By Message Staff
COVINGTON – Waylon Bailey has a message for all those affected personally by the recent flooding in Louisiana – the key on the road to recovery is to lean on one another and God for encouragement.
Bailey speaks from first-hand experience.
He also knows just how beneficial Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams can be to people trying to recover from a natural disaster.
In late 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of southeast Louisiana, disaster relief teams from Louisiana and throughout the US showed up in force. For several months, teams worked out of the parking lot at First Baptist Church in Covington, where Bailey serves as pastor.
Throughout that time, teams not only helped rebuild homes but offered a spiritual uplifting to many who were hurting. Ten years later, disaster relief teams have come to the state once again to give a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name.
“Based on Hurricane Katrina, remember the same God who is always been with you in the past is going to be with you,” Bailey said. “There are people who are going to show up and they are going to continue to show up and help and encourage.
“We all need church,” he said. “We all need the fellowship of loving people who care about us. If you stay by yourself and feel sorry for yourself, that’s the worst thing you can do. You need to be out among people.”
He expressed thanks to Louisiana Baptists and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams, which he referred to as the “cavalry.”
“Thank you for sending the cavalry of disaster relief to our area, to the other areas,” Bailey said. “The first time I had ever seen that was to Hurricane Katrina and I saw the cavalry in this parking lot because we were the staging area. And it was a beautiful site.”
