A few months ago my daughter, Angie, told me she was going to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a group from the United Methodist Church in Camp Hill. I asked if they had room for one more, and without a second thought I had signed myself up to spend the second week of November with the group. At that point we didn’t know what we would be doing. I only knew that since Hurricane Katrina hit I’ve felt a pull to do something more to help. Like so many of you, I’m sure, I just felt the need to go and help in any way that I could.

I want to tell you that from the very beginning I knew this trip was something straight from God, but I had no idea what surprises He had in store for all of us on that trip. Of course, there were a few stumbling blocks that would get in the way.

I had just started a new job two months before and hadn’t accumulated vacation time yet, so with high hopes I requested the leave and to my surprise they approved it! They also thought it was a wonderful opportunity that I shouldn’t pass up. That got me over the first hurdle.

We learned we would be staying at the Salvation Army and working in a warehouse for them. I have to be truthful -- my first thought was, “How am I going to be able to work in a warehouse?” I had been having some pretty severe back pain and knew heavy lifting and warehouse work probably wasn’t the best thing for me right now. But I told myself I would go and do what I could, and prayed that God would find a way for me to be helpful.

The group would be leaving by van the same Saturday as my nephew’s wedding in Philadelphia. That meant Angie and I could not travel with them. Tom and Wina (Angie’s in-laws) decided to wait and drive down with us on Sunday morning. Angie, Tom, and Wina would have preferred to fly, but they knew I had a fear of flying. I thought about the long drive and how much time would be cut out of our week in Baton Rouge. I thought about how tired we would be when we arrived. It just made sense to fly, so without a moment’s hesitation I heard myself suggesting we fly. Angie assured me I didn’t have to, but I was really feeling very calm and had no fear, so the arrangements were made to fly out of Baltimore on Sunday morning.

Over the next few weeks, I didn’t worry about the plane. Now I have to tell you I have tried to plan trips that involved flying before and I could never force myself to go. I always came up with a good excuse to delay the trip, drive or just cancel the trip. I think I worried about getting on the plane and panicking after it left the ground. I could picture myself gasping for air in the middle of a full-fledged panic attack, curled up whimpering in a corner somewhere. How embarrassing and humiliating for everyone with me and myself! How would they feel about me? But not this time; I never worried. God is good!

Sunday morning we needed to be in Baltimore to board the plane at 7:00 a.m. Angie and I got back from the wedding at about 1:00 a.m., and we were up and ready to leave for Baltimore at 3:15 a.m. We joined Tom and Wina and gladly let Tom take over the drive to Baltimore. As we boarded the plane, I still had no fear, no anxiety, no worry; the plane took off, and I was still calm. I knew that God was truly in control and that this trip was where I was supposed to be.

Our group had seven women and six men. The men stayed at the Salvation Army and the women stayed at a motel about 10 miles away. The motel wasn’t in a real great area and Angie’s father-in-law was a little concerned for our safety. We assured him that we would lock the doors and we would be fine.

The Salvation Army has something called “The Boot Strap Program.’ It is a three-step drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The men go to “detox,” and then come to live and work at the Salvation Army for the next few months.

The major at the Salvation Army said they have a cafeteria where we could all have our meals. Monday morning at breakfast we were surprised to find they have morning devotions and a speaker before the men go to work. The speakers were men who have similar backgrounds, and they know what these guys face each day and what they have to do to get through this difficult time in their lives. Each morning, we sat glued to our seats. These men spoke from the heart and their messages were urgent and very powerful. We looked forward to the time after breakfast, and we all agreed there was no better way to start the day.

Each day after the morning sermon, the men were given the day’s assignment. We worked with them in the warehouses and in the store. The first day, I think they were a little skeptical about us, but as we worked with them throughout the days in the warehouses, ate our meals with them, and joked and shared our lives with them, the walls came down on both sides. They came to trust us and we became friends in Christ.We saw courage and determination to change their lives. We saw humility and sorrow for past behaviors. And we saw hope and joy for a new life with forgiveness in Jesus. We saw excitement for their newfound faith; their willingness to share their testimonies was an experience I will never forget.

We ate breakfast, lunch, and supper with them, getting a chance to know them personally and listen to their testimonies and life stories. I count each of these men as a blessing from God. They all remain in my prayers as many of them will struggle to remain free from their addictions.

And to think this wasn’t anything we expected; we thought we had come to help people devastated by Hurricane Katrina by working in a warehouse, and now came to realize how much we received from such an unexpected source. Just seeing God’s love shine in their eyes as these men shared their faith freely and with such joy! They were showing us a perfect example of how to praise God. I can’t begin to tell you how blessed I felt to be a part of this. God must have been smiling as hymns rose from the warehouse that day.

Throughout the week, we worked sorting, labeling, and organizing boxes in a huge old warehouse. We spent another day sorting and packaging boxes of food, blankets, and diapers to be picked up later that day. Baton Rouge was one of the main distribution centers during the first weeks and months after Katrina, and donations continued to pour in the week we were there. The warehouses were full and it was almost an impossible task to organize at the rate the donations came in. I can now see and understand the overwhelming task of getting all of this out to the people who desperately need it.

The motel we stayed in housed mostly families from New Orleans, as did most of the other motels in Baton Rouge. I can’t begin to tell you about all of the wonderful people we met. Most of the rooms had families of three, four, or five living in one small room, for months, with no cooking facilities, nowhere to go for a few minutes of quiet time. I never heard anyone complain; they were thankful and hopeful. I heard over and over again that they had lost all material things, but they still had their faith, and that they praised God. And to think just a few nights before we had been uncomfortable staying at the same motel with these people! Another lesson learned.

We delivered blankets and diapers to the Camper Trailer Park that had been set up to house hundreds and hundreds of families—little campers set up in rows as far as you could see. We worked in the Salvation Army Store, restocking the racks with clothes from the warehouse. We met so many people from New Orleans; everyone had a story to tell. There is still so much need. I wasn’t ready to come home; a week just wasn’t long enough. I will never forget the people of Baton Rouge and New Orleans; they showed so much courage and faith. I am so thankful that God took me to that place. One week before, I remember doubting that I could do anything worthwhile on this trip and worrying that I would just be in the way. I had never been on a mission trip before and didn’t consider myself a good candidate to go, but God had other plans. He led me into situations I never would have chosen for myself. I received so many blessings from the people I met who shared a part of their lives with me that week. I’m glad God is in control, and not me. Otherwise, I would have missed all of this.

On our last evening in Baton Rouge we were asked to join the men for “Friday Night Alive” at a local Southern Baptist Church. There were only about 30 of us, but you wouldn’t have known it — it was another night of blessings. When the evening was over, we parted with smiles and tears, words of encouragement,
promises to keep in touch, and to remember each other in prayer. I hope to never forget what I learned from them, and the miracle of what God’s love can do.

Last week we received an e-mail from one of the men who was on the trip with us and had returned to Baton Rouge for a second week. He wanted to share some exciting news with us. Mike, one of the men from the Boot Strap Program, told Fred that he had been really inspired in November by our taking the time to come to Baton Rouge to help others. As a result of this inspiration, Mike now spends time each Sunday at the detox center he went through on his journey, encouraging the new men coming through detox. Some of the men then end up in the Boot Strap Program and they have a familiar face in Mike. As Fred said in his e-mail, “It was a timely reminder of how we may never know the impact we have on someone else when we do something to the glory of God.”

And when you serve others, do so with enthusiasm and love, and do it as unto the Lord and not unto man (ref. Col. 3:23).

This encourages me to “listen” to God and follow wherever He leads, even when I’m not sure where, why, or sometimes how. God knows where He is taking us and that’s what really matters. So I write this letter as God has asked. I’m not sure why or how He will choose to use all or part of it, but I feel His call to write it.