Victor, to ice cream drumsticks. Partially at the urging of two friends back at church, Kaji wanted another way to bless those we share quarters with, and specifically, team member Roy N. Last year, at this time, we had gotten him ice cream treats in lieu of a birthday cake that we were trying to hunt down. This was just a way to remind "Uncle" Roy that he's special to us, regardless if it falls on his birthdya or not. It's kind of Brent to share his generosity and our celebration with all the other guests as well.

Mandarin Church - Not sure if we told you, but last year, and this one as well, we have volunteered at the same time at the same place as this church. That's not even mentioning the irony that they are called "Mandarin" and we are mostly Asian... :) It's rather providential that both our churches, without planning have bumped into each other to serve the same cause. Twice in a row.

We have no idea if our paths will pass again, but we have enjoyed sharing meals with them as we shared living quarters and faith with them. They joined us for devotionals and worship. It really was a nice experience for us.

Tonight, during our devotional time, a member of MUMC sat in with us, specifically waiting patiently to tell us the following:

Because they leave early tomorrow morning, they wanted to make sure to tell us that even though we may not cross paths again in this life, they all have really enjoyed the camaraderie we share...with them

When he started about the "camaraderie," I thought it would be the camaraderie of our team. But this was even more true and humbling. It is true, we did share much with these almost-strangers, almost-friends. We have met with a similar objective, with a similar motivation. We both wanted to help rebuild the homes of people we will never see, all because we wanted to serve our God and those He loves.

That's it, plain and simple. And that brought a group of men from California, and a group of kind Floridians from the church that sounds Asian, together. We thank them and God for letting us have this time. Perhaps there will be a time in heaven when we will recount how good it was to meet each other the first time, while serving in Mississippi.

Enjoy the slideshow

Day 3 - Shed Video...

2010-05-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

The Shed

What had originally started as our team dinner, per the suggestion of our site manager, we ate at The Shed, a local BBQ restaurant. Three years later, it's much more than just grabbing some baby backs. It's our time to hang out with our coworkers, leaders and new friends.

It's a nice tradition, and a nice time to get to know each other. Our combined teams (21) had about 14 other guests, making it quite the BBQ party.

But more importantly, it was a nice time to thank our leaders for the time and effort they had invested into us over the last few days.

The guys are the ones holding down the fort. Week after week, long after we're gone, keeping the rebuilding effort going, while we're home sleeping in our own beds, with our own families.

Many of them come from Americorps backgrounds, and the sacrifice they have made professionally and personally to serve is quite humbling.

We are continually amazed how many people come to serve, without the benefit that we have of a sending church, helping us personally, financially and spiritually.

So all the better to learn about our current team, and how we might best support and pray for them. Many of them come for spiritual reasons too. A few of our leaders attend local churches while stationed/working down in the Mississippi Gulf Port area. There are unique challenges that go with being away from their homes.

So all in all, it was a good meal, not only because the food was tasty, but the company and fellowship really made it all the better.

Day 3

2010-05-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Sigh, how many times have these posts started out with "It's very late?"

It is late.. Lights out ended half an hour ago. The permutations of this trip are so great. As the days have rolled on, we continue to ask ourselves "why are we here?"

Not because we don't understand that we're here to Serve God. Not that we don't understand that we're here to build homes... but we constantly are evaluating how we get to interact with those around us.

Tonight, we had the opportunity to break bread with those we've co-labored with. What started out in year 1 as a simple outing for BBQ, has turned into a nice tradition to dine with those we work with.

It was nice to get to know them at a more familiar level, but also to hear about their personal lives and keep them in our prayers. They're doing a difficult work with the rebuilding effort, and we want to be part of their support.

We'll have more photos of them and more from today.... Hopefully we'll be able to make captions soon to make sense of them. Thanks for your patience..

Day 3 - Some Videos

2010-05-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

Once again, here's some videos (some more are on the way)

Kelly Trimming the Roof

Gary and Art lifting (heavy) sheets up to the roof

Roof work

The house is wrapped with an insulating styrofoam

Beginning of day...

Art's Sliver...

To fully enjoy the next video, you have to have first seen the original..

How's it Going Steve?
NOT FUNNY, YOU GUYS ARE KNUCKLEHEADS (Steve O.)

BuCam Day 3

Day 3 - Short Day

2010-05-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

We've hit the midpoint in our journey.

Kinda nice hearing the guys from both teams talking with the Mandarin Church folks. Talking about scaffolding and local things. The guys are hitting their stride now. Everyone's pretty comfortable (again) with the tools, the roof, and the amount of work that we're putting out.

It's a lot of labor, but for a good cause.

Oh, here's the Bu Cam from yesterday..

Day 2

2010-05-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

Once again, we'll have more videos when we have more time to edit them, but we'll give you what we've got for now :)

What are you thankful for today?

Peter – I am thankful not only for a hot shower, but also a place to come back to after work. After seeing the WLOX movie last night about Katrina, I am thankful for my life after seeing all the destruction and lives lost in the hurricane.

Jonathan – I am thankful that the weather is not hot, it was cooler and cloudy and made the work day bearable.

Bryan – I am thankful that Gary stepped in, saving my witness and made me gave in to Greg.

Tommy – I am thankful that God answered Lifesong’s prayer for cloud cover.

Craig W. – I was thankful for a good night’s sleep due to Keith’s earplugs.

Craig -- I am thankful for the opportunity to pray for Calvin, a Habitat Staffer who visited the job site today.

Kelly – I am thankful that our Americorps worker Tommy took our advice and went to the doctor and so I was able to take some time to teach some of the new guys new skills like sawing and hammering.

Gary – I am thankful to be able to work with such dedicated and caring guys.

Jeff – I am thankful for being around a lot of faithful men.
Keith – I made it safely across the new Biloxi bridge.

Kaji – I am thankful for prayer and the power of Prayer. The Lifesong people have been praying for good weather and we have been blessed with wonderful weather.

Videos and Pics

Oh, and the Bu-Cam. The Bu-Cam is shared among several of the guys, but even the one Bu-Cam entry we have today takes 4 hours to upload (put onto youtube), so we may not get to them (all) when we're in Biloxi.

Oh-Special Note of thanks to Gary, Jonathan for helping with the blog. Asking question of the day, and filming video and shooting pics (as well as some of the other guys). It's been yet another way we've had a team effort.

Quickie update-one of the many ways we're able to try and best represent you, our supporters, our church, and our God is to try to give the hope of God to some people.

Team leader Craig made an interesting connection with a Habitat staff member today.

After speaking to him for a few minutes, we found the staff member had actually started life in South Central L.A. After the violent death of a gang member friend, his mother sent him out of state, eventually finding himself in the Gulf Port area. After serving some time, he gave his life to God, and today is trying to have an impact on youth, especially those at risk.

Craig was able to pray for and encourage him today.

There are many stories, large and small. There are many reasons why we are here to serve. We'll try and let you know of some of them as we can, but we look forward to sharing with you even more when we return.

Pics From Today

Some youtube for you...and some video from yesterday too.. :)

Day 1 - First Day On Site

2010-05-12T04:11:00.000-07:00

It's late.
It's the first night of our first day of work.
The team is gelling quite well, and despite some hiccups in yes, the trusses again, we'll be back on track tomorrow.

(Note: Year 1, we had to re-do the trusses due to a measuring problem we had.. this year, there were measurement problems, and a little mis-interpretation of the plans)

We love our leadership crew, headed up by Brad, our site supervisor for half our Men's team last year.

There's much to tell, but we're a bit sleepy. Try to give you some highlights

Separate from Lifesong. We're working on a site two doors down from Lifesong. That works out extremely well. We get to see them, their progress (which is quite impressive) and let them work and bond together. But we're still neighbors..

We received a house with all the walls put up, and spent the majority of the day putting up the trusses and gables (the triangular wooden structures that hold up the roof).

Tomorrow, the Evergreen team might be split up several sites, possibly reuniting with Spikes, who was the site supervisor for three of our four years.

Nobody was seriously injured. Sorry we have to say 'seriously,' because one of our members made a point to remind everyone to use their hardhats. He had 2x4's dropped on his hat twice today, but he seems uninjured.

The guys, along with Lifesong, jumped at opportunities to serve in the kitchen for both serving and washing dishes. Really proud of them.

Our evening joint worship time enjoyed a visit from some people from Mandarin Church. No, they're not Asian, but from Mandarin, Florida, and their team, comprised of mostly retirees, worked with us last year at the same time. We think the coincidence is uncanny.

Gary was kind enough to ask each team member the following question:
What was the highpoint of this first work day?

Brent – Bu loved Art’s and Tommy’s “Stiletto” hammer.
Keith – It wasn’t as hot as I thought it was going to be.
Craig W. – Pounding nails for me beats a day at the office any day.
Peter – It was watching the Lifesong team working well together on their house.
Craig K. – Jonathan pounding in his first nails and everyone cheering him on.
Tommy – Lending Bu my Stiletto (hammer) was like handing my kids the keys to the car.
Art – Taking a shower after a hard day’s work.
Gary – Very cold jelly in a PB&J sandwich for lunch.
Jonathan – Everyone is very helpful and encouraging here.
Roy – Getting the last truss installed (even though we have to move it tomorrow).
Jeff – Staying in one piece after being whacked in the head twice and struck by a truss.
Bryan – The Stiletto is more than I thought it would be.
Kelly – Finally finishing the trusses after having so much trouble lining it up.

Day 1 - On Site

2010-05-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a long day

Planning to build houses, while exciting, is less strenuous than actually doing so....

There's much more to come, and we'll update, but for now, wanted to show you some videos..

Leaving for the work site

Arrival at the work site

Hammering, nailing..

We had a camera that we wore while working. Hopefully to give you a taste of what it's like to work on site. One of our first camera-wearers was Brian/Bu.

So, here, for your enjoyment is the Bu-Cam

Day 1 - First Day On Site

2010-05-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

Good morning Mississippi!

It's 7:37am, and the temp has climbed 2 degrees to 79 in the last few minutes.

As Tommy said, we're not complaining, just making observations. :)

Okay, for those of you that follow from previous times... we have Brad as our site manager. Spikes will be working with some near our site too.

Lifesong and Evergreen will be working on separate, but nearby sites. All in the areas we visited yesterday, close to where we worked last year.

Roofing, walling look like the agenda today.

We thank God for this opportunity to serve.

More later tonight.

PS, just passed the 605 while on the 10, feels oddly familiar....

Day 0 - Arrival

2010-05-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Goodbyes

Moments after we said our goodbyes in the LAX check-in area, with leader Craig K, giving many long goodbye hugs to wife Laura, the team moved through security.

It seems in years previous, we had more time (and more seating space) in the waiting area than this one. Perhaps economic demands have required more full flights.

Evergreen and Lifesong

Finally, the full Evergreen and Lifesong teams met face to face. It was at that point we realized about half of the combined teams had never been to Biloxi before. It was nice to see the new faces, and there was something special about having a bond through shared faith, and even a shared church lineage. Craig's idea of self-introduction was to state your name, profession, number of years coming out to Biloxi and whether or not you snored. Guess where most attention was paid....

Lifesong's team was an eclectic gathering in age, size, profession and life stage. On average, we were older and shorter (Jonathan's presence can only offset us by so much....) Craig gave us a rundown of the schedule for the next day, our day of sign-in, orientation and a bit of rest. Minutes later, we were boarding for our first leg.

Houston to Biloxi

Upon arrival in Houston, Craig K gave us a brief devotional, encouraging us to stay focused on the task at hand, keeping our eye on ministry, both to the people we serve with and the homeowners we will most likely not meet. It was well needed, but a few of the guys heard him with much sleep in their eyes.

After a quick snack, we were on our final leg, in a much smaller plane. A lack of height could be seen as an asset for that flight. The ceiling was rather low.

We landed, had a prayer of thanksgiving for safe arrival, and got into our rented cars to visit the site we worked on last year. Where a year ago, we were building houses with only several completed homes, it was humbling to see a dozen standing in the same area. Fully equipped with cabinetry and appliances, which is usually the last step before occupancy. But the street was still being finished, and the driveways into the homes remained undone. We're assuming that they're waiting for the whole block to be finished before releasing them to the homeowners.

Video of our visit to the site from last year...

Lighthouse, Memorial and lunch

A stop by the Biloxi lighthouse and the Katrina Memorial under a mile away, we remembered how tall a wall of water passed where we stood. We drove past our temporary residence for the first two years, Yankie Stadium, to see that the Salvation Army had made good on their original plans (before Hurricane Katrina) to build a community center for the youth. They're grading the land at this moment. It was a little bittersweet, as we're happy for their commitment to invest in the community in a much needed way, but it was sad to see a place that we had called home for our first couple years, be gone.

Lunch at Cafe New Orleans was a treat. We were taken into a back room, apparently housing the local Rotary Club meeting. It felt like a mini banquet hall as we broke bread together for the first time. Names and stories were swapped, as well as pieces of fried catfish, shrimp and oysters.

Biloxi Lighthouse-feeding the birds

Walmart and supplies

The annual trip to Walmart confused some of the returning team. A remodel of Walmart has rearranged the store. Uncle Roy was quickly walking into the store, heading straight for the sleeping bags. Apparently he found last year, that the addage of "snoozing" and "losing" was in play, and wanted to get to the bags quickly. He arrived first, making sure he didn't get a "Dora the Explorer" sleeping bag.

The concerns/reports of bed bugs at Camp Victor turned into purchases of mattress liners and much bug repellent. We will see who will have the last laugh, the men who scoffed at added protective measures, or the ones who chuckled at those unwilling to guard themselves. Time will tell.

Camp Victor

Arrival at Camp Victor reminded us how every year it's a little different. This is the first time for anyone on this/these team(s) to be at Camp Victor. Unlike the Coed team, few (other) teams were staying at Camp Victor this week, so we got our pick of the bunks.

Bu (Brian), originally chose a bottom bunk, but when another volunteer arrived, he forfeited his choice of bunk and took one above a Lifesonger (Martin).

The ministry begins now. In various forms and sizes.

We appreciate the conscious choices we make as ambassadors of our church, our home, sometimes our ethnicities and ultimately our God. We hope that we'll carry that forward no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the timezone.

Thank you once again, to all who have sacrificed their time to send us, or even to care enough to read this blog. We will try to serve in your place and serve in honor of our God.

Oh, and forgot to mention, if you want to see a really nice blog, but promise not to compare... :) go check out Lifesong's

Men's Team Departing From LAX

2010-05-10T00:32:00.000-07:00

On the plane, about to leave LAX. We had a mini meeting with the Lifesong team.

13 men from Evergreen left LAX, joined by 8 from Lifesong.

The lifesong team includes 2 firefighters and 2 law enforcement professionals. We're intimidated... well, at least I am :). Don't worry Evergreen, we'll try to represent you well...

Thank you so much to our supporters for joining us for prayer and a very encouraging send-off, including our recently returned coed team, as well as Chris C. Chris had the difficult but very understandable choice to stay at home to support his wife during the loss of her father. As much as we all wanted him to come, family does come before ministry. Our prayers are with his family. If you can continue to pray for our team as we venture forth in faith.

A total of 90 team members and supporters from both EvergreenSGV and Lifesong came out to LAX to send the combined Mens' teams. With encouragements from Pastor Kyle, and team lead, Craig K, we tried to keep our focus on not just building houses with hammers and nails, but building bridges to people. We hope that the sacrifices that many have made to send us will be honored.

Pastor Kyle gathering the team for prayer

Leader Craig's remarks

There are families, friends, and workplaces that were left behind to make this week happen. Vacations were given up to serve people we will never see. We do this not to be noble, but to serve, and let others know that there is a God who loves them, and chooses to work through His people. We will do our best to be His eyes, His hands, to serve them and give them hope. Hope eternal in a God that will never fail them.

With that in mind, we gladly received the prayers of those that are sending us. We serve with their prayers, well wishes and support.

Photos of the send off

Men's Team Commissioning...

2010-05-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

With the recent return of the CoEd team, a week later, the second half, the Men's team is commissioned.

After a brief introduction by Team Leader Craig K, Pastor Kyle prayed over the team.

We were told to line up alphabetically. We did. By last name. They introduced us by first name.

Measure twice, cut once.... :)

Pics of the Commissioning

Day 7 Pictures

2010-04-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

Seventh day photo slideshow

Day 6 Pictures

2010-04-26T06:26:00.001-07:00

Sixth day photo slideshow

Home sweet home

2010-04-25T18:27:00.001-07:00

Home safe! We just landed at LAX. Thanks everyone for praying for us. A special thanks to those who came to greet us, it feels great to be welcomed home.

Pictures from our last days coming soon. So check back again.

Return Flight

2010-04-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

We're comig home. All safe ad sound an ready to be back in LA. The team is happy to be returning to loved ones, but will miss Mississippi.

Co-ed Arrival Info

2010-04-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

If you wish to welcome the team home again....
The Coed team arrives Sunday Apr 10 at 525p at LAX
Continental Flt 2555/795 Gulfport - Houston - LAX

Katrina Co-Ed Commissioning

2010-04-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

A little late, but just wanted to make sure you had access to Daryl's photos from the commissioning at church The team's on the road right now, and these shots are from a week ago, hours before they left for Biloxi. Right now, they're meeting at Antioch house

Click here for the photos

Day 5 Pictures

2010-04-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Fifth day photo slideshow

What I learned from Camp Victor...

2010-04-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

Thoughts, lessons, memories, and simple reflections...

Mathias

I learned that you can't judge a book by its cover; Camp Victor may not look like much on the outside, but it is a place that many many people call home while they are in Mississippi serving those in the area. Over the last week it has become home to our team and we have been very blessed during our stay. The Camp bears the marks of many of those who have stayed before us and will bear our logo for those who stay after us to see.

Helen

I learned that there are many other brothers and sisters in Christ all over the country that are faithfully serving in Mississippi.

Yosh

What got to me, was how friendly everybody was to each other.

Daryl

With all the stuff that is going on in the world today, I've learned and remember that there are still many people who love Christ and others.

Hilda

I'll remember having lots to read on the wall. Watch out for bed bugs!

Steve

In the midst of Camp Victor's hodgepodge decor, inconvenient bathroom faculties, and crowded noisy sleeping areas, is a place of caring and enfolding and grace.

I learned that Camp Victor is a ministry that provides house repair services to current home owners who cannot fund or perform the repair themselves.

Carol

I learned that Eddie, who cooks dinner also washes dishes and cleans the kitchen with a big smile and a song in his heart. But sadly sometimes none of the guests at Camp Victor volunteer to help so he has to stay late!

Though not having the ideal sleeping conditions for me, I will remember Camp Victor as a place for people with the same purpose...to help people in the community.

Frank

I learned that an old factory building, used of God, can make a huge difference in the world.

I always had hot water for my shower and the bathrooms were clean.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

2010-04-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today we were blessed with rain in the latter half of the day. As a result we had to come back from the work site about an hour early. It was a blessing from the Lord; in that we were able to relax a bit more than usual as a team, and spend some quality time together.

Our day though it was cut short was filled with fun as we continued to build relationships with our supervisor Jamie and our Americorps workers, Joel, Mike, and Steve. We were also blessed to meet a volunteer college student named Mariah. A few highlights were: finally finishing the deck, getting the roof to pass inspection, and the awesomely cool and breezy weather (pre storm)

Please pray for the weather, it is threatening to rain tomorrow, which will prevent us from continuing our work at the site. Pray that whatever happens we would do what God desires us to do with our time tomorrow. Pray also for our time at Antioch, that we would each individually receive from the Lord what he desires us to get on this trip. Finally if you could pray for the houses we worked on specifically, we will be praying along side you all, for the future owners, and all that goes on at those locations.

Day 4 Pictures

2010-04-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Forth day photo slideshow

Fellowship Night

2010-04-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

Its fellowship night tonight; that mean's its time for us to head over to the Shed for some awesome BBQ and fellowship with some people we have been privileged to get top know on our trip. This year, Dave, our supervisor from year one will be joining us, as well as our current supervisor and the three Americorps people. We will also be taking a few of our fellow volunteers as well. Please be praying for our time at the Shed, for the fellowship, that we might be able to share Christ's Love with those there, and that we would be able to get to know our fellow workers a little better.

Pictures and more thoughts up coming later tonight. We got the shingles today and we'll begin the roofing process tomorrow so be in prayer for those who will be working on the roof as well.

Day 3 Pictures and Video

2010-04-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

Third day photo slideshow and video

Lessons of the Day

2010-04-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today instead of posting a boring summary of what we did today, which was mainly finishing the work we started yesterday. Everyone on the team completed the sentence, "Today I learned..."

Mathias

to put up scaffolding without falling.

Helen

how to use a jigsaw and circular saw. It was pretty fun. At first, I was really afraid of them, but I'm thankful for my teammates who encouraged me to try it.

Yosh

to use a power drill, how to be patient and learn to follow directions from Joel. (supervisor)

Daryl

that it takes a heck of a lot of nails to nail a roof down.

Hilda

that even I can use a saw.

Steve

what takes me 3 minutes at home, takes me 15 mins here.

that I could be on a roof that is two stories high.

Carol

that PE=1/2Kx^2 is the formula for the velocity of the hammer head.

the Lord has taught me about focus regarding working and on Him.

Frank

how to skin knuckles...its easy!

how to use a palm nailer and that the round thing is called a bolt.

As you can tell we have a variety of different things that we each have learned in the last 24 hours. The Lord has blessed us with a very diverse team. It has been a blessing working together an seeing everyone use their unique talents to bring glory to God.

We have been enjoying Mo's daily challenges and our morning and evening devotions. We have been exploring together various aspects of God in small groups. The women have been much more faithful to meet together than the men.

Day 2 Pictures

2010-04-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

Second day photo slideshow

Job Site Day 1

2010-04-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

First day on the job. Our construction supervisor is named Jamie, we also have three Americorps assistants: Joel, Steve, and Mike. We are working on three houses, all of which are in various stages of construction. The job site is located just east of the 110, for those of you who have been before. For those who haven't its about 5 minutes from the beach, just east of the Biloxi lighthouse. All the houses are on 10 foot stilts.

Steve, Jamie, Mike, and Steve

Today we split into four sub-teams:

Mo, Mathias and Daryl worked on attaching hurricane straps to keep the roof attached to the rest of the house in the event of a hurricane. They also put up scaffolding around the outside of one of the houses. They worked with Mike, who is from New York and is a second year volunteer with Americorps. Mike is in charge of getting the House roofed. He promised to catch anyone who is about to fall off the roof, including Daryl.

Mathias and Mo setting up scaffolding.

Helen, Hilda, Ron, and Yosh, worked with Joel on the stairs and deck leading into the back door of one of the houses. They are becoming experts in decking and stair building, they learned about smiling and frowning wood, among many other interesting facts. Pastor Ron was the guinea pig of the group, he had to try everything first before anyone else would do it.

Helen and Yosh working on the stairs with their supervisor, Joel

Frank and Joy, worked together to straighten out some of the beams holding the house up. They worked tirelessly to bend the warped boards back in to alignment.

Frank and Joy straightening out beams.

Carol and Steve were part of the window hanging crew. Steve took over the palm nailer for the bulk of the day. He and Steve, the Americorps assistant, hung windows while Carol taped the weather stripping on the outside and assisted the other teams with their tasks. She has became quite adept at moving up and down on the scaffolding.

Carol with her weather proof windows.

First Day on The Job

2010-04-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

Back safely from the job site. Everyone is showering, we're all safe, just a little dusty. Weather was awesome, thanks to the Lord for providing. Steve barely broke a sweat, that was mainly because he was King of the palm nailer, but also because the it was cool and overcast all day with only very very light rain. More to come once we all clean up. Over all very good day. Praise the Lord.

Day 1 Pictures

2010-04-20T04:53:00.001-07:00

First day Photo slideshow (updated!)

Lunch at Cafe New Orleans

2010-04-19T18:59:00.001-07:00

We found it! We found the Cafe New Orleans, it was the place that last years men's team went for lunch on their first day. We really enjoyed having some "Country Cajun Cooking"

The greeter

Joy was one of 6 team members who had the sampler

Carol and Yosh had the Po Boys

Frank had a shrimp salad

Shrimp Po Boy

Pork Chops and red beans and rice

Wheels

2010-04-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

When we got to the rental place there were only 4 cars left, so we got the leftover cars. As you can see the drivers were very un-happy with what we got.

Ron got his very own Cadillac Escalade!
(Steve thinks that Ron will want his one when he gets home)

Daryl is riding secret service style in a black Chevy Suburban

Mo is racing along in a Cadillac CTS

All joking aside we are very blessed that the Lord provided so much space for us. The Lord truly provided some awesome cars for us.

On the Ground

2010-04-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

We've landed safe and sound. The team is a little tired, but happy to be in Biloxi.

First Stop

2010-04-19T04:42:00.000-07:00

We're safe in Houston. Brief layover before completing our journey.

Coed Team is En Route!

2010-04-19T00:21:00.000-07:00

Coed Team at LAX

With all 11 team members and their respective MSG (Missionary Support Group) members in attendance, the first-ever Coed team met at LAX.

Pastor Kyle prayed over, and then encouraged each of the team members, reminding them that this is not necessarily about putting up walls with hammers and nails, but a time to bless others with their efforts. Each person was encouraged to stay focused on trying to "listen" to God throughout the trip not only for opportunities to share the love of God, but also to experience it for themselves as they serve.

Men from previous and the upcoming Katrina trip were present to bless, encourage. Chris, who will be returning to Biloxi in a few weeks with the men's group, said he was not there in an official capacity, but remembers how encouraged he was when he was sent out for his own trip. It was important to him that this team knew how much we supported their efforts.

Returning team members are Team Leader Mo (All previous trips), Steve (all previous trips), Mathias and Frank (both returning since the first Men's trip)

Helen, Hilda, Joy and Co-Team Leader Carol will be going for the first time. Daryl, Yosh and Pastor Ron will be going to Biloxi for the first time as well.

2010 Support Letters and Response Cards

2010-04-15T12:22:00.001-07:00

Sorry we didn't post this sooner, but here are the Support letters and Response cards we sent out earlier. In case you missed it, you can click on any of these to view/download them.

Click on the following if you'd like to see the:

Co-ed Support Letter
Men's Support Letter

Response Card

We thank all of you for your support and care. We'll work hard on your behalf, and for the Glory of God. This is so much more than just hammers and nails, it's about building lives, communities and hope in Christ.

Tminus 3 Days and Counting...

2010-04-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

The co-ed team will be on site soon...we'll be posting starting Sunday (4/18)

Coed Team Leaves This Weekend!

2010-04-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

The Co-ed team, led by Mo and Carol Nakatsui, will be flying out this weekend (4/18/10).

If you can, be part of their commissioning service at our church, Evergreen SGV during the 11am service. you can find directions and more at www.evergreensgv.org

For those of you well wishers that would like to see them off at the airport, they will be gathering Sunday evening at about 9:30p at the Continental Terminal at LAX

Look for us near the check-in area!

Pretrip Thoughts From Helen

2010-04-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is Helen's first time on the Trip. She is one of the 4 Ladies on the Coed team.

Hello everyone. I'm really excited for our upcoming Katrina trip next week!

For many of you who do not know me, I'm a 3rd-year PhD student at USC studying pharmaceutical sciences. My everyday task consists of testing the thousands of chemical compounds we have in our lab in human cancer cells. I do a lot of pippeting (mixing small amounts of chemicals together), plan different experiments, make proteins and DNA and sometimes spend months writing grants asking for funding.

I'm glad I will be taking a break from all that and doing something very different in Katrina. Though building homes is not part of my training as a student, I know that it is part of my training as a Christian.

When I was talking to a coworker about my upcoming trip and what I'll be doing, she said jokingly, "now if this PhD thing doesn't work out, you have other trades to consider." I was thinking about that and I'm reminded that it's not about what I'll be doing, but rather about who I will be serving. I'm not going because I'm qualified, but because God is using this opportunity to teach me humility and complete trust and dependence on Him.

A Note From Art F

2010-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Art returns to Biloxi, including having served in the inaugural team. He will be once again doing double duty as volunteer/worker and team photographer. (which is why you may not see many pictures of him....

Returning to Biloxi

This year will mark my third time joining a team of men to help build homes in Mississippi for those whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It's been five years since the hurricane and people are still without homes. During our stay, we will be working with Habitat for Humanity to assist in whatever construction work is needed.

I had previous experience volunteering with Habitat on local, one day projects through my workplace and enjoyed it immensely. The thought of going to another state to help build Habitat homes over a one week period never crossed my mind until Evergreen wanted to send a group of men to Mississippi. My reservations and doubts were assuaged when my friend, Dennis Cho, team leader of that inaugural 2007 trip, shared that God wanted my availability, and not my abilities, to minister. So, I signed up and it was an awesome trip! We built a house from the ground up, got to meet some great people, and ministered to a few others. In the end, I was enriched by the experience and blessed to be used by the Lord as His servant.

Before my second trip in 2009, Dennis lost his battle with cancer. This time, I felt the Lord prompting me to go, so I went in memory my friend, and Dennis’ presence was with me throughout the trip. I could hear his quips and anecdotes as we ministered to each other and the people around us. Some of us even used the “DC Hammer,” a present to him after the inaugural trip, as a way of honoring his life and ministry to the people of Mississippi. One of the many blessings from that trip was when we got to meet and share a meal with one of the Habitat families -- a family that would be a recipient of a Habitat- built home. What a blessed time.

This being my third trip, I have a different reason to go, one more compelling than the other trips I’ve taken -- I even get choked up just thinking about it. I'm going not only to help those people I just mentioned, but to honor Dennis by continuing the ministry he helped lead and encourage others to do the same. And I'm sure if he were here, he'd be going along with us! Will you join us too? God wants your availability not your abilities!

Art nailing away last year....

Local SGV Chapter-Monrovia

2010-03-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

Roy and Peter went to work on the local San Gabriel Valley Chapter for another day of volunteering.

They're at their final stages of the project, with the dedication being slated for this Saturday March 6, 2010

Also, here's a great video (hosted by Harrison Ford)

It explains a bit about how Habitat works, and local projects we have in the area...

It really is so much more than just building houses... it's about building lives and families.

And if you want to see Roy digging holes...

2010 Teams are preparing!

2010-02-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

2010 has arrived, and so our preparation has began!

Evergreensgv will be sending two teams this year, a Coed team (April 18-25), followed by an all Mens' team (May 9-16 [yes, we know we leave Mother's Day, but we're leaving late that Sunday evening...])

It's an exciting addition to have the Coed team, led by Mo and Carol Nakatsui

From Katrina 2010 Team Meeting

The Men's team will be led by Craig Kakihara, Tommy Yamada and Chris Chan

From Katrina 2010 Team Meeting

We'll have the team roster and prayer letter available for you soon either by mail, or on this site, but in the meantime, here's some footage shot from preparing that letter.

Katrina 2009-Reflections from Team Leader Craig

2009-06-29T07:01:00.000-07:00

With the trip over and the dust settled, Craig made some notes about the team. On behalf of the team members, thanks once again Craig. Great job! As I reflect back on this year’s Katrina Gulf Coast Relief Team experience, I thank God for his faithfulness and care over our entire team. I was truly impressed at the way God took 21 guys and formed one cohesive unit. During pre-trip planning meetings, we focused more on building team unity via small groups and less on logistics. I know God honored our planning because we were fully prepared to do the work required, and then some. On our last night in Mississippi, the Lord gave me a verse that sums up the collective attitude of our team: Matthew 5:16: In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Through seemingly routine acts of helpfulness, kindness, and plain old hard work, our team lived out this verse and I’m certain that it caused others to praise God. Here are some thoughts from fellow team members further supporting this: 1. “Each of our site managers made comments that they had never seen a group with this much camaraderie and mutual support. We received a note from the kitchen staff at the site we stayed at (SUMA) thanking us for continually cleaning the dining area. I bring this up not to sound boastful about our accomplishments, but as several of the guys said, we were just being ourselves, doing what we do at home. ‘This is who we are,’ one of the guys humbly said.” 2. One joyful moment was when I was with my small group and we were gladly interrupted by a man who just wanted to talk. Before he left, James So, Jeff Leung, Eric Jue and I got to pray for healing to his back and for him in general. We were all blessed to have prayed for him. 3. This "band of brothers" accomplished a great deal in only one week. We made a lasting impression (a good one!) on our supervisor Brad and his two assistants, Curt and Vic, as well as two others that worked together with us (Al and Dick from Rochester, NY). Seeds of faith were planted and in the end, we DID make a difference for the Kingdom of God. When I first signed up for this I didn't really see how signing up to build houses could be considered a missions trip (it should have been considered a service), but after seeing what happened, this truly was a missions trip with "building homes" as inroad of introducing the gospel to those we came in contact with. And it wasn't really difficult. All we had to do was to live out our lives as Christians and the individual lights of our group came together to become one big unavoidable light for all to see. I praise God for each man’s humility, sacrifice and commitment to others. What a rich experience it was to serve the Lord with this team. I’m proud of the work they accomplished and the difference they made for the kingdom of God. Men of Evergreen SGV, is God are challenging you to join us next year?

Presentation this Sunday!

2009-06-13T09:59:00.001-07:00

Thanks again for all your support. Sorry I didn't remember to put this up sooner, but we'll be having a presentation this Sunday, June 14th, at our church, Evergreen SGV, immediately following our 11am service. A Big Old Meal will be provided, as well as a slide show and Q&A with some (believe, me, you don't want to hear all 21) of our team. We'd love to see you. Thanks again

Katrina 2009 - Footage from both groups

2009-05-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Chris and Keith's group raising walls Craig and Tommy's group raising the roof

Katrina 2009-Reflections by Keith

2009-05-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

From Katrina 2009 Team

Keith was one of our four (Chris, Craig, Keith and Tommy) co-leaders on the team. He worked with Chris on the team that saw the most dramatic work, from cinderblocks to four raised walls. We cheered them on as they saw the fruits of their hard labor. Keith also was one of the cornerstone teachers for our devotionals. My final thoughts from the "Go with the Mo" group

This week was a real testament to God's provision and power. To be able to take a group of 21 individual men and transform them into a loving and caring support team was an incredible sight to see. The construction aspect of this trip seems insignificant in contrast to the building up of the relationships that occurred and the example of Christ's love that was displayed. Even though we sweated through the heat and humidity, pounded a gazillion nails, and finally came to that point of utter exhaustion, I would sign up for this mission trip again in a heartbeat! This "band of brothers" accomplished a great deal in only one week. We made a lasting impression (a good one!) on our supervisor Brad and his two assistants, Curt and Vic, as well as two others that worked together with us (Al and Dick from Rochester, NY). Seeds of faith were planted and in the end, we DID make a difference for the Kingdom of God. When I first signed up for this I didn't really see how signing up to build houses could be considered a missions trip (it should have been considered a service), but after seeing what happened, this truly was a missions trip with "building homes" as inroad of introducing the gospel to those we came in contact with. And it wasn't really difficult. All we had to do was to live out our lives as Christians and the individual lights of our group came together to become one big unavoidable light for all to see. Truly a wonderful mission's trip that I will never forget. All glory goes to God and much thanks for the support and prayers of those behind us, we couldn't have done it without you!

Katrina 2009-Reflections by Art

2009-05-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

From Katrina 2009 Team

On this second trip, Art once again worked hard on the roof (and this roof was steeper), but also pulled double duty by shooting most of the pictures you see in our photo gallery. His real character showed throughout the week, with his honest, humble sharing in the devotional times, and taking the time to talk and care for the people he would meet

This being my second trip to Katrina, I knew what the job entailed in terms of working on the job site. I wasn't looking forward to the hard work and aching muscles afterwards, but knew in my mind that a deserving family would be living in the house I helped build. On occasion we would work alongside family members putting in their hours towards home ownership. Not much socializing went on because we were focused on building a house. During dinner one night we heard that a Habitat family would be joining us one evening during the week. Habitat staff tries to invite future homeowners to join volunteers for dinner. It’s one thing to see family members on the job site and quite a different thing seeing them in a social setting. That put a face to a house, maybe not the house I was building but a Habitat house somewhere in the Mississippi area. This was my divine appointment with this family...my epiphany. It made all the sweating in the hot sun, body aches, and seemingly endless trips to Walmart (our second home) worth coming out here. We even got an impromptu serenade by one of the daughters who even sang happy birthday to Uncle Roy! Before leaving and after our birthday ice cream, we circled the family and prayed over them. It was an emotional God moment after a long day.

Katrina 2009-Reflections by Steve

2009-05-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

From Katrina 2009 Team

Steve, Steve, Steve... Steve was one of the four men that has worked on the Katrina Missions for all three of our trips. His energetic and enthusiastic work ethic, combined with a sarcastic wit and a caring heart when he wonders if his words went too far, make him an integral part of our team. If you're ever wondering who writes the funnier and sometimes oddly worded captions for the photos, it's probably this guy. No matter what the situation on these trips, he's always kept on target with our goals, helping people, leaning on God for assistance and serving people with God's help and led by His spirit. KATRINA SHORT TERM MISSIONS OVERVIEW

Even though we are one team of 21 guys, we were split into two main groups, Keith/Chris’s Team and Craig/Tommy’s Team. And within these teams, depending upon the task, we were divided again and then reconstituted when the job was complete and re-divided and reformed for the next. It made for a quite diverse and ever changing organism. Keith/Chris’s Team started with just a raised cinder block foundation on an otherwise empty lot. We laid a wood sill all the way around the perimeter to hold the floor joists. After the joists were nailed down, most of us were tasked with installing a plywood sub-floor, a strong but heavy material referred to as OSB (oriented strand board). On top of that, another group measured, cut, and nailed 2 by 4 or 2 by 6 wood studs that provided the framing for all the exterior and interior walls. And another group of guys laboriously sheathed the outside walls with more OSB. Simultaneously an intrepid or idiotic gang of four, depending upon your perspective, crawled under the house across the street to staple on fiberglass insulation. For those that don’t know (like the guys above), crawl spaces are usually dark and muddy and installing insulation throws off tiny particles that are extremely irritating to the eyes and skin. I personally give kudos to these guys. Another bunch did touch up caulking and door and trim painting on this same house to make this home the nicest on the block. Meanwhile, down the same street, Craig/Tommy’s Team raised heavy trusses on a third house to form the attic and support the roof. Then they nailed down OSB over the entire roof. This team definitely did more physical labor than the other, took more breaks, ate more food, even ordered a dozen Domino’s pizza to be delivered, and drank more Gatorade. After laying down tar paper, we shingled the entire roof. At the same time, other guys were busy nailing up a Styrofoam house wrap barrier, hanging a bunch of windows and doors, and helping build a back porch. Literally, between our two teams, WE BUILT AN ENTIRE HOUSE. It is amazing to me that as you construct a house you see all the myriad components and materials necessary to build it strong, durable and comfortable. All the parts are necessary and no one part is more important than the other. Christians in general are just like parts of a house. God’s house. And in particular, our Katrina team is the same way. We are all different, in sizes, in ages, in skill levels, in conditioning and in experience. But we are all part of one team under God. We had regular daily devotions and at one of them Tommy shared that he went to Mississippi the first time to follow Dennis Cho. The second time he went to honor him, and this time, he went in memory of him. I pretty much did the same thing as Tommy and consider Dennis the cornerstone of our Katrina missions experience. Now the cornerstone is the first one set when you construct a foundation and is important because all the other stones are laid in relationship to this first stone. Plus the cornerstone determines the position of the entire building. In this same way, those that have followed Dennis on subsequent trips have seen him as the cornerstone and have referenced as their own, his leading and spirit and attitude and direction. Although Dennis is gone, his vision and legacy have grown even stronger. And that is the unique nature of a house built by God.

coming home. last leg. everyone talking about seeing their families.

2009-05-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

2009 05 03-In Biloxi Airport

2009-05-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

We're just about to take off from Biloxi, but here's some pictures of the day so far

Katrina 2009 05 03-Depart Biloxi Return to LAX

chris washes the window three blocks before we return the cars

2009-05-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

2009 05 02-Last day of work

2009-05-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

Katrina 2009 05 02-Last day of work

Katrina 2009 05 02-Debrief and regroup at antioch

We're done! We're coming home! And personally, I couldn't be more proud of my team. Although the sore muscles would make you think otherwise,if you look at a calendar, we were only able to work five days. But let me say that each and every day, everyone gave their all in every aspect of this mission. These men left their homes, families and jobs with the goal of aiding some people in dire need, and to do so in a way that honored God both by giving Him credit for their strength and motivation, but also in more subtle ways by being His ambassadors. Together as 21 men, we built a house. Truthfully, because of the size of our group, and the needs that were present, we worked on three houses. One where we finished the paint and insulation, one where we put a roof entirely on, and one where we started from nothing and put up everything except for the roof. I saw our men not bat an eye when their was a need to crawl underneath a house to attach insulation. Each of our site managers made comments that they had never seen a group with this much camaraderie and mutual support. We received a note from the kitchen staff at the site we stayed at (SUMA) thanking us for continually cleaning the dining area. I bring this up not to sound boastful about our accomplishments, but as several of the guys said, we were just being ourselves, doing what we do at home. "This is who we are," one of the guys humbly said. I write these things because even more important than building a home, was how we did it. And I honestly think these guys did it well and for the right reasons. Team Mo (Chris and Keith's team) put up all of the walls, inner and outer. The outer walls had sheeting attached for stability, and besides, it makes it look even more than a house. All the framing was in place, it just needed a roof. The Other Team (Craig and Tommy's team) (aka the imperfect 10) entirely finished up the roof. All the trusses were secured and strapped in preparation for any storm; and the second side of the roof was papered, shingled and capped; Cabinet backings were ready to receive the interior of the kitchen, and the porch and deck received their ceiling. After we finished our work, we walked our sites to make sure they was clean and safe, as well as nice looking. The last thing we'd want is for someone to get injured with a capped nail we had left behind. Prayer Walk As every other year, but this time 21 men strong, we did a prayer walk. We walked around our houses and blessed each room. Then we split into groups of 3 or 4 and walked around the adjoining houses and spent quite a bit of time blessing their homes and the neighborhood. We want the houses to stand, but we want the families to be stronger. As we appreciated the various designs of each of the houses, and blessed the unique families that would come to inhabit them soon. It's been a tiring week, but as Brad one of the site managers, said, dirty hands often lead to clean minds. We were so focused on the task of building homes that we could only stay on what was important. We only pray the same can be said of our faith. Antioch This year, as last, we didn't have housing available via Habitat, but we were truly blessed to have a home in Antioch. We came to the same center and had double occupancy rooms with a nice clean bathroom shared between two rooms. A home cooked meal and a time of relaxation and praise to follow our dessert. This was truly a fantastic reward for the week's work. Each man shared impressions of our journey and task, and well, hopefully we'll have some of the guys share for themselves on here, so we'll leave it at that. It was just good to end as we started, as one big group, trying to stay focused on the task at hand, to let God be known, and to be part of his blessing to those in need, and we grew as men in the process.