Posted on 09/11/2005 5:51:43 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
SLIDELL, La. – The blisters on her feet stung, but she removed her shoes and walked through the black mud. She showed the Texas church group what had happened to her house and her back yard.
The waters from Lake Pontchartrain had risen high and fast and slammed all her furniture against the doors and through a wall. The winds uprooted the oak tree that she had planted a dozen years ago. Her parents' ashes, which she kept in an urn, were swept away. She had no flood insurance. All she had were the clothes in the back seat of her car.
"Can I get a hug?" she asked.
One by one, the church members embraced her. Then someone gave her a bag of food. Nothing fancy – just granola bars, cheese and crackers. But inside the bag, the woman came upon a $100 bill. "Oh, no," she said. She put her hands to her face and sobbed. The church members began to cry, too.
When the disaster is immense and the loss is great, there's only so much ordinary folks can do to help.
But sometimes you have to try.
And even though they had received no training, assignment or sponsorship from any disaster relief organization, the people of Park Lake Church in Sachse had decided to try.
It didn't make a whole lot of sense. Anything they could accomplish in the disaster zone would be a drop in the bucket. But sometimes, with faith and determination, you can end up exactly where you're meant to serve.
They joined dozens if not hundreds of grass-roots humanitarian groups that journeyed to the Gulf Coast immediately after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to deliver not only aid, but also hope.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
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