Noel United Methodist Mission Trip (2006)

by Elaine Howlett

When our VIM team from the Noel United Methodist Church started organizing for a trip to help with the clean up from Hurricane Rita, the forgotten hurricane, we asked to be assigned to Cameron, Louisiana. Our team leader, Faye Davis, used to live in the area and she still had family there. We liked the idea of going to a place where the mass-media focus wasn't. Faye knew from talking to family in the area that this area wasn't getting much attention.

The arrangements were made with UMCOR. We would be staying at the University United Methodist Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Some of the team arranged for a week's vacation because that was the plan. We would spend a week in Louisiana helping with the cleanup. We explained that many of us had limited skills in construction and would not be interested in working on a roof because of the ages of most of the team.

About a week before we left, Kevin from UMCOR called Faye and asked if we would work on a house in Lake Charles on the roof! That is what was most needed at the time. Faye asked for our opinion. All the supplies would be furnished but she had told Kevin that we really didn't think we could handle a roof. We decided to leave it in God's hands and that maybe this was His decision for us.

We would go and do what we could. Driving through Lake Charles, which is 30 miles from the coast, we began to see the enormity of the devastation that remained more than a year later. It would take many VIM teams stretching beyond what they thought they were capable of and many years to complete what had to be done. We understood Kevin's need for us step to out of our comfort zone and go where he needed us.

When our eyes first saw the house we were assigned, we didn't think we would be able to help much. All that was left of this house were the studs and rafters. The roof needed to be replaced. What the wind had not blown away, the rain had caused so much molding that the inside had to be gutted leaving only the studs and bare concrete floors. The appliances and furniture had been taken outside and later were stolen.

Since the women couldn't help much with the roof, they went to meet the homeowner, Carol. We only think God works in mysterious ways! We learned that Carol was living in a very small FEMA trailer and had been for a year and a half with her two daughters who were now both pregnant. The oldest daughter was pregnant for the second time after losing her first baby because of the mold. When they realized that all of their health was in danger due to the mold, they were forced to leave their home. The house had to be completed gutted. Carol is disabled and unable to work, and now she had lost everything including hope.

Sometime during the week, the team individually and then collectively decided we wanted to some how, some way get Carol back in her home. We developed a "whatever it takes" attitude and began planning and working toward a second trip knowing it would take several trips. Faye contacted UMCOR and told them of our commitment.

Between our first trip in October and our second trip in December, other teams had worked on the house. Knowing we were going back in December, we also wanted to provide Carol and her family with some Christmas gifts. The church had a baby shower for the two grandsons that were due in January. Our women's group adopted Carol for Christmas instead of our usual gift exchange for each other so that Carol would have some new things for her house.

The money that was allotted by UMCOR for the house soon ran out. Carol applied for grants from other agencies but it soon became evident that there would not be enough money to finish her house. So we began asking for donations of good used furniture and appliances.

Businesses were contacted and we received some donations of materials. One church member talked to a cabinet making company to make cabinets for us at cost. Several fund raising events had to take place. The church bought a new stove. The women's group bought a new dishwasher. Steve Martin, pastor of the Stella and Wheaton UMCs, somehow heard our plea and God answered our prayer for a plumber. Steve (the plumber), his wife, and two other people from their congregation joined us on our last trip. A couple of men built sides on a flat bed trailer and the use of a horse trailer was furnished. We loaded up and off we went in April for our third and final trip to Louisiana. Other teams from other parts of the country have helped but a "group of white folks" as Carol calls us from a small church from Missouri took on a mission to rebuild a house' for a black family in an all-black neighborhood in Louisiana. God truly is amazing!

On the way down for our final trip, I asked my husband, David, "Why are we doing this? This is crazy! Our small church in Missouri has worked so hard raising money, making curtains, donating furniture, and then part of us driving 12 hours to Louisiana three times to help someone we don't know."

But when the team arrived for our final trip, God gave the answer. In front of Carol's house was a rose bush. You could hardly tell that was what it was because of the weeds and tree that was crowding it out. We would have missed it too had there not been one single bloom on the bush. We thought it was a perfect reminder of God's hand in all our efforts. There weren't even other buds on the branches, simply one rose. When Carol arrived later that day, Faye pointed it out to her. She was very excited and shared that her mother had planted that bush and that she thought it couldn't possibly have survived all the devastation and lack of care. "Roses need tending," she said. Then she proceeded to tell Faye that her father had purchased the house as a "surprise" Christmas present for his family in 1967. She took the rose with her back to her FEMA trailer to enjoy.

If that wasn't reason enough, on the final day of our trip, Faye and her husband, Lewis, were the only ones still there from our team. They stayed for the dedication ceremony. The pastor from the church where we stayed on our first trip blessed the house and our efforts to the glory of God. Carol, her family, and an UMCOR team we had worked closely with were also present. Carol was overwhelmed as she toured her nearly completed home. Only some electrical work remained. As she walked through her home to the kitchen, her eyes sparkled as she saw new cabinets. "Oh my new cabinets," she said as she patted the counter tops. "Oh my new stove," she said as she ran her hand across the top. Then she looked at her son and exclaimed, "Mama's gonna cook again!"

That was our why. Mama's gonna cook again and take care of her two new grandsons in the home purchased by her daddy for his family as a surprise Christmas present many years ago.

Photo Gallery First Trip
Photo Gallery Last Trip

Elaine Howlett is the pastor's (David Howlett) wife of the Noel and Southwest City United Methodist Churches. The Mission team was from the Noel Church.