Home On The Coast

We started off this morning with a wave good-bye to Monroe and West Monroe. What a great bunch of God's people live in this area of the state of Louisiana! We headed back East across the Mississippi River into the city of my birth, Vicksburg. Mercy Hospital, where I was born, is no longer called by that name. The decaying downtown area has been revitalized and is now a wonderful area to walk and shop. I was looking for an old landmark that still operates, and that is Mississippi Hardware. We stopped by for a brief visit with my mother's sister, Aunt Pat. Aunt Pat used to drive us through the Military Park there in Vicksburg when we were children. We haven't seen her in several years, so this was a real treat. Aunt Pat told me something about my grandmother (her mother) that I did not know. She told me that my grandmother, Alice Hearn, worked at a garment factory in Vicksburg back in the 1930s - and that factory was operated in the building that Mississippi Hardware has now occupied for many years. I did know that my grandfather, Robert Hearn, was a body man at Blackburn Motors (Plymouth) there in Vicksburg. I'm sure there are many things I do not know about my family. One of Aunt Pat's sons is now a Texas Marshall, and the other lives there in Vicksburg and works at a transmission place. I wish we could have stayed longer and visited even more of our kinfolks, but maybe that'll be our next out of town trip for rest and relaxation - whenever that will be! Oh, and while I was in Vicksburg, I decided that Chris Lockhart could possibly be right about those Shipley Donuts. So we decided to give them a fair shake. After eating some of those donuts, though, I will have to confess that I would have to have Delta Cream donuts and Shipley donuts side by side in order to truly know which was better. I may have to work on that one. Actually, I must get back on Weight Watchers tomorrow ... my week away hurt me bad! Cecelia told me in a comment that her mother's were better donuts than any that could be bought. Don't we all think that about our mother's cooking? I would bet, though, that her mother's are great donuts! As a result of the newspaper article in the Monroe newspaper, some old family friends who live in the area sent me an e-mail tonight. I haven't seen them in thirty years, I'm sure. I did get some pictures from Tammy Matthews tonight via e-mail and have posted them on my picture page HERE. Tammy sent out an awesome wrap-up of our weekend together. I want to share some of that with you below: "... One of the biggest needs arising at the retreat was the need to have a NATIONAL DATA BASE of counselors and psychiatrists from our churches of Christ who could volunteer time to go or be available to work with people who need their help. We were frankly shocked to know that such a thing doesn't exist already. ... Our friend, Dr. Joneal Kirby, from WFR is starting a program called "CHRISTIANS on CALL" to collect this information for the rest of Katrina recovery as well as have it in place and ready for the next disaster. Please get this word out to the leadership of any churches you can, or to any individuals in the counseling profession. In the Pascagoula area alone there have been 200 suicide attempts since Katrina (and unfortunately, some have been successful). Had something like CoC been in place before, maybe some of this could have been headed off. This is, at this point, probably a more urgent need than money. Many people along the Gulf Coast are now reaching a very deep state of depression and despondency. ... Joneal and Kevin Nieman also gave special advice to the leaders in attendance; urging them to watch out for themselves and their families' mental well-being. They are dealing with so much every day, 16-20 hrs a day. For several in the group this retreat was their FIRST R&R break in the 5 months since Katrina came ashore!! We can't say enough about the stamina and hearts these men and women have. .... Stephen Teel and I were talking about the idea of being involved with a city-wide Hispanic Campaign somewhere in the city of New Orleans, and he was very excited at that prospect. ... I found out this weekend that FEMA is finally supposed to be getting trailers delivered to Plaquemine Parish sometime in February! Some people there are still living under overturned boats or what ever they can find to live under as shelter. The extent of the storm continues to overwhelm even those of us who've been there and seen it. But the good part is, God has opened and continues to open doors in people's lives and give all of us opportunities like we've never had before, at least, in our memories, to impact the lives of others in ways they cannot ignore, and will never forget. New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, churches, and us -- none will never be the same. Maybe we'll be better. Katrina's aftermath is teaching us how to do a few things now that we should have already been doing a long time ago. Keep the men and women along the coast in your prayers... " Thank you, Tammy. You and the brothers and sisters with the kind of heart that you have, are a great encouragement to us. And you are also a necessary link in the chain that keeps things moving here. I look forward to posting tomorrow night, for surely the Lord will put someone He loves in our path. Hopefully we will be alert to the opportunity. Thanks for reading! Below: Dr. Joneal Kirby and her husband Randy (an elder at WFR). Below: The Thursday Night Dinner Given to The Dobbs' and Kilberns by the University Church of Christ in Monroe, LA.