Stories of Hurricane Katrina victims touched the hearts of North Augusta families during a mission trip to Waveland, Miss.
Joining many churches across the United States that pitched in to rebuild lost homes, First Baptist Church of North Augusta sent a crew of 40 students and 12 adults to the Mississippi coast June 8-13. The mission trip is part of Rebuild Lakeshore, a ministry of Lakeshore Baptist Church in Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Angela Formby and her children, David, 18, and Clara, 14, have seen the effects of the 2005 hurricane -- people living in makeshift homes in their front yard and bare parking lots where businesses once stood. The town is slowly being revived but it will never be the same, Clara said.
"It is probably going to be better than it used to be," Clara said, noting that the Waveland community is more close-knit now.
Along the oceanfront where mansions once stood, there are only steps leading to foundations, Angela said.
The missionaries were separated into work groups. Volunteers completed yard work, and dug trenches for sewage lines, while others dry-walled houses ruined by the floods.
After realizing that a dull machete wouldn't do the job needed for cutting brush at a woman's house, David and a small team took a trip to Wal-Mart in search of a weed eater.
"We came into Wal-Mart dirty and the greeter at Wal-Mart said, 'You're helping us; I can't tell you how much it means to us to know people care,' " David said.
The Wal-Mart greeter told David's group that she is not worried about the future because of children like him who are passionate and care about others, he said.
Angela heard many hurricane stories from locals that she couldn't begin to grasp. Lakeshore Baptist Church disappeared under 40 feet of water, she said. She was astounded by the story of a man who escaped into the trees during the flood only to discover that snakes had also sought refuge there.
At a homeless shelter in New Orleans that the high school church choir performed for one evening, she was surprised by the chaplain's actions.
"Before we left, the chaplain actually blessed us," Angela said. "Here are these people who didn't have anything, and they blessed us."
More information about the mission work of Lakeshore Baptist Church to help rebuild its community is available at www.rebuildlakeshore.com.
Reach Crystal Garcia at crystal.garcia@northaugustatoday.com.
