09201
March 12, 2009

Creature comforts

Louisiana congregation, complete with stuffed animals, welcomes volunteers to PDA village in Houma

by Bethany Furkin
Presbyterian News Service

PDA coordinator Randy Ackley is presented with his own member of the Bayou Bunch to take home.

GRAY, LA — Randy Ackley, coordinator of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), has been all over the world and has met all kinds of people.

But the crowd he faced March 8 was unlike any other. For one thing, its members were stuffed with cotton.

Ackley fielded questions from the Bayou Bunch, a group of stuffed animals that included local species like an alligator and a crawfish as well as the more exotic kiwi. Members of First Presbyterian Church of Bayou Blue held up the toys during a question-and-answer session about PDA and made them “talk” to Ackley.

“What kind of disasters do we Presbyterians respond to around the world and what kinds of help do we give? What happens to kids (and us animals) when disasters happen? What kind of help do people need when disasters happen?”

These were among the questions asked by the Bayou Bunch. And Ackley answered the animals’ questions, responding that PDA helps supply drought victims with clean water, that kids and animals sometimes need help finding their families after disasters and that people need help with everything from rebuilding homes to having access to food and medicine.

After the animals’ curiosity was satisfied, the members of Bayou Blue had a chance to ask their own questions about PDA.

Shirts signed by volunteers decorate the walls at Camp Good Earth volunteer village in Houma, LA.

Among the top concerns was the money Gray has seen for recovery after Hurricane Ike. Some members asked if New Orleans’ size and prominence was why it had seen more support after Hurricane Katrina than Gray did after Ike.

The timing of Ike likely had a lot to do with the lack of national attention to the storm, Ackley said. Ike struck in September, right in the middle of the presidential election and the economy’s downturn. PDA has received less than $200,000 in donations for Ike.

“The money goes where the media is, unfortunately,” said the Rev. Kris Peterson of Bayou Blue.

Another struggle for PDA has been the donation of restricted funds, Ackley said. Sometimes people will donate money and designate that it be used only for a certain kind of aid, such as bottled water.

But when PDA comes in to do recovery work, people may have enough clean water but really need doors. If donations are not restricted to specific kinds of aid but instead go into a general fund, money can be used where it is really needed.

“Try not to designate it so closely anymore,” Ackley advised, adding that having money in a general account will allow PDA to spread it to the disasters that don’t receive as much media attention.

Also helping to spread the word about the need remaining after Hurricane Ike is a “minute for mission” DVD featuring the Rev. Tom Taylor, the General Assembly Council’s deputy executive director for mission, asking for donations to the general PDA fund. The DVD will soon be distributed to churches and posted online.

The sleeping pods for volunteers at PDA’s Camp Good Earth. 

Bayou Blue has much invested in recovery efforts, and its members understand the importance of preserving the local wetlands as a way to minimize the impact of hurricanes. It’s the Presbyterian church farthest out on the gulf, and is minutes away from Camp Good Earth, the PDA volunteer village in Houma, LA. Church members provide hospitality to volunteers in the form of weekly dinners and a welcoming worship space.

“We’re in it for the long haul,” Peterson said, adding that connections made with congregations from around the country have been invaluable.

The hospitality of the congregation was indeed palpable on this visit. When arriving at the church, Ackley and accompanying members from the Presbytery of South Louisiana were welcomed to the church before their car was even turned off. And the welcome didn’t just come in the form of smiles and handshakes — it was expressed through big hugs and exclamations of joy.

Bayou Blue’s building is small, but its rooms are crammed with evidence of love and appreciation. The walls of the fellowship hall are covered with posters signed by volunteer groups, praising members for great food and great friendships experienced while they stayed at the PDA village in Houma.

Perhaps the spirit of Bayou Blue is best expressed through a ritual that takes place before and after worship. Members gather for a group prayer, standing in a circle with joined hands. Participants voice prayers, and at the end, everyone raises their hands, shouting “Go get ‘em!”

And that’s exactly what they do.