“Thank God they’re here.” That’s what Shirley Zeno said as she looked at Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers building her a brand-new home in Welsh, Louisiana. Zeno has been waiting a long time to move in with her four...
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How would I describe my visit to Jennings, Louisiana? In a word, enlightening. First, the generosity of the Jennings Church of Christ was amazing. When MDS was first looking for a site to set up a base camp, that church seemed to be a good...
“Look at that!” exclaimed Indira Francis, who stood with a big smile on her face in her front yard in Jennings, Louisiana. Francis was doing something she never thought she’d do again in her lifetime: picking a paint color for her freshly...
Tina Deshotel could have easily given up. After two hurricanes, an ice storm, and a severe flood hit Lake Charles, Louisiana—all of them during the COVID-19 pandemic—her home was in shambles. But her husband, Vernon, worried her even more. “He...
By Hillary Andrews , Rebekah Castor LAKE CHARLES, La. – Residents in tarp-covered homes and businesses anxiously await Friday’s omnibus appropriation bill vote. Louisiana’s lawmakers are pressing Congress to send more federal disaster...
Abraham Parfait is a bayou man through and through. A resident of Dulac, Louisiana, stories spilled out of him, drifting into the ears of the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) and Storm Aid volunteers building his new house. “I’ve got two boys,...
By Theresa Schmidt Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) – In LeBleu Settlement Monday morning, it was a red-letter day for a family who wondered if they would ever get back into their home. It’s one of many homes severely damaged by Hurricane Laura. This...
By Mike Smith of The Advocate WESTLAKE — A language not usually heard in southwest Louisiana resounds through the unfinished walls of a hurricane-damaged house. A group of Amish volunteers, speaking Pennsylvania Dutch, hammer away at rebuilding it...
Jay Finkbiner was frustrated. After catching a flight from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Corpus Christi, Texas—where he would volunteer for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS)—he waited at baggage claim. And…no bag. “I went to the airport...
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