Following church services on Sunday morning,
we allowed ourselves a moment of celebration at the progress of a few days. Then,
we pushed ahead to do it again.
We've scouted the location for the second camp a short drive further west
in the community of D'Iberville on the back bay above Biloxi. The mayor had expressed
his frustration that a city like Biloxi received such national attention because
of its casinos and once beautiful homes, while his little community seemed bypassed.
My colleague, Arve Danielsen, of Norwegian Church Aid recently returned from
months of disaster response to the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. As we drove by
smashed houses, debris piles, and destroyed boats and cars, he said simply, "It
is just like Sumatra after the wave, except for the bodies*" We know what
to do. With a process, able hands, and extraordinary support from thousands of
people across the nation, the next camp will come out of a softball field adjacent
to the Middle School.
So what is "normal" after your life has been changed forever? Watching
the pastor gather the children of the church at his or her knee for a children's
moment; turning on the water tap and not worrying that it may be contaminated;
and seeing a man on a beautiful Sunday morning cast his long pole into the waters
of the Gulf and joyfully pull in the catch of the day.
The new "normal" will be a very long time coming. But, it will come
and it will happen one small step, one observation, one human kindness at a time. |
