Celebrating the Sabbath

Coffee Hour at Church of the Redeemer

The day began with a beautiful service at Church of the Redeemer. Jennifer Gray (typo in bulletin) preached at the 8 am and 10 am masses this morning, and gave a sermon about "The Power of Our Hands."

Jenny, Harold and Margarite

Nate and Joe!

After church, we went to a cookout at one of the parishoner's homes. There were hamburgers and hot dogs served, with their famous "sock it to ya" cake for dessert. We also saw the occassional boat drive by along the river.

Chillaxin

We went to see the Friendship Tree this afternoon. She has new growth! I was very happy to see that. However, she looks a little weary. There is moss and fern growing on the top of her branches. But the really amazing thing about the visit was that there are buildings all around her. They are part of the college campus. Last year I was so enthralled with the Friendship Tree that I never even noticed the buildings. They are completely abandoned, having been severely damaged in the storm. The windows are all broken and the insides in shambles. I'm talking really big buildings with stairways and two floors! I don't remember them at all. I was actually surprised to see them.

We all talked about how incredible it is that the Friendship Tree survived the storm. Many of her branches are actually stuck into the ground and we decided that the fact that she is so grounded is what saved her. The tree is a metaphor for what we can do if we only remain grounded and firm in who we are and what we believe in.

Tonight as we arrived back at Camp Biloxi we met two other groups who will be here for teh duration of the week. One is from Wisconsin and the other Ohio. This is the largest group Camp Biloxi has seen since August! Apparently, numbers for volunteers are down as many other groups are heading toward Galveston, TX and other areas effected more recently by major storms. The work here is far complete.... So, tomorrow we head out for our first workday. We are scheduled to gut part of a house. The group is ready to get to work and we look forward to the day ahead. Many thanks to everyone back home for their prayers. We are thinking of you and look forward to seeing everyone upon our return!