St. Clare Katrina Recovery - Waveland, Mississippi

Update from Waveland - April 25, 2007

What a week here in Waveland!!! We have over 50 volunteers in from various states-IN, NJ, Iowa , PA, WI, MN. We wish we could put all the volunteers’ names down for you to see because they each so deserve to be acknowledged. Some have been here before and the rest are 1^st timers.

Mary C. is getting help at her home with taping, mudding, and sanding the sheetrock. We are so excited for Maggie and Pat, whose raised house is being built from scratch, while they watch from their FEMA trailer. A great side note is the 5 gal yellow bucket sitting outside their trailer with a glorious tomato plant loaded with beautiful tomatoes – ‘Life will not be denied’ Extra prayers are gratefully appreciated for Pat who faces health issues.

Kudos to the Knights of Columbus …from all over. Since Hurricane Katrina, over 4000 K of C members have volunteered to the Gulf Coast…..not only volunteering their time, but with monetary donations, materials, and essentials. We thank you so much for all of your never ending faith in us and our community.

Betty S. is getting her wainscoting polyurethaned and is so grateful for the help.

A crew is building a platform for Brian and Jan’s A/C unit.

And there was MUCH excitement when a full truck load of furniture arrived at St. Clare! Donated by McDill Air Force Base in Tampa , Fl., through the efforts and coordination of Anton (Tony) and Alvera (Al) Leier of Kintyre, ND, with the freight paid by the Knights of Columbus Supreme, this welcome gift certainly is making a difference in the lives of many here! Thank You!

Everyday is a celebration when volunteers show up on our doorstep. You give us the motivation to strive forward. We thank you and God for coming into our lives and making such a positive difference!

Updates from Waveland April 1, 2007

Beginning this month, Brian and Jan Roe will take over the duties for pictures and stories for this section of the web site. You all have followed Brian and Jan's progress as they, with the help of many, many volunteers, have worked to return to their home,which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Although they are still not back in their home, they have graciously volunteered to take on this duty for St. Clare Recovery so that you can stay abreast of the progress in Waveland and Bay St. Louis. We are truly grateful to Brian and Jan for all that they do.

Here we are, still in Waveland fighting the good fight, holding our own and grateful for every volunteer who touches our lives and brings us a step closer to our goals - long term though they may be.

We so much miss our volunteer coordinator from St. Clare Recovery, Jane Crady, who has returned home to Indiana after a year helping here. She gave so much to our community, our church, and our lives here on the MS Gulf Coast. She has enriched us and will continue to do so from her home base.

Though it took a team if many people to replace her, we will continue to keep this website updated for one and all.

St. Clare Recovery Team

A very grateful Ms. Betty S finally moves in with the efforts of many volunteers!

Update from Waveland

April 7, 2007

A lot has happened since our last update here in Waveland…..Spring break started early for some and we have been blessed with more than 25 groups of wonderful volunteers during February and March! So much work was done during these two months that it is almost hard to keep up with these enthusiastic groups.

We have also undergone some major changes in our staffing. St. Clare Recovery now has a whole new team of fantastic volunteers from St. Clare Church who will oversee and do the tasks that need to be done in order to continue the work that was started here nearly a year ago by St. Bartholomew Church of Columbus Indiana. I am back in Indiana now where I will coordinate the trips of volunteers from around the country. I would like to thank Mary Parks of St. Bart’s for doing such a terrific job for the past ten months. Mary has devoted much personal time to communicating with all of you, and her efforts have truly been a blessing to St. Clare Recovery. I would also like to thank all of the members of the Core Committee from St. Bart’s for their tireless efforts and prayers. Without all of you, the progress we now see in Waveland would be far behind what we see today. Thank you all - from myself and all of the people whose lives you have touched. And thank you and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for your continuing support of St. Clare Recovery as we move forward with the help of The Holy Spirit on our journey of restoration to the area of St. Clare and Waveland/Bay St. Louis, MS.

One of the new faces you will see when you reach Waveland is Brent Woodfill, our new Coordinator of Local Volunteers. Brent, or a member of his team of volunteers from St. Clare Church, will meet you and help to get you settled into the Volunteer Center . He will be your contact in case you have any needs while staying at the Center. Tony Dixon is our Project Manager. He will issue the job site information and guide you in your volunteer efforts. Tony will have the help of several other St. Clare volunteers who will help insure that you have the right materials and tools for the jobs. Tony and I will work closely to match your skills with the proper work in homes in Waveland/Bay St. Louis.

You will also see some new writers on our website. Brian and Jan Roe have graciously volunteered to take photos and write the Updates from Waveland, and Theresa Miller has volunteered to help with the website updates in general. I am sure that they will do a much better job than I have in keeping you informed.

Now, let’s see if we can pick up where we left off with our volunteers…..

I am sure by now you have read the beautiful story on our home page by Jan Boys of “Team Zap” This wonderful group came in January and worked diligently to get Ms. Mary C back into her home. They also painted and caulked at Brian and Jan’s and painted the home of Rachael, among other “small” jobs. This family, who came together from as near as Florida and as far away as California , also came bearing gifts of furniture and money for materials, and to top off their generous donations, they donated their family van just this past week! It will be put to good use, I assure you. Thank you so very much for all you have done for St. Clare Recovery and the folks of Waveland.

During the last week of January some “long-term volunteers” arrived in their campers. Tony and Alvera Leier from Maryland came to stay until the second week of February, during which time they helped many including Ms. Betty S, Winnie, Mary C. with a variety of carpentry, electrical and other tasks.

Cathy, Chuck and Ron put finishing touches on

Ms. Mary C's kitchen the day before she and Sandy moved

back into their home.

Cathy, Chuck and Ron put finishing touches on

Ms. Mary C's kitchen the day before she and Sandy moved

back into their home.

Chuck and Cathy Burns of Linton, IN arrived in their camper and stayed with us until the end of March! Most of the other volunteers actually thought that Chuck and Cathy were members of our volunteer staff! Without the hard work, ingenuity and dedication of this wonderful couple, the progress that was made during February and March would not have been nearly so great. We can’t thank you enough, Chuck and Cathy, and I am sure that Ms. Betty S. and Ms. Mary C. are especially grateful as you moved them both into their homes! Ms. Betty S gave a party to celebrate, complete with a crab boil and a birthday cake for Lloyd, her neighbor and longtime volunteer. We all know that you will be back Chuck and Cathy – the people of Waveland are now in your blood.

Celebrating Ms. Betty's move-in and Lloyd's birthday

are Ms. Betty, Lloyd, Cathy, Chuck and Marion who were

among the many guests.

The last week of January also brought a Knights of Columbus member, Anton Leir, from North Dakota . His much needed skills as an electrician were put to very good use.

February started off with the arrival of Tom and Karen Haggerty of Old St. Pat’s in Chicago , who also came in their camper. Tom and Karen made a great team putting Tom’s plumbing skills to work, especially in the adverse working conditions that were handed them.

At the same time, another RV brought Ray and Barb Bowman from Colorado for a week’s stay. Our third RV arrival of the day brought Herman and Rita Borgelt form Ohio , and a fourth brought Frank Butzen from IL. And last, but certainly not least, came two second-time volunteers,

Bob Howard and Vicki Childers from Iowa, shown here with Ms. Betty S., along with John Kilroy from the east coast who enjoyed their stay at the Volunteer Center . (These three can texture an entire house in just a couple of days – we know because they did two!) While camping and working together at St. Clare’s, these great volunteers learned the skills of one another and formed a terrific team that worked on the flooring and moldings at Ms. Betty S.’s, textured, painted, did the cleaning and running for materials and still managed to “run” many of the “odd jobs” at several other homes. Again, evidence of what a husband/wife team, a small group or a single person can accomplish!

On Feb. 18 Bob Pruit and Dave Brown from St. Bartholomew’s Church in Columbus, IN came to stay for a four day volunteer blitz of painting and flooring at Janice V’s and Betty S’s homes. If you ever need a painter who can “cut in”, call these two guys!

Feb. 19 saw Frank and Doris Meyer from MN arrive in their RV to join the others already in progress. Frank and Doris blended right in with the volunteers at Ms. Betty’s and helped finish up the flooring and other work there.

Then two Knight of Columbus members joined the group, bringing electrical skills that were immediately put to work all over Waveland and Bay St. Louis. Their invaluable talents were very much the saving grace during their three week stay that helped many get back into their homes.

The last week of the month brought another returning volunteer from Indiana, Jeannette Dunlap, and her family who gathered from as far away as Alaska to help restore the homes of Brian and Jan and Ms. Betty S., laying hard wood flooring at Brian and Jan’s and doing carpentry work at Mr. Betty’s.

March saw Spring Break in full swing with the arrival of a group of 13 students from the Catholic Student Union at Florida State University , followed by another 26 from the Northeastern University Catholic Center in MA. These two well organized and well lead groups accomplished amazing amounts of work in the short 5 days that they were here. Bringing skills of carpentry, painting, landscaping, fence repair, cement work, flooring, and cabinet installation, these college students helped many including Ms. Betty S., Lloyd, Ms. Betty K., Brian and Jan, Demetria and Kim take another step toward completion.

Meanwhile, a third time group from St. Bart’s in Columbus IN arrived, once again led by Stewart Smith. His son, Patrick, along with Mark Boroughs and Jerry Harper worked relentlessly to reinstall the original hard wood floors at Brian and Jan home.

March 6 brought another Knights of Columbus electrician, Ron Kirts, from IL. Ron was barely out of his vehicle before he was put to work, and it did not let up during his entire 2 week stay.

March 11-12 brought us more skills from the Knights of Columbus with the arrival of three members from Kansas led by Don Base, Jerry and Susie Zahm from MI, and Leroy and Theresa Wieser from Iowa. Together these volunteers did caulking, painting, carpentry, plumbing flooring, sanding and finish work.

Also on the 11^th, St. Williams Parish group from Louisville, KY arrived for a two day blitz at Demetira’s home where they did plumbing, dry wall hanging and finishing, texturing and painting, and left Demetria smiling, knowing that she was well on her way to moving in.

On the 12^th five more college students that we labeled University of Dayton , (although it turns out that they were from several areas but said they didn’t mind the “label”) arrived with amazing skills in drywall, flooring and cabinet installation. Their work at Ms. Betty S.’ was much appreciated.

Also arriving on March 12^th was the hard working family of John Snoddy, a second time family from St. Bartholomew’s in Columbus, IN, Working together, this family put some muscle into their work at Mary Co’s repairing the fence that was damaged by the storm and preparing and pouring concrete, then hung the interior doors and trim at Brian and Jan’s and helped Ms. Betty K. and Ms. Mary C. with the difficult task of assembling some much needed furniture. We also want to thank the Snoody family for the work that they did at the Volunteer Center where they created an area for the Volunteers to relax after a long days’ work with a “quiet” area of books, games and cards, and especially for the lovely meditation area. Both have been much used already. Thank you for your kind consideration!

George Marcello, and Electrician and Knights of Columbus member from CT came to St. Clare on March 14^th and his talents were much appreciated at many locations as he helped troubleshoot some problems at Winnie’s, Deborah’s, Tony’s and Mary Co’s homes, among others.

The 16^th brought another return group. Roger Walton of St. Bart’s in Indiana returned, this time bringing four of his family members who hung drywall at Mary Co’s and took her home another step toward completion.

Arriving on March 18^th was another returning St. Bart’s group – St. Bartholomew’s Youth Group from Columbus, IN , bring with them a Knights of Columbus member, Mike Anarie. This fantastic group of teenagers and adults was once again led by Katy Stallings who did an amazing job of organizing and leading the team to accomplish an unbelievable amount of work in the 6 days of their stay. With much energy and enthusiasm, and always a smile on their faces, this group painted the outside of Lloyd’s house, laid carpet and flooring at Winnie’s, painted the outside of Carolyn’s house and hung the shutters.

St. Bartholomew Youth Group put in many long hours putting

up the drywall at Ms. Deborah's house.

They also hand dug a waterline trench, insulated and dry-walled Ms. Deborah’s, painted at Laurie’s, laid linoleum and Ms. Betty S’s and helped bring in and set her appliances and repaired the toilet leak at Ms. Mary C’s. Whew! You may remember that last June this group began the work on Ms. Betty K’s home. They fittingly topped of this trip with a return visit to see Ms. Betty, who is now living in her home, where they finished repairing her fence and surprised her with some beautiful landscaping and a gift of some lovely flowers, shrubs and a tree which they planted for her. And once again this Youth Group brought tears of joy to the eyes of the St. Clare Parishioners by doing a beautiful job of leading them in song at both Sunday Masses. We also hear rumors that they made one budding guitarist from St. Clare very, very happy! Thank you for your work, love and generosity.

God Bless You All,

Jane

Update From Waveland
February 4, 2007
I apologize for being so late with this update. If you have been reading the Updates from Columbus , you know that we have been in the process of moving the Volunteer Center from the tents on the beach to a much more comfortable building. But that is no excuse for not keeping you all up to date on the wonderful work being done by the volunteers here in Waveland. And it is absolutely no excuse for not properly thanking all of the wonderful volunteers who have been working so hard.

On January 13, another group arrived from St. Bartholomew’s, let by Tom Furnish of Columbus, IN. Five of the group came from Columbus, one from Portland, IN, one from Seymour, IN, one from Crane, IN, one from Nineveh, IN and one came from N. Myrtle Beach.

The group of ten men and women were absolutely unstoppable. The ladies painted at Fr. Cuddy’s house, washed windows, hung blinds and towel racks at Betty K’s, sanded drywall at Betty S’s, Painted at Brian and Jan’s, then still found time to help the guys!

Meanwhile, the men were working at Mary C’s where they were able to get the wiring up to code and power to the house. While some were working on the wiring, others were pouring cement – not easy when there is no running water, but they were able to improvise to bypass the broken water main. During the week’s work they also tore down the chimney and re-roofed the area, enclosed the fascia around the entire house, brought the plumbing up to code, insulated the entire house and garage and even managed to hang some of the drywall – Whew!

Anyone who has been here knows that starting work on a gutted house is far more difficult than working on a new one. There are no blueprints for a gutted house here. They were all lost to Katrina, along with everything else. We often have to rely on the memory of the homeowner, but a gutted house looks entirely different from the one they remember from before the storm. There are many obstacles to overcome and new building codes are added almost weekly here. I am always amazed by the innovative spirit with which volunteers tackle their projects, and this group was certainly no exception. On the first morning, as we stood with Mary in front of her home, hand in hand, and offered a prayer of thanksgiving and asked for guidance, I knew that God had sent the right people to help Mary on her long road to recovery. Thank you.

On the 17^th, God sent us a gentleman from Minnesota . Norb, a master electrician, was exactly who we needed to do the industrial wiring for the new volunteer center and fix some ongoing problems at the camp. Norb stayed with us for two weeks, and just when he had reached the point of needing another hand, along came John from New Hampshire with just the skills necessary to complete the jobs. God has an eye on the people here, and I am absolutely convinced that He works on a “just in time” schedule. A need arises and suddenly, the need is met. He wastes no talents!

On the 20^th one of our regular groups again came to help. St. Thomas Aquinas from Hattiesburg has come one Saturday a month for many months to lend a hand. On this day the men felled and cut dozens of trees while the women and youth carried and stacked it all for the homeowner. One of the members even produced a dozer (from where I still don’t know) to move a very large pile of trees and limbs away from another home! We certainly appreciate the hard work of this wonderful group who has been so faithful in helping the people of Waveland.

The following day, another one of our regular volunteers came in from Jefferson City, MO. Lloyd has made himself at home in Waveland doing beautiful finish carpentry, and has extended his stay for at least another week. We certainly put his talents to good use here and are very grateful that a part of his heart is with the people of this community.

On Friday, January 23, with the help of Norb, John, Lloyd and Tony, (and all of the volunteers who have worked so hard over the past months on her house) we FINALLY moved Ms. Betty K into her home! Ms. Betty has written a beautiful story about her experience and it will be on the web sometime this week. Please check back – it will most likely be on the home page.

Again, Thank You all for your dedication and work. Please hurry back.

God Bless,

Jane

Update from Waveland

01/14/2007

A very belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! The Holiday Season was a busy time here in Waveland. 8 Days of Hope worked right up to Christmas Eve.

We took a short break in honor of Christmas, but the day after, things were back in full swing again with the arrival of the Vincent family from Virginia . Actually, they arrived on Christmas Eve and spent their own holiday amongst the devastation of the Gulf Coast so that they would be available to begin work on the 27^th. Quite the sacrifice for this committed family of four. Tuesday morning they headed for Ms. Betty K’s where they worked diligently to help complete the finishing touches and clean up the construction mess. At the end of the week they headed home very tired, but they left knowing that Ms. Betty is almost in her home. Thank you so much for all you did!

Also arriving on Dec. 26 was Dave Garrison’s family and group from St. Martin ’s in Martinsville, IN and Steve Riga’s family and group from St. Bartholomew in Columbus, IN , which included one of our multi-trip volunteers, Bill Manning. The following day Aurelia Spicuzzi arrived from St. Mary’s in IL and the same morning, a group made up of volunteers from several parishes in MN headed by Bruce Hall arrived at camp.

The talents of this diverse and capable assembly of volunteers were put to use with terrific results all over the area. Some of the tasks completed included painting the outside of Jane S’s home, finishing the dry wall and carpentry projects at Brian and Jan’s,

insulating and dry walling the ceilings at Ms. Rachael’s, wiring, plumbing at Mary C’s, Winnie L’s and several other homes, and the list went on and on. It was a very productive week and much was accomplished through the combined efforts of all of these wonderful volunteer. It is greatly appreciated – thank you all so very much. And a very special thank you to all of the people of St. Martins for the wonderful and generous gift of tools and gift cards. They will be put to good use. Thank you!

The New Year arrived quietly in Waveland, but the following day the camp came to life again with the arrival of Fr. Meyer and the Arch Indy Youth Group. Right behind them came another returning group from St. Bartholomew’s made up of Art Wodecki, Alan Schwenk, Ricardo Patron and their sons, Matt Wodecki, Ben Schwenk and Jerry Patron. While some of the youth group headed over to Scott H’s to scrape and paint the outside of his house, Fr. Meyer and others headed for Ms. Debra C’s to remove the old vinyl tile from the floors and clean up some of the debris. Another part of the group headed out on electrical projects at Winnie’s, Betty S’s and Rachael’s, and still more headed in other directions to do some finish carpentry at Fr. Cuddy’s and Ms. Betty’ K’s and more taping and sanding at Brian and Jan’s. Meanwhile, the father/son group headed over to Ms. Betty S’s to tape, sand, paint and do some carpentry work. Once again, the work done was amazing and the residents that were helped to get one step closer to getting back in their homes are still expressing their gratitude for the hard work and wonderful attitudes and spirits of the volunteers who helped them. If you look through the photos, you will see the gratitude and new hope on the face of Ms. Debrah C. as she watches Arch Indy tear up those tiles. I know she speaks for every resident of Waveland. Thank you all so very much for all of the work that you did and all you continue to do through your prayers for the people of St. Clare and Waveland.

Please check out the Arch Indy website www.archindy.com to see more photos and read the blogs that were done daily by the youth group.

Thank You and God Bless,

Jane

Update from Waveland

12/20/2006

It has been a very busy week here at St. Clare Recovery with the arrival of over 150 volunteers at the camp. Since our camp will only house 60, the challenge for housing help from a group called 8 Days of Hope was tremendous. Luckily, all of the Americorp members were heading home for a well deserved Christmas break and so they generously offered their tents to help out in the crunch. These volunteers were part of a very large group camping all over the Waveland/Bay St. Louis area, and over 100 of them worked on projects scheduled by St. Clare Recovery. What a great group of workers. Since last Friday they have finished hanging the dry wall, sanded and cleaned the construction debris at Brian and Jan’s, completed the finish painting and cleaned the construction debris at Betty K’s, dry walled the entire house and built a closet at Betty S’s, wired and dry walled the entire house at Winnie’s, done numerous electrical troubleshooting projects……and the list goes on and on. What a terrific and well skilled group!

Thanks You 8 Days of Hope!

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Christmas was coming to Waveland. And, as always, many volunteer groups stepped up to the plate to help the residents see to it that Santa would indeed come to the Gulf Coast. Shipment after shipment of toys began to arrive. Because of the generous donations of many wonderful people across the country, under the expert direction of local resident Jan Roe, St. Clare Recovery was able to distribute gifts and toys to brighten the Christmas of over 350 children from Waveland/Bay St. Louis to Pearlington!

Thank you all for helping to make Christmas a Merry one – God Bless you all!

Merry Christmas,

Jane

Update from Waveland

One of St. Clare’s “regular” volunteers, Tim Evon of Old St. Pat’s in Chicago, arrived again on Monday, Dec. 4 with a terrific group of workers. Some of the six volunteers were “veterans” like Tim, who was on his tenth mission to Waveland, and some were on their first journey, but every one of them jumped right in to get the most production from their efforts. They dispersed to three different homes.

One group headed for Betty K’s where they taped and textured all of the ceilings, set baseboards and moldings and brought Betty very close to being able to move back into her home.

Another group spent many long hours wiring the home of Tony Dixon’s family – a family of six who have been in their trailer much too long.

Meanwhile the third group put the finishing touches on Pat’s house and helped to move her into her renovated home at last!

On Friday morning, as Pat tearfully told me that she had spent the first night in her home, she summed up the feelings of the people of Waveland when she chocked out through her tears “Thank God for St. Clare Recovery, Thank God for the Volunteers”.

Thank you,Tim, Dan, Al, Rachel, Don and Avery. May God speed your return!

Update from Waveland

As the group from St. Bartholomew’s headed home, Friday brought Patrick Anderson from Old St. Pat’s in Chicago to St. Clare Recovery. Patrick headed over to Ms. Betty’s where he was confronted with the huge task of removing the texturing from all of the ceiling in the house. Drawing from his very positive attitude, he was joined by Jerry from western Canada, and together they managed to accomplish the back-breaking task. As Jerry headed back to Canada, Pat was joined by a good friend and local resident, Ron Forest, and together they installed the window and door moldings and made repairs to the dry wall. Pat had met Ron and his wife Lois several months ago when he had come to volunteer his help in Waveland. Not only did Pat volunteer to help them get back into their home, but a wonderful friendship was born, and Ron was eager to help him with his work. What a great example of the gratitude that is felt and how it is passed forward here!

Thanks so much Patrick, Ron and Jerry!

Update from Waveland

Thanksgiving in Waveland….if you just arrived here, one might question what these people could possibly find to be grateful for. The town and its’ people are so far from “normal”. Still, 15 months after Katrina took her toll, there is so much apparent devastation. Nearly everywhere one looks, the destruction is so evident. Sitting next to a lovely home that has been fully restored sits one that has yet to be touched with a hammer. Sitting next to a well groomed lawn is a lot still littered with debris. What on earth is there to be thankful for here in Waveland?

Ask most any resident and the answer will be “the volunteers, we are so grateful for the volunteers.” Not only do the volunteers provide the much needed labor and materials for rebuilding, but they bring with them hope. The hope that is so much needed…the hope that the town will recover…the hope that the people will recover...the hope that fuels the spirit and shows that this is not a forgotten area.

That is exactly what the group from St. Bartholomew’s Church brought to Waveland this Thanksgiving. Led by Stewart Smith and his son Patrick, who were on their second trip, nineteen hard workers arrived on November 20^th and spent their Thanksgiving helping to get Brian and Jan back into their home. I started to say that they “gave up” their Thanksgiving to help, but I am sure that if you asked any one of these wonderful volunteers, they would tell you that this was one of the most rewarding and meaningful Thanksgivings that they have ever had. I know it was for me. We truly saw the spirit of Thanksgiving passed on when, during the prayer before dinner, Brian and Jan, two fantastic and very grateful residents who lost everything to Katrina, slipped their arms around a homeless lady that they had never met before that day, to give her hope and to reassure her that the future would be better.

That is Thanksgiving in Waveland…..so much to be grateful for.!

To Stewart’s group and to all of the Volunteers –Thank You for all you do – you leave behind so much gratitude!

Update from Waveland

Wow! What a week it has been in Waveland. As I reported last week, our groups from St. Bartholomew’s in Indiana, Old St. Pat’s in Chicago and the parishes of Wabasha, MN were hard at work. And they did not stop!

Thanks to this amazing team, Brian and Jan, Fran and Ms. Betty now have electricity (words cannot tell you what this means down here), Cassie is now ready to move in to her home, and Mary has walls all ready to be painted.

As you will see from the photos, work here is seldom easy. Take a look at the sheetrock load (and that was only one load) that needed to be carried up into Brian and Jan’s house. Under the expert supervision of our team leaders from Indiana and some gratefully welcomed help from a terrific group of Mennonites who completed the siding in those high peaks, the team managed to finish the shoring up of the porch and dining room, troubleshoot and repair a major leak in the roof, get the duct work ready for the HVAC guys, insulate the entire house, and begin work on the drywall upstairs.

Following an all too short, but very busy and productive week, everyone gathered over at Brian and Jan’s on Friday evening for a “boil” (shrimp, sausages, potatoes, onions, corn and a generous helping of whole garlic) and some warm fellowship.

Saturday morning found the camp empty and quiet. But as I sat in the circle where these men and women had gathered each morning for prayer, I could still feel the spiritual presence that had hovered over them as they prayed and worked together to truly be the Hands and Feet of Christ here in Waveland, MS. Mary C. said it all when she was asked if her house was “looking better” and she replied: “oh yes, because it is filled with love.”

God bless you, new friends, and please hurry back.

Update from Waveland

November 6, 2006

What a busy week we have had here in Waveland. On Saturday, Oct. 28^th, our group from St. Felix in Wabasha, MN began to arrive after twenty hours of driving time. The first group in had in tow a trailer containing tools, books and blankets. On Monday morning, the work began in earnest with Hugh, Gerry, Mary Pat and Mary running wiring at Brian and Jan’s house, while David and Barbara did the same over at Fran’s. Both complicated jobs were successfully accomplished by the end of the fifth day, thanks to the dedication and long hours of these terrific volunteers. Meanwhile, Jane, Agatha, LaDonna and Jean went over to Mary Margaret’s home where they did some yard work and helped Mary Margaret with the sad task of sorting through some of her household goods that were salvaged from the storm. After finishing there, the ladies moved on to Fr. Cuddy’s to hang the blinds and curtains and finish cleaning up his yard – a big step toward getting Fr. Cuddy out of his FEMA trailer. These great ladies finished up their mission by purchasing flowers for Mary Margaret’s new contemplation garden.

On Thursday evening, Nov. 2^nd, six great men from the Cleveland, MS area rolled into camp. On their first day here, they “roughed in” the laundry room at Betty S’s and re-constructed the ramp to her FEMA trailer in order to make it easier for her to access the washing machine in that is in her shed. In the afternoon they helped repair a very large fence at Dianne’s. On Saturday, they were joined by Bernie from Old St. Pat’s, Chicago IL, and together they and did carpentry work at Brian and Jan’s, Tony’s and Anne’s homes. Although this team was only able to devote two full days of work, their accomplishments were both amazing and greatly appreciated.

Saturday evening began the arrival of a group of fifteen men from St. Bartholomew’s in Columbus, IN, one lady from Old St. Pat’s in Chicago, and two more ladies from Wabasha, MN who joined David, Barbara and Mary from Wabasha who were beginning their second week at St. Clare. With a long job list and lots of enthusiasm, this group left camp this morning, Monday, Nov. 6^th headed for Brian and Jan’s to do siding and carpentry work, Cassie’s to install windows , and Mary’s to float and tape the dry wall. As the week progresses, I promise to learn the names of all of these hard workers, and to keep you posted on their progress.

Once again, a Great Big Thank You to all of the wonderful Volunteers who have brought their skills, talents and enthusiasm to St. Clare and to Waveland. We can never thank you enough.

Update From Waveland

October 29, 2006

First I would like to thank Bob Howard for updating everyone while I was away. Bob, along with Dr. Jim and Sue Cox worked like troopers under the direction of Tony Dixon, a local resident who works with volunteers from the Knights of Columbus. Thank you so much for all that you did while I was away for a few days, and a special thank you to Dr. Jim and Sue for the gift of tools to St. Clare Recovery. They will be put to good use.

When I returned, the crew from Old St. Pat’s in Chicago and St. Bartholomew’s in Columbus, Indiana were hard at work. I found the St. Bart’s group over at Brian and Jan’s where they had installed windows on the second floor and were busy roughing in the dining area and making great progress on siding the house. Bryan and Jim from the Old St. Pat’s group, with the help of both Bryan’s mother and sister, had finished the plumbing at Brian and Jan’s and were ready to move on to other projects. So on Wednesday, some of the ladies finished the painting at Ms. Betty’s and finished up the week by painting over at Mary Margaret’s house. Meanwhile, our much needed plumbers, Bryan and Jim, were on a marathon effort to complete plumbing projects at Betty K’s, Pat’s, Jane’s, Betty S’s, Marian’s and Mary Margaret’s homes. There were great smiles and tears of joy as water began to flow and toilets began to flush!

Our gratitude to all of these wonderful volunteers who put so much time, effort and love into their work these last two weeks!

Yesterday, one of our “regular” groups returned. The good people from St. Thomas Aquinas in Hattiesburg, MS have been giving one Saturday a month to the people of St. Clare. On this Saturday they demolished an old shed that had posed a hazard at Ms. Betty’s and finished clearing debris from the lot where Ilene’s home once stood. And in between, they even found the time to volunteer their help at the “Rebuilding St. Clare” Fair which was held over the weekend. Our continuing thanks to this terrific and dedicated group from Mississippi!

To all of our Volunteers, a great big Thank You and

Update from Waveland,

On Wednesday morning a delightful couple from St. Bartholomew’s came to Waveland. Rose and Henry Pietras were visiting their son in Slidell, MS and graciously offered a day of their time to help in any way they could at St. Clare Recovery. So, Rose and Henry spent a long afternoon scraping and washing the windows and cabinets at Pat’s house. Pat was absolutely thrilled to see such wonderful help arrive, as she has been trying very hard to do whatever she can by herself to finish restoring her home. Rose and Henry had things in shape and shining in no time – no easy task!

Thanks so much, Rose and Henry Pietras, and God Bless.

Wednesday evening another St. Bartholomew parishioner, Bill Zieglar, arrived and turned out to be the perfect solution for a problem we had been trying to solve for several weeks. Cassie had six big, old windows that would not open and could not be closed properly. Many had looked at the project, but declared it an impossible task. However, Bill sized up the project and said that it could be done….and so he did it! Bill put in many long hours on those windows but now they open with the touch of a hand. More importantly to Cassie, they close tightly and securely. Bill then moved on to hanging doors and fixing thresholds and as a result, Cassie is nearly ready to move into her home. Needless to say, Cassie calls Bill her Angel! But Bill isn’t finished quite yet. While at Cassie’s he met another resident needing help – so on Monday, Bill will be hanging dry wall at Jane’s.

Bill, please come back to St. Clare and bring others like you along – Waveland needs more people like you!

We can’t thank you enough – God Bless

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Early last week I received an e-mail asking for help for Randy. Randy has not received any volunteer help since the storm, and has been trying to tackle the devastation to his home on his own. As anyone who has seen the aftermath of Katrina knows, that is nearly an impossible task, not to mention a very depressing one.

On Saturday, help arrived in the form of the St. Thomas Aquinas’ Youth Group from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. While the Hattiesburg area did receive storm damage, it was not nearly as severe as the Coastal areas, and this wonderful and well organized group has been contributing one day a month to helping their brothers and sisters on the coast. They have been working for several months in the Gulf Port area, but on this Saturday they arrived at St. Clare towing a trailer stocked with all of the tools that they would need to do their jobs. And what a perfect match they turned out to be for Randy. In just one day they had removed all of remaining debris from Randy’s house and downed and removed several trees that had been threatening Randy’s property every time the wind blew.

Needless to say, Randy’s spirits were much lifted by this terrific group and the help that they gave him, and even more so when they promised to return on a regular basis to do whatever they can to help. One big challenge that Randy has is the tug boat sitting in his front yard. Randy did not own a boat prior to Katrina, but the waters brought this 30 foot boat nearly 4 miles inland to brush against the side of his house and settle in his yard! Now the problem becomes removing it…or, as someone suggested, perhaps putting a roof on it and calling it the guest house!

Randy, like so many others in Waveland, have a long way to go to get back into the safety of their homes. Now that most of the debris removal is completed, Randy and hundreds of others sorely need skilled and semi-skilled workers to lead teams and start the rebuilding process. If you or someone you know might find it in your hearts to help, please just sign up on the website, or call so that we can help you plan your trip to St. Clare.

Volunteer Coordinator

When I got home, I looked around and saw the "necessities" that I had, like a roof over my head, hot and cold water where it was supposed to be, electricity when and where it is needed, window and doors in their rightful place, room to stretch out and relax and time to enjoy a few peaceful moments when needed. I feel blessed and a little bit guilty about it all. The Roe's and all of the victims of Katrina just don't have any of this.

This was one week of a lot of long hot days filled with hard work, but I got more out of this week than just about any other period of time in my life that I can remember. I do feel good about the work accomplished, but wished we could have done more. Besides that, I miss being with and seeing the Roe's.

Thanks for the help and assistance in making this trip possible.

PS: Thanks for all of the prayers from the parish for the safe and productive trip to Waveland. There were about five or six times when these prayers paid off (that I know of). "

Thanks to all of you from the bottom of our hearts!