Life Notes: Woman Delivers Love From Seattle
by Erin Rockett, LPC, LMFT

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continue to display their heart-breaking aftermath on television screens and in lives of thousands across the nation. One drastically-altered life maintained strong ties to the Ruston community. Angela, a New-Orleans area school teacher, evacuated to Ruston after the storm. From Ruston she moved on to Monroe, and then to Seattle.

A recent cross-country return journey to view her flood-damaged home revealed that tragedy can bring out the very best that the human spirit offers. A Seattle area church raised funds to send Angela back to see her home for the first time post-Katrina. Members volunteered to personally transport her by car, pack up remaining belongings, and return them safely to Seattle. Angela, a woman of great faith and courage, was delighted and amazed to accept the generous offer. She made one additional request: a stop in Ruston to visit the people who helped her through dark days immediately following the storm.

I consider myself privileged and blessed to be one of the individuals Angela visited during her Ruston stop. The visit coincided with my birthday, so Angela, Sonia from Seattle, and I gathered for dinner that evening. Throughout four hours of intense discussion, mingled with laughter, tears, photo opportunities, and hugs, a special bond emerged. Brought together by tragic circumstances, we connected through fellowship of faith and joy. By evening’s end, discussion turned to future Seattle inner-city mission trip ventures with local volunteers.

Angela returned to Seattle from New Orleans, complete with car loads of boxes and a heart renewed by friendships old and new. She decided against returning to New Orleans for now, but will attend college courses in Seattle, and perhaps launch a new career. Ask her if she’s homesick, and you may hear a curious response. “Which home, Ruston or New Orleans?”

Ruston’s spirit of hospitality and hope permanently etched itself in the heart of one New Orleans’ native.
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The Life Notes articles are written by staff of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home and are published in The Ruston Daily Leader.