A MOST HUMBLING WEEK: MARCH 11 – 17
submitted by Ron Bruni

To tell the story of our week in Pass Christian, Mississippi, carries the same dilemma as cleaning up after Katrina hit .… Where to begin? I guess I’ll begin with our arrival on Saturday afternoon. After locating the “home base” (our cot) for the week, we began by building a crib to hold an immense supply of new tools; rakes of all kinds and sizes, shovels of all kinds and sizes, hammers, and a variety of other tools used for clean-up of yards and other areas.
Our group included 19 adults from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and the Baraboo area. And after a week of hard work, listening to many accounts of trial and tribulation during the storm, viewing such total and terrible devastation, and sharing such close and Spartan living conditions, our group became a new family to me. Those 18 others in our group are the most caring, concerned, and motivated people that I have been associated with. Because I had a birthday while in Pass Christian, they made my week extra special. So did the hundreds of college students from all over the U.S. Can you imagine having Happy Birthday sung by 250 college students? Amazing and overwhelming and wonderful and unforgettable.But this account is not about me, or our group from Baraboo. It is about all those brothers and sisters in the South and along the Gulf Coast who have endured so much, have lost so much, need so much, and are so positive, appreciative, and thankful. There are accounts of great courage, stamina, heroism, and of unending faith. I don’t believe I have heard “thank you” so many times in such a short time as during the days we spent in Pass Christian. Many times we heard about how in those few hours that were so long, everything one had worked so hard for, for so long, was gone. But we also heard how blessed these same people felt; blessed to have family and loved ones with them, blessed to have assistance from fellow Americans and even from Canada. Blessed also to know God and our Savior. And their faith is strong. But their physical needs are SO great, that it will take several years, probably 10 or more, to remove the scars and devastation of Katrina. And the emotional scars will remain forever.

I was assigned a job to tile two bathrooms and a kitchen floor in the home of Leslie and Charles Brown and their two daughters. We began on Sunday about noon and were nearly completed by Thursday when we had to leave. Dan Hilfiker and I worked as a team on the tiling along with Charles. His company had given him “whatever time it took” to get his home back in order. Pretty compassionate employer. Charles learned to tile so he can do the other jobs required in his home.

A little about the Brown family and their interface with Katrina: Their home is located much higher than those right on the Gulf. Nonetheless, they watched as the water approached from the Gulf, crossing the railroad tracks and being met by water coming from the North from a river that flowed there. Charles was busy moving valuables and papers to higher levels. Since Leslie and the two girls could not swim, they took a position atop a bunk bed. As the water continued to rise, Charles kept moving items he was trying to save to higher locations. When the bunk bed mattress began to float, he knew it was time to get into the attic. He broke through the ceiling, got a mouth full of insulation, and gulped the flood waters to clear his throat. Leslie and the girls got into the attic, but Charles had no footing to help him get up there until, by the grace of GOD, the chest of drawers floated near so he could get some footing and also get into the attic. They remained in the attic for seven hours with the water rising to within four feet of the peak before beginning to recede. The house emptied of water quite quickly and they were able to come out of the dark attic. The girls think their dad is a hero. And who would argue that he is not?

God has blessed me by allowing me to get to know this family quite well. I will not forget them and will think of them always and keep them in my prayers. I hope you will pray for them, too.

We worked hard, long days and perhaps helped in some small way toward the recovery from Katrina’s destruction. But whatever effort we contributed, the reward for being permitted to share and learn and listen is such a greater blessing to me, and others have said the same, that those few days in Pass Christian will forever be indelibly etched in my memory.

Thank you, Lord, for the chance to perhaps make just a little dent.