In March of this year, National Ministries’ office of Direct Human Services granted $25,000 to Calvary Baptist Church of Denver, Colo., to fund its effective caring ministry in Pearlington, Miss. Additionally, teams of volunteers from Second Baptist Church, Germantown, Pa., and Berean Baptist Church, Bridgeton, N.J., are scheduled through National Ministries’ Volunteers In Mission to add their efforts at the end of June and early July. A volunteer organizer, Nell Nation, lives about 100 miles from Pearlington. Her commitment to the work and desire to spread word of it make this account possible.

In addition to news which follows from Pearlington, National Ministries’ Mission in America July/August issue — reaching churches the last week in June — features a poster of American Baptist churches from throughout the United States responding with compassion to the pain of those who lost so much.

No doubt, Pearlington, Miss., was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. All homes and businesses were destroyed, and belongings ruined. “Pearlington has dropped through the cracks. It is isolated, not near any other towns of significance. The strongest eastern eye wall of Katrina wiped out this little village,” says Nell Nation, a member of University Baptist Church (UBC) in Hattiesburg, Miss. Nation, along with other church members, has been working regularly with residents of Pearlington, Miss., since Katrina hit.

“We are working in Pearlington because we have been so blessed by others who came to our aid immediately following Katrina,” says Rev. Phillip Reynolds, pastor of UBC (affiliated with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship). “We had to have help and we received it in abundance. We could not restore our own electricity, or lift heavy trees off our roofs. Scores of teams came to our aid.”

And so, volunteers from UBC travel 100 miles to Pearlington. Nation makes the trip once or twice weekly. She explains that members of UBC who volunteer in “P-town” pay their own way and all money they raise goes directly to those who need it. American Baptist Churches USA, UBC and American Baptist-affiliated Calvary Baptist Church have helped rebuild 20 to 30 homes, donated water pumps, and furnished more than 200 FEMA trailers with starter kits. The starter kits include sheets, towels, blankets, cookware, dishes and cleaning supplies.  

“American Baptist Churches have made a large donation. Many volunteers from around the country have worked on [Pearlington resident] Vickie Netto’s house,” Nation says. Members of Calvary Baptist Church traveled to Mississippi to spend a week helping rebuild Netto’s home. Nation has a personal connection with the congregation at Calvary: she and her husband spend summers in Colorado and attend services there. On a Sunday in June, volunteers who helped in Mississippi presented to Calvary about their work. Nation feels that the most important thing right now is housing. “They need homes. We have volunteers scheduled through most of the summer; hopefully the funds will come in to supply the material. It is a real balancing act to keep the funds there for the materials for volunteers,” she says.

Vickie Netto and her son, Dalton, have a new home, nearly complete in June.

For eight weeks following Hurricane Katrina, Vickie Netto lived in a tent with her 8-year-old daughter, Samantha, and 5-year-old son, Dalton. She lost her job after Katrina, because the restaurant where she worked was destroyed. Netto and her family now have a house near completion, due to help from churches nationwide. Still, many haven’t been as fortunate as the Nettos. Many people live in FEMA trailers and others have not yet been put on the list for a new house.

Among those who lost their home are Donna and Donald Doyle, parents of 8-year-old Alexis, born with spinal bifida and confined to a wheelchair, and 5-year-old Joseph. Though the Doyles had flood and homeowner’s insurance, Nation explains that they were only able to pay off their mortgage. Alexis lost her wheelchair in the hurricane. When trucks came by a few days after the disaster to distribute food and water, Alexis could not get in line without her wheelchair and an extra share of food was not provided. Family members shared part of their daily servings with Alexis, who later received a wheelchair. The poor quality of the wheelchair, however, makes it difficult for her to ascend the long ramp to the family's FEMA trailer. A new house is coming for the Doyles — funds are being provided from an unnamed source. Although Gulf Coast residents suffered through hurricane season in 2005, God’s love is evident in what has been accomplished in the months after. “Our faith teaches us that we are not to be terminals of God’s blessings, but conduits of what is given us,” says Reynolds. “So, as soon as [our church members were] able to begin functioning for ourselves, we turned our attention to helping others. And again we have been blessed. There is great joy in serving the people in Pearlington.”

Donna Doyle (standing), with her children, Joseph and Alexis, looks forward to having a new house soon.

Contributions to One Great Hour of Sharing and workers through National Ministries’ Volunteers In Mission are making a significant difference for hurricane victims in states along the Gulf Coast and throughout the United States where thousands have relocated to start lives anew.

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