“There’s a sweet, sweet spirit….”

How can you remain positive in the face of adversity? How can you smile when you feel sorrow for those around you in need? How can you see hope when your home has been damaged so badly that it is uninhabitable? How, how, how…? When I see and talk to the people here in Gulfport and surrounding communities, I ask myself, “How can they cope with the greatest natural disaster in the history of the US?”

In my one week here, I can truly say that I have not encountered anyone, including residents that have been displaced from their homes, that is bitter. It has been a lesson for me in persistence and remaining hopeful in the face of struggles. I believe that people’s faith in God has given them hope and probably this disaster has caused many to reconsider what is truly important in life. I also believe that since practically everyone has had their life disrupted by hurricane Katrina, the folks on the coast share a much, much deeper appreciation for the trials and tribulations of their neighbors because they have been, and continue to go through, the same experience.

I once heard a speaker say that adversity in a group brings that group closer together. There has been a very large group (residents on the Gulf Coast), the members of which have almost all been severely affected by Katrina. When one homeowner laments to another about the devastation they have suffered, the one that says, “I know how you feel”, speaks those words in truth. They do know how their neighbor feels because they, too, have struggled and suffered.

The stories of individuals and organizations reaching out to help those in need stretches across age, gender, race and religion. I would like to share with you how one church, Grace Memorial Baptist Church in Gulfport, MS, has helped in the rebuilding process in the Gulf area.

Have you ever had a weekend guest that announced on Sunday that they would be staying a “few more days?” You swallow, say OK and then adjust. What if they said, at the end of that week, that they would stay a few more days? Whew! Well, the folks at Grace Memorial have had from 20 to 150 volunteers housed in their church each week for over seven months. And I cannot say enough about how the members of Grace Memorial have welcomed volunteers into their church by housing them in their church home. When I say “Thank you” to the church members for opening their doors to volunteers coming from across the country, they immediately respond with how thankful they are for the thousands that have come to help. The volunteers sleep in the church building in the classrooms and eat in the church’s fellowship hall. Basically, the church is the volunteer’s home away from home for the days they are serving.

The church members are warm and welcoming. They greet all with a smile. They embrace those that have come to help. They are God's people with a sweet, sweet spirit.