The following post is contributed by John Daugherty.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many have forgotten about the storm that hit Louisiana seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina.  Hurricane Isaac roared ashore west of New Orleans and filled Lake Ponchartrain again, but this time flood waters moved to the west of New Orleans and flooded LaPlace for the first time in its history.  Over seven thousand homes still have flood damage, but CBF is focusing on 500 families whose homes are either uninsured or underinsured and need our help.

Sunday afternoon, November 4, a team of nine from First Baptist Church and Elevation Ministries of Fort Myers, Florida, led by pastors John Daugherty (FBC) and David Pleasant (Elevation) left for LaPlace and arrived in the early afternoon on Monday.  We were housed and hosted by New Wine Christian Fellowship, and managed by Americorps, who is training members of the church to take over coordination of the Volunteer Reception Center.

Tuesday through Thursday, the team replaced sheet rock throughout the home of Ms. Rainey who had not even seen her house since August 29.  Thursday, as the team finished the last sheet rock work, Ms. Rainey arrived and, with tear-filled eyes, rejoiced that she would spend the night in her own home that night.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s mantra of “being the presence of Christ” was lived out as these two partner congregations combined ability with willingness to be the hands, feet and heart of Christ for a family and for a community.  Also working in town was a team from Ball Camp Baptist, Knoxville, TN and another — from Crosscreek Baptist Church, Pelham, AL — was arriving as we prepared to return to Southwest Florida.

This has been a challenging year for disaster response, but there’s a place for volunteers in LaPlace for many months to come.  I might add, you won’t be fed better anywhere!  Our meals included grits, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy for breakfast each day and evening meals included many of the fine Creole dishes famous in south Louisiana including red beans and rice, Creole chicken and pork chops, crawfish etouffe, and jambalaya.  Our hosts were gracious, loving and generous!