[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 135 (Friday, October 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11734-S11735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PRAIRIE LAKES RESPONDS TO HURRICANE KATRINA

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I have one additional statement in 
regard to the Katrina situation.
  As I said earlier before I read Craig's diary, I am a member of the 
Prairie Lakes Baptist Church at Cedar Falls, IA. Immediately after 
Katrina, our church in the following 3 weeks sent three different 
delegations--in other words, three different teams; a team the first 
week, a different team the second week, and a different team the third 
week--to go down to Brookhaven, MS, and help the First Baptist Church 
in Ocean Springs, MS, in their efforts to feed people who were in need 
and house people who were in need and do other things.
  I have this letter which was sent to the pastor of our church, Pastor 
John Fuller, from the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Oceans 
Springs, MS.
  It says:

       Dear Pastor:
       I have never had the privilege of meeting you--but I know 
     you because I have experienced the heart of your people. Mark 
     Sherwood, Mike and Denise Goyen, Dalen Grimm, indeed the 
     entire crew from Prairie Lakes Church manifested the heart of 
     Mary, the hands of Martha, the hope of Jesus.
       My wife and I count our Iowa volunteers as among the best 
     of the best. They worked hard, they were sensitive to the 
     people's broken hearts, and they were a blessing to our 
     church, especially to my family and me.
       It is my desire to come to Iowa, to thank you and your 
     people for the job well done.
       Mike Barnett.

  I ask unanimous consent to have that statement printed in the Record, 
along with the list of the people from my church who were in teams 1, 2 
and 3, as well as an article from the Waterloo Courier which talks 
about this.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              Prairie Lakes Responds to Hurricane Katrina

       Dear Pastor: I have never had the privilege of meeting 
     you--but I know you because I have experienced the heart of 
     your people. Mark Sherwood, Mike and Denise Goyen, Dalen 
     Grimm, indeed the entire crew from Prairie Lakes Church 
     manifested the heart of Mary, the hands of Martha and the 
     hope of Jesus.
       My wife and I count our Iowa volunteers as among the best 
     of the best. They worked hard, they were sensitive to 
     people's broken hearts, and they were a blessing to our 
     church, especially to my family and me.
       It is my desire to come to Iowa, to thank you and your 
     people for a job well done.
           Sincerely,

                                                 Mike Barnett,

                                   Pastor of First Baptist Church,
                                                Ocean Springs, MS.


                                 Team 1

       Mark Badura; Jared Coffin; Steve Coffin; Kellie Dean; 
     Michelle Ford; Adam Graber; Crystal Halverson; Mary Jungling; 
     Nancy Killian; Georgianne Meester; Paul Neal; William Pierce; 
     Mark Sherwood; Jerry Steele; Sara Steele; Andrew Zaug; Randy 
     Zey; and Rob Zey.


                                 Team 2

       Mackenzie Carlisle; Bret Ford; Ally Fuller; Denise Goyen; 
     Mike Goyen; Pat Haley; Ramon Harp; Holly Hartley; Bethany 
     Pals; Mary Pals; Laney Poyner; Mark Sherwood; Julie Starbeck; 
     Katie Trautmann; Lynn Trautmann; Beth Wion; and Rick Wion.


                                 Team 3

       Barb Braun; Erica Braun; Mike Campbell; Lori Edgerton; 
     Steve Ephraim; Kelly Erickson; Lyndsey Fabel; Denise Goyen; 
     Mike Goyen; Dalen Grimm; Kimberly Hansen; Jean Johnson; Gayle 
     Kucera; Bailey Leymaster; Jessica Lippold; Aaron Merken; 
     Rebekah Morris; Jeff Norton; Lauren Page; Joel Palmer; Jessie 
     Paulson; Jeremy Sherwood; Mark Sherwood; Dean Smock; Judy 
     Smock; Jenna Wheatly; and Ellie Zieser.
                                  ____


                            Mission of Mercy


        cedar falls church members help evacuees in Mississippi

                         (By Karen Heinselman)

       Brookhaven, MS.--Homeseekers paradise.
       That's how Lincoln County residents partial to Brookhaven 
     introduce the southwest Mississippi town to strangers. ``It 
     might not look like it, but people like living here,'' 
     boasted Clifford Britt, manager of the Brookhaven Lincoln 
     County Airport
       A 17-person crew from Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls 
     in town to help with hurricane relief hasn't had time to 
     assess Brookhaven's best features. They drove in late 
     Tuesday. They do have a deeper understanding of the disaster 
     they are facing as they share meals and conversation with 
     survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
       ``All I've talked to have lost everything,'' said Nancy 
     Killian, 58, of Cedar Falls. ``We mingle with them, give hugs 
     when we can.''
       Located 100 miles north of New Orleans, Brookhaven has been 
     an outpost for some 1,600 people displaced by the hurricane, 
     said Mayor Bob Massingill. Many evacuees have

[[Page S11735]]

     moved on, but hundreds at the city's six shelters still need 
     housing.
       One hub of activity is Easthaven Southern Baptist Church, a 
     shelter for 1l0, although for a time it served more than 
     twice that number. Former Cedar Falls resident Merrill Oster 
     initiated the relationship between Prairie Lakes and 
     Easthaven. He learned of Easthaven's challenge from family 
     members at that church. He called friends in the Cedar Valley 
     who were looking for a way to help.
       The population in this town of 12,000 has swelled with 
     survivors and relief workers.
       Members of the Indiana National Guard, shouldering M16s, 
     are on hand to keep the peace and lend a hand And then there 
     are the volunteers. Red Cross workers and Christians from 
     Tennessee have moved into Easthaven Baptist Church. And now 
     the Prairie Lakes contingent has arrived.
       Prairie Lakes is partnering with Easthaven Baptist Church 
     to help with shelter and a transitional housing project. The 
     Cedar Falls church will send two more teams of volunteers in 
     the next two weeks.
       ``We kind of answered the call to love people,'' said Adam 
     Graber, 23, Waterloo.
       The warm Mississippi air was thick with humidity and ``love 
     bugs'' when volunteers started work Wednesday.
       Men and women spent hours cutting and raking tall grass at 
     a former trailer home park, preparing the way for 14 travel 
     trailers. The units were purchased by Oster from Ace Fogdall 
     RV.
       Oster orchestrated the project Trailers, which will house 
     displaced families, were filled with sheets, pots, pans and 
     other amenities by Prairie Lakes and Cedar Heights Baptist 
     congregations in Cedar Falls in two days.
       Kim Oster of Easthaven Baptist, related by marriage to 
     Merrill Oster, said evacuees have brought new life to her 
     church, built specifically eight years ago to serve as a 
     disaster shelter. The joyful but weary servants at Easthaven 
     welcomed help from strangers up north.
       ``We needed manpower. We really needed people to work,'' 
     she said.
       Trailer lots are rent-free for six months. Organizers hope 
     that is enough time for evacuees to achieve independence. 
     Five homes also are being prepared for family use.
       About $157,000 has been raised toward the $300,000 project.
       On Wednesday, Cedar Valley and Mississippi volunteers began 
     preparations for sewer, water and electricity at the trailer 
     park. At first, workers had trouble locating the existing 
     water line. Some Iowa jaws dropped as a tall and lanky 
     Mississippi man slowly walked back and forth across the 
     grass. Billy Crider strolled with arms outstretched, hands 
     clutching metal sticks that pulled toward an underground 
     line. The former Entergy Corp. employee was retired for more 
     than 5 years when he was called up by his company to help 
     after the hurricane.
       Bystander Ron Williamson, a retired area school teacher and 
     volunteer cook at the shelter, vouched for the accuracy of 
     divining rods before ducking away to cook chicken for the 
     evening meal for evacuees and volunteers.
       ``I love 'em God bless 'em all,'' Williamson said.
       Volunteers are grateful to understanding employers and 
     teachers for letting them serve in the South, and for the 
     sponsorship of their churches.
       Sara, 27, and Jerry Steele, 30, of Lytham, England extended 
     a visit with family in Iowa to make the trek south. Delta 
     Airlines let them delay their travel plans without extra 
     fees. Jared Coffin, 14, is missing class at Hoover Middle 
     School in Waterloo. He finished most of his homework on the 
     16-hour drive south.
       ``They need people down here to do things like this. They 
     need people to donate clothes. It's just a matter of getting 
     plugged in,'' Coffin said ``We're going to be here for 
     awhile.''
       Some Cedar Valley volunteers hoped to spend more time in 
     the shelter's kitchen and were surprised to learn more help 
     was available than expected. Some mentioned trekking further 
     south if the need is greater there, added Steve Coffin, 51, 
     of Cedar Falls.
       ``We're just getting started,'' said Mark Sherwood, 
     volunteer coordinator from Cedar Falls. ``Every day can be 
     different.''
       Brookhaven experienced tree damage and power outages but 
     was spared the destruction suffered by her southern 
     neighbors.
       ``We've been inconvenienced, but their lives have 
     changed,'' said Massingill the mayor. ``People are ready to 
     go back to their homes.''
       But not everyone can.
       Despite what the highway signs near Brookhaven say, Kenner, 
     La, evacuees Herbert Lange and his wife, Cynthia, weren't 
     looking for paradise when they arrived at Easthaven Baptist. 
     They just wanted a safe place to wait for the storm to pass 
     and the water to recede so insurance and property issues can 
     be resolved. Housed in a Sunday school room and fed three 
     times a day, the Langes are convinced they have a little 
     piece of heaven.

                          ____________________