God in The Details

  Drumroll please… drrrrrrrrrr… WE ARE FINALLY TALKING ABOUT LOUISIANA!
Yes, it is finally here. The blog you have all been anticipating and waiting for. The Lake Charles, Louisiana blog.

  Well, I was in Lake Charles, Louisiana, partnering with Samaritan’s Purse. While we were there, we helped with disaster relief from the past two hurricanes Louisiana has experienced, Lora, and Delta. What that looked like was anywhere from picking up debrief in yards to mudding out moldy houses.

  Before even leaving for Louisiana, I knew I wanted to see where the Lord was working and partner with him in his God appointments. So, I asked him if I could be apart of those moments, and wow did he deliver. To a normal person, it would not seem to be anything big, but that just makes them that more special. It was the little moments every single day that just overfilled my cup. I will go ahead and share just 3 moments or gifts that stood out to me.

  The first thing the Lord gave me was the people there. They were all about forty and up, but, man their hearts were as young as we are. The fire the Lord has just placed in each and every one of them is inspiring. The reason why that stood out to me was that it just shows that the fire for the Lord is sustaining and surpasses time and age. The second gift that the Lord gifted me was our team leaders, Greg and Thecla. I have been missing my family, especially my parents, and the comfort they give. I have talked to the Lord a lot about this, and he has been so gracious in taking those emotions and easing them, but when I met Greg and Thecla, they just felt like home. They gave my whole team and me so much comfort as well as many laughs! From yelling GREG every five seconds to working with T to pull out moldy insolation, they became parents to us. Giving us such an amazing example of a Godly relationship and partnership between the two of them! I am extremely thankful for them and the breath of fresh air they gave my team and me. The third gift the Lord gave me was being able to connect with my homeowners. You see I am not a hundred percent gifted in doing manual labor. Now do not get me wrong, I can do it and do it well, but it is not my forte, you could say. So, in that, I got to grow in other gifts the Lord has given me, like listening. I got to listen to my homeowners, and sometimes that is all a person needs is a listening ear. It was amazing and heartbreaking to hear some of these owners’ stories from losing almost everything to these storms. Some could move mountains with their faith, and others just had to make it to the next day. It was amazing to hear and see how after we were done with these houses, the physical changed that would happen in these owners. In all of them, you could physically tell a burden was lifted off. As a body, that is what we are called to do is help and encourage one another. Now, that might not always look like ripping out moldy drywall or using a chainsaw to cut down massive tree limbs, but it could be as simple as lending a listening ear or just praying for our brothers and sisters. You will never know how much those simple acts help.

  So yeah, those are just a few gifts the Lord gifted me with while I was in Lake Charles. Challenge time!! This next week as we get together with family and eat a lot of yummy food, ask the Lord where He is in the little moments? Who knows, you might just be surprised what He has for you in those moments! Until next time, Esther Collins. Also, stay tuned for my next blog it is going to be a SICK one.