08.18.16 Update on Trinity church building flooding, members flooding and other Louisiana flooding updates

Thursday, August 18, 2016 – One week ago the rains started in a historic rate that flooded town after town after city in Southern Louisiana. Roy and I are in Pennsylvania so I know what is being seen by the nation. Since the media hasn’t given the national coverage that I want to provide some of that missing information so you’ll have a better picture of the devastation.  A lot of this came from friends in Louisiana on Facebook.

We have been sightseeing and saw Gettyburg Battlefield, the Hershey’s Chocolate World and will tour Washington DC tomorrow.  I haven’t been able to bring myself to share the great things we’re seeing and doing until I got this blog published.  Please, please (not to push my viewer numbers up) share the link to this blog with anyone you know around the country so they will know about the need.

We are not there and I really don’t know what it’s like to have your house, business, church and all your worldly goods flash flooded out the doors, windows and roofs. My effort is such a tiny picture of what’s happening in these cities and towns.

All of the photos below are clickable to enlarge them.

This is a 56 hour radar picture of the rain continuing over and over to pour down over the same areas. Some cities such as Sorrento didn’t start to flood until afters.

My dear friend Cindy’s husband Paul shared this photo that shows very clearly the type of flooding so many experienced. Keep in mind that this was taken in the morning 7:00 am. It continued to rise another 5 feet by 3 pm that day.  I looks like they live in the middle of a rushing river.  This took everyone by such surprise.

I thought this was a good representation of some of the flooding.

I’m so proud of our Southeastern Lions who came through to go to residents homes and help gut out their homes.  Hundreds of young people did this.  Other Universities in our state sent students to help with the gutting.  I’m hopeful that groups of people from around the country will now come here and help our area like they came to help New Orleans after Katrina.

Here’s some of the Lion’s helping gut Ms. Emily Wall’s home.  She is a dear 95 year old church member at Trinity.  The L they are displaying is our Lion Up sign showing Southeastern Louisiana University school pride.  Look at Ms. Emily joining them in it.  I know they were a blessing to her and for sure she was a blessing to them!!

Other Southeastern Lion’s wiling to help out!

I am extremely disappointed in our President who hasn’t come to this area to see it for himself, even a week after it started.  He’s on vacation and I guess couldn’t be bothered by Louisianians in their desperate time of need. He found the time to leave vacation to raise funds for HC (I can’t bear to say her whole name) but not for real citizens.  Very disappointing, though hardly anything new.  Just read that Donald Trump is going to visit the devastated areas tomorrow.  Go Donald!!!

In Livingston Parish alone over 75 percent of all homes, buildings, churches are destroyed.  School has been cancelled until further notice.  Teachers, students, other staff have to deal with their personal loses and the schools are in no condition for teaching to go on.

Louisianians are resilient and made of tough stuff.  I’ve read over and over that while they lost everything there are people in worse shape, go help them.  Our residents take care of each other whether they know them or not, regardless of race and any other difference.  Food is being prepared by locals by the many thousands of meals a day to help those in need.  I haven’t even covered the Cajun Navy which is a wonderful group of folks using their own vehicles, boats, etc. to rescue people since outside help is so slow.  Perhaps another time.

This was the message our Transitional Pastor, Rev. Bob Adams sent out to our church members several days ago when the flooding began  They had Wednesday night prayer meeting in the sanctuary with walls torn out and all the buildings gutted as needed.

Robert L. Adams
Saturday, August 13 at 3:35pm ·

To all the dear people of Trinity Baptist Church, Pumpkin Center: Whether you are hunkered down in your home, fearfully watching the water rise, or displaced because your home is flooding . . . please know – The Lord Jesus is now as fully present with you as He is in the sweetest moment of gathered worship. He knows the thoughts that race through your mind and the feelings that surge in your heart. He not only knows these things about you, He receives them and asks you to trust all this up to Him – that which is of faith and that which doesn’t seem to have faith in it. Trust all of it to Him so that He may make Himself known to you in all the various moments of this ordeal. This will not overwhelm Him and He has you in His hands. In Him you will not be overwhelmed so you don’t need to be afraid. Grace to you! Pastor Bob. (Please share this with those who need it. Thank you.)

One of our amazing church members, Meagan Wild, wrote this on facebook last night.  I feel so blessed to have been able to watch Megan grow up at Trinity into the amazing Godly woman she is today~

We were able to have a service at church tonight. It was hard to see the walls cut and the baseboards gone. Hard seeing the waterline on the pews that hadn’t been cleaned off yet. Difficult to see the debris pulled out of the other buildings sitting on the sidewalks. I couldn’t go in the other buildings to face that yet. But it’s not lost on me how fortunate we are at Trinity. The water moved out fast. For the most part, our sanctuary was spared. Many of you have lost so much. This is just a building, but it’s a place of spiritual refuge. The thought of losing the place I gather with my church family is unfathomable. Some of you have had that loss. Just know that you and your church family will come through this. God will not leave you. He will sustain you and give you strength. In the meantime, if you need a church to worship in and another church family to visit with, our doors are open to you. We will have Sunday school and worship service Sunday. We will have a special service Sunday to lift up our prayers and our needs to the Lord. If you need a specific prayer, let us know.

The following are photos I saved from friends Facebook posts.  They are in no particular order, except that I’ve separated the photos of Trinity from the others.

Bass Pro Shop in Denham Springs

One of the big reasons why you should never drive through water.  This destruction to infrastructure is seen in many places.

This first picture below is of the Interstate at Denham Springs.  That’s what it normally looked like.  The second is what it looked like for several days.

   

This is just one of several casket photos I saw.  I worried about my little mama buried at Trinity’s cemetery but she must stayed put!

A young man we know, David Cougle, posted this on Facebook today and gave me permission to share with you his thoughts:

These pictures are taken in the Baton Rouge area, where I attended law school from 2005-2008. I currently live an hour and 15 minutes from all of this, and was blessed to have been spared. Tens of thousands were not so fortunate.

It is amazing how much more President Bush did after Katrina for Louisiana, yet still was fiercely criticized, while President Obama is playing golf and the media hasn’t even touched him. The media has, overwhelmingly, ignored what is going on in Louisiana right now.

A good reminder of what I always tell people: the media is interested in shaping opinion, not reporting facts.

The Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate published this about President Obamas neglect of Louisiana during this time.  It’s a well written article.  Please read:

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_f1ce22ee-64b4-11e6-b11a-a393ff25161d.html

The beautiful little town of Albany, just down the road from where we use to live on Wardline Road in Hammond.  That house was spared.

A lot of the residents of all of these areas had no Flood insurance because it wasn’t required.  They had never flooded before.

Links to some articles:

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=f0CiWw4q

http://www.wwltv.com/ext/news/nation-now/louisiana-flooding-is-worst-disaster-since-sandy-but-people-arent-talking-about-it/289/nationnow/eZDtKvJy92OKIYUESI6US

Most, other than Baton Rouge and Denham Springs are towns whose schools, groceries, homes, churches, horses, cows, fire department, police departments and the lsit goes on of busineses that were destroyed.  With such widespread devastation I don’t know how this area can recover without assistance from folks around the country who are comfortable at home reading this.

Up to 12 Northshore Baptist churches now on the flooded list:

1. Blood River, Albany
2. Crossgate FBC, Robert
3. Ebenezer, Hammond
4. FBC, Springfield
5. French Corner, Ponchatoula
6. Hillside, Albany
7. Mt. Calvary, Independence
8. New Hope, Independence
9. Old Zion Hill, Tickfaw
10. Trinity, Pumpkin Center
11. Woodland, Springfield
12. Woodland Park River Road Campus, Hammond

 

Here’s some Trinity photos:

Parsonage (where the pastor lives)

Church parking lot with the water mostly gone – vehicles are church members that are there working on gutting out the buildings.

This was in the sanctuary, refreshments provided for the workers.  When I first saw this I thought it was alcoholic bottles and I had to take a second look.  I’m going to have to try out that Arizona Stress drink!!

Youth Ministers office flooded

Church office

This girl, Ashley Louviere, is Ms. Muscles.  She does work out and it’s paying off big time here!

I feel like this didn’t turn out like an orderly post as I usually strive to do.  It’s kind of a hodge podge of information.

I request that any contributions you may wish to make be made to Samaritans Purse via their website at:  https://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/floods-overwhelm-parts-of-louisiana-and-mississippi/?utm_source=Ggl&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=m_YGND-B16V_GGLSP-LAFloods-ETA

The Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief via their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SBC-Disaster-Relief-248933738262/?pnref=story.unseen-section

The Tangipahoa Humane Society (Animal Shelter) has different but just as great needs.  Here’s a link to where you can give to them.  https://www.gofundme.com/2j453p7w

If you would like to contribute to our church’s recovery I’ll get that information for you, just let us know.  If you are close enough and able bodied and would want to help with the manual work at the church or people’s homes I’d be glad to put you in touch with the person that knows where the need is.

That’s about all I can write and share.  As time goes on and things change I’ll share what I’m seeing from my Louisiana friends and family on Facebook.   Prayers are the biggest thing I can request.   Some folks you can pray for by name are:

Jamie and Nicholas Varnado

Debbie Sims Berteau

Barbara and Randy Davis

Tony and Liz Martin

Kim and George Martin

Donna and Chuck Methvien

First United Pentecostal Church in Holden

Jacqueline Wagner

Kristen Wagner and Joe

Cindy and Paul LeBlanc

Jeffrey and Michelle Hill

Trinity Baptist Church

Ms. Emily Wall (she’s 95)

Elaine and Bruce Taylor

Joe Dick

Tommy Mocsary

Lauren Myers and her family in Gonzales

Anna Adamcewicz Woodall

On a personal note, our home in Amite, Louisiana was spared.  Both of our son’s homes were spared, one in Ponchatoula and one in Baton Rouge.  So very thankful for that!

Ya’ll come back now and please keep Louisiana in your prayers.  They have months and months of work ahead of them trying to rebuild homes and businesses.