Greetings and Peace.

My Church Family,

The big picture of recovery for the Mississippi coastal area is extraordinary. Everything within a mile of the coastline has been completely destroyed. This includes 6 Episcopal churches, many houses, and schools. People from every economic group have been affected. The estimated recovery time is 2 years. The folks of this area are in great need. Waveland, which is west of my location in Long Beach, was 90% destroyed. Waveland was considered ground zero. It is the long term effects that will be interesting to monitor. Right now the local fishing economy is pretty gone and most children are not in school.

In terms of short term recovery, the Red Cross and FEMA will be leaving the Long Beach area soon, so Camp Coast Care will be the only local resource for food, clothing and other supplies. We serve about 1500 people per day! I recently spent $200 of the money y’all generously donated to purchase blankets for the colder weather that is now setting in. This is only a drop in the bucket. Some days we do not have enough food or supplies to give to the people.

Right now most of the field work consists of tearing down moldy houses and clearing debris. In the near future Camp Coast Care will need to have volunteers to come and start rebuilding houses.

My husband [David Jones] and I are creating a website with plenty of photographs that will add to the understanding of the situation. Another website, www.campcoastcare.com is also being constructed to inform the public on the situation and how people can contribute to the effort.

Personally speaking, I am learning a lot. This trip to Mississippi has been one of the most profound growing experiences I have ever encountered. I admit that it is difficult and at times numbing to absorb everything and process it into something meaningful. Probably not all the lessons learned here will be meaningful right away. For now I will say only that I am physically well and I am looking forward to a short break beginning Sunday.

Please pray that these folks would have the things they need made available for them; that this place will continue to be a glimmer of hope, in an otherwise terribly wanting situation.

Pray for me that I would be open to God's Grace and discern God's will for me here.

I love you all and appreciate your kind thoughts and prayers.

Blessings, Angel L. Scott