Hope and Healing

We just wrapped up our second week in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area, and we’re taking this weekend to prepare for next week’s teams. Slowing down isn’t something that our Summer Staff team is particularly good at, but this community has challenged us to hear its stories in the midst of frequent Home Depot runs and ever-buzzing oven timers.

What we have come to realize is that the community’s growth isn’t dependent on the rate at which we complete projects; instead, it’s our mission teams’ willingness to listen to and understand others that fosters genuine healing.

The greater Baton Rouge area has been in incredible need since the August 2016 flooding from "the storm with no name," and, although this community has accepted donations and help from volunteers, many are still unable to return to their homes.

Katherine and I began home tours on our first day in Louisiana, and these allowed us to assess the damage and create a plan of action for incoming mission teams. We jumped from home to home, making notes of potential work projects, meeting with informed community partners, and trying our hand at Home Depot shopping. As overwhelming as this all was to two girls who didn’t know the difference between a wrench and a hammer, it was the hope of our homeowners that shocked us the most.

Despite everything they had endured—being displaced for over 10 months, broken promises, and failed government assistance—these people still had unbelievable hope. They hoped for a reclaimed space, they hoped for relationship, and they hoped for restoration—and they did it all in the hope of Jesus Christ. The joy that this community possesses is a byproduct of their steadfast faith, and it has served as divine motivation for our mission trip teams this summer.

This has challenged us to perceive our mission, not as mere construction work, but as an opportunity to empathize with our community’s pain and celebrate in its growth.

Baton Rouge has allowed me to see that growth can’t always be measured in nuts and bolts, and that, instead, it is realized in those moments when a community’s story is heard, and its hope for a better tomorrow is shared.

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Check out Baton Rouge Mission Trips!

You must have a group size of at least 6 members to join this trip. Please view the Small Team trips or call our Servicing Department for more options at 888-475-6414.

View Small Team Trips

For most trips, you must have a group size of at least 6 members. Please view the Small Teams tab on each Community page or call our Servicing Department for more options at 888-475-6414.