"RACHEL"

On December 7th we completed the mucking of the house in Chalmette. One hundred forty feet of destroyed belongings stretched in front of it and we all were in a bit of a daze. Before leaving, we ladies decided to use the hospitality that had been offered by a lady that lived down the street in a FEMA trailer. She had generously offered us the use of her bathroom.

I was lagging a bit behind the others and was not sure which trailer they were in. A woman named Rachel came to the porch of her FEMA trailer and asked if she could help me. (The hospitality in this area is unbelievable.) At any rate, she invited me to use her facilities. Her trailer, which is about half the size of my dorm room at Trinity, had been bravely decorated for Christmas. She had really tried to bring the spirit of the season into her her tiny home. We stood and talked for quite a while and although I could have continued listening to her forever, I thought the team would be ready to leave so I started to go. Before I left she invited me back for a cold drink, a visit or the use of her bathroom any time.

When I got back to the van, the team suggested that we give Rachel one of the quilts that had been made by Lutheran Womens' groups all over the United States. Rachel was just coming out of her home and was walking on a crutch down the street. When we met in the middle of the street, I told her that the quilt was a Christmas gift from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She just looked at it an tears welled in her eyes. She asked, "Is this really for me?" When I replied that it was she told me that it was the most wonderful Christmas gift that she had ever received. By this time we were both crying and holding on to each other with the quilt crushed between us.

For me, it was the most poignant moment of the trip until that time. The catastrophe that had struck the Gulf Coast personified itself in this woman who had lost nearly all she had. God's presence was truly a tangible thing as I hugged this dear woman--a woman who I will probably never see again. God bless you, Rachel!

Blessings, Mary