A Family Reunion: Work and Witness Style
"What about an Eby family trip to the Gulf Coast to help with disaster relief?" my cousin Frank suggested.
"Great idea," I answered.
"I'm game."
"Do you suppose others will want to join us?"
"Why wouldn't they?" I replied rhetorically.
"What a great way to have a family reunion."
After months of planning, Lee Eby, project leader, pulled together 14 members of the Eby "tribe" who met at Crossroads Church of the Nazarene in Gautier, Mississippi. The team, ages 16 to 73, came from Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Missouri, and California.
The first day we met the project coordinators, Jim and Dee Tooley, and Ed and Rosemary Boadway. These amiable volunteers direct Nazarene disaster relief along the Mississippi coast—24 hours a day it seems. Crossroads, a fast-growing congregation, completed their new church just three months before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Immediately the church opened its doors, offering the facilities as a site for disaster response.
"Are you willing to divide into two teams," Ed Boadway asked, "and work on two homes?"
"Sure," answered Frank, the Eby construction leader. "What do you have in mind?"
"One house has a major sewer problem, which needs immediate attention, and another home lacks finish and trim work."
"We'll do it. There are enough of us to handle both projects."
Each morning after devotions together, the two groups set out in opposite directions, while a smaller group stayed at the church to handle the cooking. One group headed to the Shaw home in Ocean Springs to tackle the stopped-up sewer line. Along with resolving that challenge, this crew completely remodeled the bathroom and replaced the front door.
The others went to the Richardson's home in Moss Point that had been damaged by flood waters from a nearby bayou. Accomplishments included new door and window frames, crown molding and baseboards, fresh paint, ceramic tile, and a spruced-up yard.
"It was a real blessing to have your family here," Carolyn Richardson said. "Everything I do around the house (now) makes me think of your family. You are a great bunch of folks, and I love each and every one of you."
Would the Ebys do it again? Consider these comments from four participants.
"During the Mississippi venture," said Mark Eby, "I felt what it was like to be part of an extended family that worked and played together. Getting to know them as they demonstrated their compassion and generosity of spirit was particularly inspiring."
Carol Anne Eby wrote, "Seeing the devastation, even after two years, impacted me greatly and gave me a new appreciation for the people's suffering. I felt it also brought our family together in a new way that we had not experienced before."
"It was another reminder that 'things' are not that important in the total scheme of life," Linda Day commented. "They can be gone overnight. It puts your priorities in perspective."
"I had received treatment for cancer for two years before the trip," Barbara Eby said. "Seeing the devastation made me realize fighting cancer was nothing compared to what the people on the Gulf Coast are going through. During the entire time there, I felt a divine presence over all the work."
I'm grateful to God that 14 Ebys shared this experience in bringing a bit of hope into the lives of two families devastated by Katrina's fury. All of us heartily recommend that others plan a Work and Witness family reunion, whether beyond your borders or closer to home.
Wes Eby is a freelance author, now living in Florida, who retired in 2006 after working at the Church of the Nazarene International Headquarters in Kansas City for 19 years.
Holiness Today, January/February 2008
Please note: This article was originally published in 2008. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.
