John Whitehead woke to an unfamiliar sight in mid-August — water had breached his house and was rising fast. The Louisiana State University (LSU) student panicked for a few minutes, facing tough decisions.
What should he save and what should he leave behind?
In the end, the answer was simple. Muddy water lapped against his waist as he struggled to heave his black Labrador Retriever, Rascal, into his kayak. Then he paddled away from everything he and his family owned in Denham Springs, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, knowing they would never see most of it again.
His parents, Darrell and Zanie Whitehead, were in Tuscaloosa, trying to get home. They talked by phone several times as the situation worsened.
Darrell Whitehead said, “I called the fourth time, and he said, ‘Quit calling me, I’m trying to save people.’”
By the end of the day, John Whitehead and his kayak had carried a number of people to safety, including two elderly women who were clinging to a chain link fence, water up to their chins.
Wave of help
On Labor Day weekend, flood survivors like the Whiteheads in south Louisiana were on the receiving end of an even larger wave of help. LSU’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) spearheaded a massive cleanup event, drawing more than 450 students from collegiate ministries in Alabama (see story in the Sept. 8 issue), Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. As the LSU Tigers played their first game of the season Sept. 3, students pried up waterlogged wood flooring, tore out Sheetrock and tried to salvage homeowners’ keepsakes from encroaching mold.
At the Whitehead home, not much is left. The few possessions they now own are stored in a 5-by-8-foot shed — with room to spare. But Darrell Whitehead, a former children’s minister, is still grateful.
He estimates the students saved him approximately $10,000–$12,000 for professional gutting, and they finished so far ahead of schedule that they were able to help neighbors with their cleanup efforts.
Arkansas State University student Kristen Scarlett, who attends First Baptist Church, Jonesboro, Arkansas, said, “I thought, ‘If the Lord made me an able-bodied person, why am I not there?’ I need to live out that calling. If you’re in good health, why wouldn’t you?”
Students sometimes worry that they won’t have the skills to tackle the work, but LSU student Cullen McDaniel, of Jefferson Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, dismissed that excuse.
“All it takes is people coming together over one goal,” McDaniel said. “This has taught me to trust the Lord in everything [to] provide the healing, the comfort and the guidance you need to get through the trying times of life.”
The Baton Rouge community has become more united since enduring the fatal incidents between residents and local police recently, said Sarah Farley, BCM associate director at LSU. She believes the flood has washed away some of the anger and pain.
“The way God has used the flood to unite us is amazing. … I think there’s a lot of hope.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — To give an offering to help Louisiana flood survivors, visit www.sbdr.org/louisianafloodrelief. To become trained in disaster relief or learn more about opportunities to serve, visit www.alsbom-gm.org. (BP, TAB)
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