(This letter was written home to friends by the Rev. Stuart Clark of the Community Reformed Church, and his wife Mary who were vacationing at the church's missionary retreat on Dauphine Island in Alabama when Hurricane Katrina struck. It is printed here with their permission. See related story on first page.)

Dear Friends, thank you for inquiring. We're all fine...Sarah, Jenny, Henry and Charlie and their homes are all fine, although there was extensive damage. Trees are down and there is very little electricity or gas but the family is safe. Chain saws are grinding away everywhere that gas can be found.

The cottage is gone. We were able to get onto the island and walk down to where it used to be, but had a difficult time finding the street. And just down the beach is an oil rig sitting in the surf, having blown off its legs in the Gulf and being blown to within 150 yards of shore. It protected a cottage onshore from being blown away by the storm.

Yesterday we loaded the car with food, ice and water and drove into a desperate coastal community. We have friends living in Bayou LaBatre and wanted to find them. What a mess. Their home had five to six feet of water in it, so the beds, clothing, equipment, shop, pickup truck and other things are covered in mud. There was a dead dog in the ditch across the road from their house. There are state police, but no federal troops here yet (noon on Friday). There are some roving looters around town, but they are not common and the police aren't being generous with them. Curfew is sundown to sunrise. Gasoline is in short supply with four-hour lines to any station that has gas. Ice and water are in good supply and readily available.

People who don't have gas are stuck at home and no one is getting to them so today (Friday), we're bringing food, diapers, wipes and ice to Coden. It is a very small coastal community outside of Bayou LaBatre (assuming we can get the four gallons of gas from our garage at Sarah's house). The governor and Senator Shelby were at the place we brought food to yesterday and the president is due there today. Yesterday, one woman at the community center told us she had spent eight hours up to her armpits in water until her son walked out and brought a boat back to get her. In our food supply we had included some hard candy and while we were unloading the car it was taken immediately to someone needing insulin. So many needs and so many stories...

So far we have not seen the National Guard or other military. People are pretty much on their own and that is beginning to wear thin. The Woodmen volunteers work with the Red Cross...they had just arrived. And the Salvation Army was just getting set up. I know it all takes time, but people are becoming desperate in some situations. We have watched some of the news...we have a compressor that keeps the refrigerator going and at times we would switch it over to the television. New Orleans is beyond comprehension. That's why it feels good to be able to be of service to some of the others along the Gulf Coast. Bayou LaBatre is a small town of shrimp boats and Cajuns. There is also a large Vietnamese population. The entire fleet has been wiped out. These huge, steel hull boats look like someone picked them up and tossed them at random. Sitting in the middle of one mass of boats is a ship loaded with cars. The downtown stores have been gutted by water. What a mess.

One of the young men, who is a friend of our daughter, is from Biloxi. His family home was 10 feet under water on Tuesday. We're going to go in along with the feeding crew from the Woodman volunteer organization and try to help that family and then work outward from that location. One of the problems is communication and uncertainty when you go in. Taking food that has openers on cans, Parmalat milk that doesn't need refrigeration, small packaged charcoal grills and frozen meats are a safe bet. Next comes Gatorade and water, followed by diapers, formula and wipes. People are overjoyed to receive these things. Toilet paper and paper towels are a big hit, along with the hand sanitizer.

Our daughter Jenny is a student at USA Medical Center and thankfully they have electricity and access to the Internet. I'm attaching some photos we have taken in the last few days. (Wow, I just realized it has only been five days since last Monday...it feels like five weeks.) Included is a picture of Dauphin Island. "Southerly" was just down the beach from where this shot was taken. That's an oil rig sitting in the surf.

Please pass the information along to others...Blessings,

Stuart and Mary Clark