Wanted: Gulf Coast Missionary

• Hardy and resilient; willing to live in primitive conditions which may include scorching temperatures one day, followed by freezing conditions the next. Willing to wear a hat to bed when the temperature plunges below freezing and the heater doesn’t work, or sleep under a down sleeping bag just to keep off the mosquitoes even when it’s 85 degrees and so humid eyeglasses are dripping.
• Able to pack a week’s worth of work clothes, boots, shoes, raingear, casual clothing and outerwear suitable for CNY departure temperatures as well as Gulf Coast living conditions, all in one manageable suitcase. Mindful enough to remember to put the toothpaste, chapstick, shampoo, and other liquids or gels in a 1 qt ziplock instead of inside the carry on bag.
• Gifted with the ingenuity needed to pry, chisel, crowbar, sledge hammer, and finally man-handle a corroded bathtub out of place for disposal (not to mention brute strength!)
• Insightful enough to work in the office, shop at WalMart or Lowe’s, cook dinner for 63 on 2 gas burners and a slow cooker, shovel moldy debris, tape and mud drywall, cut crown molding, and count it all progress toward rebuilding a devastated region.
• Able to hold a table saw on one’s lap for the ride home in a crowded van following a day at the jobsite.
• Not afraid to drink sweet tea, eat grits or alligator, or try fried dill pickles.
• Willing to do for free, what most normal people would pay someone else to do at their own home.
• Weep with those who’ve lost everything but their faith and their hope.
• Laugh with those who can see the amusing side of opening their front door to 3 feet of water.
• Celebrate with those who’ve finally made the call to say, “FEMA, come get this trailer out of my front yard!”
• Must be young enough to have the idealism need to think they can change the world.
• Must be old enough to know that no matter how small the effort, it matters to the one you are able to help, even when countless others wait for assistance.