High School Mission Trip Blog

Posted by: Nick H. and Devyn H.

Our second to last day at camp Biloxi began
rainy and cold, but we kept ourselves busy
until the rain cleared up, allowing us to
work. Insurance problems still kept us from
doing any heavy construction, but the class
stayed optimistic and completed tasks
involving lawn work and removing construction
materials from houses that were being worked on.
The entire first floor of one of the homes
we worked on was flooded during the storm surge
caused by the hurricane,the homeowners could not
receive compensation for damage caused to their
home. Insurance companies in the area will not
grant flood insurance to certain homes which are
inland, but are still close to the ocean. After
our time working, we viewed a video documentary
produced by the local news-station in Biloxi
about the hurricane and the toll it took on the
community. Tens of thousands of homes were
completely destroyed leaving many people without
food and shelter. Even three years after the storm,
there are still shops and homes left standing that
show obvious signs of damage. We drove past entire
fields and empty lots were houses once stood.

Although we did not accomplish as much as we had
planned; we were still moved by the devastation we
saw around us, and by the impact Hurricane Katrina
had on the city of Biloxi.

Our plane leaves for home tomorrow at four (hopefully).
We're looking forward to seeing you all. Thank you for
all your support and prayers.

    Nick and Devyn 

Posted by: Emily Woda and Kirsti Burgess

WOW!! Today was a busy day at Camp Biloxi. It was Coach Hood's birthday (and Billy's as well - Happy Birthday, Billy!). Yesterday, we went to Walmart to pass some time before dinner and bought Coach Hood a giant birthday cake and little football decorations which we placed all over the cake. We also bought Spongebob decorations, a birthday balloon, and a very special birthday present – Spongebob playing cards. After dinner we all sang Happy Birthday to him in the packed Mess Hall and had him blow out his candles. Everyone in the mess hall joined in the celebration and birthday cake. He turned a slight shade of pink and smiled widely. Then, he checked out his playing cards. (He’s been trying to get everyone to learn how to play Yukor..sp? and Nerds – last night he tried to teach Mrs. Caperna but that didn’t work out too well!) Anyway, it was nice to be with Mr. Hood for his birthday! Real nice.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COACH HOOD!

Today was also our first full day of work. Again, the trip continued to be a surprise, every step of the way! Coach Hood woke us all up at 5:30. IN THE MORNING!!!!!! After we got over the shock of the morning, we had breakfast in the mess hall, followed by devotions, and then Coach Hood quickly ordered us to get ready to go to work! (You know, "Guys, get ready. We have ten minutes and we're outta here!) So, we got ready and headed for the cars, but then discovered that Coach Hood WASN'T really ready. He just wanted us to be ready. He and Mrs. Riter went to the "Green Room" to get our work assignment while we waited for by the vans. During their foray to the "Green House," we hung out outside. Hunter tried to teach Charlie how to waltz, then Mrs. Caperna, taught them how to two-step and do the samba. But, Coach and Mrs. Riter were still not back, so everyone sang and talked, until finally they showed up. Charlie insisted that Coach Hood “owed” him twenty pushups for being late, but we still haven’t seen that happen!

Usually when you get directions, you don’t get lost, but of course, we did!!! Instead of driving toward Gulfport, Coach drove toward Biloxi and got lost. We went on a long detour of Biloxi, and got to see a lot of beach. Oh yeah, then when we stopped at a red light, we all did a Chinese Fire Drill. Benji got out of Coach Hood’s car to run around the car, so Coach left him there. He kept driving and Benji kept running after him…he was doing fine until a little miniature chicuacua mixed-breed dog started running after him. What a Coppertone moment!

Today’s work assignment was at the local Children’s Discovery Center. It’s a children’s play museum that was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The center was inundated with 5 feet of water during the hurricane and suffered massive damages. Although most of it has been rebuilt and refurbished, they still need work setting up, organizing and cleaning the place. When we got there we were split up in three groups – one group cleaned the large windows in the front building, Mrs. Riter and another group cleaned the upstairs play areas, Coach painted some furniture, and Devyn, Jessica, Andrea, Emily, Megan and Mrs. Caperna set up crafts for the art room. It was wonderful to help out a place that brings so much joy to children that have lived through such terrible circumstances. Since we finished early, so we returned to Camp Biloxi and relaxed for about five minutes before Mr. Hood gleefully came out to advise us we were going to clean up Camp Biloxi.

Camp Biloxi is a big and busy place. It resembles those Army barracks you see in the movies with sleeping quarters, mess halls, mobile bathrooms and showers, and even a canopy chapel (which we used for devotions tonight!) We cleaned for four extremely long hours. We raked and bagged tons of leaves, cleaned out the portable chapel and prepared it for evening devotions, raked and swept the preschool, and Chase even cleaned out the cook’s large cooking rack (which was covered with some sort of grayish-green moss Mrs. Caperna argued was just grease! Yeah, right.) All of it was fun though!!!! ( It has to be, right???) The camp is now spic-n-span and the cook is delighted that he has his rack back. The staff at the camp has been so nice to us, always trying to accommodate us and take care of us… and SO MANY OTHERS! It was a joy to be able to give something back to them. Tomorrow we head out to help repair a house that Katrina devastated. Details to follow.

Before we close, we wanted to share with you the intense connection we experienced during tonight’s prayer time. We gather in our little canopy-tent chapel with those plastic construction lights. It reminded Mrs. Caperna of the old MASH units (Mrs. Caperna remembers but nobody else knows what she’s talking about) We reflected on what it means to be a servant and to be obedient to God. We chuckled at how even the most perfect plans don’t’ work out if they are not God’s plans. Finally, we gave thanks to our God for making this trip so random – we have had to totally depend on Him from day to day. No matter how much we plan, he changes our plans. And we have followed Him, and will continue to follow Him. As he leads, we follow – we are being molded into the servants he wants us to be. It is hard to follow, to submit, to give up control – but when we do…God takes us out of our comfort zone – and we grow as we learn to depend more on Him and less on ourselves. We are learning that a servant allows God to make the plans – while he simply follows in joyful obedience, expecting great things to happen!

Well, that was pretty much our day. Like Abraham and Moses, tomorrow we start off on another adventure – and only God knows what it will be. And, we are content. We are expectant. We are ready, able and willing to serve Him wherever he plants us.

“Extreme dependence and strong compassion” Live it, love it!

Hope you are all doing well back home. We all miss you.

P.S. - We have been fervently praying for Mrs. Carpinello. Please let her know she is in our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers. We love her!

Posted by: Emily Woda, Kirsti Burgess and Mrs. Caperna

Hi Y'all,

This morning we had the privilege of attending service at Camp Biloxi's church, The Church of the Good Shepherd, and it was awesome. Before service started the pastor introduced "The Extra Mile K9 Crisis Team." This ministry was created by Pastor Ralph Buchorn several years ago. They travel all over the country with "K9 chaplains", trained ministry dogs, who provide spiritual and emotional comfort to individuals who have be traumatized by tragedy or crisis. We were introduced to two special K9 chaplains, Georgie and Hollie,. These K9 golden retrievers had just returned from a missions trip to Northern Illinois University, the site of a recent college shooting where 5 were left dead and 12 injured. Georgie and Hollie spent time with students in the residence halls and around campus, and provide much needed comfort to the grieving university family. But, that's not all they've done recently- they've also visited with children who have lost parents in the Iraq War, and provided emotional support to Katrina families in the Biloxi/Gulfport area still trying to recover from Katrina. These dogs are beyond cool, they rock! And we hear two sheepdogs will be joining their team shortly. Please pray for them.

Shrimp boat? Did you say shrimp boat? Yep, you got it. We went fishing on a shrimp boat this afternoon. No one knew much about shrimp fishing, so this was a new adventure. We hopped on the boat and sailed out into the murky waters. Once we were out a bit, the fisherman pulled out a 16 ft. wide net and slowly let it down the back of the boat. Once the net was completely out, he used a lever to spread apart two "boards" that served to open the net wide. Then, we had to wait...and wait...and wait. After twenty minutes, the fisherman began pulling the net back as swarms of seagulls nipped at the delicious scavengers resting at the bottom of the net. From the sophistication of all these gadgets and the clanking sounds they were making, we all thought the fisherman had caught at least some shrimp. Well...actually - he only caught one! A white shrimp - an interesting, albino-looking creature with long antennas. But, never fret, in the net were lots of other less interesting sea critters like sardines, anchovies, catfish (little ones) and many other kinds of small bait. At any rate, just when we thought the height of the trip was our small acquisition, Hunter decided to eat the live bait! Yes, you heard right. He put it in his mouth for all to see, grimaced a little, and swallowed it. Of course, he then drank all of Mrs. Caperna's green tea soda. Interestingly, it didn't stop there, one by one our sophmores volunteered to do the same thing, including Jenna, Megan, Kirsti and Andrea! (Megan Guadagnino actually swallowed a live fish. Can you believe it!) Mrs. Caperna was gagging. Mrs. Riter couldn't believe it, and the lady who owns the boat asked for a copy of the pictures because no one who has every ridden her boat has ever eaten and digested live bait. - Guinness Book of World Records material, maybe?

On the camp front, today was Sunday so there were no work assignments for us; however, tomorrow we have to report to the "Mess Room" by 6am for breakfast, then pickup our work assignments, and be at the work site by 8:30am. Of course, Mr. Hood (our quarterback) doesn't want to take a chance on Megan and Jenna not showing up (can't get them up and, they're always "freezing"), so after this evening's orientation, he gathered us in a huddle to give the game instructions. Everyone has to be in bed by 10pm "Quiet Time" and up by 5:45am to report for duty at the mess hall. Although this was hard to swallow at first, when you come down here and see all the people who have come here from all over the country to help, and the devastation Katrina left behind, you just want to go out there and start working as soon as possible. You want to make a difference. As we drove to camp, we saw a church steeple sadly placed on the side of a road, perhaps waiting for volunteers to raise it back up. We also so miles and miles of destroyed beach front, decimated neighborhoods and very few construction site fully completed. So, disaster relief is still vital here. Sadly, people are still stuffering.

Lastly, please continue to pray for us. Tomorrow it's our turn to make a difference, and with God's help, we will accomplish much. We are excited about the opportunity to serve. For devotions, we have been reading portions of the book, Improving Your Serve by Chuck Swindoll. Today we read out of a section entitled, "Portrait of a Servant" and reflected on the Beatitudes. We learned of two attitudes found in true servants - dependence on God and strong compassion. It struck us that throughout this trip, we have had to truly depend on God - when we sat in the airport for 11 hours, when our flight was canceled, and now, when we have to trust and depend on God for guidance and strength in completing our job assignments. But the longer we're here, the more we're convinced that that's how God wanted it. Utter dependence and faith in Him, and Him alone, so we can really do HIS work at Camp Biloxi.

"Extreme dependence and strong compassion" is our new motto.

Tomorrow should be interesting. More news from team Biloxi to follow!

- Emily, Kirsti and Mrs. C

Posted by: Emily Woda, Megan G., Kirsti Burgess

Posted by: Mrs. Caperna
Sophomore Airport Pictures - 3/6/08

Labels: Sophomore Enjoying the Airport

Posted by:

Sophomores waiting at the airport while Mr. Hood (he's NOT sitting) tries to figure out what's going on with our flight.

Labels: Waiting at the Airport - 3/6/08

Posted by: Mrs. Caperna

Friday, 3/7/08

I've always known God has a sense of humor, but yesterday, he must have been really trying to get our attention! As you can see from Mr. Hood's blog - No! We didn't make it to Biloxi, but we did go on a missions trip - to the airport! After checking in and being asked to wait at Gate E4, and then, losing Hunter (who was listening to music with his earphones on, cellphone off, and drawing a bumble bee at the same time), followed by another trip over to Gate E6, only to find out that the next flight was to Philadelphia and the Air Tran pilot flying folks there was missing - we started to notice that the people sitting ALL around us were traveling to Biloxi to visit the casinos!

As time passed, the conversations around us starting becoming clearer and more noticeable. They were about gambling, they were about drinking, they were about everything other than the hurt of the people who were devastated by Katrina. And, Glory to God, our sophomores noticed! It was such a joy to see them show patience in the face of discomfort, uncertainty and changed plans. But, for me, the best things was seeing them analyze what was around them and seeing the fruit of what their parents, BRCS and, more importantly, God, has ingrained in their hearts and minds. Jessica and Andrea wondered what would happen if only a few of those people would spend a small portion of their "gambling money" on those devastated by Katrina? Megan and Kirsti did a prayer walk around a newpaper stand! And, of course, God couldn't leave me out of the picture. As Mrs. Riter and I sat chit-chatting, waiting for our turn to fly out of there, God planted two gamblers in the seats right behind us who unexpectedly started inquiring about our trip to Biloxi. Yes,you guessed it. What followed my conversation about our disaster relief missions trip was a presentation of the gospel. At that airport, in the middle of that lost crowd, I told this man about the void in our hearts that only Christ can fill. And, he listened. And, seeds were planted. And, I've been thinking maybe God didn't let him get to Biloxi last night because those seed that were planted needed some nurturing time, some time away from Biloxi! I don't know - but- God does! And I pray that man and the son-in-law that was with him come to know the love of God and the gift he has given us in Christ. Pray for them!

As for the rest of them - well, the Sophomore class is awesome! They hung out at the airport, one tried doing yoga for the gawking crowd, and some, like Benji, weren't satisfied with that. He had to roll through the airport last night!

Pray for good weather tomorrow and God’s will everyday!

With Christ in our midst,

Mrs. Caperna

Labels: Airport Missions Trip - 3/6/08

Posted by:Mr. Hood and Mrs. Riter




We are thankful that God is in control and He knows why we did not need to fly last night. They did have some crazy weather in Biloxi last night with tornado kind of conditions, strong winds, etc... So I say that God was keeping us safe and here we are with a day of rest, ready to go out tomorrow and try again! We will be meeting at the high school at 11:30 am Saturday morning to depart for the airport. Good news from the rental car agency as well: they sound like they will actually have our three vans waiting for us at the airport, which is better than it was before!! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers - Biloxi here we come!! Mr. Hood

Posted by: Brandon Kreisel

This is Day 1 of the 10th grade missions trip....

Our flight was cancelled (after a 9 hour delay =] ) so now we are going home...we are going to have Friday off and take a flight on Saturday.

Posted by: Mrs. Harrison

The Class of 2010 left the school for Mississippi today at 12:00 pm. Excitement was in the air... the third class to leave today. Charlie forgot his pillow, but knows how to sleep on the floor, we'll see. Please pray for our group, as a few of our chaperones are fighting colds and not feeling 100%. Stay tuned....