U.S. Gulf States See a Brighter Christmas
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for the storm victims in the Gulf States. Amid the struggle for recovery, Gulf Coast residents are still looking to make the most out of Christmas with gift shopping and preparations for the celebration in churches.
LifeWay Christian Store announced its reopening in Gulfport, Miss. – one of three locations where the Christian store had been closed because of storm damages. Today, the Gulfport store reopened its doors to customers who have been in great anticipation with the holiday approaching.
"Customers have been calling and coming by hoping that we are open," said Alicia Lowery, manager of the Gulfport LifeWay Christian Store, in a released statement. "Some are struggling with what to do about Christmas gifts this year. Some need to replace their Bibles that were destroyed by the water. Churches need complete communion sets because theirs were destroyed. We are excited about reopening to meet their needs."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
After Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August, flooded waters destroyed all that was inside the store but left the building itself intact. For the last three months, the store has undergone construction and has been replenished with new merchandise as employees had to start from scratch to reopen.
"We literally had to start over," said Mick Houston, regional director of LifeWay Christian Stores central region, according to LifeWay. "We had to reorder the entire store and have been receiving those shipments the past few weeks."
Responding to the needs of the churches, the Gulfport store made a quicker business recovery than other LifeWay stores in the affected region.
"We are a ministry tool and they [churches] need our support," said Houston.
On Wednesday, former presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton announced $90 million Katrina grants to help the hard-hit areas. Of the money that the two raised, which totaled $110 million, $30 million will be directed to higher education institutions along the Gulf Coast, $40 million will be divided among the hardest-hit Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama states, and $20 million will go to faith-based organizations.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco alluded to the wise men in the Bible for their "bringing gifts of money," according to The Associated Press.
