Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, became a hurricane disaster response center for communities along the gulf coast from Pascagoula to Ocean Springs to Biloxi within days of Hurricane Katrina make land fall in August 2005.  The hurricane caused damage to thousands of homes along the Mississippi coast.  They were damaged, destroyed, or made uninhabitable.  There continues to be a great need to provide interim services to hurricane victims (food and supplies) and to aid in the clean-up, repair, and reconstruction of damaged homes.

 

During the months that followed Hurricane Katrina and Rita, the church walls were stretched trying to accommodate the regular church services and activities, providing office space for case management and housing, and feeding thousands of volunteers.

 

In June 2006, they moved their operations to Camp Victor, a new facility inside a former factory.  The larger space allowed them to consolidate all of their departments under one roof.

 

Camp Victor is a ministry of Christus Victor Lutheran Church, Lutheran Social Services of the South, and Lutheran Disaster Response.

 

You can visit the Camp Victor website at: www.campvictor.org

 

Early in 2007, June Jones (a Katrina survivor and new member of First Lutheran Church) shared with Pastor Steve and the congregation of First Lutheran her firsthand experiences and the need for help in the gulf coast area.

 

During the week of February 18, 2007,  eight volunteers from First Lutheran Church worked at Camp Victor helping to restore what Katrina had destroyed.

 

Following are photos of the remaining devastation, of Camp Victor, of the families helped, and of the work in progress.

First Lutheran Church Mission Trip

Camp Victor

Katrina Disaster Relief