Bob Delcuze works with NOMADS and other relief workers staying at Main Street United Methodist Church in Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Bob
Delcuze works with NOMADS and other relief workers staying at Main
Street United Methodist Church in Bay St. Louis, Miss. In addition,
Delcuze will be the recipient of help from NOMADS this year; they will
rebuild his home, which was demolished by Hurricane Katrina. NOMADS
(Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service) is a group of
recreational vehicle owners who travel around the United States doing
mission projects. A UMNS photo by Ginny Underwood. Photo #06412.
Accompanies UMNS story #232. 4/24/06
April 24, 2006
By Woody Woodrick*
JACKSON, Miss. (UMNS) — Arlin Kiel went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in
October to help Hurricane Katrina recovery and knew right away he had a
source of more volunteers.
Kiel had recently joined the board of directors for NOMADS (Nomads On
a Mission Active in Divine Service), a group of recreational vehicle
owners who travel the country doing mission projects.
“I put together a proposal and took it to the board (in the fall),
and they approved it,” Kiel said. The result has been a steady stream of
RVs arriving at two sites on the Gulf Coast.
The mostly senior-age volunteers have been parking at Caswell Springs
United Methodist Church near Moss Point and Main Street United
Methodist Church in Bay St. Louis.
“Between the two sites, we’ve had approximately 120 different NOMADS
work here,” Kiel said. “That represents about 10 percent of the total
national membership. I’m really pleased with that.”
NOMADS provide volunteer labor and tools for all sorts of projects
involving building, remodeling or repairing churches, homes, camps,
youth centers and other agencies. They also do office/clerical work,
sewing and other tasks in support of mission.
Operating what it calls “drop-in” projects is a bit different from
the norm for the group. The organization usually finds specific projects
and arranges months in advance for workers to spend a couple of weeks
on them.
Kiel, originally from Nebraska but now living full time in his motor
home, said the NOMADS have been warmly welcomed. “The reception from the
people in the church has been unparalleled.”
High skill level
A UMNS photo by Ginny Underwood
A
parking lot at Main Street United Methodist Church in Bay St. Louis,
Miss., is filled with the trailers of NOMADS and other volunteer
workers.
A
parking lot at Main Street United Methodist Church in Bay St. Louis,
Miss., is filled with the trailers of NOMADS and other volunteer
workers. NOMADS (Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service) is a
group of recreational vehicle owners who travel around the United States
doing mission projects. They have been in the Mississippi Gulf Coast
area since fall, helping in the hurricane recovery. Ben Moore, site
coordinator at Main Street Church, says having the group has been a big
help. "I can give them a house and they know what to do. They have
knowledge that many groups don't have." A UMNS photo by Ginny Underwood.
Photo #06413 Accompanies UMNS story #232. 4/24/06
Caswell Springs installed hook-ups for seven RVs. In Bay St. Louis,
Main Street can accommodate up to 10 but has hosted as many as 12 RVs.
“We started with eight spots,” said Bob Delcuze, who handled the
setup at Main Street. “We put in more electrical lines and tied into the
sewer line at the bakery next door.”
Ben Moore, site coordinator at Main Street, said having NOMADS
working has been a big help. “They come in and know what we need, and
they have adapted,” he said of a group from Kansas. “I can give them a
house and they know what to do. They have knowledge that many groups
don’t have.”
Kiel agreed. “The skill level of NOMADS, as a whole, probably is much
higher than a mission group from a church because they’ve been out
doing this kind of thing,” he said.
Tough work
NOMADS working on the Gulf Coast have found the work more intense
than most projects. “This has been a lot more grueling,” said Holden
Hyde of Kansas, who arrived April 10 in Bay St. Louis on his third trip
to the area. “The work goes on every day instead of three days per
week.”
In addition, some NOMADS are providing office help to site
coordinators. Since making their first trip to the coast, Hyde and his
wife Linda have left their fifth-wheel RV parked at Main Street. They
last worked in the area in January. The group members plan to stay on
the coast until mid-June, take some time off and then return in
mid-September.
This is not the first time NOMADS have been to Mississippi. The group
has worked on projects across the state. Kiel recently joined a group
working at United Methodist-related Rust College in Holly Springs.
In addition to working at sites on the coast, the members regularly
supply office help to the Mississippi Disaster Response Center in
Meridian. They plan to work at the Mississippi Rural Center near
Columbia to repair Katrina-related damage. They are performing
hurricane-related work in Dulac, La., Le Blanc, La., and Florida City,
Fla.
*Woodrick is editor of the Mississippi Advocate, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church’s Mississippi Annual Conference.