By Philip Timothy, Managing Editor
WELSH – In the small Jefferson Davis Parish town of Welsh, a church and its pastor put its faith on display by providing hope where there was little and giving unconditional love when it was needed the most.
Battling rising flood waters himself, Pastor Pat Deshotel and members of First Baptist Welsh set aside their own problems to come to the aid of their neighbors.
Special attention was given to a pair of widows. Each lost a husband two days before the rain and flooding began, and a day apart from each other.
“I couldn’t imagine losing a spouse and then having to face the devastation of the flooding several days later. They didn’t even have time to grieve before the flooding began,” Deshotel said. “I knew both ladies and their husbands well, and I could not let them go this alone.”
Joe Bertrand died Aug. 9 after a long battle with cancer leaving behind Judy, his wife of 49 years. Victor Thomas passed away the following day leaving behind his wife Shannon. While Judy Bertrand, a Roman Catholic, had family, Shannon Thomas, who is affiliated with a non-denominational, did not.
Flood waters came up to the front door of First Welsh Pastor Pat Deshotel but very little got into the house. Many others in the town were not so lucky.
“Judy had eight feet of water in her home and Shannon’s trailer was surrounded by water,” said Deshotel. “I made sure we did everything we could to help them. We became their family.”
The church also became a safe haven for people affected by the flooding.
It distributed critical supplies, a hot meal and a ‘little muscle.’ Then the church became a command center for disaster relief efforts, all the while First Welsh continued to minister to everyone, regardless of religion.
“The Catholic priest, who is a very good friend of mine, told his church people to thank the congregation of First Welsh because of what we have been doing for everyone,” said Deshotel. “Truthfully, all we were doing was shining the light of Christ’s love. Our efforts were helping people to learn about our Lord.”
As assistance from churches in the Carey Baptist Association, Louisiana Baptist and Southern Baptist Conventions arrived, the church turned into a staging area for the teams.
“It was amazing to see so many volunteers,” said Deshotel. “I really want to compliment the Carey Disaster Relief teams led by Rob Tibbitts. They really have it (disaster relief) organized well and they were just great to work with.”
In four arduous weeks after the flooding, First Welsh cooked for the DR crews (60 to 70 people) 15 straight days, assisted teams with mud-out, mold remediation and handed out donated supplies and money to all in need.
“On any given day there were 35 to 40 members of the church helping in some way,” said Deshotel, who celebrated his fourth anniversary as First Welsh’s pastor Sept. 4. “I am truly humbled to be called their pastor.”
Teams wrapped up their relief efforts Sept. 1, having completed work on 52 homes and ministry to hundreds of people.
“There is a lot of damage here and will be for some time,” said Deshotel. “Unlike elsewhere, we did not receive the media attention or the tremendous outpouring of assistance. We just had to rely on each other, our faith, and our Lord. And we did.
“Now we turn our attention to rebuilding,” said Deshotel. “We have a long, hard six month ahead of us and people are going to continue to need our help. We will be here and we will continue to help everyone who needs it.”
To help First Baptist Welsh in their continuing relief efforts contact Deshotel at 337.734.3213.
