On October 3rd, my squad and I (about 30 people, including our team leaders, squad leaders, and squad mentor) left at 6am from our home on the Adventures in Missions campus in Gainesville, Georgia to drive about 12 hours into DeQuincy, Louisiana – a small town in southwestern Louisiana that was heavily hit by hurricane Laura. There, we stayed with the nonprofit organization Samaritan’s Purse, in a local church.
Monday through Saturday, Samaritan’s Purse sends out different work teams to help with various types of disaster relief (in this case: mud outs, tree and debris removal, tarping roofs, and more). In addition to physical relief, chaplains visit each homeowner to talk with them about their relationship with God. Each day we’re reminded that the most important ministry is connecting with the homeowner, and we’re very encouraged to talk to them. We also pray to start and end each time of serving on a person’s property. DeQuincy has a huge need for assistance: right around the time we got there, Samaritan’s Purse just dropped to under 500 requests for help due to the hurricane.
On Monday we started our first day of service and ministry! The first homeowner we helped was named Becky. She is such a sweet lady! She’s a believer and had been holding onto hope that she would receive help in cleaning up her property. Her house wasn’t structurally damaged, but there were a large amount of downed trees all around, and her late mother’s house next door had sustained a significant amount of damage. My work group was able to clean up so much of the trees in her front and back yard, and she was so grateful! She even went out and bought us sweet treats just to show her gratitude – totally not necessary, but such a sweet testament to her thoughtfulness and kindness!
Another super cool thing about Becky’s story is how we got the opportunity to pray for her son to get the job he was interviewing for that morning! Even sweeter was hearing the news that he got the job! Such an amazing praise. We were able to see her son and daughter-in-law and grandson before we left, and it was a real blessing to us.
The second house we went to was owned by a man named Leroy. He had a large downed tree in his side yard, but part of it was already cut into pieces. We helped dismantle the rest of it and we dragged it to the side of his yard. The chaplains talked to Leroy and shared the gospel with him. I’m grateful we had the opportunity to help him!
The last homeowner my group and I helped was a lady named Donna. She lived out in the country a little and her mobile home was situated on a larger piece of property. We worked to help clear off several large trees, lots of branches and leaves, and also helped with the tarping of part of her roof, and a few other issues with her house (some of which we were only able to discover and tell her about). Even though she’s an older lady, she determinedly came out to move some branches on her own. Donna is a believer and she was very touched by the help she received, especially when Gabby (my teammate!) presented her with her own Billy Graham Bible – a specific Bible edition that is given to everyone who has been helped by Samaritan’s Purse.
On Tuesday, a devastating announcement was made about hurricane Delta – we were told by Samaritan’s Purse that we’d have to leave on Thursday – meaning at that time we’d only have one day of ministry left, when we were expecting three more days! I was so so sad and disappointed. It seemed like we just got to Louisiana, and finding out we wouldn’t be able to finish up our time there was so heartbreaking to me.
Wednesday was our second day helping Donna, and I finished out that day feeling certain that we’d have to leave. We were still waiting on an official announcement by our World Race leaders, and that evening we all awaited the confirmation of our departure. However, to everyone’s surprise, we were told that instead of leaving to go back to Georgia, we were leaving to stay in the DFW area for a few days to ride out the hurricane, and then we’d return to Louisiana for another week of ministry and serving! This was the best surprise I could have asked for, and I never once even considered that possibility!
Please pray for continued effectiveness with ministry and serving back in Louisiana this week, for safe travels (wherever they may be to!), and for the Holy Spirit to continue working in and through all of us!!
Thank you all so much for reading this far, and to everyone who’s donated – a huge thank you for helping make this possible! I still need $982 in 3 days in order to continue with the World Race Gap Year! Please pray about how you can help – this also includes prayer support! I would encourage you to take a step of faith in partnering with what God is doing in the world today. I’m choosing to trust in God’s provision to make this possible! Please, please, reach out to me, because I’d love to chat about what God’s doing in this season! I can be contacted through Facebook, my Instagram @travelswithshanan, or by phone/text at 850-530-4996.
Until next time! Stay tuned for more exciting updates soon!
FYI – some definitions!
Squad = The whole group of people that will all visit the same places together. Each squad is named after a letter of the alphabet – my squad is called Squad C!
Squad Leader = Leader over the whole squad. They have done the race before, and will stay with us throughout our whole nine months as a leader.
Team Leader = Our squad is divided into several teams. Each team has a team leader – someone who did the race last year, and stays with us for the first three months to show us the ropes.
Squad Mentor = Our squad mentor is the amazing Kate Goeler! She leads us, encourages us, and disciples us through teachings, emails, conversation, and more. She won’t stay with us on the field the whole time, but she will visit us several times.
Sounds like you are having an amazing time with Jesus and His people! Prayers for you and your squad!
Thanks for sharing these stories with us and thanks for making a difference, Shanan!