By Message Staff
Spared by God from the flooding which consumed more than 85 percent of the small rural community of Castor, First Baptist Church has been transformed into a “hub of relief” according to Pastor Preston Young.
Floodwaters from Kepler Lake and Black Lake Bayou have consumed more than 85 percent of the homes in Castor, a small rural community of just 252 people in Bienville Parish. The majority of the flooding has taken place on the west side of town while 10 homes on the sparsely populated east side have been damaged by flood waters.
“Some homes in our area had six to seven feet of water in them,” said Young. “Some homes that have been elevated for 30 to 40 years and never had water get into them were flooded. We share the same campus with Castor High School. The school was flooded and we had flood waters come up to the concrete slab of our church, but didn’t get inside.
“God spared us from the flooding because he had a plan for this church,” Young said.
Indeed He did.
Beginning on that Thursday and throughout Friday when the rain was non-stop, Young saw how quickly the water was rising. Church members did what they could to help people in the community save what they could but their biggest contribution was still to come.
Despite being surrounded by flood waters, the church, which averages 60 on a Sunday, began to feed first responders, town’s people and anyone else that came to the church meals.
“Our church started serving three meals a day and washing clothes as we got a Louisiana Disaster Relief Laundry Trailer here,” said Young. “After a week, we have now slowed to preparing one meal a day and that is at dinnertime.”
The school in Castor was flooded and Castor Baptist Church had flood waters come up to the concrete slab of the facility, but didn’t get inside.
Young estimates during the height of their efforts they were feeding more than 100 people and they had washed more than 130 loads of clothes.
“There is something about having a full belly and having clean clothes that helps a person cope in these types of situations,” Young said. “We have also been offering them hope, prayers and comfort when they stop by.”
With a population of 252, First Castor’s example has been a light in the middle of some of the community’s darkest times.
“Everyone in our church has played a role in this effort,” said Young. “Of the 60 people, 40 have been full time and the other 20 have been here when they could. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. We are serving in a time of need.
And the community has taken notice of First Castor’s efforts.
“So many people, who are not even members, are stopping by the church with clothes, money, food and water,” said Young. “Other churches in the area – New Beginning, New Ebenezer, a Methodist church in Ringgold and one in Castor as well as a non-denominational church in Saline – have contributed items, food or money. We have become a hub for relief.”
Young met with FEMA officials Wednesday evening at the church and will host several Louisiana Baptist Convention Disaster Relief mud out teams over the next several weeks.
“We thank everyone who has helped and ask people to keep praying for everyone who have been impacted by this flooding,” Young said. “It is going to take a long time to get things back to normal around here. But no matter how long it takes, we at First Castor will continue to be that light in the community.”
Counting their blessings
Like Castor Baptist Church, Crossroads Baptist Church in Vinton and Starks Baptist Church are both counting their blessings today after floodwaters missed coming inside their facilities.
At a briefing Monday state and local Homeland Security officials forecasted the two southwest Louisiana churches would fall victims to a rapidly rising Sabine River and would be flooded out.
But Carey Baptist Association Director of Missions Bruce Baker said the flooding has not materialized and both church facilities are now out of danger from flooding.
“The next day’s briefing showed flooding happened exactly as predicted, but no water came inside the church,” Baker said. “It should have taken place but it didn’t. This was definitely an answer to a lot of prayers.”
Members of Starks Baptist Church serve evacuees after flooding hit the area.
Both churches are hosting Southern Baptist Disaster Relief crews.
Starks Baptist Church has a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief shower trailer that offers free showers and a place to wash and dry laundry. They also have a small store in their gym for residents needing to pick up supplies.
Pastor Ron Butler said he feels overwhelmed with the generosity of so many locally as well as those outside the area. But he is also hurting for those families, many who have lived in their homes for more than 60 years, who have lost everything to the flooding.
“And I’m overwhelmed by the enormous task that lay ahead of us as a community and a church as we look forward to the long process of cleaning, rebuilding, restoring and healing,” Butler said. “Lastly, but certainly not least, I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God. While much stuff has been lost – and that hurts of course – no lives have been! God has blessed us with a caring serving community and state.”
Crossroads continues to feed first responders, including 250 meals during the evening shift on Wednesday. Many National Guardsmen are sleeping inside the church to avoid mosquitoes.
“They are amazed at our kindness and hospitality,” Baker said. “We have had a lot of opportunities to share the Gospel.”
Sandbagging before the floods near Jonesville
Thursday, Ouachita Baptist Association Director of Missions Craig James was assisting 40 volunteers from his association’s churches, LaSalle Baptist Association and others from the community in assembling sand bags to put near homes that could be affected by expected flooding of the Black River. James compares this flood to the one in 1991, when the river crested at 55.3 feet. The river is expected to surpass that mark on Wednesday when it crests at 56 feet.
The only church affected so far in Ouachita Baptist Association is Prosperity Baptist Church in Jonesville, which soon will have water coming into its fellowship hall. James added Larto Baptist Church likely will have water surrounding the church in the coming days but no flooding should occur inside its building.
For the most part, James said the churches and community are maintaining a positive attitude and a spirit of unity.
“The people are continuing to prepare and just are trusting in the Lord,” James said. “I would encourage churches to contact their local associations to see ways they can help.”
Disaster relief sessions scheduled
Lonnie Wascom, director of missions for Northshore Baptist Association, stressed the need for even more disaster relief volunteers because of the magnitude of the flooding in southeast Louisiana. His association is the site for one of five Southern Baptist Disaster Relief incident command centers around the state.
“The number of mud out/debris removal requests coming in to the LBC/SBC Disaster Relief Incident Command in Hammond is overwhelming,” he said. “However, there appears to be far more requests than the number of trained volunteers available to fill those requests.
“The greatest need seems to be certified volunteers to do mud out and debris removal,” he continued. “Volunteers must be certified (trained) to do these tasks under the umbrella of SBC/LBC Disaster Relief. Training for this certification is available.”
Upcoming training sessions are today at 6:30 pm at Calvary Baptist Church, 424 Hwy 111 in Merryville, and on Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm at Temple Baptist Church, 1515 S Service Road West in Ruston.
For further information on disaster relief, visit the Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief website.
