Nine months have past since hurricane Katrina completely demolished James and Bea’s house. I’ll never forget returning to the area in search of survivors and finding Mrs. Bea and James, sunburnt in the hot September sun, sitting on two salvaged chairs, living in a small tent with only the meagerest supplies sustaining their life.
It would take a book to relate James and Mrs. Bea’s story and the growing relationship we have enjoyed over the last 12 years of being their pastor; a relationship that has strengthened over the past nine months of working daily side by side. Their unmatched selflessness shines brightly against the bleak landscape of hurricane wrought devastation.
When churches from across the country began flooding my inbox and voicemail, I told James, “I’m going to need your help.” I really didn’t even have to ask, because his servants heart had already kicked into high gear providing assistance to anyone who needed it – and we all needed it.
James and Bea’s house now sits ready to be framed. Its listed as just a simple unadorned line on our growing volunteer project task list. James would not have it any other way. He does not want special favors, even though he denied going back to work to volunteer full time in our community rebuilding efforts. We even had to convince them to accept that much, since they did not want to take away from the help we were providing to others.
If you would like to come help with this house, or similar projects, please call our church office at (228) 469-0110. We work with a very limited staff, so please leave a message and my administrative assistant JoEll, or our project coordinator, Greg London, will return your call. We need roofers, electricians, plumbers, framers, folks who can hang and mud sheet rock, finish carpenters, those able to lay flooring, painters, and other skilled help. We would love for you or your group to plan a trip to Lakeshore. We have housing and meal arrangements on our church property and host teams on a regular basis as we rebuild Lakeshore to the glory of God.
