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BY CARRIE MADREN
UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT

Vena Trosclair, of Pass Christian, Miss., now understands hope and faith in new ways because United Methodists from Maryland are building her a house.

Hurricane Katrina decimated Trosclair’s house four years ago.

After the hurricane, she was told by FEMA not to try to enter her home because of the extensive damage, and FEMA paid for the house to be torn down.

These days, Trosclair, 49, lives in a small trailer-size cottage with three of her four sons, ages 9 to 26.

This fall, Trosclair and her sons — who have extensive medical problems ranging from brain cancer to daily seizures — will move to a new, sturdy, 1,200 square-foot, three-bedroom home set three to four feet off the ground, to protect it from future flooding.

They’ll be the residents of Maryland House, a project funded and constructed by area United Methodist churches.

To build a house for Trosclair and her family, the Maryland House project must raise nearly $50,000 and secure 85 to 90 man-weeks of labor (that’s 15 to 20 people each week for some five weeks) to work at UMC Camp Love in Gulfport, Miss., by the end of September.

So far, they’ve raised about $36,000 and gotten firm commitments from just over half of the people they need.

Spearheading the effort is Mt. Zion UMC in Highland, along with Severna Park UMC and St. Matthews UMC in Bowie, plus a handful of other churches playing supporting roles. Still more money and volunteers are needed.

Money also helps pay for local professionals to put in the foundation and septic system, as well as plumbing and electrical wiring later on. Both skilled and unskilled volunteers do the rest.

Inspiration to build an entire house came when a mission team from Mt. Zion worked on an existing home in Vancleave, Miss., last year and met a team from Vermont building the Vermont House.

The Vermont team told of meeting a family on a previous trip who had lived for two years in a four-person, nylon camping tent next to a campfire ring, before getting a FEMA trailer.

“We thought, if these little churches can do it, we can do it,” said Rod Barr, who’s helping organize and coordinate Maryland House. He rolls out a stack of blueprints for the house on a table in the church’s library, pointing out the two porches and rooms to be built.

To get money and volunteers, Mt. Zion and other churches have been getting the word out via a seven-minute video, flyers and word of mouth.

“By order of magnitude, this is the biggest mission project so far for the church,” Barr said. On previous mission trips to the area, they’ve repaired existing homes or built homes funded by another source.

Mt. Zion’s Vacation Bible School took up a daily offering and raised more than $2,000 that will go towards a washer and dryer, microwave and more that is not included in the cost of the house.

House-building is hot, dirty work, with often frustrating setbacks. But with patience and perseverance, the work gets accomplished and a home is built.

“We’re going to Mississippi to build a home, but more importantly, to bring hope, restore spirits and faith and inspire others,” a voice on the video says as pictures of workers toiling and homes in various stages of demolition and construction move across the screen. “People in Mississippi have no idea why strangers give their time and vacation, pay their own way and even raise construction costs. What they see is faith in action, and they are so thankful.”