WAKE-UP CALL: By Nicole Crumbacher

I am an active participant in my church’s youth group. Every summer the youth group is given a remarkable opportunity to go on a mission trip. I have gone on every mission trip possible throughout my high school career. I believe that just by participating in these rewarding adventures, everyone’s outlook on life involved in the mission will be changed for the better. It was on last summer’s mission trip to New Orleans that really changed my life forever.

My mission trip group would agree that waking up at six o’clock in the morning to prepare for the Sunday morning service after a whole day of traveling to New Orleans was just a little bit stressful. Let me tell you, sixty people waiting in line for four showers, and twenty-five girls in one bathroom wasn’t a very pretty sight. Even though the morning was filled with fighting for showers, getting ready, preparing music, and thinking of last minute things we needed for the service, it all turned out absolutely perfect. I didn’t know that by walking through those stain-glassed sanctuary doors my life would be changed forever!

The church in which we preached used to have approximately two hundred members, but since Katrina, only thirty-five members returned. During the service, as we were singing “Day’s of Elijah”, I looked out into the thirty-five member crowd to find them all with big, bright smiles. However, one person stood out to me. This tiny lady with a smile that lit up the room was looking at all of us as if we were the delight of her day. Later, I learned that she went through a great deal of hardship in the past two years because of Katrina. What stuck out to me even more than her inviting smile was her story. You would never know by looking at her, but this sweet eighty- year old lady along with thousands of other people went through more devastation in four days because of Katrina than most people do in a lifetime. These people literally lost all of their possessions and still have faith in God. That in itself is a miracle.

The lady’s story is as follows: As her house was filling up with water from the flood and all of her belongings were being destroyed, she climbed upstairs into her attic. Miraculously, she then broke through her roof from her attic! Little did she know, this would be just the beginning of her struggles. For two days, this eighty-year old lady sat on her roof awaiting rescue. It’s truly a miracle that she broke through her attic ceiling by herself, let alone staying on her roof for two whole days!

I truly see God shining through this lady. Her courage and strength were so strong that she could live to tell her story. I went down to New Orleans in order to help people but this lady along with other Katrina victims ended up helping me even more. They showed me that courage, determination, and faith in God, along with a bright smile can conquer any challenge in life.