Christmas Miracle Offering Update | Southwest Louisiana

Dan Bracken

Tired.

That’s the word I kept hearing over and over.

Last week, I was in Southwest Louisiana to capture the story for this year’s Miracle Offering.

Southwest Louisiana was smacked by 2 hurricanes, a deep freeze, a super flood and a nasty tornado all within the last 14 months. Homes would be halfway repaired, only to be destroyed multiple times more.

Like everyone else in Southwest Louisiana, Ms. Cat was forced to evacuate before Hurricane Laura made landfall in August 2020 with 150mph winds. Her home was inaccessible until after Hurricane Delta 2 months later. Water leaked through the roof, damaging most of her home’s interior. Covid fears hampered the assessment of interior damage, so FEMA determined Cat’s house was livable. Insurance adjusters quoted repair cost only based on outside damage, but it wasn’t enough to cover Cat’s $10,000 deductible. She was one of the few to receive help from a volunteer team. The team stripped her house and replaced sheet rock, but they missed a lot of the mold, which made her sick just in time for the deep freeze. Too ill and cold to reach out for help, she prayed for survival.

Of course, she survived. And as Cat shared her story her eyes swelled with gratitude.

“Hurricane Rita in 2005 was hard, but I was young then. I bounced back much quicker. I had the energy to start over. This time I’m too old to start over, but by God’s grace I’ll be just fine.”

And there it is… resiliency. The People of Southwest Louisiana are resilient. But they are tired. Tired of starting over. Trauma after trauma, kickin’ em while they’re down.
 
Southwest Louisiana needs a little Christmas.

The Miracle Offering is one of my favorite things we do. It has shaped me.

Get caught up in the full story HERE.

Plan to bring a gift that is above and beyond on Christmas Eve to help our sisters and brothers in Southwest Louisiana.

Before we can change the world, we have to trust how God is changing us.

I’m deeply grateful for your investment in our church, our community, my family and me.

Love. Love love love LOVE love LoVe lOvE LOVE. LOOOOOOOOOVE. LOVE! Regardless.

Dan Bracken
Ginghamsburg Communication Director
dbracken@ginghamsburg.org