Monday, April 07, 2008

Of Lives and Times...

“You come back to see me, darlin’! Don’t you forget me now!” Darlin’….darlin’… if you’ve never been called “darlin” by Ms. Delta then, honey, you hain’t never lived!!! My first recollection of Ms. Delta is the work order I received, which vaguely read, “Delta Sevin. Disabled. Needs Grant.” Well, as you can imagine, anyone with a name like ‘Sevin’ was totally going to get a grant! (When I later found out that her full name was Delta Bonvillian Sevin, I was SOLD!!! P.S. don’t tell the Restoration Committee…). Ms. Delta is just one of those women who I – being the mis-educated person I am – would call a Steel Magnolia… the Cajun kind… “Honey, my whole house got washed away, and I’m broke,” she told me, “I buried my poor husband after the storm and my son three months later, and I just buried my grandson…” But she was composed, kind, gentle, willing to open up and share her story, her heart, and all the nitty-gritty unforgiving details of her financial state. Now, five months later, we gathered together with her to dedicate her new home. The house is a stone of remembrance for us all; for Delta, a symbol of everything she has lost, the love of God and His people that has brought her back to her homeland; for LPC, a reminder of our mission and the beginning of a new partnership with C.A.R.E. (the Amish volunteer group who framed and dried-in the house); for me, a tangible memory of the grace God gave me as I plunged head-long – inexperienced and not at all prepared - into case management and grant writing; and for the teams who have worked on the house and spent time with Ms. Delta, a reminder that we are all part of something greater than ourselves.
Curt Moore & Ms. Delta
The House
The Home Dedication - Horseshoe Bay with Ms. Delta

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