Helping Hands in Baton Rouge -- A Report

[Guest]

This is a photo that was taken for documentation of a historic event.  So, don't be offended that a photo was taken during a Sacrament Meeting.

Last week, through the joint efforts of the area representatives of Louisiana and Texas about 1500 Mormon Helping Hands went to Baton Rouge to help with flood relief efforts.  This weekend, there were over 4000 volunteers there.  If you look really closely, you can see me about three people to the (viewer's) right of the man with the green shirt among the yellows.  He was the official videographer for the meeting.  I'm the last yellow shirt before the two rebels who wore white shirts.

Can you imagine people wearing white shirts to a Sacrament Meeting.  Kids these days!  

Next week they expect to have around 7000 or more volunteers.

Well, the meeting was pretty impressive.  You may note the governor's bald head peaking out over the top of the hymnal sitting on top of the piano.  Seated between him and the Stake President (at the podium) is the mayor of Louisiana.  In spite of the over 4000 volunteers this weekend, only about 700 to 800 were in attendance at this meeting.  Many had family in the area to attend with.  Many others were just plain too tired to get up that early.

If you ever wonder why we don't pass the sacrament at stake conference and general conference, etc. it's because it would take to darn long.  We had 16 Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood holders passing the trays around and it still took forever for just 750 +/- attendees.

The stake president said that we are the Savior's hands. While words are important in spreading the gospel, actions are absolutely vital in turning our faith into reality.

The mayor got up to speak after our opening Hymn "I Am a Child of God."  She noted the words Lead me, guide me... help me find the way."   She said that one great blessing that we are providing these individuals who have lost their homes is some level of guidance.  They need someone to help them find their way.  She declared that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is part of the Baton Rouge family now.  And family tends to help one another in times of need.  And those who are strong need to help those who are weak.  We had not yet sung the rest hymn Because I Have Been Given Much.

The Governor also got up to speak and opened with the opening lines "I am a Child of God, and He has sent me here.  I have no doubt, that He has sent you here."  He went on to explain that one reason this flood had been largely ignored by the media was that there was no build up.  It wasn't even a named storm.  Everyone figured that this was just another storm that would pass over like any other.  It would get us wet and we'd move on.  What we didn't anticipate was that the storm just stayed and kept raining and kept raining.  It wouldn't leave or stop.  Flooding was happening in areas that never flooded in any record book.  While government can do some things, it simply takes too long for us to go through all the red tape to verify that all funds are being used honestly and legally.  And while we try, it is often too late to do the good that really needs doing early on.  That is why volunteers are so important in efforts like this.  You don't have the red tape.  You don't have the bureaucracy that we do.  He closed by declaring "I want you to know that you have a friend in the governor's office.  As long as I am Governor of Louisiana, if there is anything you need that the governor's office can provide, don't hesitate to call on me."

While the Governor had to go, the Mayor remained for the rest of the meeting.  As we sung the hymn "I Stand All Amazed", I wondered how a non-LDS mayor of Louisiana would view our "Christianity" listening to us sing those words and later hear our sacrament prayers.

As I sung those words they took on a new meaning for me in that capacity in which I found myself serving.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!

Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,

Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Why did it have such special meaning to me?  I was thinking of the words spoken by each of the speakers.  They praised our efforts in helping those in need.  I took it rather humbly.  I knew I was only a servant of the Lord.  It was His power that gave us strength (I'll tell you about that later).  But as I superimposed that onto my own feelings of inadequacy, I considered how some had reacted to our help the day before.  Such lost souls.  Such gratitude.  Such need.  Such relief.  I then felt that same loss, gratitude, need, and relief because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I felt confused that he would do something so wonderful for me, a sinner, such mercy, such love, such grace.  

Yes, I'm a sinner.  And I'm a lot more rebellious than many of you are aware of.  But that He would extend His great love to me... I did indeed tremble during that hymn...much easier when I was standing up.

We closed with the hymn Called to Serve.  It certainly took on a new meaning when we were talking about serving those in deed rather than in word.  We do indeed tell the Father's story by being the Lord's hands.  We told the story  service, of sacrifice, of dedication, and charity.

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The first day (Saturday) we were given assignments and we went out.  It's a lot easier in this day of GPS and smart phones.  Our crew was made up of 12 people from our ward in three vehicles.  We were given a list of tools to bring.  With hindsight, I'd have recommended a blower, chisels, ear plugs (multiple pairs per person) and floor scrapers (thick and thin).

The first home we were in was being worked on by the homeowner's father who was a general contractor.  He mainly needed us to do cleanup work.  The street piles were being picked up by a trash truck equipped with a "picker upper".  I don't know what this tool was called.  But it was effective at grabbing large piles of junk and loading it into the truck.  The contractor was grateful that we were able to pick things up.  As we cleaned up, he was able to more effectively do his demolition.  We also helped with the demo.  We got a short video of the piles of debris.  I'm having trouble getting it.  I'll post it when I can.

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The second home was of an elderly woman whose son gave us some guidance on what was needed.  Our crew chief was a general contractor as well.  So, he was good at organizing and sending assignments.  As we surveyed the damage, he had a reason for questioning which direction the water went and where it pooled, etc.  I just happened to have gone to a seminar on forensic analysis of water damage to wood of various types.  While I was not instantly made into an expert, I did pick up enough to answer his questions.  The Lord does qualify those whom He calls.

We sweat quite a bit more on that job than the previous one.  But one very important thing was how we made the woman feel.  The crew chief's wife was there with us.  And while she did to a substantial part of the labor that us men did, she also took the time to talk to the lady about her home and her family and how the damage has affected her personally.  She did the relief society thing.  The woman was so comforted by her words.  While she tried to remain positive and keep a stiff upper lip, she was certainly, understandably, downhearted.  As I was taking the wheelbarrow of debris to the pile outside, she noticed I was getting rained on pretty hard.  

She declared,"I just don't think it will ever stop raining."  
As I got back in, one of the pre-mission elders we brought asked me if it was raining outside.
The crew chief's wife said,"Of course.  That's not just sweat on Brother Carb's face."
I said,"Yes it is."  I was only partly joking.  The heat, the humidity, the labor all culminated into my sweating like I was having a stroke.

When it was all over, she looked at everything. and was so pleased that it was nowhere near as bad as she thought it would be.  That one fact alone gave her tremendous relief.

While we were having our lunch break, a man drove up to us, recognizing our yellow shirts. He gave us his contact information so we could arrange for a crew to come to the house down the street that was so bad that the owner went to stay with relatives out of state.  But the house needed some help.  We later connected him with the proper people and he's going to pursue it.

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The next home was actually quite a nice home.  They had just gotten done remodeling.  They had done a good job with demolition and cleanup on most of the stuff that we would normally doing.  But they needed the hardwood flooring torn out.  One reason it was so difficult was that the builders completely glued the entire floor.  Usually, there is some sort of pattern (a grid, zigzag, checkered...) that the glue is laid down in.  Then the wood is laid over it.  But with this floor, we quickly discovered that it was almost 100% glued.  Everyone was having difficulty with it.  Only chips and pieces would come out at a time.  

One of the brothers decided to give it a go with a chipping hammer.  But it just wouldn't work.  I explained that the chipping hammer works on impact energy.  But the glue was so rubbery, that it dissipated all the impact energy.  We might have well used it to cut through a tire.

Finally, I developed a method using two claw hammers that proved most effective.  While it went much faster after that, I was apparently sweating enough that the homeowner brought me a water bottle believing I was having a stroke.  No, I was not having a stroke.

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We finally got to go for dinner.  The organization had rented a part of an arena.  And the chef in charge was the state champion of jambalya cook.  So, we had jambalya.  To be honest, I was not a fan of cajun food.  But it was food and I was hungry.  Therefore, I was thankful.  The Emcee asked,"Now, I don't suppose you came to the cajun capital of the world and expected to be fed spaghetti, did you?"  No, I didn't.  So, thank you.

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Now, I have to be extra grateful for a wonderful blessing of our accommodations.  Another brother and I sing in the chior and were to perform in the quartet today.  But when this call went out, we both knew we had to help.  So that got cancelled.  The woman who put together the quartet, instead of being upset by this, was the first to agree that it was much more important.  She made appropriate calls and rearranged the schedule.  She also called up some friends of theirs in Baton Rouge to see if they could put us up for the night -- yes all 12 of us.

That family was not available to help us, but they had friends across the lake who were willing to help.  We didn't know what to expect as far as the home.  We were expecting to sleep on the floor of a cultural hall or something.  To be told that we could sleep at a house instead was wonderful.  When we got there, we found they had a 7 bedroom home and had gotten some dinner for us and left us to their showers and kitchen and bedrooms.  They all crowded into one bedroom.  They said it was the least they could do for us.  They knew how bad things were and they were happy to at least do this much to help.

In the morning the father looked at our shirts and said,"Oh, I didn't know y'all were LDS.  You sure are making a lot of friends with this effort"  A short conversation followed.  I was needed in another room.  But as I left, he declared,"You guys really are the Latter-day Saints."

My thought was how blessed we were to have a bed to sleep in that night.  We saw people setting up tents on the grass during the rainy night.  To think that could have been us.  To think that others did sleep that way when they were there to help others who had lost everything was a ponderous thought.

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In the morning we realized just how hard we had worked.  Soreness was just as sure as sleep in our eyes in the morning.

We had the sacrament meeting I described earlier.  We went to two more homes.  Both of them were basically simple clean up jobs.  But one of them was a prime example of how much people needed us.  Their house was not just a few inches under water.  It was about 5 feet under water.  There were still bird baths of water in the house when we arrived.  Much of the demo was done already by a group from a local church.  But there was a question about how much was necessary.  Several of us (including a man from the other church) believed we needed to do more.  But the man who seemed to be taking charge of the situation said we'd done enough and that they needed to get to another house to do more work.  A man from his group pointed out that it was the homeowner's decision to make.

I looked at the woman and began to ask her what she thought.  But it was clear from the look on her face that she simply didn't know what to make of anything.  She was really lost.  While this other "leader" saw a job to do and get onto the next one, and while we saw an assignment and a chance to serve, this woman was simply overwhelmed at having to look at bare studs for walls, outlets and light switches that didn't have the added safety of being behind drywall, no functioning bathtub or shower, much power having to be shut off... To ask her to make a decision on how much "needed" to be done was simply asking too much.  We would be gone in a few minutes.  But she'd have to stay there and live with it.

I really wish we could have done more for her.  But certain decisions were made and there are somethings that are just inappropriate in some situations that really would be the right thing to do.

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The next home was nothing significantly different except that 1) it was a lot of hard smelly work.  and 2) Our crew chief had the one injury of our group.  He bumped his head on shelf right at the level of his temple. Luckily, one of our group was an EMT by profession.

As we traveled home, I marked how tired I was, how sore I was.  I recounted many comments even from the young men with us about how sore and tired everyone was.  I don't think anyone of us had worked so much, so hard.  I know that our bodies were sustained by the Lord.  If you saw how much sweat, heavy breathing, grunting and so forth that went on in those two days, I can honestly say that I've never even come close to doing that much labor in such a concentrated time.  I've done much less for a much shorter duration and dropped from exhaustion.  And I've never been so happy and at peace while doing such work.

Yes, we were the Lord's hands this weekend.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Guest

[NightSG]

3 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Can you imagine people wearing white shirts to a Sacrament Meeting.  Kids these days!

I was thinking it was just casual day or something; looking around Sacrament Meeting I noticed a lot more non-white shirts than usual, and even several polo shirts.  One of the deacons passing the Sacrament was even in a lavender windowpane check shirt.

[Guest]

IMG_2639.MOV

Here is the video.  I hope it works.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Guest

[Guest MormonGator]

5 hours ago, NightSG said:

I was thinking it was just casual day or something; looking around Sacrament Meeting I noticed a lot more non-white shirts than usual, and even several polo shirts.  

 I almost always wear a polo to sacrament meeting. 

[zil]

24 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

 I almost always wear a polo to sacrament meeting. 

Complete with mallet and helmet, or do you leave those in the parking lot with the horse?

[Guest MormonGator]

5 minutes ago, zil said:

Complete with mallet and helmet, or do you leave those in the parking lot with the horse?

:: said in his upper crust snobby English accent :: 

Excellent observation darling, well done! 

[NeuroTypical]

9 hours ago, Carborendum said:

As we traveled home, I marked how tired I was, how sore I was.  I recounted many comments even from the young men with us about how sore and tired everyone was.  I don't think anyone of us had worked so much, so hard.  I know that our bodies were sustained by the Lord.  If you saw how much sweat, heavy breathing, grunting and so forth that went on in those two days, I can honestly say that I've never even come close to doing that much labor in such a concentrated time.  I've done much less for a much shorter duration and dropped from exhaustion.  And I've never been so happy and at peace while doing such work.

You rock, Carb.

[Guest]

Is there a way to embed the video to play on the browser instead of downloading it?

Edited August 30, 2016 by Guest

[Guest]

Here's a longer video which is more representative of the piles of debris and lost property that we saw.

IMG_2642.MOV

On the last two homes, you'd have to take those same piles and apply it to the entire width of the homes (which were much larger than these patio homes).

 

Edited August 30, 2016 by Guest

[NeuroTypical]

On 8/29/2016 at 9:40 AM, Carborendum said:

Is there a way to embed the video to play on the browser instead of downloading it?

You can upload it to YouTube, and link to that instead of uploading it here.  If you're picky about privacy settings (which I am,) you can do them so it's not findable on YT in a search, only by a direct link.  Which you only give here. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

You can upload it to YouTube, and link to that instead of uploading it here.  If you're picky about privacy settings (which I am,) you can do them so it's not findable on YT in a search, only by a direct link.  Which you only give here. 

I think I'll let it be.

[Blackmarch]

ya having a youtube google account and using youtube as the middle man to link to and stufff is probably the best approach