| Smithfield
couple answers mission call . . . to hurricane-torn
Louisiana
By
Shauna Leavitt
September 15, 2005 | Katrina
smashed into Louisiana just days after Robert
and Helen Chambers of Smithfield received their
LDS mission call to the New Orleans area.
They are scheduled to arrive Sept. 25.
"I thought they might send us to a different
mission," said Robert Chambers after hearing
about the destruction in the South.
When they hadn't received word, the Chambers called
to the Louisiana mission home. The mission president's
attitude was positive. He was expecting them and
said they were welcome to stay at the mission
home until they found a place to live.
For the past few weeks, the LDS church has tried
to remain positive, calm and organized while helping
the hurricane victims.
When the word came out that Hurricane Katrina
may have a devastating effect on the South, the
church filled 14 semi-trucks of emergency supplies
such as water, food, tarps and headed south.
When the trucks arrived, National Guard troops,
local residents and LDS members helped unload
the supplies into Bishops' Storehouses and Red
Cross shelters. Twenty stake centers, the largest
LDS chapels, were set up as temporary residents
for several thousand refugees.
|
PREPARING
FOR CHAOS: Helen and Robert Chambers.
/ Photo by Shauna Leavitt |
Inside the stake centers a family's name was posted
on each classroom door. The rooms became temporary homes.
One witness wrote, "It is so sad to pass by each
door and see the family's name posted on the door .
. . and realize whole families are living in small classrooms
with all they have to their name in that small confined
space."
Once the storm passed, church volunteers came forward
to help the Red Cross and other agencies begin cleanup.
A news release from the LDS church said, "LDS members
from all over the south came forward. . . . This effort
will culminate in the largest response ever by the Church
to a disaster in the United States."
Joey Wuertenberg, a volunteer from Lafayette, La., said,
"The first weekend we drove down to Slidell, La.,
to help. LDS missionaries were there to guide us to
where we were needed."
Slidell is on the northeast corner of Lake Pontchartrain
and was hit hard.
The volunteers who traveled to Slidell had to be self-sufficient
with tents, food and water.
"We even had to bring gasoline for our vehicles,"
said Wuertenberg. The only thing the volunteers could
count on was a place to set their tents.
Volunteers pulled carpet and other unsalvageable contents
from Slidell homes and added them to the pile of tree
branches gathering on the curb.
Ben Morris Mayor of Slidell kept in contact with the
evacuated residents via the city's Web page, letting
them know when basic utilities were working and where
the could find food, medical assistance and lost pets.
It will take quite awhile for the South to recover.
It's been estimated that it will be a year before some
residents can return to their neighborhoods.
The Chamberses will witness the rebuilding of the South.
They're not sure what their duties will be yet, but
they are looking forward to serving the residents of
Louisiana.
"There are wonderful people everywhere," said
Helen Chambers as she retold the news story of a Baptist
minister from the Louisiana who was prepared for Hurricane
Katrina. He opened the church doors and hand out food,
water and supplies to anyone who needed it.
HELPING HANDS: It is
estimated that more than 73,000 manpower hours have
been donated by volunteers from The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. This photo is used with
permission of the LDS newsroom Web site. / Photo
by Craig Dimond
MS
MS |
