When Debra Miles left her home in New Orleans two days before Hurricane Katrina hit Aug. 29, 2005, she thought she would return within two days and life would get back to normal. Little did she know that floodwaters nearly 6 feet high would engulf her home, destroying all her material belongings. But as Miles and her family gutted her house, her faith in God gave her hope that she would rebuild her home and life.
About 18 months later, Miles received the news that a team of Alabama Baptists was coming for three days to help rebuild her house’s inner walls, but she tried not to get her hopes up. "I didn’t expect too much of anything," Miles said. She thought the team would leave with one or two walls done at the most.
However, Miles underestimated the team from Ebenezer Baptist Church, Columbia, in Columbia Baptist Association. After three days of work, the team left her not only with a house full of finished walls but also with a heart full of friendship and thankfulness.
"They didn’t even know me; they hadn’t met me; they were working in it like it was their home, and they wouldn’t accept anything for it," she said three days after the team left, her voice still filled with the wonder of it all.
The team, which began work March 1, did get to know Miles, however, before its trip ended. During their last workday, team members visited with her as she worked alongside them cleaning her house. Out of that time grew friendships with several in the group, including Shelia Evans.
"I didn’t expect to meet a friend," Evans said. "You always hope you’re going to have an opportunity to witness to somebody, but I think Debra witnessed to us."
Miles’ faith was evident to Evans in her thankfulness and actions toward the team members. Miles offered them snacks and invited them to go to church with her before they left Sunday.
So the team went, attending the 7:30 a.m. worship service of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, which is currently meeting in the building of First Baptist Church, New Orleans.
"That was another blessing for me because I got a chance to thank them once again and had the chance to make my pastor aware that this group had helped me," Miles said.
Her home was one of 10 places that the team worked, said Ebenezer Baptist Pastor Don Tew.
Nineteen traveled on this trip, the first construction trip arranged through Alabama Baptists’ partnership with New Orleans’ Zone 6, as defined by Operation New Orleans Area Homes (NOAH) Rebuild.
The group split into three teams, with one working on Miles’ house, another gutting out four places and the last wiring five houses for electricity. The work was hard — 10-hour days of backbreaking, sweat-filled work in houses with no electricity, running water or walls.
The groups also faced the threat of environmental hazards. Although the houses had been treated for mold and mildew, the smell lingered. Dust was heavy as the volunteers tore down ceilings, scraped up tiles and tore out tubs and toilets.
They had goggles and dust masks, but the heat made it hard to wear them at all times, Tew said. Facing these challenges made team members rely on their faith, he said. "You say, ‘OK, God, I’m down here doing this for You and Your glory, and if there’s any spiders [or other hazards], You deal with them and I’m just going to tear out ceilings.’"
Even amid the challenges and being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the devastation that still remains in the city, Tew saw hope.
"My first thought was, ‘What difference is what we’re doing going to make?’ There’s 3,000 homes and we’re working on three or four," he said. "But then I think, ‘You’re not trying to make an impact on New Orleans; you’re trying to make an impact on that one person you’re working with.’"
Alabamians will have more chances to impact New Orleanians through the partnership with Zone 6. Along with construction work, teams are currently needed for prayer walking and will be needed for other projects in the future. For more information, call the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions at 1-800-264-1225.
Share with others: