Stuns Me Still

Spring Break of 2007 was an experience unlike any other I have encountered. I traveled with a group of about thirty volunteers from my church to Slidell, Louisiana, east of New Orleans. I had looked forward to this trip for months, and I was overwhelmed and elated to have the opportunity to help the individuals who had lost everything due to the relentless Hurricane Katrina. Upon arrival at our host Church, we were greeted by, as it seemed to us northwesterners, an overdose of southern hospitality. The pastor and other members of the community were so jovial and accommodating that I wondered which of us were here to be the servants!

I remember the sights and stories so vividly, that it feels almost as if I had experienced the struggles and catastrophic event first hand. Driving through the Ninth Ward was one of the most eye-opening excursions of the week. Everything was in a state of utter destruction and scantiness: heaping piles of debris, shattered windows, walls that had been whipped through by ruthless winds, roofs that had collapsed or were left as nothing but tattered shingles. It was like an eerie ghost town, abandoned and desolate with only a few signs of life or homeliness. The realization of how much this catastrophe had impacted the community was shocking, yet nothing else could motivate us more than recognizing that we were here to bring some hope back into these people’s lives.

The work started. We were assigned the job of digging the foundation for the church’s new Disaster Relief Center. Despite the intense heat, rock-hard clay, and blisters, we managed to make it through the day in good spirits. Even with the eye-opening tour and the hands-on labor, the most life-changing encounter that ensued was simply meeting members of the community, specifically Mrs. Vi Harrison. Vi had been diagnosed with breast cancer a couple years earlier, but the cancer had more recently spread to her brain. Yet, beyond her weak stature and tired face, she seemed to be glowing with joy. I listened intently as she spilled out the profundity of her heart. In the midst of a fatal disease, topped off with a national catastrophe right in her backyard, she was fully trusting that God is in control. She just knew that God would heal her! She believed it. The idea that someone in her situation could consider each day as such a blessing from God touched me beyond all comprehension.

Although Vi passed away 8 months later, her life was full, she was healed, and she was taken home to be with the Lord. It was that simple happenstance meeting that revealed to me something I will never forget. I realized how immensely blessed I am and how much I take for granted; I recognized that I should consider every day a blessing from God and how much more I must thank Him. I'm still stunned, almost 2 years later. Even now it leaves me speechless, as though my rambling words could never do justice the inexpressible joy of this realization. I went to Louisiana to bless others, and in doing so, I was blessed in return.