NATCHEZ &8212; Hurricane evacuees shivered in a cold wind Friday as they waited in line for coats, blankets and other supplies at New Hope Baptist Church.

It was the first time since Christmas week that a planned distribution took place at the church, which housed hundreds in its sanctuary in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina. Eight evacuees continue to live there.

&8220;We had 218 adults come right at Christmastime,&8221; said Pauline Rogers, who has coordinated the relief effort at New Hope since the Aug. 29 storm hit New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

She pointed to stacks of jeans, boxes of warm jackets and coats, piles of blankets and large plastic storage boxes lined up and ready to give away.

&8220;Most of this is purchased with church money,&8221; she said. &8220;We also get help from the Walton Foundation of Wal-Mart.&8221;

She knew time had come for another distribution because people began to call, Rogers said. Close by, her husband, Frederick Rogers, stacked boxes and organized items.

&8220;About two months ago, God told my wife and me that he would take care of us if we take care of his people,&8221; he said. &8220;We&8217;re trying to do our part. We know God will do his part.&8221;

Many of the coats came from a church in California. Other coats came from United Way of the Miss-Lou.

&8220;Many of these people are still living in hotels. They eat out all the time. When money runs out, they call us,&8221; Pauline Rogers said.

&8220;People are trying to survive and live here but save money to have the means to rebuild when they go home,&8221; she said. &8220;They just can&8217;t do it. They&8217;re running out of money.&8221;

She said the church makes a point of being good stewards of the money and goods donated for evacuees, taking close looks at identifications and true needs.

Driven away from their home in Hemphill, Texas, by Hurricane Rita, which followed Katrina by three weeks, Marion and Sylvia Mitchell and sons Brent and Eric remain in Natchez hoping to get help for more permanent housing from FEMA.

&8220;My mother lives here,&8221; Sylvia Mitchell said. &8220;But she has just a small trailer and other relatives already living with her.&8221;

So, for now, the Mitchells are at the Ramada Inn in Natchez. &8220;We have no place to go unless FEMA gives us the trailer they said they would,&8221; she said.

Pat Gibson of New Orleans lost everything at her home to Katrina, including antique furniture she recently had received from her grandmother.

&8220;There were a few things that floated up to the ceiling,&8221; she said. &8220;There were a few dishes, glasses. But all the furniture is gone, the clothes, the refrigerator, all the family history and important papers.&8221;

She, too, resides at the Ramada with her husband. She goes to the Senior Citizen Center and is trying to start a new life in Natchez, she said as she waited in line for supplies.

&8220;I want to find a home here,&8221; she said. &8220;We can&8217;t go back to New Orleans. We don&8217;t have enough money to rebuild.&8221;