April 21, 2006

Evergreen Church comes to the aid of hurricane victims

Many of us were moved by the plight of hurricane victims in the Gulf area and gave generously from our wallets at the time of the disaster.

Some of the results of the hurricane in Pascagoula, Mississippi: Before (above), and after the storm (below).

A group of Evergreen residents, however, are putting some action behind their giving and have traveled to Pascagoula, Mississippi to help residents rebuild their lives and their homes. Fifty of the 200 members of East Valley Church in Evergreen left on Easter Sunday to spend a week repairing roofs and sheetrock in the houses of as many people as time would allow in Pascagoula. Workers were met with a standing ovation from Pascagoula residents, still displaced from their homes seven months after the disaster, as a show of gratitude to the East Valley members for their selfless actions.

Spencer, an ex-military gentleman who, with his wife are lucky enough to be living with their son, was moved to tears as his hope of moving back into his own home was rekindled by seeing it put back together piece by piece. Spencer, like many others in Pascagoula, saw his home under many feet of water, completely destroying the inside.

East Valley Church is located on Flint Avenue and has a multi-cultural focus, reaching out in very practical ways to all ethnic groups in the immediate area. The church sponsors fun events for the community throughout the year, including a hot rod and antique car show, a harvest festival providing a safe and fun environment for Halloween festivities, and many other events featuring a very talented group of musicians that play music from the 50’s through the present day. However, traveling to Mississippi to assist with hurricane relief is definitely the highlight for all.

A special thanks to the following people, who have given of their time to help out in Mississippi:

Cayla Ames, Eric Albertson, Jeremy Balanese, Pat Boyd, Abigail Borsgard, Steve Borsgard, Tim Emmett, Jackie Gutierrez, Pastor John and Lucy Helveston, Jake Helveston, Joanna Helveston, Joel Helveston, Sarah Henry, Gordon Holscher, Morgan Holscher, Steve Karstetter, Greg Knight, Steve Knight, Thelma Lamar, Tim Lobert, Linda Lobert, Trevor Lobert, Nathan Mackey, Carol Miller, Haley Miller, Kevin McHoes, Lena Mobert, Amanda Nakamura, Ariel Nakamura, James Nakamura, Shelly Pund, Daniel Ontiveras, Rob Ontiveras, Richard Opray, Jonathan Opray, Tanner Rockwell, Eileen Rowe, Terry Rowe, Heather Scott, Ruth Seifert, Ryan Thomas, Wesley Thomas, Andries Wagenaar, Nicole West, Rita West, Dave Walker.