It is a beautiful Louisiana day – the sky is baby-eye
blue, with cotton-ball clouds and slate-grey thunderheads scattered here and
there.
The wind bends the tall grass on the side of the road and swirls
in through the open windows as one drives south down state Hwy. 1.
It is a typical Friday in Louisiana.
It is a beautiful Louisiana day – the sky is baby-eye
blue, with cotton-ball clouds and slate-grey thunderheads scattered here and
there.
The wind bends the tall grass on the side of the road and swirls
in through the open windows as one drives south down state Hwy. 1.
It is a typical Friday in Louisiana.
Except.
There are school buses parked, idle. Most of the businesses
lining the highway are closed. More convenience stores than not are shuttered
up, windows covered with sheets of plywood.
Hurricane Lili came to town yesterday.
Her little brother visited a week earlier.
And now, Louisiana Baptists have arrived, stationing themselves
in needy areas, offering food and hope.
When Lili swept into South Louisiana last week, it marked the
first time a hurricane had hit the United States mainland in three years.
It also marked the second week in a row that Louisianians had
to endure the uncertainty of a tropical storm.
A day later, tens of thousands were without power, as many
as 10,000 were unable to return to flooded homes and state officials
were only beginning to assess the damage done.
In some places, it was clear.
In eastern St. Bernard Parish, water was over the roads, waist
high in some Yscloskey and Delacroix homes.
Dwayne Achord has been in the area for five years. Originally
from Zachary, Achord is pastor at Alluvial City Baptist Church.
Two days after Lili hit, the doors of the church were open,
pews still stacked off the floor to escape the water.
Achord is wearing rubber boots, as almost everyone is in this
part of the state.
He points to the yellowed line about five boards up in a second
church building.
It marks how high the water rose.
Still, the church was lucky. The major loss looks to be a piano,
– actually a victim of Tropical Storm Isidore, Achord said.
The residents of Montegut definitely were not so fortunate.
Winds there pushed water too high, breaching a levee that sent
as much as six feet of water into some homes.
By mid-afternoon the day after the storm, the levee had been
cut to let water recede. Still, some homes had at least three feet of water
in them.
The woman checking out customers at the convenience store recounts
the telephone call from her sister.
“Come help me get mama out of here,” her sister said.
“The waters over the levee.”
By the time the woman arrived and helped her mother out, the
situation was clear. Water was headed their way.
“It was just like this big wave of water, whitecapping
from behind the neighborhood,” the woman recalled.
“It really was beautiful,” she added. “But it
also was …”
She cant find the word.
Meanwhile, the man at the counter nods his head. “I know
what you mean,” he responded. “I saw it, too.”
On the way out of town, a man and woman set on ice chests,
four stuffed garbage bags scattered around them.
They are waiting for the water to recede so they can go back
to their home.
Meanwhile, even as many were beginning to return home, Louisiana
Baptists were disbursing through the state to set up disaster relief operations.
By the weekend, three state units were in operation –
in Kenner, Slidell and Houma.
A Texas Baptist unit was set up in Alexandria, and Arkansas
Baptists were scheduled to head for Abbeville. Alabama Baptists were setting
up operations in Rayne.
In addition, there were seven shower units and four chain saw
units in use – with more on the way, said Buddy Day, Louisiana Baptist
Mens Ministry director.
Child care units also were being set up to assist those in
need, Day said.
There were plenty of needs to go around, thanks to Lili.
In the Lafayette area, trees were down in various places, some
on top of houses.
In the surrounding communities, power was out, with some officials
predicting it could be more than a week before all residents were back on line.
Still, it could have been much worse had Lili not mysteriously
weakened just before it hit the Louisiana coast.
Even the experts were scratching their head at that, predicting
the storm would be studied for years to come.
However, in days to come, Louisiana Baptists will leave the
study to experts and focus on meeting needs.
Day said feeding operations will continue as long as needs
remain. Also, once the situation is assessed, clean-up teams will be assembled
to help Louisiana residents recover.
The call for volunteers will come later.
For now, Day said the need is for financial contributions and
prayer.
“If people ask what can they do, Id say the first
thing is they can pray,” Day noted.
For many, after two storms in the span of a week and a hurricane
that did not pack the predicted punch and left no one dead, the first expression
of pray is for thanks.