Keep Bob In Biloxi

Why?  Because Bob is supposed to stay here for two years supervising the hurricane Katrina rebuilding effort of First Presbyterian Church of Biloxi.  The problem is that while the work is plentiful, the workers are few.  This letter is an appeal to the churches of America to not forget the tremendous need to help many thousands of our fellow citizens rebuild their homes.

  These pictures were taken last fall but they could be taken again today. Fourteen months after the hurricane only a small percentage of the houses have been rebuilt.  The first comment most volunteers have when they come is,” It looks as if nothing has been done in the way of rebuilding.”  The plight of the people here is heart breaking.

               

Most of the thousands of displaced people have no money to repair or replace their houses.  They have not been well treated by their insurance companies. Many times people gave what little money they had to a contractor who disappeared with it; and if they find an honest contractor, prices have gone up so much that they can’t pay for all the necessary rebuilding.

Perhaps it would be good to review some facts about hurricane Katrina.  The size of the damaged area is difficult to comprehend even for those who have seen most of it.  In fact, the second observation most volunteers make when they come here is, “We had no idea the damage is so widespread and so total.”  The damage runs for about 71 miles along the coast of Mississippi.  Try to picture this distance in your home area, and remember this distance was completely occupied with houses and businesses.  Now almost every building is totally destroyed or heavily damaged for a distance ranging from half a mile to several miles from the ocean. 

The towns of Long Beach, Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis, Pearlington and Waveland are so heavily damaged that they are struggling to survive.  Most of the United States is aware that New Orleans was damaged by Katrina, but to put things in proper perspective, consider that New Orleans lost about 6,200 homes while Mississippi lost almost 70,000.   

There is a good spirit among the people of Mississippi.  They haven’t spent their time blaming the government for all their troubles.  Instead they have done what they can to rebuild their lives.  However, many are unable to rebuild without help as they simply have no money and lack the ability to do the work themselves.

One group that my heart goes out to is the elderly who have no hope of ever rebuilding their houses.  Many were barely able to live on their retirement income before the hurricane.   They are in constant fear that next winter, eighteen months after the hurricane; they will be thrown out into the street.  FEMA comes around often to remind them that they will not be able to keep their trailers after the time runs out.

It has been exciting to have been here in Mississippi these last ten months assisting in the relief effort.  The light of the church is shining brightly along the gulf coast of Mississippi.  Many thousands of Christians are and have been working to show the love of Jesus Christ to the people, and the people are very aware that it is the church which seeks to help them and we are greatly appreciated by the local population.  The cooperation among many church groups is wonderful to be a part of, and lives are being changed. 

 You can make a difference.  We desperately need your help.  Let’s keep the light of the church shining here in Mississippi. There are three main things we need to keep this work going.

1.      Prayer; keep us in daily prayer as the enemy is doing all he can to stop this work. 
2.      Send money.
3.      Send workers as we can only continue this work if workers will come.  During August we have two weeks with only two workers scheduled and one week there are no workers.

What is it like to be here; what can you expect?  You will be living upstairs in the church in air conditioned rooms with either a cot or bunk bed to sleep on; you only need bedding and towels. Showers are outside in a building with hot (usually) and cold water.  We have a kitchen where we work together to prepare food.  Most of the work is rebuilding houses.  You do not need to be a professional contractor to help.   We match up job orders with the different gifts a team might have.  Once you get away from the zone of destruction along the beach you will find lots of shopping so there is no need to bring all your supplies with you.  We pay for the cost of operating this camp by faith thus there is no daily fee charged.  If you are able and want to, you can donate to the cause, but it is not necessary.  We allow children to come as we feel it is a good experience for them.

Expect to be changed by your experience here.  The third thing most people say before they leave here is,” I want to come back as soon as possible.”  I have seen individuals and churches come back over and over again, some as many as six times.  There is great joy in being part of what God is doing here in spite of hard work in hot conditions(working conditions are much more pleasant during fall and winter) .  You will be a part of a work in which many tens of thousands of your fellow Christians have taken part in.

So, I end as I began by asking you to help keep Bob in Biloxi for a long time.  You see, Bob is on loan from his church in South Carolina and he can only stay in Biloxi if you will support the work here. The support that is needed is Christians coming down to help with the work. We have seen work camps closing because of a lack of volunteers, don’t allow this work to close because of a lack of volunteers. 

Serving here is as easy as phoning me.  You can come by yourself or with a group.  We accept all ages and welcome family units. 

In His Service,

Bob Bolitho

Church number 228-374-6880     Cell number 864-909-0943

E-mail PTLalways@prodigy.net 

 

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