Morgantown Road in Natchez is a long way from Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, but Freda Ferdinand is at peace in the shelter she found after fleeing her home to escape Hurricane Katrina.

&uot;We were welcomed with open arms. I like it here. I feel safe,&uot; she said. &uot;And I’ve met so many people who have expressed my same sentiments.&uot;

Most of the sheltered have lost everything, she said. &uot;But here you are greeted with a smile. God is here. I’ve never been a displaced person. It’s an unusual experience.&uot;

New Hope is one of many churches in the Natchez area that opened their doors to dozens or hundreds of helpless evacuees, many of whom left home quickly and with very few possessions.

Ferdinand, for example, said both her car and her house, which is just off Claiborne Avenue, are under water. &uot;And I couldn’t bring much with me.&uot;

At the shelter, she has found an outpouring of love as well as vans filled with everything evacuees needed to exist &045; clothing, supplies and food. They have slept in the sanctuary on the pew cushions.

&uot;It’s been remarkable. They cry when you cry. They understand that it could have been them,&uot; Ferdinand said. &uot;These are spirit-filled people.&uot;

Sharon Bradford, a registered nurse and a member of New Hope, has spent many hours assisting the hundreds of evacuees at her church. She held up folders filled with papers. &uot;Each piece of paper represents a person,&uot; she said.

With assistance from Natchez physician Dr. Ed Daly, she has helped to get prescriptions and other medical needs for the evacuees at New Hope.

Church volunteers have done good work, Bradford said. &uot;This church has not received donations from any federal or state entity. These are all private donations from people or organizations who know about this ministry.&uot;

Church members have taken into their homes many of the evacuees who showed up at New Hope, she said.

&uot;We are treating all of them like family. We don’t see race or income. We see people in need,&uot; she said.

And she sees the needs continuing. The checks handed out by the American Red Cross during the past week will help, but the money will not go far, Bradford said. Those checks ranged from about $300 to about $1,500, depending on the size of a family.

New Hope will continue its shelter ministry as long as it is required, she said. &uot;We are doing what God has called us to do &045; help people. We have had volunteers here around the clock, at least 25 to 30 all the time.&uot;

In addition, the church office has been turned into a full-service office to assist evacuees with whatever forms they need to complete to seek assistance.

&uot;Everybody has pulled together as a team. I’ve seen our pastor and co-pastor turn their lives over to this. They are here all day,&uot; she said. Bishop Stanley Searcy and his wife, Brenda Searcy, are pastor and co-pastor.

The evacuees come with so little, Bradford said. &uot;They walk in with nothing, but they inspire us. You hear their stories of trying to swim to the refrigerator to get their medicine before climbing onto their roofs. Now they’re at the point of helping each other. They are the heroes. They are simply amazing.&uot;

Ferdinand said all who have taken shelter at New Hope have been blessed by the church members. &uot;Their embraces and kind words make you know those were only material things you left behind. You realize that you left with your life intact.&uot;