GHUMC

As you all know, the Durham District Youth went to Biloxi, Mississippi on July 8th and came back on July
15th. I wanted to take some time and reflect on the trip itself, and talk a little about what the trip meant to us
as a group.

The team consisted of seven churches: Court Street UMC in Hattiesburg MS, Cokesbury UMC in Henderson,
Bethesda UMC, Asbury UMC, Reconciliation UMC, New Bethel UMC, and of course Glendale Heights UMC.
We took a total of 31 people in our group. These were 31 strangers at first, but they grew into a very tight knit
and cohesive unit by week's end. I can not tell you how proud I am of each of our youth, not just from Glendale
Heights, but the group as a whole.

In Biloxi after the meeting with the adult leaders, we were given two assignments. We had already arranged
the youth into three groups, so we combined two teams and went to meet a man named Melvin Hall. Melvin
works security for one of the many casinos in Biloxi as a night guard. His house was destroyed by Hurricane
Katrina. He and his wife and daughter lived in a FEMA trailer off to the side of his former home. Our task was
to bring the house to the ground. We met this task with two days of intense heat. After several wheel barrows
of debris, hundreds of sledgehammmer shots, and a big chain attached to a pickup truck, we brought this
house down. I remember a couple of things- number one, the excitement of our group at our accomplishment,
and number two the tears in Melvin's wife's eyes as the house fell. One of our youth said, "You know, I don't
know if we should be as happy as we are," after he saw Melvin's family. That was a profound statement
indeed. We were happy that the job was done, but at the same time, that was their home just 10 months ago.

I would be doing you all an injustice if I didn't tell this story. On Thursday night, we had a woman named
Donna, who worked in the cafeteria at Seashore Assembly, give us a testimony. She told us that she rode out
Hurricane Camille back in the late 60's, and she also rode out Katrina. There was a group of 13 that remained
at Seashore Assembly UMC in Biloxi. Out of those 13, only six lived to tell the tale. The church itself was lifted
from the foundation and carried out to sea. The six survivors literally rode the storm out on what was left of
the roof of the church. Ironically enough, she told us of a man, whose real name is William, but they called him
"Biscuit." She told us that they missed each other in their respective hospital visits, and she hadn't seen him
since the storm. Now the cool part: one of our youth leaders, Jaimie Stainback from Cokesbury, told us of a
man named William who lived in one of the corner lots at a site we were working on. Jamie went on one of our
many WalMart trips and bought William some shoes, because he had no shoes to work in. Well, as fate would
have it, Jamie was telling his story in the dinner line one night and Donna overheard him. Wouldn't you know,
it was the same man!! I want you to remember my sermon: there are no coincidences, only God remaining
anonymous.

Even though we saw great hardship in Biloxi, there were several stories like the one I just told. Stories of
compassion, and hope. We impressed the leader of the Seashore Assembly. She started us with two
assignments, thinking that would keep us busy. We actually finished five assignments. This taught her a lesson,
and me one as well. Do not ever underestimate the youth of this church, or any other. On behalf of the Durham
District Youth Mission team, I say thank you for letting us experience everything that we did on this trip. We
thank God every day for everyone that contributed something to our trip. Whether it was money, supplies,
service, or prayers, everyone helped us get there, and we thank you.

In His Service,
Tom Simmons