They were told that a hurricane was coming . . . They were told to pack for three days . . . They were told to evacuate the city . . . They thought they would return home . . . But in a single day, the destiny of one church was changed forever! Hurricane Katrina had already struck south Florida as a mild Category 1 hurricane, but after returning to the Gulf of Mexico and regaining strength, she was back! Only this time, she was predicted to be a dangerous Category 5 hurricane, and her next target was none other than New Orleans, Louisiana. For years, the city was warned that a storm like Katrina could eventually strike, but no one knew exactly when. Yet, in 2005, the time had finally arrived. Hurricane Katrina had her eye on the crescent city. As the city's residents scrambled to prepare for the worst, thousands hunkered down while countless others evacuated. But one eastern New Orleans church called Smoking for Jesus Ministry made plans to evacuate and weather the storm together! In a 40-car caravan of approximately 200 members, they began a journey that would mark one of the greatest modern-day deliverance stories of our time. This is a story of the utter devastation, tragedy, and losses surrounding Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. More importantly, though, this is a story of how this church experienced the hope of God's peace, love, provision, and faithfulness through the storms. And as they traveled together throughout the states of Louisiana and Texas, they had no earthly idea of the amazing promises of God that awaited them at the end of the journey. But first, they would need to survive! Mount Up! This is the story of How One Church Survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Mount Up!

How One Church Survived Hurricanes Katrina and RitaBy Willie L. Monnet, Sr.

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Pastor Willie L. Monnet, Sr.
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-2415-8

Contents

Acknowledgments............................................ixWarning: There's a Storm Coming............................xiIntroduction...............................................xiiiChapter 1. The Calm before the Storm.......................1Chapter 2. In the Midst of the Storm.......................9Chapter 3. Shelter from the Rain...........................23Chapter 4. Uncharted Waters................................41Chapter 5. Pathway to Purpose..............................59Chapter 6. Anchored in the Lord............................69Chapter 7. Troubled Waters.................................83Chapter 8. Raging Waters...................................95Chapter 9. After The Rain..................................105Chapter 10. Following in His Footsteps.....................125Epilogue...................................................139"Meet the Members".........................................147

Chapter One

The Calm before the Storm

New Orleans, Louisiana

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!" Isaiah 26:3 NLT

On Friday, August 26, 2005 the weather was beautiful and the afternoon winds were calm. Children returning home from school were anticipating the freedom of the weekend and my wife Claudette and I were looking forward to a few days of much needed rest. We'd just returned home from Destin, Florida after conducting our annual Marriage Refresher for the married couples of our church Smoking for Jesus Ministry, where I am the pastor. However, while getting settled back in, I turned on the local news only to learn that a potentially catastrophic Category Five hurricane named Katrina was threatening to strike our city within 72 hours. The city, though, didn't seem to be too concerned. There was no uproar or sign of panic. Oh, had we only known what was to come. I look back now a bit wistfully at how calm we all were, before the storm.

At the time, our church was located in eastern New Orleans and had been in operation since 1996. We had regularly scheduled weekly services such as Monday night Bible Studies, Tuesday women's Bible study, Wednesday night discipleship class, Saturday corporate prayer, and Sunday morning services. We were also in the process of building a new church adjacent to our current structure. That weekend, though, our plans were in for a drastic change.

At 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning, I turned on the television to hear the meteorologist report that Hurricane Katrina was looking more and more like she was headed directly for our city. My initial thought was, "Perhaps she may turn and miss us." In the past, we'd evacuated for several other storms, but nothing had ever happened. And to be honest, I didn't really feel like running from another hurricane. I was exhausted from our trip, and simply wanted to recuperate before getting back into my normal routine.

For a moment, I seriously considered hunkering down and weathering it out. After hearing later weather reports, though, I knew that I needed to make a decision soon, because time was running out. Based on what it looked like, we were up against a pretty intense and potentially deadly storm. I began to pray and seek God for direction, asking, "Lord, what should we do? Should we stay or should we go?" And shortly thereafter, all signs pointed to "Pack up and EVACUATE!"

* * *

On the afternoon of Saturday, August 27, Mayor Ray Nagin and other state officials began reporting that people needed to start seriously making plans to evacuate the city, because a mandatory evacuation would be ordered on Sunday. Some New Orleanians were already packed and ready to go. Others had decided to get an early start on traffic and were already rolling. As I watched on television, I could see that the highways were beginning to fill. I knew then that we needed to create an immediate evacuation plan. That's when I told my wife to get on the phone and call Minister June Roth, our church event coordinator, to assist with the planning.

Minister June got on it right away, and she reminded me and my wife about the Emmanuel Fletcher Retreat Center in Lumberton, Texas. Our church had made plans to stay there for our annual family retreat later on that year. So that worked out perfectly. Minister June called the owners and worked out all the details, then let us know that the retreat center was preparing for our arrival. That was good news.

After that, I asked her to use the church directory to contact all of our members to see who might need a place to stay, and to create a list of those who would evacuate with us to the center. I also told her to ask church members if they knew of anyone else - their family or friends - who might also come with us. Even though the retreat center was not free, we were not at all concerned about the cost. We would take care of that later. We were more concerned about people making it out alright.

Minister June informed everyone who was coming to bring three days worth of clothing, medical records, and important documents, just as suggested by our mayor, and she let them know that we would all meet up at the church Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m.

* * *

When I woke up early Sunday morning on August 28 and turned on the television, I quickly discovered that Hurricane Katrina had not budged and was still on her predicted path to strike our city within 24 hours. She was headed towards us and the forecast revealed that we could experience a storm surge from Lake Ponchartrain about 18 feet high with seven foot waves above the surge! My wife, who was watching the news with me, turned to me and said, "I knew this was not going to be a regular Sunday morning."

Usually around 7:30 a.m., I would see the sanctuary filling up with church members and visitors dressed in their Sunday best, parents dropping their crying infants off at the nursery, and children and youth scurrying off to their Sunday school classes. An hour later, the Praise Team would be singing praise and worship songs, our announcement team would be reading off the clipboard of important events, and shortly thereafter I would be preaching the Word of God. But on that particular Sunday, God had another plan. We were preparing to evacuate.

I'll never forget that day. When I looked around the sanctuary, everyone was dressed comfortably in jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes, including me and my wife. We wanted to be comfortable for the journey ahead. There was no time to waste, so I informed everyone of the upcoming plans and the route that we were going to take, and then I proceeded with this prayer:

"Lord, we thank You and we honor You once again. Father, we thank You for the storm that You are sending our way. In Your Word, You said to give thanks in all things, because this is Your will concerning us in Your Son Christ Jesus. God, we know that You work everything out and You do all things for the good of Your people. So we are not complaining this morning, Lord. We just ask to hear Your Spirit and to be able to flow accordingly. Master God, now we ask that You watch over and protect each one of us and guide us on the...