Rebuilding Meriyln's House
On August 26th, 2020, Hurricane Laura made landfall in Lake Charles, Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. Just a little over a month later in early October, Hurricane Delta hit the same area. Many residents were forced to evacuate. When they returned, they came back to homes devastated by the storm.
One Kingdom responded to the situation by partnering with the Mill Street Church of Christ in Lake Charles. We sent relief crews to help with tree and debris removal as well as financial support to kickstart the rebuild.
Shortly after Delta hit, One Kingdom friend Korie Robertson (of Duck Dynasty fame) was having lunch with her friend, Carly Jean Brannon. Their server at the restaurant happened to be a person from Lake Charles who was displaced because of the storms. This really struck a chord with both of them.
Carly Jean Brannon is the owner of an online boutique called Carly Jean Los Angeles. Every year, they host what they call a “Give Back Weekend” in which a portion of the proceeds of their sales goes to a charitable cause. They run this promotion during the Black Friday weekend after Thanksgiving—the busiest shopping weekend of the year. After her lunch with Korie, Carly Jean and her husband, Chad, were convinced that their Give Back should go to help Louisiana hurricane storm survivors.
Korie contacted me, and we discussed some options on how to help. Because we were already involved in helping the area, one idea that was brought up was the concept of raising enough money to completely change the life of one family. We talked and prayed through it, and we decided this was where God was leading us.
I contacted our partners E.T. and Jeanie Browning, residents of Moss Bluff, a small town just north of Lake Charles that was also hit hard by the storms. E.T. was the one who connected us with Mill Street Church, and he helped present this idea to Jerry Ardoin, their preacher. Jerry spent several days in prayer asking God to lead him to the right person, and when he was ready, he introduced us to Merilyn Smith.
Merilyn is a member at Mill Street and her home was ravaged by both storms. Her roof was severely damaged by the wind and tree falls. One of the trees that had fallen was protruding through the roof and into the house. There was water damage in the floors and walls, and mold was starting to creep into her air ducts and ventilation. Merilyn did not have hurricane or flood insurance, and her property was deemed too small to be a candidate for FEMA assistance. She was left with very few options.
In the meantime, Carly Jean Los Angeles had begun the Give Back Weekend, and it was a massive success. After all sales were final, CJLA reported that they had raised over $40,000 in donations for Lake Charles. Chad and Carly Jean, after hearing about Merilyn’s situation, personally contributed to round out the figure to an even $50,000, and One Kingdom Disaster Relief added another $10,000 to bring the total up to $60,000.
Now it was time to get to work. We called on One Kingdom Disaster Relief Team Leader Mark Robbins for help. Mark has been partnered with One Kingdom for many years, and he is usually first on the scene when a disaster strikes. Mark has a background in construction and a heart for people in need. Mark committed to moving to Lake Charles for two months beginning in January 2021 to commence the rebuild project.
During this time, Merilyn moved to Alexandria, which is about a 2-hour drive north to live with her daughter. When she left, she thought that just the roof and floors were going to be replaced.
Mark worked together with E.T. and Jeanie Browning to clean out the house. He then spent every day in that house for two months straight.
During this time, One Kingdom sent relief crews—made up mostly of volunteers from White’s Ferry Road Church—to Lake Charles to help work on the house. These crews worked on the roof, flooring, air ducts, painting, and baseboards, among other tasks. One of the great things about this project was that we were able to include so many people as volunteers, and they received blessings as they served the Smith family. Rick Cole, a member of White’s Ferry Road and a team leader for One Kingdom Disaster Relief said, “To be able to go help someone that has lost everything and to help them rebuild their life back was one of the biggest blessings.”
As the project progressed, more opportunities for blessings arose. Once the main damage was fixed, the crews turned their eyes to really changing the lives of the Smith family. Because of the overwhelming financial response and much of the work being done by volunteers, we were able to go far beyond what Merilyn thought she was going to get. A lot of her furniture and belongings were damaged, so the next step was to refurnish the house and make it into a home.
Our teams went to great lengths to personalize Merilyn’s new home. She was treated to new furniture, new appliances, new tv’s, wall art, and more. When she came home, she was going to walk into a home filled with all new items—from the kitchen table to the washer and dryer.
As Mrs. Merilyn approached her newly renovated home, she knew immediately that this wasn’t just a new roof. The outside of the home had been painted and new flower beds were put in by one of our team leaders, Sean Tonniges, who owns a lawn care business out of West Monroe. The shouts of “Welcome Home!” as she arrived gave me goosebumps.
One of Merilyn’s daughters, Cheronda, was living with her at the time of the storm. She has a son, Kai, who was also living there. When we first met the family, Merilyn’s daughter was working from home on the same couch where she slept, and Kai slept on the floor. Kai had never had a room all to himself before.
So when the family came home and Cheronda found out that she had her own room, plus an office where she could work from home, and Kai had his very own room, it was quite emotional. More personal touches were added like a coffee bar next to the kitchen table.
Merilyn’s coffee machine hadn’t worked in some time, and she enjoyed hosting a women’s Bible study and having coffee while discussing the Bible. Also, Merilyn’s shower had a large step up into it and she can’t move around very well, so the team remodeled the shower so she could walk right into it without having to balance over a large step. These were some of the many details put into making Merilyn’s new home.
We are so incredibly proud of this project. It was a project unlike anything we’ve ever done before. At times we joked, thinking that any minute Chip and Joanna Gaines were going to come around the corner to help with the remodel. It was such a rewarding experience to see the lives of one family changed forever. Not only that, the community around her noticed what we were doing, and they rallied around the family as well. This wasn’t just changing a life; it was changing the hearts of a whole community.
We are still committed to helping so many more in the Lake Charles area, and we have continued to send our support to the Mill Street Church of Christ so they can be the face of relief in their neighborhood. But we will forever remember and cherish the new relationships we have with Merilyn Smith and her family. While she got the blessing of the new home, we got the blessing of being able to serve, and God received all the glory.
“It was a blessing I had never experienced before, being able to watch Mrs. Merilyn and her family with the joy and relief they felt when they walked back into their completely remodeled home” said One Kingdom relief volunteer Dee Ann Cole. “I have received new relationships with sisters and brothers in Christ, and I strengthened existing ones by spending time and working together with each other. It is definitely something I want to repeat.”
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” –Romans 8:28.
This is a very popular verse, but it’s also very fitting for this project. Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated the city of Lake Charles. They destroyed homes and businesses. They took lives. The city was without power for months, and so many left broken and without hope.
But we know the one who gives us hope, and his name is Jesus. Jesus brought us all together, and it was amazing to see how all the moving parts and all the different people came together to pour blessings on this neighborhood.
Through raging storms, God is always there ready to use any situation for His glory. That is exactly what happened here. Thank you, God, that we got to be a small part in Your story.
Watch our video about rebuilding Mrs. Meriyln’s House here.