In between answering the phone, registering evacuees, folding clothes and running errands, Marsha Becker has learned to appreciate the meaning of teamwork.
"All it takes is a little bit from each person, or a little bit of time from each person and prayers from everybody. Before you know it, you have something like what's going on at St. John's United Methodist Church," Becker said.
Becker has toiled for nearly three weeks in the relief effort. The constant optimism of the hundreds of evacuees passing through the shelter gives her strength.
"It's just the most wonderful inspiring place. Everyone counts their blessings," she said. "It doesn't matter that they've lost everything, they're just happy to have each other."
The physical work demands no more energy than house work. But listening to the tragic stories of survivors has compensated.
But Becker and other relief workers lend a sympathetic ear and count their blessings.
Said relief worker Kim Kellum, "Yeah, I'm tired, but I have a bed to go home to, I can sleep in a cool air-conditioned house and my whole family is there."
A steady flow of donations have supported the shelter.
When the shelter needed milk, a Luvel employee pulled some strings and provided 250 cartons of milk, Kellum said.
When the pantry in the kitchen became lean, community members arrived with armloads of hot food.
The contributions are ceaseless, from "little ladies in the church making one cake to big companies," she said.
Mayor Thelma Collins said Itta Bena has never seen anything quite like Hurricane Katrina and its evacuees, but everything has worked out for the best.
"Amazingly enough, all racial lines have vanished. Last Saturday everyone was working together at First Baptist Church. Everyone was pulling together as a community," Collins said.
Despite the unique circumstances, Ward 2 Alderwoman Lousia Grantham said it's a human instinct to reach out and help.
"We all need help, and the community has worked together to get it organized," she said.
Collins' niece Yolanda Yates Purnell and her son John Paul Collins have reached out to their hometown from Akron, Ohio.
Over several weeks, they solicited donations for Itta Bena and arranged to have them delivered with help from their employer Mike Pruitt Honda.
For 16 hours, Dave Kuruzz drove a long Mike Pruitt Honda trailer with a big sign on the back declaring its contents as hurricane relief supplies for Mississippi.
Not 10 miles outside of Akron, people starting honking and waving and 18-wheelers were blowing their air horns, Kuruzz said.
In Kentucky, the trailer had a flat tire. Before he could get of the truck to change it, a young man knocked on his door and said he would take care of it. "Everyone has been so great," said Kuruzz.
