If you think this photo is bad, you should have seen the bathroom before. This is actually an "after" photo. You hear that people in our area still have been unattended to since Hurricane Rita, but it is really hard to imagine, seeing that Rita took place two years ago. But for residents without home insurance coverage, this is a reality.

Should you have driven down Liberty in Beaumont this week, you probably noticed the "Mercy Ships" trailer. We wanted to know what was going on, so naturally, we stopped. Mercy Ships is the leader in using hospital ships to deliver world-class health care and community development to the forgotten poor. Since it's origination, this organization has broadened it's services to land bringing hope and healing to communities struck by tragedy. Mercy Ships partners with local organizations to better serve the community in need. In Beaumont's case, Mercy Ships paired up with Rita Recovery. The group repaired a bathroom, a roof and mold damage in a home on Liberty, as well as a roof of a trailer home on College. The owner of the home on Liberty has not had a working toilet since the hurricane. Truth of the matter is he's been driving down the street to a business to use the restroom for the last two years. Thanks to Mercy Ships and their volunteers, he can now use his own restroom again, a common occurance we take for granted everyday.

Along with Mercy Ships came volunteers from St. John's Lutheran Church in Winterpark, Florida. Pastor John Gibbs brought 18 students with him as part of their summer mission trip.

Each volunteer had to raise funds to pay their way to Beaumont. Gibbs said the group had done everything from scrubbing toilets to washing walls to replacing a sunken floor. In parts of the home on Liberty, the floor had actually collapsed. Gibbs and his team replaced the bathroom floor and repaired the plumbing. There is no doubt these students learned the meaning of put others first during their stay in Beaumont.

Mercy Ships has now set sail out of our area, but you can learn more about them at www.mercyships.org.

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