Steve Harkins was one of four Broadview Academy students who visited the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina just days after it passed through Biloxi, Mississippi. "Trees were knocked down on power lines, on houses, and all over the highway. Small towns were wiped out. The area looked like a war zone. There was no doubt Katrina made her way through here," he stated.

"The worst part was there was no power, water, food, gasoline, or basic supplies. I saw with my own eyes homeless families, helpless little kids, and old women walking by the road. Women with babies and pregnant women waited in hot cars all day long, just to get some food and a taste of water," Steve remembers.

Seeing the devastated lives caused Steve to reflect about the world he lives in. "People are wrapped up in their own lives. What do I have? How do I look? are questions they ask. There are people starving—people who don’t know where they are going to sleep tonight. The world can be a better place if we help those in need. After all, what if it was you?" Steve asks.

Lizzette Marchan was also impacted by the trip. She wrote in her journal, "The closer we got to our destination, I kept wondering what more could we possibly see. I was shocked with what I saw at Bass Memorial Academy. The campus was a mess."

"Even though it was made of brick, there was a huge hole in the wall of the gym," recalled Sarah Crowder. "I was shocked at all the destruction." Students soon learned that the gym was where they would be staying.

"I usually complain if I miss a meal, or if it’s too hot or cold in my house. These people lost everything—their houses, their family, and their whole life. Yet, they were still happy and grateful for what little they had.... We started working immediately," Marc Nacker wrote. On Marc's third day he helped distribute food. All the people he helped had stories to tell. One man told about a tree that had fallen on his house. Now he, his pregnant wife, and twelve children are living in a tent. He told Marc, "You guys are a direct blessing from God."

Steve looked for blessings on the trip, but saw none. He says, "It was when I returned to my dorm room and saw my warm, dry bed, my clean clothes, and my computer that it dawned on me just how much I take for granted. I really didn’t believe in miracles from prayer, but I knew all we ate or drank that weekend was a result of prayer. How could water and food for thousands end up at a school miles from a highway, in a town that is not on most maps?"

The trip changed the students' lives; it brought them closer to Christ. "We took care of about 5,000 people daily," reported Steve. "It really made me think about Jesus feeding the 5,000."

Rachel Terwillegar is the Illinois Conference and Broadview Academy development director.