NATCHEZ &045; His ankle sprained and his back seriously sunburned, David Hollingsworth does not regret a decision to come to Natchez to find his girlfriend.

With all his possessions destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, the Pascagoula native set out on foot last week, heading to a city he had never before visited but to a shelter he knew he could find.

Hollingsworth, 22, spoke to his girlfriend three days after the storm. She had left her home in New Orleans and had arrived by bus to find shelter at New Hope Baptist Church on Morgantown Road, one of the seven Red Cross shelters in Natchez.

&uot;From the day of the storm to Wednesday, I didn’t know whether she was dead or alive,&uot; Hollingsworth said. &uot;I finally reached her on her cell phone Wednesday. I told her I’d follow her, that I’d follow her to the ends of the earth.&uot;

He walked to George County, caught a ride to U.S. 98, walked another few miles, caught a ride to Hattiesburg, walked to Tylertown and there, finally, found someone planning to travel in the direction of Natchez.

&uot;People were so generous while I was walking,&uot; Hollingsworth said. &uot;They would call out from their front porches and ask if I needed food or water. And one man asked if I had any money. He gave me $50.&uot;

His heart sank when he reached the shelter. He had missed his girlfriend by two or three hours. &uot;She went with her uncle, who came for her, her grandmother and her cousin to take them to Georgia,&uot; he said. He has not been able to reach her since then.

&uot;She knew I was coming, but I told her to leave if she got the chance,&uot; Hollingsworth said, adding that he knows he will find her.

&uot;God has a plan for me,&uot; he said. &uot;I was very blessed on this trip. Nothing at all harmed me.&uot;

He recalled watching from the second floor of his mother’s home, a block from the beach in Pascagoula, as water began to rise that Monday morning when the storm hit the coast. An entire house floated by him. He began to look for something to grab to help him escape through the water.

&uot;I lost my car, all my clothes, all my possessions,&uot; he said. &uot;I went back Tuesday. The second floor of the house had collapsed into the first floor. The devastation of it is mind boggling.&uot;

The Natchez shelter has been a blessing, he said. &uot;These people have been wonderful to me. From the big hug I got when I first walked in the door, they have just lifted me up and welcomed me.&uot;

The storm and its victims have brought people together, he said. &uot;People are encouraging each other, and here people are touching other lives. It’s love in all forms,&uot; he said of the New Hope volunteers at the shelter.

A composer for a small recording company, Hollingsworth may have found a small house to rent, paying for it by making repairs on it. He likes the city and may decide to make it home.

Still, he will continue to focus on finding his girlfriend and reuniting with her. &uot;She’s everything to me. She’s my support,&uot; he said.