A team of 14 workers traveled from Heritage Baptist Church of Douglasville in March 2007 to Waveland and Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi.  The group had also been to the same area in October 2006.  Heritage Baptist had put the finishing touches on a family's home in October and returned with a truck load of furniture and all the necessties to fill this home this March.  The Garcia family had lost everything to Hurrican Katrina, except their lives.  The water was over 40 feet deep around their home and they managed to get to the attic.  Howee and Juanita Garcia had their lives spared. Among those towns hit, there were more than 3,200 people still unaccounted for and over 363,000 homes were destroyed.

Pictured - (Left) David Schling, Lynda Howard, Vivianne Smiler, Carolyn Peebles, John Smiler, Juanita and Howee Garcia (homeowners), Tom Howard, Mike Whelan, Carol Emerson, Melanie Trailor, Lyn Brown, Ron Nelson, Marie Dabbs, David Emerson, and Richard Brown

While a group of women placed furniture and decorated the home, the men went to other homes in the community to work on different projects.  There were several electrical jobs, some finishing work on windows, and a roof was constructed for a pump house.  A few of the men added lattice work around two homes, not for cosmetics, but to keep out wildlife that damages the wiring and plumbing of these home.

The group from Heritage Baptist Church of Douglasville included John and Vivianne Smiler, Mike Whelan, Ron Nelson, David and Carol Emerson, Carolyn Peebles, Marie Dabbs, Melanie Trailor, Richard and Lyn Bown, David Schling and Tom and Lynda Howard.  Jack Horsford and Bob Blackwell delivered the truckload of furniture.

After Huricane Katrina moved in, all that was left of Lakeshore Baptist Church was a concrete slab.  The steeple was found down the road as was the pulpit.  The compound of the church is a tiny community in itself.  A mess hall has been set up to feed several volunteer groups at one time.  There are sleeping arrangements at the compound and a distribution center for food and clothing that freely gives to people in the community.  During Heritage's visit, there were over 100 people staying at the compound and going out into the community to serve people in need.

Please keep this community and those communities hit by these huricanes in your prayers.