Stories tagged with: louisiana flooding

• 8-year-old tallies $7,000 for flood recovery

  by Brian Blackwell/Louisiana Baptist Message, posted Thursday, November 03, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo courtesy of the Baptist Message

  BATON ROUGE, La. (BP) -- When 8-year-old Taylor Henry saw the devastation from flooding in south Louisiana, she wanted to do something.

  What she did not foresee is how her desire would turn into an effort that raised more than $7,000 for those affected by record flooding in August.

  Henry, her parents and grandparents journeyed to Baton Rouge where she presented a check during Woodlawn Baptist Church's Oct. 9 worship service.

  The youngster was all smiles as she handed over the donation, which will be used to purchase sheetrock to help rebuild houses and churches in the Baton Rouge area. Read More

• For widows & others, church met flood with love

  by Philip Timothy/Louisiana Baptist Message, posted Monday, September 19, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  WELSH, La. (BP) -- A church and its pastor provided hope where there was little and gave unconditional love when it was needed most during south Louisiana's record flooding.

  Battling rising floodwater himself, pastor Pat Deshotel and members of First Baptist Church in Welsh set aside their own problems to aid their neighbors.

  Special attention was given to a pair of widows in the town of 3,000. Each lost a husband just before the rain and flooding began in mid-August. Read More

• Flood recovery to enlist Baptists nationwide

  by Josie Rabbitt, posted Friday, September 16, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Carmen K. Sisson/NAMB

  BATON ROUGE, La. (BP) -- The North American Mission Board is facilitating a recovery effort to help Louisiana flood survivors rebuild and to assist churches and individuals who want to serve. The initiative, under NAMB's Send Relief ministry, will begin Oct. 1 and enlist Baptists nationwide.

  "We're developing a recovery plan to help Louisiana residents, pastors, churches and other buildings damaged by extreme flooding," said Mickey Caison, NAMB's Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) executive director. "The Send Relief plan includes a facility to house 300 volunteers as they aid those in crisis. Another part of what's in the works concerning this year-long project [is] collegiate opportunities during students' Christmas and spring breaks to help serve and rebuild Louisiana." Read More

• Flood rescue transcended race, age & disability

  by Marilyn Stewart/Louisiana Baptist Message, posted Friday, September 09, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Baptist Message photo

  EAST BATON ROUGE, La. (BP) -- Mary Cupit, 81, awoke to banging on her bedroom window during the early hours as Chad Tyrone, a new neighbor, knocked frantically to warn of encroaching floodwater.

  By the time Mary roused her caregiver -- her deaf brother Donald Cupit, 73 -- he only had time to throw on some clothes and grab his wallet and keys before helping his sister into a waiting car filled with neighbors they barely knew in East Baton Rouge. The drive to safety took them to Tyrone's grandmother's house where the Cupits were welcomed as family. Read More

• Eternity meshes with flood relief in Louisiana

  by Baptist Message & BP Staff, posted Wednesday, September 07, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Baptist Message photo

  ALBANY, La. (BP) -- Floodwater stopped two feet short of the church building where Bethlehem Baptist was sheltering 350 survivors of the onslaught of south Louisiana's flooding.

  The reprieve gave student minister Jase Shawley a chance to deliver a Sunday sermon, the day after the survivors' sudden evacuation Aug. 13 -- a reprieve that affected eternity for some of the evacuees. Read More

• Baptist students, 450 strong, aid flood survivors

  by Carmen K. Sisson, posted Tuesday, September 06, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  NAMB photo by Carmen K. Sisson

  DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (BP) -- John Whitehead woke to an unfamiliar sight in mid-August -- water had breached his house and was rising fast. The Louisiana State University student panicked for a few minutes, facing tough decisions. What should he save and what should he leave behind?

  In the end, the answer was simple. Muddy water lapped against his waist as he struggled to heave his black Labrador retriever Rascal into his kayak. Then, he paddled away from everything he and his family owned in Denham Springs near Baton Rouge, knowing they would never see most of it again. Read More

• LifeWay providing assistance to flood-ravaged Louisiana

  by Aaron Earls, posted Friday, September 02, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo provided by Baptist Message.

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- As Louisiana recovers from historic flooding, LifeWay Christian Resources wants to help churches, pastors and other victims.

  Part of the effort includes restoring Bible study material and pastoral libraries lost in the floodwaters.

  "LifeWay provides biblical solutions for life," said Thom Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. "We want to support these pastors and churches during the good times, but even more during the difficult times. Replacing some of ... Read More

• Katrina-like disaster needs monumental response

  by Baptist Message & BP Staff, posted Thursday, September 01, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Baptist message photo

  DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (BP) -- A church van apparently caused a stir in one flood-ravaged town in south Louisiana.

  A 12-person team traveled to hard-hit Denham Springs on Saturday, Aug. 20. The disaster relief volunteers -- from Longview Baptist Church in Deville, 120 miles to the northwest -- were only able to mud-out a couple of houses.

  The next week, however, Longview's phone lit up. Read More

• New birth sprouts among dozens of flood survivors

  by Jane Rodgers/Southern Baptist TEXAN, posted Tuesday, August 30, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Mike Dunn

  LAFAYETTE, La. (BP) -- "I would go to hell," a man replied honestly when Wayne Barber asked where he thought he would be if he died.

  But the man, who was helping his sister with her flooded Louisiana home, changed his demeanor as Barber, a disaster relief chaplain with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, explained the Gospel to him. At the end of their conversation, the man prayed to receive Christ.

  "You could just see the Holy Spirit working," fellow SBTC chaplain Laquita Hunter said. Read More

• Baptist DR volunteers witness power of community

  by Carmen K. Sisson, posted Friday, August 26, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  Photo by Carmen K. Sisson/NAMB

  BATON ROUGE, La. (BP) -- Jerry Ritter's Tuesday began at 4 a.m., but he was still brimming with enthusiasm as the sun slipped low, closing another day of flood relief in Baton Rouge, La.

  Ritter, a member of Blackgum First Baptist Church in Vian, Okla., arrived in Louisiana last week with other members of a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) kitchen crew. Though his body was tired, he considered the hard day's work to be a blessing. He gazed across the parking lot of Istrouma Baptist Church, watching as each trained volunteer fulfilled a vital role in getting supper -- hamburgers and baked beans -- to those in need. He had another mission for the evening -- accompanying the American Red Cross (ARC) on meal delivery. Read More