'Tell Kathy Jesus brought some food'
NOTE: Photographs and audio are available at http://umns.umc.org.
Kathy L. Gilbert*
ALGIERS, La. (UMNS) - Kathy Powers gets to her office at 7:15 every morning and waits for God to walk through the door.
"I am anxious to start work, knowing that at some point in the day, God is going to make his presence known to me, either through a volunteer that shows up unannounced or someone calling to help us fulfill a need that maybe we didn't even know we had yet," she says. "We do high fives around the office all day shouting, 'Wahoo! There he is again.'"
Powers is the volunteer coordinator for the Westbank storm station, one of six relief/recovery stations set up by the Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the state in August and September 2005.
In a previous life, Powers was the youth minister at Aurora United Methodist Church, where the storm station is based. She still does that job but the numbers of youth in the program have dwindled. Aurora had about $400,000 worth of damage after Hurricane Katrina.
Jake McGlothin, the center's director, grew up in the church and was one of Powers' former youth members. In his previous life, he worked for the Peace Corps for a year after graduating from college.
"God sends random people" into the center, Powers says. People like "George of the Parking Lot" or "Dick from Holland," McGlothin adds. Those volunteers often bring with them just the materials or expertise needed at the moment.
A casual meeting at a friend's birthday party brought "Sal" into the center's orbit. Powers said Sal introduced himself to her and asked if the center was ever in need of food. He works for a local grocery store, finding places to donate food that is slightly damaged in delivery.
One recent morning he showed up at the church's back door with a shipment of soft drinks and canned goods. "Tell Kathy Jesus brought some food," he said. The flustered volunteer finally asked him, "What earthly vessel should I tell her Jesus used for this delivery?"
"It is a hoot," Powers says, laughing. "You never know who God is going to put in your life."
The Westbank station has 858 open cases right now, meaning 858 houses in urgent need of work, McGlothin says. "We have the biggest area and the one with the most devastation, including the Lower Ninth Ward."
During the week of March 6, the church was home to more than 100 people. Four or five houses were gutted in the first day, he added. More than 1,000 volunteers are scheduled to come through the center by the end of March.
Powers handles orientation for the groups and reminds them to "Be respectful and compassionate; this is someone's home." Homeowners or a family member are on site with the volunteers. "The most important thing that happens here is that people learn others care about them."
McGlothin says he is learning to be patient and flexible.
"This is truly the best job I have ever had and probably ever will have because of the work we are doing and the lives we are changing."
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org