The Rev. Lisa Bandel-Sparks of Lisbon United Methodist Church and 12 parishioners recently returned from their first mission trip to Gulfport, Miss., a beachfront city on the Gulf of Mexico. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity, the church group contributed to the ongoing recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in Mississippi Aug. 29, 2005, and devastated the area.

"It was quite overwhelming; these people were just so appreciative that we came down there," Bandel-Sparks said.

The group was in Gulfport April 27 through May 3, working on the reconstruction of damaged homes and new home construction.

"We put a roof on a home and helped with insulation," said Doris Donaldson, on her first mission trip to Mississippi. The house was a rambler and low to the ground, said Bandel-Sparks.

Donaldson said she helped with the insulation, wearing protective gear.

"It was a lot of physical work, but it was fun," said Donaldson who, before the trip, had never hammered a nail in her life. "The good cause and group camaraderie made the eight to four workday seem to go by fast."

For all of the parishioners, working together to make a difference in someone's life outweighed the toll the effort put on people unaccustomed to long days of physical work, Bandel-Sparks said.

"We were more physically tired rather than mentally tired," she said.

Parishioners ready to work

The group stayed in portable housing and took their meals inside of a high school stadium, all supported by the Salvation Army.

Habitat for Humanity supplied all of the equipment needed for the job and the expertise of foremen to guide the group at the work site.

"All the parishioners had to do was show up and be ready to work," Bandel-Sparks said.

Brad Diver, job site coordinator for Habitat for Humanity and the son of parishioner Mary Diver, was instrumental in bringing the group down. He was happy to have his church family down there, she said.

Bandel-Sparks said it was inspirational working side by side with parishioners and the young people from Americorps who worked along with them.

"They were living their faith," she said.

The disappointment for Bandel-Sparks and the group was witnessing how much damage was still left behind. Three years later, people are sill living in trailers. RVs set up on front lawns are homes for people while their houses are rehabilitated, Bandel-Sparks said.

"Casinos and resorts were built right away. It's a shame what happened," she said.

Parishioner George Carter, 72 and the oldest member of the group, said images from television show a small fraction of the devastation.

"It looks like many more years of work," Carter said.

Carter said one of his tasks was to help wall up the interior of a house in a neighborhood targeted for new construction. He said when completed they looked like walls constructed by professionals.

"I didn't know I could do that. I got it all done with the Lord's help," Carter said.

Carter said he met the couple, who after waiting three years, would be moving into the newly constructed house. The house is not turned over for free, said Carter. The couple has to help in the construction, putting in at least 300 hours and be debt free.

Carter said the experience was wonderful and made all the more so because his son Craig, who typically sits at a computer all day, was also on the mission trip.

"We had a good time," Carter said.

Bandel-Sparks, Donaldson and Carter all said they will go again.

"It's wonderful to help somebody else, doing something to help someone on this earth. Every person can make a difference," Carter said.

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