Cincinnati Presbyterians Provide Hurricane Disaster Relief Again and Again

By Susie Ryan, Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church Elder

Team members from the March 2007 trip to Mississippi. Photo by the Rev. Theodore “Chip” Hall III.

The Presbytery of Cincinnati, Ohio, has answered the call to serve in response to hurricane disasters eight times in the past three years. Seven mission trips, two per year, were in Orange Grove, Mississippi, in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The last mission trip group went to Texas City, Texas, in response to Hurricane Ike.

Thirty to 50 women and men, ages 18 to 87, went on every trip. They represented 27 churches in the presbytery. Some persons are retired, some take vacations days from their jobs, some employers are generous and give the participant time off with pay, some are moms of young children and some are college students spending their school breaks serving others. Some persons are skilled and some feel like they are by the end of the week long trips. Several people have been on all of the trips.

These trips have been organized by Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church member David Legg. He and his wife, Carol, are Presbyterian Disaster Assistance National Response Team members.

Bill and Cliff, members of Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church, working on a home in Texas City. Photo by Melinda Ryan.

On all of these mission trips, most people have carpooled the 11 to 18 hour trips. The long drives have been an opportunity to get to know people. Some have met for the first time, but by the end of the drive have become lifelong friends. 

On the first trip to Mississippi, participants stayed in tents and had very primitive amenities. On each subsequent trip the group found improved facilities. The tents became pods at Orange Grove, and the warm showers were a luxury. In Texas City this past spring, the group enjoyed the sturdy trailer dorms, complete with a flush toilet! There was also a bathroom trailer with more flush toilets and showers.

On every trip the meals have been wonderful feasts prepared by loving hands. On most trips, several people have dedicated themselves to planning, ordering food and preparing the breakfasts and dinners, sometimes for a whole camp of over 100 people! On the trip to Texas City, participants took turns preparing the meals. The large church kitchen was quite a treat compared to the small kitchen in the dining tent at Orange Grove.

The best part of every trip was the work done for the homeowners who lost so much as a result of the devastating storms. Since the Presbytery of Cincinnati groups are always fairly large, they have usually divided into five or more groups and gone to different work sites. At the end of the work day, the groups share their varied experiences.

The first trip to the Gulf Coast involved mucking out houses, but since then work tasks have included roofing, dry walling gutted homes, painting, carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, flooring and more. You name it, they have probably done it.

Members of Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church who went on the trip to Texas City in March 2009. Photo by Melinda Ryan.

The work is especially meaningful when mission trip participants have been able to meet the homeowners. It is interesting and often heart-wrenching to hear the stories that they share of their lives before, during and after the hurricanes. It is a very humbling experience for the mission workers; most have never known such hardships.

Some homeowners are elderly and some are young families. All are very appreciative of the people who have come from the comforts of their own homes to help bring back theirs to at least a livable condition. A few give back as they are able, providing the hospitality of a meal that they prepare for the work group, to include Cajun red beans and rice and Vietnamese barbecue.

The next mission trip to the Gulf Coast for the Presbytery of Cincinnati will be to Texas City again, from September 26 to October 3, 2009. They will take up to 40 people to continue to rebuild the homes of the people devastated by Hurricane Ike.

Let’s pray that there won’t be another hurricane causing more damage between now and then. If there is, though, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and the Presbytery of Cincinnati will be there to help those affected.

Visit the Presbytery of Cincinnati’s hurricane recovery mission trip blog