Operation ‘Little Bit’ in small-town Mississippi forges partnership

Courtesy photoDon Elbourne, pastor of Lakeshore Baptist Church in Lakeshore, Miss. stands near a hastily erected sign on the site of what used to be the congregation’s worship center. Strong winds from Hurricane Katrina leveled the building, leaving only the foundation

Don Elbourne, pastor of Lakeshore Baptist Church in Lakeshore, Miss. stands near a hastily erected sign on the site of what used to be the congregation’s worship center. Strong winds from Hurricane Katrina leveled the building, leaving only the foundation behind. Florida Baptist churches from Sunrise partnered with the church to provide assistance.

SUNRISE (FBW)–A little bit can go a long way in a time of crisis according to Jan Deans, senior pastor at Sawgrass Fellowship in Sunrise.

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After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the small church worked with their mother church, Coral Baptist in Coral Springs to send much-needed supplies to Lakeshore, Miss., 30 miles east of New Orleans.

“We actually called it ‘Operation Little Bit’ because we felt like we couldn’t do a lot of bit since our church was small, but we felt like we could do a little bit,” Deans told Florida Baptist Witness.

Deans’ worship pastor, Steve Mullins, found small Lakeshore Baptist Church through the internet, Deans said. Through the Mississippi pastor’s weblog, Mullins made contact with the hurricane-ravaged church.

On Labor Day, Sept. 5, Sawgrass Fellowship and Coral Baptist collected 2,000 hygiene packs, seven generators, 68 cases of water, baby formula and other items. Loading two vans and a U-Haul trailer, the churches sent the load to Mississippi the next day.

Six members of the two congregations traveled to the small town five miles south of Waveland, Miss., just off the coastline. Arriving the afternoon of Sept. 7, after spending the night in Mobile, Ala., the team stayed until the 6 p.m. military curfew.

“We were just overwhelmed by the utter devastation,” Deans said. “The houses that were standing, they were still destroyed on the inside. They were connecting power but we were all asking what were they connecting power to because none of the houses could handle it.”

Katrina completely destroyed the Mississippi church, Deans said. Not allowed near his ruined home, its pastor, Don Elbourne, took up residence with family in Baton Rouge. Elbourne’s wife drove her legally blind husband more than two hours to Lakeshore each time he returned.

“It was heart-wrenching to see that this church had lost everything,” Deans said. “Yet it was amazingly powerful to see the amount of faith that was in the group of people that we visited and delivered the generators to who were so grateful for what they had.”

Courtesy photo

Members of Lakeshore Baptist Church in Lakeshore, Miss., hug before a morning worship service Sept. 11 at the site of the their hurricane-ravaged church’s worship center. Two churches from Sunrise helped ease the pain.

Although every one of the church’s 60 congregants lost their homes, there was only one hurricane-related casualty, Deans reported. The hurricane blew many houses 150 yards from the porch steps marking the original entry, while some members of the church still hadn’t found their homes. The town was eerie, he said. No birds sang, the trees were leafless, and it was very quiet. Tents littered the ravaged yards and parks.

“[I want to let people know] that there are people out there that need us and that although it may be so overwhelming, that a church, no matter what size it is, can still make a little bit of a difference in this tragedy,” Deans said.

Deans and the other team members walked up and down the streets offering bottled water and telling people about the supplies they had brought, he said. One man showed them the tracks left by his wife when she tried to drive away from their home. He asked them to keep an eye out for a redheaded woman, unable to believe she could be dead, Deans said.

Deans said Sawgrass plans to return during the week of Thanksgiving, spending the holiday helping Lakeshore Baptist rebuild. The relationship between the two churches will continue long-term, Deans said.

“Without a doubt our church made a difference in a little bit of a way in a small part of the world,” Deans said.

September 11 Lakeshore Baptist held services on the foundation of their decimated church, Deans said. Folding chairs seated the 35 congregants in the open air and sunshine.