"Hey, hey, hey Paula...."

I heard from Paula Buhr this morning. She is the First Response Nurse from Texas that was helicoptered into Pearlington only days after Katrina struck.

The people there are still sleeping on the ground. Only one or two of the hundreds of thousands of trailers FEMA has parked, has actually been delivered. Paula is returning this week. She is concerned about a number of her patients with health issues who are now developing respiratory problems from sleeping outside.

Paula is very much a "can do" woman. A small slip of a woman, you had to see her ordering around reluctant Army personnel and FEMA guys to get what she wanted for the people of Pearlingon. Someone had to take charge and Paula was the one. She set the pace for all that followed and lives were saved because Miss Paula was on the job. Thank God for people like her.

I also heard from Frisco Jen, the nurse with whom I worked and, like Paula, one of the original P'Town Renegaides. Her father and his wife are currently in Pearlington and I will make contact with him this week to lay some track for Team: Pearlington's visit. We are set to go and very excited about our mission there. Here's an irony only Canadians would appreciate: his name is Joe Clark - like our former Prime Minister.

If you have not yet made a donation or sponsored a Hope Chest, please consider it. We have some great plans for the kids and their families and will be flexible enough to do what needs to be done. I have already been invited to "join" or "affiliate" with other organizations, but am very careful about that. Dream School International, when responding to such situations as Pearlington, is free to "turn on a dime" precisely because we are so independent. Even though there may be funding available through other organizations, I will not jeapordize that freedom and independence if it compromises, in any way, our ability to deliver our mission.

Have a great week and pray for all the folks affected by such events.