Struction

Tomorrow we leave for Ocean Springs Mississippi to do some hurricane disaster relief. Can you still call it disaster relief 3 years later? I'm excited to go, but not excited to see what it looks like now. It was much worse than we anticipated the first year. And the second year it still seemed as if little progress had been made. We were the first people into a house since the hurricane... on a block still filled with empty houses.

Part of me sincerely doubts that it will look much better, apart from a touristy casino-filled facade. We don't know what we're doing. We've decided to call it "struction". Not sure if it will be con-struction or de-struction, and I must confess I'm torn between being able to build something lasting and getting to have a lot of fun swinging a sledgehammer.

Will the atmosphere of hope created by thousands of volunteers pouring into the area to help still exist now that the stream is a trickle? Will the neighborly love and support we saw in the wake of disaster overcoming racial and socio-economic tensions still be there?

I hope so. I hope we can be some cheerful, energetic, joyous, and self-sacrificing servants that might pass on some of God's love to those we meet. If we get out of the way enough for that to happen perhaps we can be convinced that service isn't just about week long trips.