Iowa team served in Lake Charles, LA
Bringing Hope To Those in the Ruins
Hurricane Laura slammed the Lake Charles/Sulphur, LA area making landfall 8/27/2020. Marching in was Hurricane Delta on Oct. 9, 2020 followed by a deep freeze of 16 degrees, the coldest in Louisiana in 119 years on February 15th that burst pipes followed by a deluge of 18 inches of water in two days on May 17-18, 2021. A tornado struck 10/2021 which left around 12 homes uninhabitable and exacerbated the already hundreds of persons feeling hopeless.
From Manning to Wilton, Waukee to Knoxville, 13 Iowans who had normally traveled abroad for a two-week work experience were stymied by COVID travel mandates. Bill and Katherine Howell, formerly of Coon Rapids, who are team members, moved to Florida. Bill was interviewed for a position with the Louisiana United Methodist Conference with part of his portfolio being Disaster Response.
The “A” team organized, held an orientation, discussed travel plans and headed to the work destination on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. We felt called to offer our time and skills in the Southwest Louisiana, Lake Charles and Sulphur area. Our team was divided into two groups working with Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders while being housed at the Olivet Baptist Church. The churches in Southwest Louisiana that are able to help are sharing the volunteers’ housing needs. Mennonite Disaster Service and with the MDS Disaster Aid Amish group and Mt. Olive Baptist Church have formed a coalition that allows each organization to bring their gifts to the people. Building supplies, funding, networking with the people, hard labor and lots of love bring hope to Louisiana’s devastated children of God. Our team goal was to heal hearts and rebuild homes.
Ms. Diesi is a grandmother raising two grandchildren in a 100-year-old home that had been destroyed by trees falling onto her roof, followed by heavy rains which destroyed her furniture and caused mold. When we arrived, Ms. Diesi’s 17 windows were boarded up but, by the time we left 10 days later, new windows, trimmed (inside and out) painted and adorned with blinds which were hung on our last day of work. In her kitchen, new countertops, sink, base cabinets, backsplash tile laid, a microwave hung over her stove and refrigerator waiting to be connected. If it didn’t move, we painted it, inside and out!
The second team worked with Edward, a single man with a large home. Drywall was hung, mudded, sanded and then painted. A fresh new floor was installed with a myriad of other projects completed. This required working on high ladders, with several workers needed for installing.
A ramp for an elderly woman was built with the help of two team members. Ray, a wheelchair bound young man with diabetes and a wheelchair needed a new bathroom and a closet rebuilt while remodeling for handicap accessibility. With the completion of this work a House Dedication was held with staff and workers in attendance as he was gifted with a Bible, a wooden cross embellished with “BLESSED” a knit Afghan and a knotted prayer lap blanket to cover his legs. Each knot in the blanket represented a prayer as someone had blessed the blanket during the making.
The group worshiped at University UMC which had been severely destroyed but is now housing Amish workers in an upstairs “Dorm.” The invitation to a Gumbo dinner and hospitality by the Amish group was enjoyed. On a very cold, blustery day we went to the Gulf of Mexico to walk the beach and do some shelling. Many homes with blue tarps were seen along our outing with destroyed homes, boarded up as uninhabitable.
The opportunity to serve and give back is the reward we experienced! We pray our presence provided hope for those affected by the disasters!
