Biloxi

Here I am back in Biloxi. I will be working as a volunteer chaplain again at Bethel Lutheran Church's free medical clinic. There is still so much to do here, even though it has been more than a year since the hurricane. Bethel lost the funding from Lutheran Disaster Response at the end of September, and has committed to funding the few paid positions that enable them to provide housing and food for a continuing army of volunteers who come to rebuild homes and staff the clinic. In the meantime, Direct Relief International gave them nearly $50,000 to support the medical clinic and increase the range of services it provides. The clinic provides free medication and medical and psychological care for a population that was already underserved before the hurricane destroyed what little infrastructure provided for them before. I was able to make the connection to DRI for Bethel when I was here in June. It is an organization that provides medical supplies to disaster areas both international and domestic, and is located in my hometown of Santa Barbara, California. It was so gratifying to be able to put the clinic in touch with an agency that specifically supports the work they are doing here.

When I was approved for a call to a Lutheran congregation in the spring, I was assigned to the Southwest California Synod. During my summer of travel, I returned to Southern California for an interview with a congregation that didn't hire me. After my return to Santa Barbara, I interviewed with another congregation who also felt that I was not the right pastor for them. I had an invitation from Bethel to return to serve as the chaplain in their clinic, and here I am. I will include in this blog the December "Letter to Grace" column from my home (Grace Lutheran Church, Santa Barbara, California) congregation's newsletter, as it explains my process of waiting and my decision to come to Biloxi.

Tonight as I write this I am the only one awake in a room of women sleeping on donated Tempurpedic mattresses thrown on the floor in one of Bethel's Sunday School rooms. The others are all from Carlton College in Minnesota, part of a team that starts working on rebuilding tomorrow morning after church. They will be here for a week. More volunteers are due tomorrow, and although it has been pretty quiet here today, the place will be full by tomorrow night. It is exciting to be part of such energy and dedication. but just as often it is overwhelming to be surrounded by people. This will be a test of my need for privacy.