Flood From the Past

It seems like such a long time ago that Hurricane Katrina survivors came to Greenville and our church had such an opportunity to hear their stories and minister to them in our city. Today, I spent day 3 hanging sheet rock / drywall in a home still devastated by the storm...and a family still living (almost 3 years later) in a small FEMA trailor in their front yard.

Yes, I'm in New Orleans with 3 guys from our church and 7 guys from 7 other churches working through the NOAH rebuild project. Today, we met Leavy...a 70 year old woman who has been living 3 hours away until her home is repaired. When given a small gift card to Home Depot by our group, she asked if she could make a donation to our church...not your common response.

We also met Kimberly...a single mom who just moved back into her home 2 weeks ago with her daughter. Some guys from the team drywalled her home a year ago. She invited us over to see the results. What a long journey home.

In our group devotions tonight, we were reminded that our sacrifice to come here (including that of our families) is only for a week...then we will go back to our regular routines. But these people are still dealing with the physical, spiritual, and emotional storms from this tragic flood.

I was reminded of how our family live through the great flood of Hurricane Floyd some years back in North Carolina and the damage that is still visible there. The memories of feeding trailors and Baptist disaster relief workers has come back so vividly.

Events often leave scars in our lives, not just the physical storms, but also the relationship storms. And if we are to look, we can see the devistation all around us. Some people need help to move out of the FEMA trailor to which they have been confined for so long and back home again. Not back to the same old home...but to one that has been touched by the hand of God. And often that happens through the lifting and attaching of a piece of fresh drywall by a willing servant of the Master...maybe like you and me.