Youths make Mississippi miracle
Published: April 20, 2006
On a holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, a Mississippi church observed a resurrection of its own, thanks to a group of high school students from Avon.
Eleven members of the Avon United Methodist Church senior high youth group traveled to Mississippi during spring break to clean and fix up part of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in D’Iberville so parishioners could return Easter Sunday.
“I have been a priest for 46 years, and I’ve never enjoyed anything more than these kids,” said Father Denis Harlow, the priest at Sacred Heart. “Their selflessness was just a tremendous example of Christian service and commitment.”
Hurricane Katrina buried the Mississippi church under 10 feet of mud and water in August. With so many other needs to address in the area, little had been done to the building, and members had to attend other churches.
“I was just so happy we could help get them back for Easter,” said Kayla Moody, 16, Avon. “If I couldn’t be at my church for eight months, it would be like part of me was gone.”
The service let many parishioners see each other for the first time since the hurricane.
“We had wall-to-wall people,” Harlow said. “I never realized how much the church family meant to them.”
When the youth group first entered the building, it didn’t look like a church. The hurricane gutted it, leaving broken windows, dirt, a musty smell and a 10-foot waterline near the top of the sanctuary.
The group worked eight hours a day for three days, cleaning mud and rust off chairs, scrubbing floors and preparing a room for parishioners to worship in.
The students never complained, believing any suffering or fatigue they felt couldn’t compare to what people in that town experienced.
“I’ve been on other mission trips, but it was probably the hardest work we’ve done,” Moody said. “But it’s a feeling you can’t compare to anything else.”
Dawn Parkhurst, one of the adult chaperones, believes the experience helped students realize how fortunate they are. She came away impressed by the group’s conduct and work.
“I don’t know how to put my pride in words,” she said. “Too often teens get a bad rap, but if you put them in a good situation, they will come through.”
The devastation throughout the area surprised the teens. Though the hurricane passed through eight months ago, many buildings remained untouched, stairways went to nowhere and clothing and other items still dangled from trees.
“I definitely will not forget this ever,” Moody said. “We plan to go back down there this summer to help. So many people still need it.”
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