Meridian Magazine : : Church Update: A Trip Down the Bayou with Mormon Helping Hands

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A Trip Down the Bayou with Mormon Helping Hands By Nayda Easley
Photography by Aurene Mallory & Jane Horacek

“Did you see the alligator?” Julié Dubuisson smiled at 12-year-old Tiggy Pollard, one the of Mormon Helping Hands crew. He had taken a quick break to check out the bayou at the back of the house. The youngster nodded solemnly. Julié and her husband, Maynard were some of the grateful homeowners along LA Hwy 315 in Dularge , LA where over a dozen crews of LDS volunteers worked clearing trees and putting tarps on roofs.

The project was the collaborative effort of Martin Luther King III's 'Realizing The Dream Foundation,' and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Saturday, September 27 th , 1,400 volunteers comprised of LDS members, the Louisiana AFL-CIO, and others, offered 'A Day of Service' to some of the hard hit coastal areas around Houma , Louisiana .

While The Dubissons, Maynard, Julié, and her 12 year old daughter, Kim Guidry, helped the crews from Gonzales , LA and the Red Star Ward in Jackson , MS , we managed to glean a bit of information.

God has Blessed Us

“We are just so grateful that your people have come to help us. It was going to take me months to do all this work by myself,” Maynard said.

He would know. Three years ago his family had faced the double whammy of Katrina and Rita.

As he looked about his damaged property, Maynard continued, “We have always tried to do what God would want and help our neighbors in times of need. Now, God has blessed us by sending you all to us in our time of need." s

Julié said Hurricane Rita had been the most devastating of the storms for them because of the flooding. “Water stood in the house almost up to his (Maynard's) chest.”

Keep in mind we're talking about a home on stilts, raised at least six feet off the ground.

She pointed to two porcelain angels in a curio cabinet. “You see these? During Rita they were sitting on a table, one at each end. There was a Bible in the middle. When my husband came to check on the house, the table had floated and they were still there, only the Bible, that had been closed, was open.” She laughed. “I wish he had noticed what page it was opened to, but he didn't think to look.”

For two years, while they repaired their house, the Dubuissons lived in a FEMA trailer. They had worked hard to get into their newly renovated home. The walls had just been freshly painted and the new baseboard laid, when Hurricane Gustav threatened to make a direct hit to the Houma area.

“We evacuated to Alabama , and then, when we learned Ike was coming, we just stayed there,” Julié said.

The house hadn't flooded this time, but the roof had been blown off and the water damage was extensive. Julié took us on a tour to show us the warped sheetrock and thick black mold. The home would be gutted and they would start all over again, yet she smiled as she showed us a beautifully framed picture of The Last Supper that had escaped damage.

As we left, I asked Kim if she was back in school yet.

She laughed, “Oh, yeah.” She flashed a book she had just pulled out of the car. “I was just getting my homework.” Some things even hurricanes can't change.

Headed Next Door

The crews, now finished at the Dubuisson's, were leaving. Where were they headed? Next door, of course.

Traveling farther down LA 315, we saw scores of volunteers, some buried behind toppled trees so thick, if it hadn't been for the telltale yellow shirts, we might have missed them. One group from Alexandria Ward, LA was stripping all the old shingles from a roof and applying new tar paper. Several groups helped stack debris by the roadside for pick up. One of the most poignant scenes was of an elderly couple sitting on their porch swing watching a crew clear flood-ruined furniture from their home.

Our last stop took us almost to the end of LA 315 where crews were hard at work helping the Parish Warden, Shirley Daisy, with the daunting task of cleaning up St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The little church had been flooded when the levee gave way. The crews from Louisiana , one from Denham Spring's Second Ward and the other from Baton Rouge Third Ward, worked tirelessly to help clear debris and limbs, remove furniture, and tear carpet up from the floors.

“Have you met Miss Shirley, yet?” Richard Throckmorton from the Baton Rouge Third Ward asked. “You have to meet Miss Shirley.”

It was clear Shirley Daisy had won over their hearts. After meeting her we could see why. Even though her own house had been flooded, she brushed it off, anxious to see the little church get the attention instead.

“Our parish was hit hard,” she explained with a charming Cajun accent.

While they hoped to restore the small rectory, the Parish Hall would most likely be demolished. In the chapel, a beautiful stained glass mosaic of Christ, his arms outstretched, graced the front wall. Even though the chapel received only about 2” of water, it will still have to have extensive repairs.

Before the crews left, Miss Shirley asked if she could take some tarps with her to put on her roof, but the Baton Rouge crew couldn't pass up one last chance for service.

The coastal shore along Terrebonne Parish is home to mostly Cajuns and Houma Indians whose families have lived here for generations. These are a hardy and self sufficient people. As soon as the flood waters receded, they didn't wait for someone to clear the roads so they could get home, they cleared them themselves. Not once did we hear the words, “Why me?” Nor was there any inclination after four hurricanes in three years to leave the area. Why would they stay after such devastating blows? In the people we talked to, we found a practical faith based in Jesus Christ. With a foundation like that, maybe, even after losing their possessions, they find by still having each other, they really haven't lost much after all.