Day One

Introduction
This is the first official post for the D'Iberville blog, split up into the Introduction, Daily Activities, Messages from members, and my personal take on the trip. There will usually be pictures, that you may click for a full size view. At the bottom of the posts, there is a link to a page where you may comment or leave messages for the team members. I hope to keep a high level of quality and content each post - but we'll have to play it by ear, as I cannot predict how strenuous this experience may turn out to be.

Daily Activities
It was a long day - 4am Pacific Time to 11pm Central Time. The whole team met at the airport, 5:15 sharp at the curb suitcases in hand. After a few farewells from family members in pj's, the group checked in and zipped through security without a hitch. Just before we boarded, John gave us a quick pep talk using this quote he found on his starbucks' cup:
During the flight, most occupied themselves in conversation with the other members or made an attempt to catch up on the missed sleep. After we landed in our final destination, we were pleased to find that all of our luggage made it as well.

The three rented vans arrived shortly after that we loaded into ourselves and our gear. Driving through Biloxi to D'Iberville, the town was salted with shiny new buildings contrasted by wrecked empty buildings. The memory of destruction wasn't prominent as we drove down the highway, but it was obvious something was wrong as the town was lacking residents. The local Wal-Mart was still thriving though. This was where we took a short detour to pick up a few vital items such as sleeping bags, bottled water, and girl scout cookies.

Just down the road was our camp. Pulling in, the 50 or so forest green army tents gave us a dreary welcome. Inside however, a wood floor and wall heater gave us a warm welcome. Just after dropping our bags, we ate a "family style" spaghetti dinner with the other 130 visitors.

After that we attended the farewell ceremony dedicated towards a group from Virginia that just finished doing what we are about to take on. Several members from the Virginia group had previously chatted with of us. All spoke the same message, "This is an experience".
We gathered in one of our four tents for our own meeting, led by an enthusiastic John Clum. He assigned us our tasks for tomorrow, splitting up our group into four teams. Some will be working on the windows project from the fund raiser at New Day. Others have jobs such as tiling a utility room, or installing and shimming up doors.
Tomorrow is sure to be an "experience", as the previous group from Virgina was talking about. As people take their evening showers and head in for the night, there is an air of anticipation shared between the tents.

Messages

Hey from Jay, love ya. Jay
Hi Tommy Ann - Miss you & happy Anniv
The Gators are after me! Mike B.
It's a wet heat! Casey S.
Where's Scott's mute button? Unknown
Hi from Jimmy Z
Made it Edna R.
The Waffle House rocks! Jim K.
Hey wow, this is cool Alec K.
I love it when a plan comes together John C.

See you all when I get back
Love you Danielle and Family Micheal C. F.

It was like we never left Ron D.
Ya, it's good to be back Scott H.

Tonight (Friday, our first night) our team was treated to an end-of-the-week celebration for the 130 volunteers that ere here the previous week. We watched slides of home after home that the work teams rebuilt & improved. D'Iberville is a community that is being rebuilt. We gained a sense of the unity that these workers experienced believers from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, and many other places shared what fun and blessing they all experienced.
It helped me better understand why we came all this way to Mississippi. These dear departing folks came here to work. They accomplished so much. WE all hope that our upcoming week of work would also go well. Mike B.

Personal Reflection (Mitchell Wittenberg - Blog Author)

During the 5 hour flight, I thought about why I choose to go on this mission trip. My conclusions weren't conclusive, and my mind isn't sure yet. The closest thing to an answer that I came up with, was that I desired a change from the norm. Not to say that my life is boring, but that my 'yearly routine' doesn't seem to cut it anymore.
So, I made the choice to go - and even now I've been doing things out of my standard lifestyle.
This week was supposed to be my midwinter break. That used to mean going to friends houses or just hanging around the house. Instead, I spent my time studying and completing the material that I'm going to miss during my week away from school. My dull mood that mid-winter break normally leaves me with was replaced by a sense of fulfillment. After conquering Shakespeare, the Constitution, Human Genealogy, Louis and Clark, and Geometry; while still going to a few parties gave me evidence of my accomplishments. And I hadn't even left for the trip yet - this was just preparation.