We’re Done

The almost completed house as we left it

Well here we are. The final chapter of our MDS assignment has been written and we are closing the book. We look back on the adventure with fondness. God blessed us with so many new experiences. We got to meet a wide variety of new and interesting people, many of whom were brothers and sisters in Christ yet live a life different from what our Steinbach world is like. We saw many new areas of the world God created. And we were able to be part of a program that reaches out to people in need and provides real and practical support, providing hope where that has often been hard to find. We felt the incredible love and gratitude of Miss Mattie, whose new house we were building.

We are thankful for the strong support we have received from families, friends, our pastor and our church.

Here are some final reflective thoughts from everyone in our group.

Reflections from Maurice and Pat

For us the 2014 MDS experience was a mixture of contrasts:

- cold and unpredictable weather vs warm friendships and appreciative clients

- orchestrated white Baptist Church vs exuberant / enthusiastic black Baptist congregation

- uncertain material supply vs willing and waiting workforce of volunteers

- the poverty of locals (earning money through metal recycling) vs our own abundance

- dilapidated / tornado damaged neighborhood vs first new house following tornado (MDS project house)

- rediscovering abilities of established friendships vs discovering new friendships with like minded volunteers

- resourcefulness of "Making Do Somehow (MDS)" vs instant shopping at a well stocked building supply outlet

- the jarring 6:15 am alarm vs  the welcome 10:00 pm "I'm POOPED" bedtime

- the unending "You're not from around here" of locals we met vs the "God Bless You" response when we shared why we were in Hattiesburg.

 Arriving in Hattiesburg to a house at the drywall stage and leaving with only the cupboards, driveway and landscaping to be completed by other volunteers and contractors was daunting at first but very satisfying.

Reflections from Sieg and Elenore

We really enjoyed the experience , working with MDS for four weeks.

We survived quite well living in a very small space for so long, adapted to the food, culture and accent differences in the area, enjoyed working with a great crew, and are thrilled that we could make such a difference to the home that Ms Mattie will soon be able to move into.

Reflections from Henry and Mic

Working together with friends for a common purpose.

We all wanted to complete Miss Mattie’s home and make it as lovely and functional as possible, doing whatever was necessary. Many times comments like these were made – “Well, I’ve never done anything like this before.  Can someone show me how and then, sure, I’ll do it!”

Relaxing together as an MDS group at the campground.

We were a community. We needed to share the laundry facilities, we shared in potlucks and devotions and games nights and talent night.

Exploring together as an MDS group.

Friday breakfasts and Sunday lunches were spent enjoying southern cuisine at various restaurants – grits, frog’s legs, catfish, crawfish, shrimp, hushpuppies, crab, lotus blossom etc. Often it was one buffet after another! Stuffed to the brim! We enjoyed choir, jazz and blue grass concerts together and many trips in the MDS van – all 12 of us squished together – “Is that your seatbelt or mine?” “Turn the heat up!” “Turn the heat down now – way down. It’s hot and stuffy back here!” “Do we have to have the fan on? I can’t hear anybody!”

For us, working together with couples from last year (same project directors, Norm and Carolyn) and also Bernie and Agnes, and then adding friends from home, was very sweet. We all worked hard and laughed lots together. Lots of love and respect was shown to each one. What a great experience.

Our spirits were saddened during the last week with the tragic news of the passing of Pastor Walter’s son-in-law. It was a concern for all in our group.

Reflections from Bert and Lenora

Our commitment of 2 months has gone by quickly.  Our team from SMBC was a credit to our congregation.  Everyone worked together well and brought many talents to the project.  Norm and Carolyn Ringenberg from Illinois were our wonderful experienced project directors.  There was lots of laughter at the work site.  Lenora and I started when the house had bare walls and we saw the house through insulation, drywall, taping and mudding etc until the house was completed. Methodist volunteers laid the vinyl flooring, built kitchen cabinets and a small deck. Miss Mattie, the home owner visited almost everyday.  She and her daughters thanked us over and over again.

bedroom

kitchen

A final farewell gift for Miss Mattie - an apron and a Canadian calendar

A House Blessing

When a major MDS project is completed, a dedication ceremony called a House Blessing takes place. We have been working on a new house construction project and this week we had the Blessing, even though the house is not really totally finished. There were 2 reasons for us to plan this dedication at this time. This is our last week of work and also one of the couples in our group who has worked on the house for the whole 3 months of the project, had to leave a few days early.

Waiting for the program to begin

A House Blessing is a semi-formal event organized by our MDS unit. Guests and participants included Miss Mattie, the house owner, some members of her family as well as some of her friends and neighbours. Officials from “Recover, Rebuild, Restore Southeast Mississippi” (R3SM), the agency spearheading disaster recovery in this part of MS and who MDS has taken direction from, were also present. The program consisted of a few prayers and readings, 2 songs and comments from a number of individuals. MDS always makes 2 special presentations at these events. A Bible is presented to the new home owner as well as some type of quilted wall hanging donated by one of many church ladies groups from the US. We were able to present a very special hanging. Pat and Elenore had created a beautiful quilt just for this occasion. It represented our prairie home and was given to Miss Mattie. She loved it, immediately stating where she was going to hang it.

Strong appreciation for the work of MDS was declared by many, including R3SM and Miss Mattie’s daughter, and neighbours expressed thanks that Miss Mattie would be moving back to the neighbourhood soon.
Later Miss Mattie told us that this house would always remind her of the huge amount of love that was shown to her and her family and that although she won’t remember our names, “we’ll always be in her heart.”

The wall hanging created by Pat and Elenore

Miss Mattie's response

Lenora presenting a Bible

Demetri, R3SM exec director; Norm, our MDS project director; Alex, R3SM liason

A strong turnout for a House Blessing

Encountering Christian Brothers and Sisters

One of the blessings of travelling and visiting other parts of the world is to meet other Christians and to see God at work in other types of churches and environments.

We visited an MB church in Hattiesburg – the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church. It is the church attended by Miss Mattie, the lady whose house we are building and it also happens to be an all black church. If that brings to mind all kinds of things you have heard about some black churches, you are right. We had such an experience. And it was an amazing Sunday morning.

The atmosphere was very informal, extremely lively and loud, and incredibly full of energy. It seemed like everyone was totally involved, whether singing, proclaiming “Amen!” or responding with many supportive verbal comments while the pastor was preaching. There was not a quiet subdued moment; no down time. If people were not responding, the pastor would say things like, “Am I by myself here?” or, "I'm not hearing you." When he was making emphatic points in his sermon, individuals from the group of ministers and deacons who were sitting on stage as well, would stand up and raise their hands. A few members of the worship band would just add a few short notes of music after each point to create emphasis. You would not sleep through that sermon!

And the band! It seemed like they could have been professional musicians! They were 5 young men who could seemingly play anything, anytime, without any music. Some of them seemed to be playing throughout almost the entire service, during the singing time, choir accompaniment, announcements, prayer time and the sermon.

Other interesting aspects of the service were the special welcome for visitors, when we stood and the congregation sang a song for us, as well as the offering time, when everyone parades to the front to present their gifts. Hmmm. Things we should try at SMBC?

Overall we were part of an experience where people were very involved worshipping God and meeting Him. We felt blessed and were warmly received.

We also attended the Temple Baptist Church. It was huge with a multi-thousand seat capacity, a 75 voice choir and a full 25 piece band presenting the music. Everything was smooth and professional. One of the interesting aspects of the service was the baptism of 4 members that happened right at the very beginning of the service, before any welcome or call to worship.

Last Wednesday we had a unique and interesting experience. There are a few other people working on the house we are building. They are a United Methodist Church group from up north which has come to help with a few aspects of the construction, like laying of a few floors. The local U M church that is hosting them invited our MDS group to their church for a supper. It was a remarkable evening. The supper was open to anyone and had been prepared by the

church’s men’s group. They do this regularly. After the meal there is a children’s ministry as well as a youth program taking place. The adults stay. We sang a hymn and people were invited to share prayer requests. It was amazing. Fifteen to twenty people shared needs and concerns. This was out of a group of perhaps 60 people in attendance, which also was amazing as they have perhaps a hundred attending Sunday morning. The pastor spoke on a short section of the Apostles’ Creed, part of a series that was being continued each Wednesday. It was inspiring, and something we could have heard in any MB church.

God is alive and well and is building His church throughout the world. He is leading His faithful followers abroad and afar, and in ways that can often be different from what our typical experience might be. To observe that is refreshing and encouraging.

The Final Stretch

We are at the ¾ point! We see the end approaching. There are just 4 more days to work. We know there is still a lot to do but it works best to have the dedication service of Miss Mattie’s house this Monday. So with many things still to be done, we will rejoice with her and give her God’s blessing on her new home. We will then work 3 more days to complete as much as possible.

The painters

This past week we accomplished much. Two ladies in our group did lots of painting (the inside of kitchen cupboards, etc) and cleaning of rooms and windows inside while the rest of us worked on the outside of the house. None of us had experience putting up Hardie board siding. We all do now! Some are carrying the boards, some are cutting, some are measuring, some are measuring angles, one is caulking, and others are attaching the boards, soffit and facia high up on scaffolds. We learned on the back of the house. The back and sides are now done. Only the front of the house remains. It looks lovely. By far this house is the best looking house in the area. Miss Mattie is so happy to have such a beautiful home.

A variety of jobs 

Physically this past week was our hardest week. Carrying heavy materials is tiring when everyone is a senior! We also had our warmest week this week. Here the humidity is very high. Heat (mid 20s) and humidity and working in the sun took its toll and we all were happy when we could go back to our trailers, shower and then sit down! It was very satisfying though to see how well we all work together with the pressure on to learn new things and with a list that is still long that we want to accomplish in a few short days. We are concerned about our project director who is a hard worker yet needs to slow down for health reasons. His heart is working at 50% and he needs to take it easy. How does he do this under these circumstances? Please pray for Norm as he takes this project very seriously and wants to complete the project for Miss Mattie.                                                                                     -Mic

MDS version of foot washing - cleaning one another's shoes before entering the house

Tornado Warning!

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be woken up from your sleep by a knock at your camper  with the news that there is a tornado warning for your area and you should go to a safe place now? That happened last night! During the night we endured lightning non-stop for hours with thunder banging loudly constantly. The rain came down in sheets and pounded on the campers. Hours and hours of weather happening. Suddenly just before 5 a.m., there was banging on each of our campers’ doors. One couple in our group has a weather radio specifically dedicated to a US National Weather Network  frequency. It will broadcast a loud alarm and howl when severe weather warnings currently exist. This is designed to be an alert any time of the day or night. The alarm had gone off and there were severe thunderstorm warnings as well as a tornado watch warning for the county immediately south of us. I got so scared when I heard the pounding on the door, louder than the rain banging on the roof. Our co-worker Bernie yelled that a tornado warning had been issued for our area and we needed to get to the campground washroom immediately. Henry and I grabbed our ID and our passports and rain jackets and went outside. I noticed my hands were just shaking. I felt panicky. We couldn't walk anywhere without getting very wet and muddy. The campground was now a pool. Water everywhere. We hopped into vehicles and drove to the washroom and waited out the storm. There was one unconfirmed report of a tornado sighting about half an hour south of where we live, but an hour later we got word it was safe to go back to bed in our campers.

Ladies taking shelter in their washroom

Abandoned houses in the neighbourhood

While we are not living in Tornado Alley, they are far more common here than in Manitoba. Our project here is to build a new house replacing one that was severely damaged by a tornado a year ago. While no one was killed in this community due to the tornado, there was quite a bit of damage done. In the neighbourhood of our project, the houses were not flattened but generally damaged beyond repair. The pictures below show a good sampling of what the immediate neighbourhood looks like. Most houses have not been repaired or replaced because the owners could not afford it. Some are owned by slum landlords who get no assistance and have left their buildings derelict.                     - Mic

                                 

Map showing location of Miss Mattie's house and level of damage and destruction of neighbourhood

List of houses being repaired or replaced

Map showing tornado's path of destruction through Hattiesburg and area

Reflections

We have reached the half way mark in our stay here in Hattiesburg.

Things are going great. People are healthy, we are all getting along well, and we feel we are accomplishing a lot each day. Mattie, the owner of the home, drops by almost every day to check things out, and she is always thrilled at the progress. We are planning to visit her all black church this Sunday morning. Due to a family funeral this week, her whole family was in town, and so the entire family including a 7 week old granddaughter dropped in to check out the house. It was wonderful to meet them all.

Mattie and her family

We do quite a few things with the entire MDS group on our time off, and one of the enjoyable things is going to different restaurants and trying out different cuisine of the south. Hushpuppies, crawfish chowder, grits, catfish, fried oysters, stuffed crab, fried chicken  and lots of catfish. So far the only thing I would not bother with again is the grits. Oh and I have not tried the collard greens yet.

We have also explored the southern culture by attending a 4 hour bluegrass concert which was part of a weekend bluegrass festival. I loved it!!!

Thursday we went to the local library to watch a movie together. Friday we drove to Biloxi (1 1/2 hrs away) and met another MDS group and had lunch together. Then we spent the afternoon sightseeing.

We also get together for a potluck once a week, go out for lunch after church every Sunday, have a games night once a week, and Caroline our other fearless leader insists that we have a talent night next Thursday. Getting bored is not a possibility.

Chatting it up while waiting to leave for church

Soaking up the sun while having lunch at the work site

A typical work day starts with the alarm going off at 6:30. Then we climb into our work clothes, eat a quick breakfast, make and pack our lunches, and meet the group in the MDS trailer. We have devotions - we take turns leading this, sing our MDS theme song/hymn, then Norm our fearless leader gives us our work assignments for the day.

We all climb into the MDS van or work truck and drive the 25 min. to our work site.

Around 3-3:30  we start cleaning up the site, and then head back for home. Just as we pull into the long drive of the campground we slow down and all look out the south facing window of the van, hunting for Menno in the small slough.

Menno our mascot

This is the 4 ft. alligator who lives there, and occasionally suns himself on a little "island" in the slough. Bert dubbed him Menno, and we have adopted him as our mascot for the duration of our stay.

Our weather has ranged from 25 and sunny - definitely shorts weather -  to 0 and rainy and cold, and everything in between. We are definitely far from Manitoba!!! Quite a challenge when living in a trailer not much bigger than the average home bathroom. This whole experience is an adventure. And I am so happy to be here, working to give hope to a wonderful lady called Mattie.

                                                                                                                       - Elenore

A Superb Beginning

We have had one week under our belts and we feel quite elated about how everything has turned out so far.

After all had arrived last weekend we enjoyed incredible mid-twenty (not minus) degree weather for 2 days. The work week actually turned out to be fairly wet and very cold, but it did not hinder the work much.

A new home to replace a destroyed one

Our project consists of completing the new construction of a house being built for a 75 year old lady whose previous house was basically blown over by a tornado in February 2013. With the arrival of the SMBCers we are now a crew of 12, and this group attacked the challenge with enthusiasm and vigour. Much was accomplished this week: mudding and sanding of drywall; applying 3 coats of paint on every room but the bathroom; some trim cut and placed; and flooring installed in 2 rooms.

Not yet a kitchen, but a good place for a coffee break

Sanding drywall results in a new line of makeup for Lenora

Sieg's version of Michelangelo's ceiling

With Maurice - that's a well trimmed window

Elenore's cutting excellence

Another day - another paint job for Mic

Pat's joyful enthusiasm

The group dynamic and spirit has been positive, jovial, encouraging, and very enjoyable. It has been a delight to work together, each one striving hard to complete the task efficiently and thoroughly. It is amazing what a bunch of old timers can accomplish!