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| Maya when I first met her |
“We ought
always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith
is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is
increasing.” 2 Thess 1:3 ESV
On August
28, 2005, Nicole and Fernando hurriedly packed their most precious possessions
into their car and left with their 2 month old daughter Maya, and Nicole’s
mother and grandmother for central New Orleans.
They lived across the bridge in Slidell, but they were convinced the safest
place to take refuge was in the power plant where Nicole’s uncle worked. When they arrived and saw the police and
firemen had also decided it was the best place to be, they felt they had made a
good decision. As the storm progressed
and the levees were breached, Nicole watched in horror as her car with her
valuables floated and then sank. The
worst was yet to come. The generators
for the power plant, “conveniently” located on the first floor, flooded with
water. Everyone in the building was
trapped.
Helicopters
came to airlift them to safety, but no one could bring anything with them, not
even a diaper for Maya. They were moved
from place to place. Nicole held Maya in
her arms in a cot to sleep, but she spent most of her nights awake for fear of
rolling over on Maya. Despite the
extreme heat of the season, they became chilled in their soaking wet clothes
under the fans in the tent, and Nicole’s grandma became ill and died of
pneumonia.
It was
months before they were allowed back to check their home. There wasn’t much left between the flooding,
a tree through the house, and the winds that had ripped the house apart. Her grandmother’s house, although badly
flooded, was in better shape. Nicole’s
battle with insurance and FEMA would continue for many, many years before their
house could be rebuilt. God sent ReachGlobal
Crisis Response to restore grandma’s house which Nicole inherited. While teams gutted and rebuilt this house,
the volunteers shared their faith with Nicole and Fernando. They both accepted Christ as their Lord and savior.
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| Nicole, Fernando, and children in their home |
It has been
a joy over the years to revisit this family and see their faith and love in
action. They now have four children, and
Maya will soon be turning 10. I recently
stopped in and listened to Nicole’s stories on ways they were showing the love
of Christ to others. Watch the video to
hear how Hurricane Katrina changed Nicole's life. https://youtu.be/j5xVhGc-ujU
It has taken much perseverance to get where
they are today back in their original home.
More amazing though is seeing how God has rebuilt their lives. You can be part of this continuing story of
how God is transforming New Orleans.
Volunteer on a team, pray for the ministry and/or give financially to
provide for needs.
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| Maya will be turning 10 |
