Two weeks ago, over 20 inches of rain fell in the Baton Rouge area, and an additional 10 inches of rain fell from Covington to Lafayette. All of the heavy rainfall in South Louisiana caused severe flooding in multiple parishes. The floods damaged 40,000 homes, took the lives of 13 people and already became one of the costliest natural disasters in United States history since Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012.
But there is always light at the end of a dark tunnel, and that has especially been true over these last few days. The people of South Louisiana are starting to walk more in unity and love rather than fear and hatred. They are also very resilient and courageous, knowing that even a massive flood will not break their spirits or stop them from having a great time. Here are some of their stories:
Story #1
A lady came into my restaurant and was almost in tears talking about the community coming together and helping each other out. I'm laughing in the enemy's face because his plan backfired on him. This flood is almost exactly what this city needed when unity is being talked about. God's glory is everywhere, and I'm in awe!
Story #2
I was at Home Depot and there was this teary-eyed woman on the phone. I asked her what was wrong, and she started crying even more. It wasn't her house that was lost, but it was her friend's house. She has a really big heart for people and hated seeing all of the devastation around her. I hugged her, gave her a $25 Visa gift card and prayed for her when I got home. Being from north Texas, we normally have droughts instead of flooding, and I felt bad for these people. I feel like Louisiana is my second home, and I want to help out as much as I can.
Story #3
Even though my family and I were stuck in Zachary, we made cookies for the first responders. The act of baking cookies may have been small, but it made a huge difference for those first responders. It showed how much we care about them and how grateful we were to have them in our community.
Story #4
I thought that it was awesome to hear about Taylor Swift donating $1 million to the flood relief, especially because she had no obligation to do so. She was doing it to help people and be kind, and now it makes me want to go out and re-buy all of her albums!
Story #5
While my friend and I were stuck in her apartment all day, someone would knock on the door every couple of hours, but we never actually answered it. At around 1:30 a.m., someone was banging on her door, and so I went into her room and locked ourselves in there. Unfortunately, someone broke in and took some of our stuff a couple of hours later. I was mad, but then I realized that we were lucky. So many people lost everything they had that day, and for us, it was only a couple of things.
Story #6
Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." The feelings that I felt seeing the aftermath of the flood is perfectly summed up by this quote. After watching the events unfold, I wanted to help change the world by helping a family in need. My desire was answered when my ambassador organization asked volunteers to help clean up a faculty member's house that was affected by the flood. I immediately took the call, knowing that I would be able to help a family that had damage.
However, I left with so much more. I left with a new perspective and a new outlook on the things that I take for granted every day. Their gratitude was inspiring. Even though they lost most of their possessions and photos, they smiled and still believed that things would turn out fine, especially since I and many others were there to lend a helping hand. The experience was wonderful, and it showed that kindness and selfishness is always present.
