Louisana

I was in Lake Charles, Louisiana for a week, working with YWAM's Mission Adventures program. I was hosting a team of 36 from Friendswood Texas, and we were joined by about 260 other young people from across the country!
The Gulf Coast Outreach was designed to help rebuilding some of the neighbourhoods in Louisiana, which were destroyed during hurricane Rita.
Rita struck September 24th 2005, it was a category 5 storm. It came just a couple of weeks after Katrina, and the huge loss of life there shadowed the devastation of Rita in Louisiana.

Our team worked in the Booker. T neighbourhood of Fisherville, Louisiana. It is a low income area, and most of the houses had been rented before Rita hit. Before the storm there had been a mandatory evacuation and many of the residents have never returned. Their houses sit, full of furniture, possessions, memories and now toxic mold.

We worked hard emptying out the houses and putting everything into huge dumpsters. The team wore full Haz-Mat suits,, masks with filers, hard hats and gloves to protect them inside the houses. I was so impressed with their hard work and good attitudes despite the 105 degree heat and 90% humidity! We all sweated a lot!!!!

During the week we cleared out 4 houses, ripped the dry wall and plaster from the walls, and pulled out the insulation, leaving shells ready to be rebuilt.

We were able to meet many of the local people still living in the neighbourhood. I hope we were able to offer them some hope for the future by being there. Letting them know they were not forgotten is a big part of what they need. We made time in the week to listen to peoples stories from the hurricane. At the mall we asked people, we even went door to door one day I one of the very effected areas to ask people about their experiences.

I admit I was very naive about how much damage Rita had done. One day we drove to Holly Beach and Cameron, towns on the coast where the storm first hit land. Whole neighbourhoods wiped out. It was so sad. As we prayer walked up and down the beach we asked God for transformation in this place, and for lives and community to be rebuilt. The day we went it was pouring rain, really heavy drops of rain non-stop for hours. As we walked along, wearing huge bin bags to protect us, we saw toothbrushes, bedsheets, toys, bed posts and clothes still strewn up and down the beach. Proof of the lives that used to call Holly Beach home, and are now scattered across the country. It was so sad to see that a year later there are rows of concrete foundations where houses once stood.

On Saturday we held a Hope Festival, at the local park in the neighourhood we had been working in. We went door to door inviting people and were expectant for a wonderful afternoon. At 2o'clock, people started coming, we saw many of the friends we had made during our time. We had a band playing, a drama which shows God's unconditional love, as well as free food and ice lollies, face painting and a free raffle. We had a really special time and we saw many of the local people laughing and having fun, which we hope did give them some more hope for themselves and their community.

The team of young people I was with were amazing. I had worked with many of them last year in Costa Rica and it was special to reconnect. They all had a great time and worked really hard. More than that though, they also met God during the sessions and worship times in the week. They were challenged during the committment service and all of them had a testimony of something God had done in their lives during the week. It was so encouraging to see them so on fire and with such a desire to see God's kingdom advancing amongst their friends and community. I believe God will continue to use them in mighty ways back in Houston.

All 300 of us stayed in a church (which actually used to be a huge supermarket!) There were 120 girls in the room where I slept. We had 2 hoses which were our showers for the week! It was challenging and busy week but well worth it.

Thank you for all your prayers, they were much appreciated and I know they made a difference. Please keep praying for the team to remember what they saw and experienced and help them to apply it in their lives. Also please send up a prayer for the Gulf Coast region of America as it tries to rebuild from these storms, and for protection for this years hurricane season.

Here are a few pictures from the week. Some from our prayer walk at Holly Beach, one of (half) of the girls room!, one of the girls on my team, a picture of me with Laurence at the Hope Festival in Booker T.