My husband and I spent our 57th wedding anniversary in the attic of our daughter's home in Bay St. Louis, Miss., riding out Hurricane Katrina, with our daughter, three cats and two dogs. We watched as the water rose and when the ceiling began to give way beneath us, we sat on the rafters. After what seemed to be an eternity the water began to recede. We realized that everything below us was gone, but we were all alive with a new appreciation for life.

After five days we were able to check on our home in Pearlington, Miss. What we found was absolute destruction, our whole little town was gone.

We had resigned ourselves to the 100-percent loss of our home when a band of angels from Savannah, whose group is called "Pickin' Up the Pieces," arrived and simply said, "We've come to help." What they have done to restore our old lives is nothing short of a miracle. It has been an edification to realize that people so far away care enough to come here to help.

Count your blessings, treasure your loved ones, be grateful for a drink of water and please continue to pray for those in the path of Hurricane Katrina who are still in need of help.

PATRICIA WILSON, Pearlington, Miss.

Editor's note: Pickin' Up the Pieces, a local 501(c)(3) corporation headed by Michael L. Edwards and Linda G. Edwards, reports that on Feb. 10 Mr. and Mrs. Wilson became the first family to move back into their home in the Pearlington community.