A day in the life- Samaritan’s Purse Edition

My heart is heavy and my body is tired from our 8 hour days doing hurricane relief as we serve with Samaritan’s Purse* in Louisiana. There are countless stories of people I have seen and heard come to faith and stories of those wrecked with thankfulness from all that we have done over these first three days I have been here. But before I write about those, I want to share the details about what a typical day looks like during our hands-on training camp experience for future racers, my supporters, and friends, and family. 

When my sweet friend and teammate Holly wakes me up at 5:00 am, it is only by the strength of God that am I able to roll out of my sleeping pad and start my morning devotions. My friends and family back home, you heard that right, I am becoming a morning person. Being so tired after these long intense workdays, finding time to spend time with the Lord can be challenging. Waking up an hour before lights go on, has become a happy place where I can sit with my sisters like Holly, open the bible and prepare for whatever God has for me that day. At around 6, I begin to get ready and put on my bright orange t-shirt and the same dusty but quite comfortable Walmart scrubs I wore the previous days. I skip the makeup and the hairstyling, heading instead to make a sandwich to pack in my lunch for the day. One thing I love about staying in this lovely building, Covenant Church, is that I get to wake up to the smell of southern home-cooked pancakes, biscuits, oatmeal, sausage, bacon, and even sometimes bread pudding. They treat us so well and one small example is the kitchen staff that works 16 hours a day making us Louisiana-style, Food Network-worthy meals. 

After the delicious breakfast, we have a short group lesson before chores begin. We then meet with our labor teams and leave the church around 8:00 am. It would be a shame to neglect to mention my amazing Samaritan’s Purse team leaders. They are filled with the joy of the Lord and are the most patient and hard-working people I have ever met who do all things for the glory of God. It has been such a beautiful thing to grow close to these sweet souls. Samaritan’s Purse in Houma Louisiana’s mission right now is to work on houses of those displaced from the devastation left by Hurricane Ida. I have fallen in love with listening to each of the homeowner’s needs and life stories. 

Today we worked on a man’s house who loved the Lord and the people serving him. He was overflowing with gratitude that his prayers were answered by sending us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to him. When someone apologized for the state of his house he said:

“nonsense, if my house never flooded I never would have met y’all and y’all have made me feel closer to God than I felt in a long time.”

After he gave every one of us a hug and invited his preacher friend to pray over us, he said he would see me later. I looked perplexed until he clarified

“well we are going to get coffee in heaven aren’t we?”

This is just one example of how serving these people has made my eyes open to what true faith means and has allowed me to see the fruits of work I would not normally choose to do. I am gaining as much, if not more, from serving as the people I am serving are. 

We usually work on 2-3 houses a day doing things from eradicating mold with full-body hazmat suits on, mucking out a house, stripping the walls and sheetrock, cutting down trees, and taking apart furniture. We get back to the church around 5:00 to change, shower, and get ready for the delicious dinner and homemade dessert waiting for us. After we eat, we come together to share stories of how the Lord has been working and then head into team time, which has become my favorite part of the day. Being able to decompress after a physically, emotionally, and mentally draining day with my lovely sisters Peyton, Holly, Natalina, and Sydney is truly a gift from the Lord. Stay tuned for more stories about how God is moving in the hearts of all of us, and the community in Houma, Louisiana. 

*If you are not familiar with the ministry of Samaritan’s Purse- I encourage you to go learn about all the amazing work they are doing and see how you can join them in changing lives and entire communities.