Biloxi and recovery from Hurricane Katrina

I just returned from spending two weeks in Biloxi, Mississippi, as part of a United Methodist Church Volunteers in Mission trip.  Our goal was to help restore housing and hope in the Gulf Coast.  You may be surprised to learn that all is not back to normal there. 
It isn't normal there.
On November 1, the bridge between Biloxi and Ocean Springs reopened.  It was destroyed by Katrina.  This was a major event of hope for the people. 
While I was there, our team of 44 helped get three families back into their homes, and significantly moved along the homes of five other families.  Many families were living with relatives, in FEMA provided trailers, or, in one case, in a TENT.  Imagine living in a tent, using a bucket for an outhouse, and cooking on a Coleman camp stove for over 2 years.
I wish I could say that all was back to normal, but it isn't.  Things are cleaned up pretty well.  There aren't piles of debris as there were last year.  And the city is forcing people to either begin reconstruction or take out whatever was left.
If you want to learn more about what it is like there, see the web site for the trip.