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By Charlie Spiering
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
They still remember the devastation.
It’s been several months since the Bywaters boys returned from a Hurricane Katrina relief trip but their memories are still fresh from their January adventure.
Their father, Doug Bywaters, recruited both of his sons, and joined with the United Methodist Relief Committee and other members of the United Methodist Church in the Charlottesville district.
They traveled to Gulfport with 25 people from Charlottesville, and 15 other volunteers from Georgia.
Josh, 15 and Matt, 17, both students at Rappahannock High School took off a week of school to make the trip which lasted from January 21-29. “The staff didn’t really seem to mind,” Matt said.
Turkey Creek Methodist Church in Gulfport, served as a base for the Katrina crew when they arrived. “The church itself didn’t have much damage compared to other sites,” said Josh. The two boys stayed in the church sleeping on wooden pews.
They started their work soon after they arrived, making finishing touches on one house and then moving on to the next one. “They were basically tearing out the interior damage of the houses, and rebuilding them,” Matt said.
The boys spent most of their time installing fiberglass insulation and hanging sheet rock as they worked to restore the gutted houses.
“Once we got it to where people could live inside the house, we would move on to the next one, Matt said. They worked on four different houses during the week they were there.
Rest for the weary
After long hours of work the group would meet in the church center for dinner.
“We had some awesome
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