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Age poses no barrier for Katrina relief workers
March 2, 2006
By John Gordon*
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (UMNS) — Aubrey Smith
laced up his work boots under a cloudy Mississippi sky.
He could have been home enjoying his favorite pastimes, fishing or playing
golf. Instead, he traveled 400 miles to aid families whose homes were destroyed
and whose lives were thrown into chaos by Hurricane Katrina.
“They just need a lot of help,” he
said.
At 85, Smith is still going strong and wanted to volunteer.
“There was an article in our church paper that said they were looking
for volunteers to come down and help with the devastation down here,” he
said. “And I had the time, maybe a little bit of talent.”
Smith was the oldest of 18 members of First United Methodist Church in Guntersville,
Ala., who came to lend a hand in Ocean Springs. They spent three days cleaning
debris and rebuilding houses.
“I’ve never seen such devastation,” said Smith. “It’s
unbelievable, when you see boats that are blown way up in the forest and
a beautiful home here that’s completely wrecked.”
Smith had no trouble keeping up with crew members less than half his age. He pushed wheelbarrows filled with glass and other debris, hammered out rotted flooring and tore down moldy Sheetrock..
“I had to have a water break before he did this morning, I believe,” said
fellow church member Matt Triplett, 41. “He’s a hard worker.
He’s a good man to have around.”
The crew stayed in a tent city that has housed more than 3,000 relief workers
from churches in all 50 states and more than a dozen foreign countries. The
camp is behind St. Paul United Methodist Church in Ocean Springs.
The C.O.R.E. (Christians Organized for Relief
Efforts) base was hastily organized after the storm hit Aug. 29. The camp
is run
by members of two
Houston-area churches — Gateway Community Church, a United Methodist
congregation, and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
Eric Cummings, a Gateway member who coordinates
crew assignments, has seen all ages — from 18, the minimum allowed
to work in the camp, to helpers in their 80s. Many of the volunteers are
retired
and in their 60s or 70s.
“The age has nothing to do with it. It’s the heart that matters,” Cummings
said. “And the older folks, if you will, the more-seasoned folks, they
have the heart for it. And that’s what shows.”
?It means the world’
Smith said he hesitated at first to make the
trip because of his age, but he feels “very vital” and enjoyed
the work.
“The most pleasant part of it is working with friends from the church,
making new friends,” he said, “and just getting out and flexing
my muscles and getting some exercise.”
While the Guntersville crew was cleaning up
a home flooded by the hurricane, owner Marie Mullen stopped by to say thanks — and
give Smith a hug.
“For those of us who have lost everything here on the coast, volunteers
like you coming to help us means so much,” Mullen said through tears. “Thank
you. It means the world to us.”
When the storm hit, Mullen, a marine biologist, and her husband were in
the process of buying the house. Before they could move, their other home
in Ocean Springs was destroyed, and they now live in a trailer.
Their insurance claim was denied.
“We are still continuing to pay a mortgage and home equity on a house
that no longer exists,” she explained, “and a mortgage on this
new property, starting over with completely zero. And the help of volunteers
means absolutely everything to us.”
A new mission
Smith is a retired engineer who worked at NASA’s
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. He said one of his assignments
was trying to find
a way to harness nuclear power for aircraft. The project was eventually scrapped.
But as he hammered walls and carried out debris, Smith had found a new mission
in life. And he encouraged others to volunteer and help victims along the
Gulf Coast.
“These people are in great need,” he said. “So if you
got a little time, come down here and work. You’ll be proud of yourself
if you do.”
*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas.
News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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