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September 8, 2005

Humbling.  That is perhaps the biggest thing we've taken away from Katrina.  We think we have it all in America, but God has again shown that, whatever He has given, He can take away whenever and however He pleases.  It is humbling, yet extremely reassuring to know that someone much, MUCH wiser and more powerful than any earthly politician is in complete and ultimate control.

At times like this, it is hard to know where to begin to start to pick up the pieces.  This page contains a lot of information, so it appears disjointed.  Again, it's hard to know where to begin and, in the case of this page, where to put bits and pieces of information.

Hurricane Katrina affected the Gulf Coast from Alabama through New Orleans, and anywhere from a few hundred feet to  several miles inland.  The morning after the storm, 85% of the state of Mississippi was without power.  For the first time in their history, Mississippi Power had to say the not a single one of their customers had electricity.  Not one.  And they weren't alone.  Fortunately, the morning after the storm, the recovery started.

We at Trinity Bible Church came through the storm with all people intact, but much property damage.  Due to restrictions imposed on movement and loss of communications since the storm, it hasn't been possible for us to get pictures of each member's loss. 

We have been able to contact all members, and have confirmed their safety.  Some members are out-of-town, others are currently out of state.  Members who have intact (or mostly intact) homes have opened their doors to other members, so many are experiencing new and interesting living arrangements.  Adding to these new arrangements is the loss of vehicles.  Several were completely submerged and will be considered total losses.

While some members sustained relatively light damage, we have members who own (variously) a clean slab, a stilt farm, a gutted shell, a new sunroof.  The members with slabs, stilts, and shells lost all their worldly possessions except the clothes on their back, and in several cases, their Bibles.  The damage affected young and old alike - from 20-somethings to four-score-and-beyonders.

The church property sustained relatively light damage: the parsonage lost some vinyl and will need to be re-shingled, the sanctuary has some new wrinkles (but no holes) in the roof and some gutter damage, and many trees and limbs are down.

As stated earlier, the question is where to begin.  We must let the insurance companies and FEMA (along with all the other relief organizations) do their jobs, determining whether a structure is a complete loss or is capable of being repaired.  Some are obvious (clean slabs or stilt farms), but others are not so clear-cut.  When we get that information, we will know better how to proceed.

High on the list of needs is cleaning the downed trees - dozens of downed trees and hundreds to thousands of limbs of various size.  We have at least half-a-dozen members (not including the church property itself) that need tree and debris removal, so we will progress from one to the other, with whatever other help is offered, to remove the downed and/or severely damaged trees and limbs that we feel we can handle safely.

What isn't obvious in the pictures provided here is the quantity of damaged vinyl siding, shingles, and destroyed furniture and bedding littering the landscape.  Entire homes and in many cases neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble and have floated on the floodwaters to other yards or neighborhoods.  The floodwaters weren't clean, and things are getting... aromatic (in a very bad way).

We have been receiving offers of physical and monetary assistance from several groups and churches from as far away as Oregon.  Some have used this website and gone through our former pastor to get in touch with us.  For that ingenuity, and Pastor Mike's assistance and cooperation, we are deeply grateful. The US Postal Service is recovering quickly here and should be back in service in a matter of days. Donations of money made to help in the recovery can be sent to the church address.

Some churches and church associations (like Steppin-Out Missions)are coming to provide physical assistance to us, our two sister churches here on the coast, and other coast churches, with what rebuilding and debris removal they can accomplish.  For that, we are humbly grateful.  For those that wish to provide monetary assistance, we will be diligent in getting those funds to the members who need it the most.  Upon request, we can provide a detailed accounting of the disbursement.

Some Mississippi insurance has a 2% rule that applies to windstorm (hurricane) damage.  This means the deductible the owner needs to come up with is 2% of the insured value of the property.  That is a burdensome amount for some: for damages to a $100,000 home, the first $2,000 is out-of-pocket for the homeowner.  For those on small or fixed incomes - and even those with a greater income that don't currently have a lot in savings - that $2,000 can be very hard to come by. 

Trees that are down but are not causing property damage (they fell in the yard and not on the house) may not be covered.  Trees that are leaning but are not causing damage may not be covered - even if they are leaning over the house.  Trees that are snapped and dangling over the house may not be covered.  Professional tree removal can run toward $7,500 (and more) depending on the number and size of the trees.  That is a daunting amount if there is not insurance coverage.  (Some of the downed pine trees top 100 feet and are over 5 feet around.  Many are beyond the church members' ability to safely remove.  Heavy equipment will be required for some removal.)

One thing being fought now is whether damage caused by the storm surge - literally a 20 to 30 foot tidal wave (it's been called Our Tsunami!) - is wind driven water or ground water.  If it's considered wind driven, it is covered under homeowner insurance.  If it's ground water (what you get when a river overflows it's banks), it's covered under flood insurance.  Many people affected by the surge were higher than the traditional flood line and were advised years ago, frequently by their insurance agents, to not carry flood insurance.  If the wave is considered ground water, homeowners insurance will not cover the water damage.

We are praying that the insurance companies will heed the direction given by the White House and be lenient and generous when doing their adjustments.  Please pray that God will lead the adjusters to be gracious and generous.  Please pray also that FEMA will pick up the slack if the insurance companies won't.

We haven't even begun to look into what it would cost to rip the remaining sheetrock and paneling walls out of a flooded homes (at least four members sustained some flood damage) clean them, redo the electrical and plumbing, and replace the walls, fixtures, cabinets, and all the furnishings (some pictures here).  You can guess what the financial cost to those who only have a slab (or stilts) will be.

We as a church will do all we are safely, comfortably able to do with the resources we have, and with any resources that come or are sent our way.  We thank God that He protected our members and our church and wonder at what He has in store for us now.

We will provide updates on progress being made here on routine basis.  Our local news station can be monitored here.  They have been providing exemplary coverage from their storm-damaged facility, with help from news teams from as far away as Indiana.

We thank you up front for your prayers and concern.

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