WAS A RESOUNDING SUCCESS!!!!!!!!
we packed the van until about 2:30 am on sunady night. we awoke early monday morning and drove to the quaint little town of poplarville ms. the drive was long, but uneventful. we were able to drive about 90-95 mph because the police we obviously elsewhere. when we got to tuscaloosa al, we started seeing damage to homes and otherwise. when we got to laurel ms, we saw increased storm damage, with some homes a total loss. the farther south we drove, the worse it got. poplarville was an absolute diaster. i don't think i saw a single home without a tree on it or part of the roof missing. cuda's house was damaged in that it was missing alot of shingles, but it was otherwise undamaged........God must've been looking out for them. the yard and surrounding area was messy with storm debris and downed trees and such.
we got to trown at about 2:00 pm and started unloading. cuda was not there, he was down the road at his mom's or somewhere. when he pulled up, he did not see us at first. he said he thought we were the red cross at his door. he walked to the back of the van where i was and looked iunside and saw me gathering stuff to unload. the expression on his face was worth a million bucks. he never heard from us after we talked to his wife on sunday morning, so he did not know that we were coming. all cellular and landlines were down so we could not contact him and let him know we were on the way. he was at a total loss for words. he and his entire family were the most grateful people people i have evre seen. he said to me "you are about to bring me to tears out here".......i said emphatically "NO, we can't be getting all juiced up here".....hehehe.
the are now stocked to the gills with food, gas, disposable goods (paper plates, cups, etc), propane, coleman fuel, basic first aid and hygeine supplies, and just about anything else you can imagine. i only had $100.00 bucks cash on hand to give him....no banks open here or there. i wish i had more. i'll try and get some more out to him soon.
cuda was amazing with HIS generosity.....he has taken in EVERYONE who has come to him seeking shelter. i would have a nervous breakdown with lots of people in my house, much less as many as he had with no power or water. he is a fine fellow with a great family and i am so gald that we had an opportunity to do this for him. i wish we could have gotten in touch with the wilber's, but no luck. maybe an effort could be arranged later......he lost absolutely everything.
let's all remember to keep cuda and wilber in our prayers and let's ask a special prayer for their jobs......dunno about wilber, but cuda is out of a job for at least six months......he worked at the docks in new orleans.....
thanks once again to all of y'all for your donations and prayers. let's remember to keep the donations flowing as much as possible also.........the needs will continue to grow with time. bills are never put on hold because of hurricanes. i know he appreciated all we have done and insists that this was waaay over th top but i tink we can all afford to continue to help as much as each of us can. it is truly more blessed to give than to receive.
thanks to all of you guys again. this is an amazing group of people.
chris and gerilynn.
