One of the most appealing things about staying here in Pearlington is the amazing people I have met. Like no other place I’ve traveled to, this community has come together to help one another. The same small town unity that spreads the local gossip so easily has also, it seems, spread the resources and connections.

After the eye of Hurricane Katrina came straight through the town of about 1,600 every building was either destroyed or severely damaged. The only fresh water left after the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico rose between 12 and 20 feet above the ground was at the artesian well of Larry and Beth Randall. They can look back now and laugh at the nudity in their lawn as people came to shower. Even the small outhouse they built as a community shower, toilet and vanity still stands outside their home.

But the Randalls didn’t stop there, after the disaster relief organizations left, the couple started the Pearlington Recovery Center using the land and buildings of the former schoolhouse, as a base for the rebuilding effort.

The PRC, where the Pearlington Team and I are staying, is made up of six bunkhouses, a few temporary cottages, some military tents and a half dozen trailers that have housed and fed volunteers from organizations across the world. The PRC also has what has come to be known as the Pearl Mart in the old gymnasium. At the Pearl Mart the community can come to get supplies from ice and water to building materials and even borrow tools.

Other members of the community have raised tools to help as well. A man I met today, who asked not to be spotlighted for his work, has worked since his retirement over a year ago to repair his neighbor’s homes. Right now, he has a few of our Experience Missionaries from South Carolina are working with him to take the rotted sheetrock from a home built in 1922 that sits only a hundred yards down the road from his own home.

It’s reassuring to see that the workers that come to the area are only the supporting cast of the effort, and that the community has decided to spend its time swinging a hammer rather than reaching for handouts.

To serve in Pearlington, Mississippi with Experience Mission on youth mission trips or a specific mission trip for all ages, call us at 360-732-0986. To check out additional media about Pearlington, visit our news website at www.ExperienceMissionNews.com. Register now for a future mission trip with Experience Mission.