It has been four months tomorrow since my precious Mom died. I am now dealing with a divorce, trying to catch up with school and generally "getting up and doing it" as I always have. The loss of my mother and my wife in such a short period of time has left me reeling. BUT, I am strong, I have all of my friends who are coming through for me because I finally decided I needed their help. Guess what? All I had to do is ask! Thank you everyone. Light a candle for me, say a prayer, or nod at the God/Dess for me. Come and visit me. Events are still going to happen in the fall and I continue to keep the Camp's legacy alive.

Andrea Gibbs-Henson, M. Ed.

Ten minutes shy of Midnight on Febrauary 8th, 2008, Brenda Henson left us in the arms of the Goddess. Brenda had struggled with liver cancer and ultimately succumbed to liver and kidney failure. She died at home with her partner of 24 years, Wanda Henson, her older sister Barbara and her children, Andie and Robin Gibbs. Terese Valenti, Ayla Heartsong and Shirley Kirkconnell were also present.

Brenda will be missed and known for her ever present spark of fight and light that opened up passegways for GLBT people worldwide. She will be missed OHHHH so much.

We are looking forward to the New Year but we are also anxious. 2007 has been harrowing for the Camp and for those of us who run it. We still have not completely recovered from katrina and just a few months ago had a tree fall into our stage barn.....we have a fellow from out west that plans to come and help us get it fixed. We are trying to plan a boy/girl drag show for our April LGBT/Allies Summit and need a place to show our stuff!

Terri, Chris and Andie (the full time caretakers here) would like to wish everyone a wonderful and peaceful New year.

We also would like to take a moment and say how sorry we are about Benazir Bhutto's assasination. She was a good woman who cared about the poor people in Pakistan. May the God/dess Bless her.

Winter is here at Camp Sister Spirit Folk School!

It froze last night, taking out the rest of the beautiful flowers that we could not bring inside.

I am sorry I have not kept up with this blog. In September we lost my partner Terri's grandmother and then in October we came close to losing my Mom (Brenda Henson) three times at a terrible hospital in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Once she was transferred to Little Rock's St. Vincent's Hopital she got better and was able to return home in a just a few days.

At any rate, keeping up with this blog has been the last thing on my mind. Now that Mom is home and things are calmer I wanted to let everyone know that we appreciate all of your support and love. Without you CSSFS would not exist.

Andie Gibbs-Henson, M. Ed.

It is, as usual, a hot Mississippi summer here at Camp Sister Spirit Folk School. It is the morning of the 4th of July and we are already sweating. Camp Struggles in the summer as events are non-existent because of the heat but our bills are still coming in. Please, if you have extra money, consider sending a donation to Camp. Even $1.00 makes a difference!

Blessings,

Andie

However, beneath these trees and down the roads that climb their way up the rolling hills I see people struggling to live. Six out of ten families lives under the poverty level in Mississippi . I live and work at Camp Sister Spirit Folk School where we maintain a privately funded food bank open to anyone, at any time. I know families that must choose between health care and groceries. Some live in houses that most people think have been abandoned long ago. The lack of a vehicle or money to put gas in it keeps many people who are hard working from maintaining employment, if they can find it to begin with. Gas prices and the cost of living go up. Wages stay the same. People complain that they make just enough money to get back and forth to work. “I am never going to get ahead it seems, thanks for the groceries, I did not have any money left out of my paycheck once I paid bills to buy any.”

After Katrina hit, things have gotten worse for the already poor people in the region. Katrina hit dead on southern Mississippi . Our campus was torn all to pieces, including a huge tree that sliced our office in half. We were without electricity for a month as was most everyone else in the Pine Belt. We had friends who rushed to our Folk School as quickly as they could and our little private nonprofit organization distributed over 3,000,000 lbs. of goods to folks in our area. This included food, water, generators and just about anything, you can think of. We did this without any assistance from FEMA or the Red Cross. Alternative groups came through for the poor folks in my area. Amish women sent cookies; the Union for Reform Judaism sent flats of canned goods, and pagan folks as far away as Australia sent things to us to help our neighbors. People could not go and buy generators. Most had no way to travel to agencies for assistance. Most have still not recovered from a natural disaster that pushed them further into poverty.

We have had people ask us why we chose to set up a Folk School run primarily by out lesbians in the middle of the Mississippi woods. I respond that this is our “ground zero” and this is where we need to be. This became blatantly apparent after Katrina. Our federal government failed to take care of us. They have forgotten us again. I will keep beating the drums for all the poor people in Mississippi who deserve a better life. Poverty is my enemy and I know her personally. She is not welcome here anymore and we need help to battle all the reasons she thrives in Mississippi . Please do not forget about us. We need your help to fight the good fight.

Andie Gibbs-Henson, M.Ed.

Camp Sister Spirit Folk School

Ovett , Mississippi