Bells rang throughout the city of New Orleans on the morning of Tuesday, August 29, 2006, marking the moment one year earlier when Katrina unleashed her wrath and sent residents into a living nightmare. But in true New Orleans fashion, it was not only a time of mourning and sorrow. The city also focused on celebrating life.

The reminders of the destruction, and how far the cities still have to go, are everywhere. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) trailers still sit in front yards of houses that only partially remain. Stacks of debris still line the streets.

In the St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans’s 285-year-old mother church, President Bush bowed his head for the dead at the memorial service. “I know you love New Orleans, and New Orleans needs you,” the president said. “She needs people coming home. She needs people-she needs those saints to come marching back, is what she needs!”

Nearly 1,600 people died in Louisiana and 231 in Mississippi. A year later, 49 bodies remain unidentified in the Louisiana morgue.

It’s sad to see the families trying to survive in FEMA trailers. All of the belongings that once sat peacefully in their homes now lay scattered about their yard or have washed away. Debris is everywhere. There are simply not enough hands to clean it all up. The streets are lined with untouched houses that have had no owners since the flood. Orange X’s remain on windows of every house, showing how many people were found dead, and how many weren’t found at all.

Being in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a city where all of that destruction took place, almost one year later, was truly heartbreaking. As a member of a mission team, I was thankful to have the opportunity to help. Our mission team of 32 LVHS students and 8 adult leaders stayed at Lagniappe Presbyterian, a church which doubled as a construction site. Lagniappe means “something extra,” because the church was built to host volunteers for Katrina Relief who are there to give extra help. The church itself is a cleared-out warehouse, located about two miles from the Gulf of Mexico.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived near the coast was the destruction. Although it’s been a year, there is so much that is left untouched. Businessmen are trying to rebuild, and quite a few have attempted to reopen. The main focus of much of the rebuilding centers on the casino business. Because gambling is so popular in that part of the country, they are working hard to get the casinos up and running while many residents struggle every day just to survive.

Mission teams that travel to the Gulf Coast not only help to rebuild homes, but also help to rebuild the lives of the people. Our team helped dig trenches for sewer systems, hurricane proof houses, build sheds, prepare an elementary school for the year, and our biggest project, roof two houses. “I never knew that putting on a single roof could be so rewarding. It was good to know I was helping out a good cause,” said senior Rachel Blistan.

The people in these places have lost everything, but if you were to meet them on the street, you’d never know. The hope and good spirits of these people are just unbelievable. They are so thankful for any help at all.

The one-year anniversary of Katrina reminds our nation of destruction and suffering, and how devastating natural disasters can be. But this anniversary is not only a remembrance of an ending; it’s a reminder of how far each survivor has come.