Three teams, seven churches, 38 Christians, one mission

What began as volunteers from one Methodist church in Henderson, then another, has grown into a multi-church effort to bring continued aid, hope and Christian love to the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast some 17 months after Katrina struck.

Our vision with these latest trips -- three teams on three consecutive weeks -- was to bring to bear a concentrated effort on a single home and make it ready to occupy.

But is that possible? We don't know. The situation on the Gulf Coast remains, it seems, chaotic. What will our assignment be? What type of work will we do? We don't know.

So we put our trust in the Lord. In the meantime, some of the veterans of these trips are becoming accustomed to clearing their minds of expectations, because they've learned that whatever we're told, or whatever we've come to expect, will change.

The Mississippi Annual Conference of the UMC Disaster Relief folks seem to grasp this as they advise: “Blessed are those who are flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.”

Besides the Lord, we trust our construction superintendent, Bud Hill, to guide us wisely.

So, who is going?

Volunteers from Belleview, Bennett Memorial, Cairo, Chapel Hill and First United Methodist Churches in Henderson County; Wesleyan Heights UMC from Owensboro; and Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Henderson.

Here are the schedule, rosters and church affiliations:

Week one (Jan. 21-27)
John and Augusta Evans, Chapel Hill (leaders)
John and Charlene Eblen, Cairo
Ron and Chloe Eblen, Cairo
Chuck and Donna Stinnett, First
Dick and Mary Lee, First
Lee Obenchain, First
Dick Ward, Cairo
Bud Hill, Bennett
Phil Blanford, Cairo

Week two (Jan. 28-Feb. 3)
Paul Herron, Chapel Hill (leader)
Greg Fisher, Belleview
Rodney Thomas, Chapel Hill
Lester LaBruyerre, Chapel Hill
C.H. Alexander, Belleview
John Tom Utley, Belleview
Bill Preston, Belleview
Gene Crowley, Belleview
Ron Crowley, Wesleyan Heights
Rodger Swatzell, Holy Name
Nathan White, Chapel Hill

Week three (Feb 4-10)
Steve and Leslie Hoskins, Chapel Hill (leaders)
Allen and Stacey Singer, Chapel Hill
Bud and Karen Hill, Bennett
Debbie Sides, Bennett
Jim Walters, Chapel Hill
Brandon Long, Chapel Hill
Maria Raleigh, Chapel Hill
Emily Raleigh, Chapel Hill
Brad Higginson, Chapel Hill

Prayers for our mission are eagerly accepted. We thank, for example, the prayers, cookies and financial contributions made by the Steel Magnolias, a women's small group at First UMC. Bless you!