It was about time that my squad and I broke out of campus early on a Saturday morning. We loaded up two vans and a mini and set off on a one week turned two adventure. We drove ourselves straight to Louisiana to help with SP’s (Samaritan’s Purse) hurricane disaster relief. We hunkered down in an old Pentecostal gym and were served lavish meals. And, let me tell you about the showers, they were glorious, all the pressure and warmth you could ever desire. The SP volunteers chuckled because we told them that we thought we arrived in the promise land. After a Sabbath day where we got to join a new church body, we prepared to start our week. Philip and I broke our people into different groups lead by our beloved SP volunteer TLs.
We hit the ground running the first day. We chain-sawed fallen trees, tarped leaky roofs, ranked a yard or two, and cleaned up debris. I really mastered, well at least improved, the hammer and the pull saw. My jump cut is fabulous, haha, and, I may just need to start a roofing business. This was our ministry. Well, not really. This was just the front door to the best and most healing part of the ministry with SP- talking with the home owners. Doing some of the hard manual labor that most were incapable of doing themselves, provided a direct picture of how much the Lord loves and cares for them. That He truly sees them in their pain and struggle. Moving a couple of pieces of wood to the street brought many precious people to tears. They have been through so much pain and destruction, that a handful of smiling faces and willing backs brought so much hope.
We witnessed upwards of 30 people come to know Christ (the fam is expanding yall). We held church in front yards, crying out in a unified voice- “Glory”. We testified to what the Lord is doing. We prayed for peace and protection over many people. We handed out Bibles and accepted delicious desserts. As it tends to go with ministry, who was more blessed? I am unsure.
I also witness my squad come alive and try out their ministry muscles. Sometimes moments reminded me of a child just learning to walk, but all the moments were filled with Holy Spirit. We stepped out in boldness in our very own country, to people who speak our very own language. Our eyes were opened to the need and hunger of the people of Louisiana. They are thirsting for something more sustaining and more filling than just water and food. They were and are ripe for the harvest.
On the Wednesday of the first week, we got news that there was a mandatory evacuation in Dequincy for a hurricane. So, a couple phone calls later, we were on our way to Dallas to ride out the storm (thank you Bird family). And because of mutual love for C squad and the SP people, we got to return for another week! We got a two for one special!
The SP volunteers and staff raved about C squad. I think we totally changed their view on Gen Z and also gave them so much hope for the continuation of the faith. We got to go to teachings and worship together. So cool how members of the body from all over the US can come together and create a church in a matter of days. We all gave each other a much-needed lift. Our group was a match made in heaven, like actually.
I’m hecka thankful for these last couple days. Let’s praise the Father together for all that He has done!
