First of all, on behalf of the First Presbyterian Church of Bloomsburg mission group, I would like to thank the Synod of the Trinity for your generous support of our recent mission trip to the Gulf coast.
 Last year, our church sent a group of 8 volunteers to the Gulfport/Biloxi area of Mississippi to help with the Katrina relief effort. This year our group consisted of 17 volunteers - 12 from Bloomsburg, 3 from Wisconsin (a former member, her spouse, and her niece), and 2 from North Carolina (also a former member and his spouse). My wife and I were returning for the third time, 4 others for their second time, and the remaining 11 were making their first trip.
Interestingly, the returning members of our group could see how much work still remains but were equally impressed with the progress the area is making. Those seeing things for the first time were just overwhelmed with what they saw - not only the devastation but the lack of progress being made!
  We've been told PDA is in this for the long haul and will stay as long as the area needs help. Obviously, this will be an on-going mission for our church for many years to come. The need is tremendous! From my personal observation, it seems progress is now reaching a point of economic division. In other words, only the people with a few dollars in their pockets are able to move forward. Many of the homes in less fortunate neighborhoods we helped "muck" out last January seem to be in a time warp - they've been gutted but very few are moving forward with reconstruction. They still look like they did 12 months ago! Even with volunteer (free) labor, the owners don't have the financial resources to buy the needed materials to rebuild. I honestly don't know what the future holds for many of the residents of Gulfport and Biloxi.
 On a more positive note, during our 10 work days in Mississippi, our group was able to work on a total of 6 homes and did everything from hanging new doors to installing ceiling fans, to painting, to installing a tile floor, to building a new front porch/deck. Most days, our group of 17 was divided into 3 work groups. For us, the experience was very positive. The local people are very appreciative of the efforts of the many faith-based volunteer groups still serving the area and, as we've observed previously, we (the volunteers) seem to get more out of this experience than those we are trying to serve and help. Interestingly, the day we were packing up and getting ready head home, members of our group were already talking about their plans to return. The whole experience just gets to you and, for me, helps put my many, many blessings in perspective. We are truly blessed in so many ways. Even through this very difficult time, these people have such a positive attitude and praise God for their own blessings. It is just a very up-lifting, rewarding, and positive experience!
Above are just a few pictures- one of our group standing in front of the Orange Grove Presbyterian Church (the location of our PDA village), and several of one of our work projects - the construction of a new front porch/deck on the home of a lady in Pearlington, MS.
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