There are many other avenues of ministry that are opening to us and I will
share some of those in our next report.
Brother Cecil Fayard
Sunday - September 18, 2005
Here are some individual reports from a group at Elliott Baptist that
went to bring appliances and help in the cleaning effort. The
ladies left at 6 am and cleaned up a house in Pascagoula and then waited
for the appliances to arrive and visited with others in the area to see
where the biggest need is. We are planning to put together cleaning
supply buckets Wednesday night before church to bring door to door as
many people are standing in line for hours to get a broom and mop. -
Bro. Fayard
Curry Little
Cheerfully we set out Friday, September 15, 2005 to deliver some
appliance to the gulf coast. As we traveled further south from Elliott,
the more solemn our countenances became, as we were not expecting to see
such wind damage in central Mississippi.
When we arrived at Grace Baptist Church, Ocean Springs,
Mississippi, we were approached by 2 men wringing-wet with sweat from
head to toe. We were delighted to meet Bro. Billy Holbrook and Bro.
Robert Lawson. May I say it was humbling to see these men working
so hard and willing to do more and more. The work set up at Grace
Church in nothing short of impressive, and the work there is being
carried out very scrupulously, of which I am personally grateful.
Praise God! Great physical needs are met and still the ministry of
the Word continues.
After dropping a dryer at the church, we went to the Steven's
house and had a chance to speak for a moment with two people truly in
love with out Lord. From the Steven's house we travelled to
Pascagoula Mississippi to bring refrigerator's to Melvin's families'
homes. We received the same reaction to our arrival as that of Ed
McMahon delivering the million dollar sweepstakes. Steve got in
the truck with us to deliver the last appliance and directed us down to
the coastline. It seemed almost that a work crew had dismantled the
homes.
We could report much more. The supplies seem to be used as fast
as they are delivered, but God is able to supply above all that we ask
or think.
Lorie Blakely (ladies clean-up crew)
I left the church with Phyllis Blakely, Pat Miller and
Karis Pope to go to the coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Curry Little and Michael Jacks were to follow with 2 refrigerators and
other appliances. When we arrived we helped with clean up at
one house and then went down the street to another. We presented
Martha with a wreath and she thanked her for it and said it was the
only pretty thing that she had. She is living in a camper trailer
parked in the driveway. She told us that she had been cleaning
all day for her company. The first two nights her husband, her and
her 16 year old son slept in the bed of Steve's pickup. Martha
told us the dew sould come down on them in the early morning. That was
as close to being homeless as they have ever been.
She offered us a cold drink. I can't tell you how that
felt, knowing that this woman had taken 25 years of her life to the
street curb and was offering us a cool drink. When the
refrigerator arrived she could hardly contain herself. After
it was installed, we decided to go to eat, as they had been eating MRE's
for weeks. We found one place open - Hardee's. There was a line
almost out the door, and it took an hour to get a simple burger.
But God provided and though we all ordered the same thing, when we got
them we each had what we liked (Karis's had no mayo and mine had no
cheese). It was as if God had even hand fixed our sandwiches.
I haven't mentioned how bad the lovebugs were, but we
stopped and cleaned them off several times. As we were coming back
through Jackson , Karis was having a difficult time seeing to drive
so she began pulling off to clean the windshield. It started to rain,
and by the time we pulled in to clean it the rain had completely washed
it. Karis said the Lord had washed it Himself.
Pat Miller (ladies clean-up crew)
The trip to the war zone will always be in my heart and on my
mind. The survivors walked around dazed. The major action that
touched my heart was a man who fixed old army trucks, on that night,
when the water started rising he knew the people on his street would
drown if not evacuated. He went down the street in his big truck and got
people out of their houses and headed for higher ground. When the
truck stalled, he took the people to a black lady's house where land was
dry and they stayed for six houes. He saved 13 lives that night.
Two other couples realized the water was rising so the women and
three dogs were put in the attic with a shotgun in case there was a need
to shoot a hole in the roof and escape. The men stayed down in the
house and the water rose to their necks before receding.
To apply for help these people stand in line for 10 hours and are
then asked to come back the next day and wait again. We passed a line of
cars 2 miles long waiting for help for their families. Maybe it
takes a Hurricane to helps prioritize. May God bless you all.
Phyllis Blakely (ladies clean-up crew)
From the moment I talked to Karis on Sunday night until we
arrived at the church on the following Saturday, I knew it was God's
plan for me to go to the coast on this mission trip. I believe all
four of us knew we had been put together with individual instructions
from our Commander in Chief.
After we had prayer we hit the road. In Hattiesburg we touched
base with my son Damon and left him some Bibles to distribute.
When we went to Melvin's uncle's house with grandma and helped clean, in
the middle of total chaos, Melvin's uncle was praising God.
Grandma was working right along with us and she shared how she had been
healed of cancer. Right after the hurricane as she was cleaning
so hard to get her house in order she had had to be taken to
the emergency room for heat exhaustion.
The gifts we brought were received with appreciation and love.
And the resilience of the people we met was a blessing. I love the
ladies that God put me with on this mission trip, and I appreciate the
churches sponsoring us.
Karis Pope (ladies clean-up crew)
All I can say is a big thank you to all the churches that are
helping us in this ministry. Nothing meant more to my husband in Iraq
than to know that his church and other's like it had taken the time and
money to help his family in their time of need. He truly could not focus
on his duties for worrying about his family on the coast. It
eases my mind as you may imagine to know that his mind is at ease,
and he can focus on his tasks. The refrigerators bought with money
from independent baptist churches meant the world to his family and
to him as well. Thanks again from all the Pope's.
Thursday - September 22, 2005
So much has been happening that It is hard to keep up keep up with it all. Tuesday
morning Charles Vance and Eugene Lancaster, two of our faithful men here at
Elliott, took a large load of sheet rock to the coast, Brother
Mark Campbell, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Salyersville, KY, along
with one of his men, followed with a load of needed supplies collected by
their church. While these two loads were headed to Ocean Springs, a
tractor trailer load was taken to Hancock County which was severely hit by
the storm. This load had 15 pallets of water, a pallet of pampers, a
pallet of canned meat, hand cleaners, plates, bleach, toilet paper, cups
etc. Also on Tuesday Brother T. Hill took a load of pitch forks,
rakes, peas, tuna, canned sausage, hammers, ramen, bread, peanut butter,
jelly, fruit juices etc. On Wednesday night our church ladies met and
prepared one hundred cleaning buckets to be given out door to door on our
devastated Mississippi coast, each bucket has Pine Sol, gloves, hand
soap, dishwashing soap, sponges, a dust pan, 409, and a Gospel tract.
We are also sending a mop and a broom to go with each bucket. This
morning Calvin Shaefer delivered a large load of goods, 1,400 gallons of
bleach, 340 bottles of Pine Sol, 324 bottles of 409, thousands of
trash bags, 300 boxes of laundry detergent, a large supply of gloves, 340
bottles of Joy to wash dishes etc. While our ladies were preparing the
buckets our Sunday School Superintendent Craig Morgan and one of our good
men Roger Goss, were headed back to Elliott having delivered a washer,
dryer, stove and hot water heater to a preacher in Ocean Springs who had
gotten four feet of water in his home. These men also carried a large load
of sheet rock, soap, shampoo, hand cleaners etc.
I would like also share parts of a report given to me by our dear friend
Waymon Scarberry, who headed up our feeding team. "During the
Elliott Baptist Feeding Program, our team fed approximately 8,543 meals and
gave food to prepare about 8,600 meals...for a total of 17,000 meals.
The total cost of the feeding program was $10,805.50. That relates to
$1.26 a meal. Dr. Lester Spell [Mississippi Commissioner of
Agriculture] donated 4,000 lb. of Mississippi farm-raised catfish that
stretched our feeding capacity and reduced our meal costs.
On our first day around 2:00 p.m. an older man from the Waveland area,
appearing to be around 75 and Jewish, stood back for a while and finally
asked for one or two pieces of bread. He said he hated to ask, but he
was so hungry and hadn't eaten in three or four days. We explained
that there was spaghetti, bread, water, and other items for a complete meal.
The man said, 'But I may not qualify.' After choking back our tears we
explained all he had to do to qualify for our table was to be a
creature of God. We got him a meal to eat and made sure he had a meal
to go. These are part of the memories and horrors that will stay with
me. In Christ's Love, Waymon Scarberry, Deeds not Words"
I hope that this update will help you understand what we are doing.
Yours in Christ,
Brother Cecil Fayard
Saturday - October 1, 2005
"Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised..."
On Saturday, September 24, we sent down to the coast a much needed
supply of prescription medicine. Doctors and nurses from
Duke University contacted us about medical needs in the hard hit Long
Beach, Mississippi area. They had no way of getting these
prescription drugs as the Pharmacies there are destroyed.
Because of the generosity of a local pharmacist we were able to get
medicine at wholesale. The total cost to us for this shipment was
just over $3,600.
On Tuesday, September 27 Charles and Brenda Vance hit the road at 3:15
a.m. with a large truck load of much needed supplies. Included on
this truck were: 1,440 cans of sweet peas, 360 28oz. cans of baked beans.
720 cans of pork and beans, 1,440 cans of green beans, 1,200 cans of Treet
canned meat and 480 cans of tuna. Also on that truck we had:
large amounts of plastic spoons, forks and knives, canned pasta, beef stew
and soup, many cases of Pot Tarts, cases of non refrigerated milk, hair
spray, shaving cream, deodorant, cold and allergy medicine, a large number
of tarps (many sent to us by the Twinbrook Hills Baptist Church, Hamilton,
Ohio), bread, brooms, mops, pots, pans, large metal spoons for cooking,
sweet potatoes, sugar and much more.
On Thursday we loaded up our 15 passenger church van and a pick up
truck and headed to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. We had nine
workers when we left the church and picked up two more in Gulfport(the Ben
Campbell's from Carmichael, CA). Two of our deacons made this trip
with us, Wayne Edwards and Roger Waters, we met Roger's son Shane (also a
member at Elliott who is serving with the Mississippi National Guard)
in Bay Saint Louis. Our mission for the day was to clean out the
home of 78 year old Edith Tabor, Mrs. Tabor rode the storm out in Eupora,
MS (near Elliott) and did not go back to her home until Thursday.
Her home had not been opened until we got there. The water reached
nearly to the ceiling, the sewer backed up and spilled out all over the
house mixing with the mud that the storm surge brought in. We
shoveled out mud and sewage for hours. All of her furniture had to
be taken out and thrown away, all of her pictures were ruined, all of her
important papers destroyed. Every once in a while she would say to
one of our team as we carried things out, "Maybe I can save
that" and we would have to say, "Mrs. Tabor it is ruined ,
mildewed, and you will never get the smell out." It was so sad to see
her face as we piled all of her earthly possessions on the side of
the road. We also pulled out mildewed sheet rock, leaving the
home just a shell of a house. One of our men, Andrew
McCormick, stuck a rusty nail deep into his hand and had to get a tetanus
shot.
On the way home we stopped in Saucier, MS and ate supper with the
Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Mississippi Highway
Patrol.
Yesterday we delivered 1,008 KJV Bibles that will be handed out on the
coast. Every cleaning bucked that we hand out has a Bible in it.
Today we sent Waymon Scarberry back down to cook hot meals for the
residents of the coast. Many of them, like Mrs. Tabor, still have no
gas or electricity a month after the storm. We expect to feed 1,200
people per day at Pass Christian, MS.
As pastor of the Elliott Baptist Church I want to thank each and every one
of you who helped us in this worthy effort.
Yours in Christ,
Cecil Fayard
Thursday - October 13, 2005
Although the Media coverage of the devastation wrought by Hurricane
Katrina is not what it was in the days and weeks after the storm hit,
the needs are basically the same. People are still homeless, many
thousands are still out of work. Folks who before the storm were
living in two and three hundred thousand dollar homes are in the same
food lines with those who lived in 30-75 thousand dollar homes.
Our efforts have not decreased, if anything we have intensified our
work.
Our hot food program led by Waymon Scarberry continues to feed
thousands all along the Gulf Coast. Here is what Waymon reports to
date, "Thank you for allowing me the honor and privilege of
feeding Katrina victims on the Gulf Coast for Elliott Baptist
Church...We are still feeding 1,400-1,600 meals per day to people on the
beach at Pass Christian...My records indicate that Elliott Baptist
Church has prepared around 26,000 meals, and has shared food for an
additional 25,000-30,000 meals. The cost of this program has been
approximately $13,068. Our number of meals was stretched with
other donations of food...I feel excited and overwhelmed about the
future of our nation to see the outpouring of charity from churches all
over the country..." We do not at this point see any end to
this ministry of feeding folks. I do want to say that Bibles are
provided to those who receive physical food so that the spiritual need
may also have nourishment. The food ministry team of Elliott
Baptist consists of Waymon Scarberry, Herschel Christian, Lee Taylor,
Mike Bowles, Billy Lewis, Glenn Alexander, Melissa S. Harbit and Karis
Fayard Pope.
On Thursday of last week our house cleaning crew headed back to Bay
Saint Louis, MS. Daryl and Cynthia Franklin and Roger Waters from
Elliott met Mark and Debbie Clark from Ohio at the home of Edith
Tabor to continue the task of tearing our sheet rock, insulation and
shoveling mud and sewage. Mrs. Tabor is grateful for the two crews
who have worked hard to get home ready for rebuilding.
The canned food and cleaning supply ministry is continuing at full speed
ahead. We are determined to keep up the work as long as the need
exists and the funds are available. Last Friday my daughter Karis
and I took 12,000 pounds of food and supplies to Ocean Springs, MS. On
this truck we had 1,920 10 oz. cans of Chicken Noodle soup, 480 48 oz.
bottles of Pine Sol, 1,440 15 oz. cans of corn, 1,440 15 oz. cans of
sweet peas, 1,440 15 oz. cans of green beans, 48 heavy duty brooms, 48
cotton mops, 2,400 5 oz. cans of vienna sausage, 960 15 oz. cans of Chef
Boyardee ravioli, 240 15 oz. cans of Chef Boyardee pasta, 1,440 15 oz.
cans of pork and beans and 1,920 12 oz. cans of Armour Treet canned
meat. The wholesale cost of this order was $8,540.74.
Yesterday we received a call from an evacuee who had lived in the Fort
Bayou area of Ocean Springs, MS. Her home was gutted by the storm
surge of Katrina. She is a young woman who is staying with a
friend in Grenada, MS. This young lady with a tear in her voice
asked for just one thing, a baby crib for her child. I sent my
wife to Wal-Mart where she met Daphne Lemon and bought her a crib,
sheets and other baby crib items. We are glad that we are able to
help others because of the support of the Lord's churches.
We are beginning to help more and more people with appliances, building
supplies and furniture. So far we have spent over $70,000 in the
Katrina relief effort.
On Tuesday Tincy Gant and Bill Deemers took a pick up and trailer load
of supplies to the coast. They carried two freezers, a clothes
dryer and a 40 gallon hot water heater. They also delivered
potatoes, over 300 gallons of bleach, Joy soap, 409 cleanser, Pine Sol
and a good number of mops and brooms. We also send down a large
number of cleaning buckets filled with cleaning supplies and Bibles and
tracts.
There is so much to be done. Pray that God will continue to give
strength and wisdom as we seek to help those who are not able to help
themselves.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Cecil Fayard
Elliott Baptist Church
Elliott, Mississippi
Food Ministry Team at work
Click on the thumbnails for the full picture
House Cleaning Crew at Edith Tabor's house
Click on the thumbnails for the full picture
Monday - October 31, 2005
It would be an impossibility for me to recount all that has gone on in the
past two weeks as we seek to help the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. Our work goes on as funds are provided by the Lord's churches.
As of today we have expended right at $90,000.00 in relief. That
sounds like a lot but it only a drop in the bucket when you consider the
need.
Recently Donald Parker and I took a tractor trailer load to Ocean Springs,
Mississippi. The cost of this load was $11,653.06. Included
on this truck were 360 18oz. jars of peanut butter, 1,920 packs of Ramen
noodles, 1,200 cans of spaghetti with meat balls, 1,200 cans of ravioli,
3,456 bottle so water, 2,400 6oz cans of tuna, 720 packs of macaroni
and cheese. 360 32 oz jars of grape jelly, 1,000 18 oz bottles of
Ajax antibacterial soap, 5,280 15 oz cans of green beans, corn, sweet peas and
baked beans. 600 24 packs of garbage bags, 1,440 22 oz bottles
of Formula 409 spray cleaner and 360 48 oz bottles of Pine Sol.
Again we are grateful to Spain's Grocery in Grenada , MS for letting us
have these items at wholesale price.
On Monday and Tuesday of last week my wife Denise and daughter Karis made
a trip to Slidell, Louisiana, there they met pastor Bob Osbourne of the
Antioch Baptist Church of Picayune, MS. Brother Bob had several
people who had lost there appliances because of Katrina. We ere able
to purchase 3 washers, three dryers, one refrigerator and two freezers for
them, we also delivered 144 Bibles to be distributed by pastor Bob.
Because your help we have been able to purchase Hymnals for a Baptist
Mission in Gulfport, Mississippi. Pastor Lynn Chapuis and
congregation lost all of there song books because of Katrina. They
are thrilled to have 50 new hymnals to use in worshipping our Lord Jesus
Christ.
On Thursday of last week Wayne Edwards, Roger Waters, Jack Blakely, Steve
Marter, Jeremy McCormick and myself went down to Bay Saint Louis, Pass
Christian and Waveland, MS. When we got into Bay Saint Louis we saw
some teenage girls holding a sign saying free food. I told the men
that these folks wanted to feed workers as well as victims so after we got gas
for our power washer we went back to get a hot meal that sure beat the
canned sausage we had, When I got out the van a young lady ran over
and gave me a big hug and asked if I remembered her. Well it
turned out that Charles and Brenda Vance and I had delivered Bibles to her
and her husband to distribute on the coast weeks before when UPS
deliveries were non existent. We enjoyed renewed fellowship and got a
chance to meet her pastor Tim Parker. I asked Brother Parker if
there was anything that he needed and he said that he needed 100
lbs. of red beans so they could cook them on Saturday for dinners for
Katrina victims. I felt led to call a friend in Grenada and I told
him what Pastor Parker needed, he said he would get busy and call me
back. In about an hour he called back and said that there was a 100
lb. bag of red beans sitting in Pass Christian about 15 miles from where
we were. Now you need to understand that not one business is in
operation in Pass Christian, the Post Office, Fire Dept. and Police Dept.
are all operating out of tents. Friends God had a 100 lb. bag of red
beans in a trailer on the beach at Pass Christian. I believe He
had it there so that Brother Parker and his people could provide meals for
hurricane victims. Our main objective was to finish cleaning up the
home of 79 year old Edith Tabor. We brought down a power washer and
after we had cleaned out the remaining mud, and furnishings we power
cleaned her home, she is a very grateful lady.
Today Bill and Wendy Deemers are in Waveland, MS delivering supplies
to needy families there. They took a trailer with a washer,
refrigerator, freezer, pots, pans, plates, a large amount of canned
vegetables and fruits.
I plan to be on the coast for Thanksgiving feeding as many
Thanksgiving meals as we can.
Please continue to pray for for Elliott Baptist Church as we seek to help
the hurricane victims.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Cecil Fayard
Elliott Baptist Church
P.O. Box 595
Elliott, MS 38926
Katrina Relief Report - 18 November 2005
Since our last report a number of trips have been made to the coast.
One of these was with an eighteen wheeler loaded with 580 sheets of 4x12
ft., 1/2 inch sheet rock. Sheet rock is one of the most needed
and hardest to find building materials on the coast at this time. We
have another load scheduled to go early next week. It will have 50
sheets of 4x8 ft., 1/2 in., 40 sheets of 4x12 ft., 1/2 in., 25 sheets of 4x8
ft., 5/8 in. and 9 sheets of 4x8 1/2 in., green for bathroom reconstruction.
We continue to send down truck loads of canned soups, beans, peas, fruits
etc. A recent trip was a pickup loaded with crock pots, toasters,
toaster ovens, microwaves, pots and pans etc. These are much needed as
folks begin to move into the FEMA trailers. These trailers are small
camper types and we get the small appliances that fit well in them.
We are excited about being able to help the thousands of Katrina victims on
the coast through our Lord's churches. Over 100,000 hot meals have
been served by our faithful cook Waymon (Mo Suga) Scarberry and his faithful
helpers.
We have a big project that we are thrilled about at this time. Our
good friends at Grace Independent Baptist in Ocean Springs, Mississippi
called us about helping them with a Thanksgiving meal basket for folks in
FEMA trailers. In addition to the hot meals we will be helping to
serve in Pass Christian, MS Thanksgiving day, will be providing,
through your help, 100 spiral cut honey hams, 100 cans of cranberry sauce,
100 cans of canned yams, 100 cans of whole kernel yellow corn, 100 cans of English
peas, 100 cans of green beans, 100 boxes of corn bread stuffing (southern
folks love corn bread dressing) and 100 pecan pies. We will take
these items down of Monday so that they can be distributed on Tuesday and
Wednesday.
The work is far from over. There are still thousands of people
without homes and jobs. The devastation is beyond description.
With your help we plan to keep up the work along the coast as long as the
need exists.
Along with the food and supplies we continue to send Bibles and tracts to be
placed in the hands of these people. Many are in need physically and
spiritually. Pray for us as we labor on the coast.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Cecil Fayard
Elliott Baptist Church
P.O. Box 595
566 Nat G. Troutt Road
Elliott, Mississippi 38926
KATRINA UPDATE
7 December 2005
During Thanksgiving week, I was able to be on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
and help with needs there. Brother Ray Angus met me at my dad's
place and helped me with clean up on the property. My dad is pretty
well settled into his FEMA trailer after we had to help him get a new
water well drilled. The old well was drawing salt water out of the
nearby St. Martin Bayou. On Thanksgiving day, I had the privilege of
preaching at East Howard Baptist Church in Biloxi, MS. The church, though
in need itself, provided hundreds of free meals for the surrounding
community. This is the church where I was saved and where I was
later licensed to preach the Gospel. This church had two walls
knocked out by Katrina and had twelve feet of water throughout the
building. We are in the process of helping these folks in every way
we can. The entire neighborhood around the church is wiped
out, yet the people are optimistic about the future and services are being
held. The Elliott Baptist Church is in the process of getting our
fifteen passenger van to them as theirs was completely submerged during
Katrina. I want to report that all one hundred Thanksgiving baskets
with ham, cranberry sauce, cornbread dressing and all the trimmings
were distributed along the coast.
At this time, we are involved in our biggest project to date, that of
helping as many people as we can to get their homes back in shape.
Right now, we have committed to help fifty families in the Ocean Springs,
Gautier, St. Martin area with up to $2,000 in appliances, flooring, sheet
rock, etc. We are also helping people in the same way in Biloxi,
Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis and Waveland. As you can see, this
will be at least a $100,000 project. We have already spent over
$130,000 in Katrina relief, but we believe that God wants us to keep
helping those in need. Every family that we help gets a Bible,
tracts, and Gospel booklets. This week will be a busy one for
our church family as they commit themselves to this work. Charles
and Brenda Vance went last Thursday and are again on the coast today.
Yesterday, 12/6/05, Richard and Margaret Cooper worked all day meeting
needs of coast families and tomorrow Wayne and Dorothy Edwards along with
their grand daughter Haley Morgan are going down to help the needy. On
Friday, Bill Deemers, one of our newest members, will be in Pascagoula,
Gautier, and Ocean Springs area for an extended stay with the Corp of
Engineers. He will be taking down a big load of supplies and will be
helping get sheet rock to folks in need. While in the Waveland-Bay
St. Louis area, Bill will relay to us the things that are needed, and we
will get them to him to distribute.
The following report by Charles and Brenda Vance will give you an idea of
what our folks are doing in helping others on the coast. "On
Thursday, November 29, we went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, more
specifically the Ocean Springs area. We met with several people who
needed help after losing everything they owned in Hurricane Katrina.
We paid $1,975.00 for carpet for one family, paid $2,000 on cabinets
for another family, bought inside doors and windows or $1,500 for another
family, and bought a washer, dryer, refrigerator and freezer for $1,400
for a family and sent four families to Grace Independent Baptist
Church to get sheet rock that we had previously shipped in and stored
there. In all, over $7,000 was spent from funds donated to Elliott
Baptist Church."
As pastor of Elliott Baptist, I want to say thank you to all of the
churches and individuals who have made this work possible. "To
God be the glory, great things He hath done."
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Cecil Fayard
Elliott Baptist Church
P.O. Box 595
Elliott, MS 38925
Katrina Update
January 6, 2006
Here are some words of thanks from some of the Hurricane Katrina Victims
who we have worked with over the last few months. Each has their own
story and much more to say we are sure, but we knew that you all would
love to just get an inkling of how much all of them appreciate all that
the churches of like faith and practice have done to help them in the
months following Katrina. We are continuing our work on the coast
even as this is being typed with one of our church families serving in
Gautier, and of course, a faithful servant of our Lord, Waymon Scarberry
is continuing to work in Pass Christian, MS where he has served over
200,000 meals to hurricane victims.
Stephanie Hodges of Gautier, MS, "Thank you so much
for the generous gift you gave to us. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper drove all
the way down to take us shopping at Lowes. I realize it was a long trip
and a tiring one at that. It is difficult to express how truly grateful we
are, and what a huge impact it has made in our home."
Linda Stone of Guatier, MS, "I still have not
received one cent from FEMA yet, but I am still pursuing that option
again. Although I have good credit I have been denied a loan through the
SBA because due to high medical bills, they did not think I had enough
repay ability. It is almost overwhelming at times. The one thing that my
insurance will not pay for is my water heater for some reason and now my
adjustor is telling me that they will probably not cover the stove either
because it is damaged by "wind driven water." My house was not
flooded, but a large tree fell on it and that is how so much water got
into the house. Whether your church can help me or not, it helped me just
to get this off my shoulders." Since receiving this letter EBC,
with your help, has purchased and installed a water heater and stove for
Ms. Stone, as well as, repairing her back door.
Amy & Troy Barrios of Luling, LA,
"Although I didn't personally get to experience all the wonderful
things that your church did for the evacuees, I felt that I needed to send
a donation. My family is still talking about how much your church did.
They said that they all gained about 5 lbs. from all of the delicious food
that you prepared. . . Thank you for everything that you did for my
family and all the other families in need."
The Members of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Gulfport, MS,
" Please pray for us and all the Gulf Coast as we recover - we are
thankful to God for using you to bless us and so many others. In His
providential care, He has seen fit to send a storm and to send those with
helping hands. His ways are indeed unsearchable."
Sue and Ray Vaughan of Biloxi, MS, "Thank you for your
kind words of encouragement, hard work, giving of your time and money and
your prayers to help us through this most difficult time. Your generosity
has confirmed our belief that God does provide for us...Please keep us in
your prayers as we begin this long road to recovery."
Richard and Carolyn Rasmussen Gautier, MS, "Richard
and I can not express in words our gratitude for your gracious gift - we
have been so fortunate since Katrina to have seen the good in people.
Sometimes in our everyday life we lose sight of the finer things such as
friendship - we are both blessed to have loving old friends, and many new
loving friends to help us recover..."
Kay Sheffield of Ocean Springs, MS, "I
teach special needs children at Vancleave Lower Elementary School and my
husband is retired. We had no flood insurance and lost everything to the
storm - Through Christian friends and our family we are slowly rebuilding
our lives. Your support and generous gift will always be remembered. The
family of Christ has given us the hope and strength to move forward - God
Bless all of you."
Steve and Cindy Walters of Ocean Springs, MS,
"No words can express how much Steve and I appreciate the gift of
appliances that you purchased for us. It is people like you all that
make it easier to cope with Hurricane Katrina. You are definitely the
light at the end of a very long tunnel."
Shirley and Neil Sheffield of Ocean Spings, MS,
"Thanks so much for our new appliance and the sheetrock. We lost
everything to the storm, but through the grace of God and the help and
support of our family and Christian friends we are slowly putting our
lives back together. We will always remember and be thankful. God bless
each of you."
Vicky Farmer of the Antioch Baptist Church in Picayune, MS,
"This is to thank you for your kindness in the gift of my washer and
dryer. May you and your church be blessed many times over."
Geneva and Paul Floege, "We appreciate you and your
congregation so very much for what you're doing for Katrina survivors...
May God abundantly bless all of you."
Dolly Thompson of Ocean Spring, MS, "Ephesians
1:16 I 'cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers;' I ask God's richest blessings on all of you for your wonderful
kindness. The gift of the major appliances I needed is such a blessing.
The Norrises were so kind and just terrific."
The Employees and Families of the Waveland Water and Sewer
Department, "Dear Bill, Wendy and all, Just wanted to
tell you that we appreciate your caring about us more than words can
say."
Kieran, Mitch and Madelyn Ginesi of Slidell, LA, "We
received the items and we are so thankful...You may really never know just
how much you have blessed out lives. We thank you with all we have
in out hearts. We have come to know the kindness and generosity of so
many.. God has worked through all of you to bless our lives and we will
never forget...We are all settled in Pearl River with Chris' friend, all
four of us are sleeping in one bedroom, but we are happy to have a roof
over our heads and we are thankful that we are not sleeping in tents, like
some are. We have not received any insurance money yet, and we are
just waiting patiently for the funds we need to begin rebuilding out home;
we are still waiting patiently for a FEMA trailer. Each and every day is a
new challenge, but our faith brings us through... Thank you again for
everything."
Antioch Baptist Church in Picayune, MS, "We
would like to thank you for the appliances you purchased for some of
our members who had losses due to Hurricane Katrina and for the freezer
for the church. Be assured we will use it in the service of the
Lord."
Forgive us for not having sent out an update in awhile, the past month has
been the busiest yet. We have had three to five teams a week on the
coast helping families in need. Just Wednesday we purchased a
sime trailer load, 544 sheets, of sheet rock for $8,498.30.
When the treasurer came in Wednesday night I told her what I had done and
she said that she had received $8,000.00 in the mail. God is so
good. As long as the funds are available we will continue this
ministry.
Yours in Christ,
Cecil Fayard
Pastor
Elliott Baptist Church
P.O. Box 595
Elliott, Mississippi 38926
April 5, 2006
