BROOKHAVEN, MISS. -- Homeseekers paradise.

That's how Lincoln County residents partial to Brookhaven introduce the southwest Mississippi town to strangers.

"It might not look like it, but people like living here," boasted Clifford Britt, manager of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Airport.

A 17-person crew from Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls in town to help with hurricane relief hasn't had time to assess Brookhaven's best features. They drove in late Tuesday. They do have a deeper understanding of the disaster they are facing as they share meals and conversation with survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

"All I've talked to have lost everything," said Nancy Killian, 58, of Cedar Falls. "We mingle with them, give hugs when we can."

Located 100 miles north of New Orleans, Brookhaven has been an outpost for some 1,600 people displaced by the massive hurricane, said Mayor Bob Massingill. Many evacuees have moved on, but hundreds at the city's six shelters still need housing.

One hub of activity is Easthaven Southern Baptist Church, a shelter for 110, although for a time it served more than twice that number. Former Cedar Falls resident Merrill Oster initiated the relationship between Prairie Lakes and Easthaven. Oster learned of Easthaven's challenge from family members at that church. He called friends in the Cedar Valley who were looking for a way to help.

The population in this town of 12,000 has swelled with survivors and those helping with the aftermath.

Members of the Indiana National Guard, shouldering M16s, are on hand to keep the peace and lend a hand. And then there are the volunteers. Red Cross workers and Christians from Tennessee have moved into Easthaven Baptist Church. And now the Prairie Lakes contingent has arrived.

Prairie Lakes is partnering with Easthaven Baptist Church to help with shelter and a transitional housing project. The Cedar Falls church will send two more teams of volunteers in the next two weeks.

"We kind of answered the call to love people," said Adam Graber, 23, Waterloo.

The warm Mississippi air was thick with humidity and an abundance of "love bugs" when volunteers started work Wednesday.

Men and women spent hours cutting and raking tall grass at a former trailer home park, preparing the way for 14 travel trailers. The units were purchased by Oster from Ace Fogdall RV. Oster orchestrated the project. Trailers, which will house displaced families, were filled with sheets, pots, pans and other amenities by Prairie Lakes and Cedar Heights Baptist churches in Cedar Falls in less than two days.

Kim Oster of Easthaven Baptist, related by marriage to Merrill Oster, said evacuees have brought new life to her church, built specifically eight years ago to serve as a disaster shelter. The joyful but weary servants at Easthaven welcomed help from strangers up north.

"We needed manpower. We really needed people to work," she said.

Trailer lot is rent free for six months. Organizers hope that is enough time for evacuees to achieve independence. Five homes are also being prepared for family use.

About $157,000 has been raised toward the $300,000 project.

On Wednesday, Cedar Valley and Mississippi volunteers began preparations for sewer, water and electricity at the trailer park. At first, workers had trouble locating the existing water line. Some Iowa jaws dropped as a tall and lanky Mississippi man slowly walked back and forth across the grass. Billy Crider strolled with arms outstretched, hands clutching metal sticks that pulled toward an underground line. The former Entergy Corp. employee was retired for more than 5 years when he was called up by his company to help after the hurricane.

Bystander Ron Williamson, a retired area school teacher and volunteer cook at the shelter, vouched for the accuracy of divining rods before ducking away to cook chicken with fresh cut hickory for the evening meal for evacuees and volunteers.

"I love 'em. God bless 'em all," Williamson said.

Volunteers are grateful to understanding employers and teachers for letting them serve in the South, and for the sponsorship of their churches.

Sara, 27, and Jerry Steele, 30, of Lytham, England, extended a visit with family in Iowa to make the trek south. Delta Airlines let them delay their travel plans without extra fees. Jared Coffin, 14, is missing class at Hoover Middle School in Waterloo. He finished most of his homework on the 16-hour drive south.

Even those who can't travel can find ways to help.

"They need people down here to do things like this. They need people to donate clothes. It's just a matter of getting plugged in," Coffin said. "We're going to be here for awhile."

The Rev. John Fuller of Prairie Lakes, did not go on the trip but is proud of his congregation. The effort was coordinated in less than two days.

"We are part of a very generous church," Fuller said.

Some Cedar Valley volunteers hoped to spend more time in the shelter's kitchen and were surprised to learn more help was available than expected. Some mentioned trekking further south if the need is greater there, added Steve Coffin, 51, of Cedar Falls.

"We're just getting started," said Mark Sherwood, volunteer coordinator from Cedar Falls. "Every day can be different."

Brookhaven experienced tree damage and power outages, but was spared the destruction suffered by her southern neighbors.

"We've been inconvenienced, but their lives have changed," said Massingill, the mayor. "People are ready to go back to their homes."

But not everyone can.

Despite what the highway signs near Brookhaven say, Kenner, La., evacuees Herbert Lange and wife Cynthia weren't looking for paradise when they arrived at Easthaven Baptist. They just wanted a safe place to wait for the storm to pass and the water to recede so insurance and property issues can be resolved. Housed in a Sunday school room and fed three times a day, the Langes are convinced they have a little piece of heaven.

That Herbert and his Honduras-born wife found sanctuary in a church is not lost on the German-born Catholic. It makes no difference, he says, that Easthaven is a Southern Baptist congregation or that volunteers come from different denominations.

"I'm completely happy. It's beautiful," Herbert said. "All my life I've been with Jesus and He helped me. … For me there is one God."

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1482 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.

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