Beautiful DeRidder

Hi friends!! I’ve been living in the peach state for almost two months now!! Living in sweet community and learning so many new things about Abba! I could go on and on telling you about all the things the Lord has been doing through me, but I want to tell you about something that I had the opportunity of doing last week (and then maybe one day I’ll tell you all of the many things I’ve learned since being here!).

  When we first got to Georgia we thought that doing ministry wasn’t likely, or if we eventually did it, we would only do it here in Gainesville. But God gave us the sweet opportunity to do ministry in Louisiana last week! We worked alongside an organization called Samaritan’s Purse. They do so many things all around the world, but one of their ministries here in the states is disaster relief! Louisiana recently got hit with 2 major hurricanes less than six weeks apart, and because of Covid there aren’t many helping hands. So that’s exactly what we came to be. We cleaned up yards with fallen trees and debris. We tarped roofs to keep from further water damage. We sat with home owners, heard their stories, and built relationships. Four of the teams on my squad went to Lake Charles, while the other two teams went to the beautiful little town of DeRidder.

    DeRidder isn’t particularly beautiful by its looks. In fact, it’s a small town with a railroad and some old buildings. But the people there are what makes it special. Everyone seems to know everyone. Many people seemed surprised that people would want to come and help their town. But nonetheless grateful that we were there to help.

   Again, I could go on and on about all the stories I have from just that week. But, we’d be here for a while. So I’m going to save you some time and just share this one story that stands out to me.

   On our first day of ministry, we spent the morning and most of the afternoon at two houses picking up fallen trees. We even uncovered a car from debris. Then we pulled up to our third house of the day, Mrs. C’s house. I immediately felt the Lord tell me that this was a divine appointment. He reminded me that I don’t know this lady’s story. I would have never known she existed if it weren’t for the fact that I just happened to be in that exact moment at that exact time. I should be in Africa right now. That’s what I had originally signed up for. After that, I should have been in Georgia. Louisiana was never in the picture. Better yet, I just happened to be in the sweet town of DeRidder, which is a whole other story. But the Lord has known this woman since the beginning of time. He knows everything about who she is and where she came from. He knows her struggles. He knows what makes her laugh. He knows her just as much as He knows me. That’s when He challenged me to learn her story.

   I’m typically not someone to go out of my way to start conversations with people. I like the physical work and I typically leave the conversations to people who are better equipped. So that’s what I did. She would sit in her little screened-in porch and do work as we would pass by every few minutes dragging tree limbs. Each time I’d walk by I would want to start some small talk but was always too scared. I noticed she had an orange tree in her backyard and I really wanted to ask her about it. I then felt like the Lord was telling me to ask her about cooking. But every time I’d just push it to the side and continue the work I was there to do. After about an hour of being there it was time to leave and go back to the base for showers and dinner. But there was still a lot of work left to do, so we were coming back in the morning. She asked us if she could cook breakfast for us the next morning and you best believe we said yes. I went back and was sad that I didn’t ever speak up and talk to her. But I was also really excited because I knew in my spirit I needed to talk to this lady, and I was confident that I would finally do it when we went back!

  So we woke up the next morning and got on our way to Mrs. C’s house. She didn’t come outside at first and I was feeling a little disappointed. But I continued with my work. I grabbed a rake and began to pile the leaves in her yard. She finally came out with breakfast and coffee for everyone! What a woman, wow! She then went back inside, but I was determined to speak to her. So I grabbed my sweet teammate, Gretchen, and asked her if she wanted come with me to knock on Mrs. C’s door. So we went and knocked but she didn’t hear it. But I was persistent on talking to her, so we went around to her side door and knocked once more. Finally she answered! She came out on her porch and sat with us.

    As we began talking, I asked her a bunch of questions in effort of getting to know her. Then the chaplains walk up and sit with us as well. I just got to hear so may stories of her life. She radiated joy and peace. I learned that she uses her orange tree to feed the elderly in her community that can’t leave their homes because of the risk Covid brings. She used to have a peach tree and a kumquat tree that got knocked down in the hurricane. Despite this setback, during Hurricane Laura she gathered her neighbors to cook for their community and made a thousand meals.

  Mrs. C is a woman who deeply cares for others. Her and her husband are both ministers. She runs two different ministries and works for an alternative school. She loves to see others fall in love with the Lord, and she just loves to love. She spent a lot of time in her life being taught that women didn’t have a place in ministry, so she walked away from it for a while. Until one day, she realized she couldn’t sit back and wait. She had to go after God’s calling for her life. She wrote a book on her testimony and a devotional to go along with it. She is currently working on her third book now.

I also learned that her yard was her safe haven. It was where Mrs. C liked to sit with the Lord. The place where she would just simply sit. Sometimes she would watch her grandchildren play. She would grow flowers and hoped to grow a garden with different herbs one day. We got to restore her safe place. Mrs. C is a woman who spends her life serving others, and it was the biggest blessing to be able to serve her.

  She taught me what it looks like to follow your dreams. What it looks like to love and serve others well. I’m so thankful that the Lord asked me to hear her story, to simply sit with her. He told me how much of a light and blessing she is. He showed me her worth and beauty, and reminded me we all have that same beauty and worth.

   Get to know people. Ask them questions. Hear their story. Build relationships. That one interaction with Mrs. C allowed me to be more comfortable building relationships with others during that week in Louisiana. Don’t be scared to say something. People want to be heard, people want to share, people want others to care. Be that person. It’ll probably end up blessing you just as much as it blesses them.

     I’m back in Louisiana for another week of ministry with Samaritan’s Purse. I’m beyond thankful and can’t wait to share the stories of what the Lord does! Please be praying over each person we encounter, and for safety as we are there! I also am still fundraising and have $2000 that I have to raise by November 15th in order to keep sharing stories like this one. So I ask that you pray over that and ask the Lord how he wants you to partner with me. That could be through prayer, financially, or even sharing with a friend all that God is doing through the World Race!!

Thanks for making it this far, I love ya!!

Until next time,

Sydney<3

1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins”