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By Betty Backstrom*
6:00 P.M. ET Sept. 13, 2012 | MAUREPAS, La. (UMNS)
The Rev. Tom Hazelwood of the United Methodist Committee on Relief;
Louisiana Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey; the Rev. Spiller Milton, pastor
of flooded Lee’s Landing United Methodist Church, and the Rev. Don
Cottrill assess damage from Hurricane Isaac in South Livingston Parish.
UMNS photos by Betty Backstrom.
View in Photo Gallery
When the elementary school in Maurepas, La., reopened on Sept. 6, close to 60 area children showed up for classes.
Many of the children live in homes flooded by Hurricane Isaac’s torrential rains that topped the bayous and lakes surrounding this low-lying area of Louisiana a week prior.
“When the kids came to school on Thursday, a number of them had not
bathed in six or seven days. Without electricity, the water pumps in
their homes were not working. Fortunately, the school had showers that
could be used,” said the Rev. Milton Bourque, pastor of Huff’s Chapel
United Methodist Church in nearby Killian, La.
The school requested four cases of health kits that UMCOR trucks from the Sager Brown Depot
in Baldwin, La., delivered to the Maurepas volunteer fire department.
The fire station has served as a distribution center for the hard-hit
area, providing cleaning buckets, health kits, tarps, shovels, water
and ice.
To date, more than 6,000 cleaning buckets and 18,000 health kits have been distributed in storm-affected areas of the state.
Using the contents of the health kits, the children in Maurepas were
able to shower at the school. One boy seemed overwhelmed when he
received his health kit. After he showered, he asked if he could keep
his washcloth and towel.
“He wanted to use the cloths to take a bath later that night. He
asked if he could use the cloths again the next day. He just couldn’t
believe it when he was told he could take the whole kit home,” said
Bourque. “It was very important to this child to be given something
that was his and his alone.”
‘God was all over the place’
Supplies from the UMCOR Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La., have been
distributed to storm-affected residents through the Maurepas Volunteer
Fire Department.
View in Photo Gallery
During Huff Chapel’s worship service on Sept. 9, Bourque told his
congregation the touching story about the little boy. “When we collect
money for health kits, or when we are assembling cleaning buckets, we
don’t always realize what an impact these items will have on the lives
of others,” said the pastor of the small, rural church that serves the
Killian and Maurepas areas.
Many people will ask, “Where was God?” in this disaster, Bourque
said during his sermon. “During Hurricane Isaac, God was all over the
place. He was with the hands that assembled those health kits months
ago, long before the items were sent out. God was with the brave
volunteers who rescued people from their flooded homes. He is with us,
every time we reach out to do some act of kindness in his name.”
Troy Guitreau, a member of the Maurepas volunteer fire department
and of Huff Chapel’s board of trustees, listened as Bourque encouraged
his storm-weary congregation. Guitreau assisted in the fire
department’s rescue efforts on Aug. 30, helping around 50 people
trapped in their homes.
Guitreau, along with other area first responders, was honored after
worship that Sunday at a luncheon and recognition service at a local
Baptist church. In an earlier interview, Guitreau affirmed, “A lot of
people in Louisiana are suffering” from the effects of flooding caused
by Hurricane Isaac.
During the service at Huff’s Chapel, children from the congregation passed around buckets to take a special collection.
“These dollars and coins go to help local school children with
supplies and uniforms throughout the year. This offering is especially
needed today, in light of the needs brought about by Isaac,” said
Bourque, who reminded the worshippers that “our light should be shining
very brightly right now.”
Bishop urges prayer
Children collect funds for school supplies and uniforms for local
residents affected by Hurricane Isaac at Huff Chapel United Methodist
Church in Killian, La.
View in Photo Gallery
The reading for the service appropriately came from the Book of
Genesis, relating the well-known story of Noah and the Great Flood.
“When Noah sent out the dove, and the dove brought back the branch
in its beak, he knew that the waters were receding. The waters are now
receding in Maurepas and other flooded areas. Now is when the
disaster-response teams will step in to clean up and to rebuild homes.
And God will be with those volunteers,” said Bourque, who guided a
damage assessment team from the Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference
on Labor Day through some of the hardest-hit areas in South Livingston
Parish.
Louisiana Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey led the group, which was
joined by the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, assistant general secretary for U.S.
disaster response for the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
In a letter to Louisiana’s local churches, Harvey encouraged United
Methodists to “pray for those who survived the storm as they not only
rebuild their homes but (also) their lives.”
United Methodists can also continue to assemble and send flood buckets to UMCOR; give to Advance #901670, specifying Hurricanes 2012, and volunteer to serve on a disaster-response team.
*Backstrom is communications director for the Louisiana Annual Conference.
News media contact: Maggie Hillery, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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