Why are you going to Louisiana in June? This was a commonly asked question from family and friends prior to the mission trip. I think most of us answered, "We are going to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina." And we definitely helped to rebuild homes. We worked on nine different homes. We built roofs and porches, hung drywall, installed windows and wired homes for electric. But a lot more happened than the building of homes and we all came back changed in some way.  

It was the evening of the sixth day of our mission trip that Rob Gómez and Harold Baxter shared the story of Mitch. Rob, his daughters and Bax had worked on wiring Mitch's home that day. All 44 of us were tired – physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. Many of us were lying prone on our pads and sleeping bags on the floor of the church sanctuary as Rob began to tell us of Mitch's plight. Unexpectedly, we were about to receive a glimpse of why we were called to Boothville, Louisiana, three years after Hurricane Katrina had completely destroyed the community.  

Like all residents of Boothville, Mitch lost everything in the storm, save the land he owned. Mitch had worked for Shell Oil and suffered a significant back injury some years ago during a helicopter crash while returning from an offshore oil rig. He had since lost his job. Like many locals, after the storm Mitch was given a FEMA trailer. A few months after moving in, Mitch became very ill and tested positive for formaldehyde poisoning from the trailer. FEMA removed the trailer but never replaced it, and Mitch had nowhere to live. He had built a small 10 by 10 tool shed to store some equipment. Without any other options, he moved into the tool shed. He did not tell anyone for fear of being evicted.  

His eyes filled with tears, Rob shared with us how Mitch, who had nothing, was so kind and gracious to him. Mitch bought cold drinks for Rob, Bax, Korina and Miranda, and he even offered to buy the crew lunch – but he had nothing, he was living in a shed! Ironically, Rob found himself on the receiving end of God's mercy. But weren't we supposed to be the ones giving – not receiving? Didn't we go to Louisiana to help others? Mitch was an unexpected witness to God's love.  

"We didn't lose everything, all we lost was stuff," said one of the women from Mt. Olive church during our last devotion time. She reminded us that God dwells in our relationships with family, and with our neighbors and with our brothers and sisters in Christ no matter our color, circumstance, or station in life. You see, Katrina, in all of its power and might, did not destroy this community. It destroyed every building, that is for sure, but it did not destroy God's people, God's grace or God's mercy. A community still existed in Boothville the second after the storm retreated – a community without buildings or walls. And during one hot and sweaty week in Boothville, Louisiana, we got to experience that sweet community. Praise be to God.