With no RP congregation in Louisiana, who did people in the RP church call to see how they could help the victims of Hurricane Katrina? Judy Willson.

A former member of the RPCNA and granddaughter of former RP Seminary president Bruce Willson, Judy lived in New Orleans for four years before moving to Monroe, Louisiana, last December.

“Almost immediately [after the hurricane struck] I started to receive phone calls and e-mails from all over the country from friends and family,” Willson said. “First, to check on me…and second, to ask how they could help.”

Willson, who works as director of media relations for the sports department at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, also received calls from other sports information directors (SIDs) from around the country. “I encouraged them to work through their local Red Cross or other local church-affiliated relief agencies,” she said.

As a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) board of directors, Willson worked with them to provide financial support for the immediate needs of 25 current and former sports information directors.

“We agreed to provide each family with a $400 gift card to Target to take care of some basic needs—like a new change of clothes, since most left with only a few days’ worth of clothing,” Willson said. “One colleague’s wife gave birth to twin girls the night after Katrina hit, and they lost their home in the Lakeview area of New Orleans.” The CoSIDA board established an account to collect funds for long-term needs of the SIDs.

For three weeks, Willson made room in her home for Barney and Michelle Snow and their youngest daughter, Lauren. The Snows were good friends of Willson when she was living in New Orleans and attended Grace Presbyterian (PCA) in Metairie.

“This is the first time I have bought a house and haven’t even unpacked all the boxes yet,” Willson said. “With the Snows here, my house finally felt lived in.”

“The people at my new church in Monroe—Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)—also adopted them and made them feel welcome.”

Many of Willson’s family members and their churches have also sent donations. The Phoenix RPC, where her brother Kevin attends, sent five boxes of anything they could find to help out. Her sister Gayle and the ARP church she attends sent a box of clothes and baby items. They are also sending gift cards for Meaghan and Lauren, the Snows’ daughters, who are both in college. “Meaghan lost everything in her apartment, which was located by one of the levees that broke near Lake Pontchartrain,” Willson said.

Willson’s brother Keith and his family (College Hill [Beaver Falls, Pa.] RPC) are going through toys and clothes to send as soon as they can. The Longmont and Westminster RPCs in Colorado, where her parents, Don and Sarah Willson, worship, are working on care packages.

“One member of the Longmont congregation sent a check, asking that I give the money to someone that I know had a specific need,” Willson said. “It was a blessing to be able to send it to a displaced former coworker who is a native New Orleansian and has been battling breast cancer since February. She is also a dear sister in Christ and made working in the office a blessing each day.”

For those still wishing to help, Willson has some suggestions.

• Make donations to the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, food banks, blood banks, or other local church-affiliated relief organizations.

• Plan to take a mission trip to the affected regions in the coming months to assist with cleanup and rebuilding projects throughout the region.

• Adopt a church in the affected regions and send care packages or identify specific needs of congregation members.

• Check with universities and school districts in the region who have taken on numerous new students for foundations that have been set up to assist students who lost everything and don’t know how they will pay for school.

Willson also mentioned a need for bleach, as black mold is starting to take over homes.

The hurricane has changed the town where Willson lives. “In Monroe, we have gained close to 10,000 new residents in the past four weeks,” she said. “Several thousand have been moved into an old office complex that has been turned into ‘temporary’ housing.”

As for the state of the city where she used to live, Willson said, “New Orleans is no better than a war zone. Families have gone back to check on their homes only to find that another family has moved into their house because they had no way of getting out of the city. One gentleman was even met at the door of his own home by another gentleman with a shotgun who had taken over his house.”

Over everything else, Willson said, “This is not about me. It has only been through God’s grace that I have been able to answer His call.

“If God had not sent me here and provided the financing for me to buy a house for the first time in my life, I would not have been able to provide a safe haven for friends who had loved me when I had moved into a new city where I knew no one except the people I worked with.

“The week that Katrina hit, I began reading Max Lucado’s In the Grip of Grace. It was a great reminder that it is only because of God’s grace that we are able to show His grace to others, because He first showed grace to us as His children.”

For further information on ways to help hurricane victims, go to www.ReformedPresbyterian.org.