CAMPUS MINISTRY CORNER

Story written by Laura McKamey, Class of 2009

STUDENTS SPEND SPRING BREAK WORKING WITH VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA

Before leaving for Biloxi, Mississippi, one of my youth leaders gave me an interesting though. He said that, though the purpose of a mission trip is ultimately to help others, the reason that people find these trips so compelling is that they offer the chance to find oneself.

This insight took on new value when a group of my Guerin classmates and I packed up our necessities (plus some things that were, perhaps, not so necessary) and braved the fourteen hour drive to the Gulf Coast. From the moment we arrived, I could sense something different in the way the people of the Coast carried themselves. I would not know until later that week that this posture - one of grace and quiet strength = was, in many cases, all that a family had left to hold on to after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Southern shores.

We met over thirty Native "Biloxians" during our stay on the Coast. All were astonishingly compassionate - even those we could not help - an all were very appreciative of our presence in Biloxi. "You give us hope," they said.

Many were kind enough to share their stories. These were stories of tragedy and of hope, and these stories were where I found myself. I found courage in those people who survived the storm with amazing feats of courage; I found strength in the strength of those people who were able to part with their old lives - lives steeped in tradition - and start anew; I found love in those who were forced to leave the ones they loved behind. These people had suffered, and are still suffering, and through amazing grace, and so many miracles, they have found themselves not defeated, but renewed. The faith of these people is amazing, and I will never forget their unending love.