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Allison Performs For Katrina Volunteers |  |
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Greetings!
On Wednesday, September 21, Allison had the privilage to sing for a group of volunteers giving their time to aid survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Danny Shelton, president of Three AngelsBroadcasting in West Frankfort, IL, invited her and several other Gaither Homecoming artists to give a concert in Purvis, MS. Aaron Wilburn, Mike Allen, and Lady and Reggie Smith each gave their time and talent to offer a brief respite to the men and women ministering to their brothers and sisters in need. Danny is Seventh Day Adventist and learned of his denomination's efforts in the Gulf. Acts, Adventist Community Team Services, has a large operation in the town of Waveland, MS. Dale Bass and Dave Canther, both Acts directors, gave us a tour of Waveland, Gulf Shores, and Biloxi. In Waveland, the residents in need drive in their vehicles into the staging area and the first group of volunteers assess their needs, putting colored Post-It notes on the windshield denoting what this particular family requires. As they progress through the line, they are given water, food, diapers, and other items, all of which are in large groups having been donated from all over the country. The volunteers are college kids from all over the country and they stood for hours each day in 100-degree heat to offer comfort to people they don't know.
The devastation we witnessed is beyond description. What is shown on television and in newspapers does nothing to relay the utter destruction this storm has caused. We saw swimming pools with floors next to them where a house stood just three weeks ago. We saw a wave runner in a tree, cars upside down, pieces of people's lives on display for all to see. The sense was of intruding on a graveyard, a place at once holy but full of despair. The volunteers drove back each evening to Purvis and stayed at a Christian academy, sleeping on the floor of the gym that had a wall blown out, open to the elements. Acts supplied a stage in a trailer complete with sound and lights, and the folks sat and listened to the music, laughed at Aaron Wilburn, and got an emotional lift and break from their hard work. We're thankful for the opportunity to play a very small part in the efforts in rebuilding that devestated part of the country.
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