Posted: 10/28/05
| Students (l-r) Cody Caudill, Megan Chadwick, Kati Kavanagh and Shohei Kishida help rebuild the interior of a Cedar Lake Assembly Church in Biloxi, Miss. |
DBU students spend fall break
ministering in Mississippi
GULFPORT, Miss.–More than two dozen Dallas Baptist University students devoted their fall break to helping Mississippi residents recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“Our students, along with the entire nation, watched in disbelief at the destruction caused by the storm,” explained Jay Harley, DBU director of spiritual life.
“They wanted somehow to respond and to reach out to those who needed help.”
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| Dallas Baptist University students and staff pose outside a home in Gulfport, Miss. |
Harley planned the Gulf Coast clean-up mission, reorganizing an already-scheduled fall break mission trip.
“Every year, we encourage our students to participate in service projects during fall break and spring break,” he explained. “This year, we had a unique opportunity to go into these devastated areas and help in tangible ways.”
The student volunteers removed debris, demolished irreparably damaged buildings and salvaged items from homes.
In addition, some students participated in rebuilding work at a local church.
“It was amazing to be able to help people who are still in such great need even over a month after the storm,” senior Kati Kavanagh said.
The DBU team served in several residential areas of Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss.
“It was great to be able to serve individuals and families here,” senior Brittany Bradley said. “We cannot imagine what they are experiencing, and I hope God used our work to help them with their immediate need and also to remind them that he has not forgotten them.”
The mission trip to Mississippi was one aspect of an ongoing ministry by DBU students to hurricane victims.
In the initial weeks after the storm, DBU students helped evacuees from the area by serving in camps, sorting clothing, packing supplies and being a friendly face for weary people.
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| Students (l-r) Jay Harley, Yuta Motegi, Taylor Robinson, and Shohei Kishida remove a destroyed refrigerator from a home in Gulfport, Miss. | Volunteers (back, l-r) Cody Caudill, Jon Grimes, Chris Crawford, (front, l-r) Jay Harley, Preston Hagaman, and Carlos Pinero of DBU help clear debris outside a home in Gulfport, Miss.Photos by Dallas Baptist University |
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