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LAPLACE — Hurricane relief efforts tend to dwindle in the weeks following a storm, but for the residents of wind- and water-ravaged communities, recovery is a long and steady process.

Over the past month, Victorious Life Family Worship Center members, supporters and partners have volunteered to bring some comfort and normalcy to the lives of Hurricane Laura victims who have had their worlds turned upside down.

Apostle Renita Graber sent a van to the Riverwalk Hotel in New Orleans, where several evacuees were displaced by the storm. Beginning on Aug. 26, church members provided weekly transportation, food and worship services to the evacuees.
Hot meals were prepared in the Church Event Center. Generous clothing donations from the community allowed Victorious Life Family Worship Center to expand the giving back effort. Clothing was separated by size and organized in a way that allowed evacuees to go “shopping” to pick out their favorite items. In addition to receiving a meal and clothes, each evacuee who visited the church also left with a monetary gift.

Church member Cawanda Thomas said Victorious Life volunteers also prayed with and delivered meals to evacuees in St. John the Baptist Parish hotels.

Thomas was grateful for the opportunity to bring evacuees into the church three weeks in a row. She said the church laid out the red carpet for the visitors and decorated the event center space to make everyone feel welcome.

“That’s what God would want us to do, give people our best,” Thomas said. “They will know we are Christians by our love. Love is not just a word. Love is an action. It’s part of the mission of the church, taking the church outside of the walls and meeting the needs of the people.”

Relief efforts continued with a trip to the Lake Charles area in Southwest Louisiana. The church connected with a pastor in Lake Charles to determine the community’s greatest needs in the aftermath of the storm.

After receiving the recommendations, the men of Victorious Life loaded cleanup items, clothing, water, diapers and baby food into a trailer for transport. Hot meals were also served in Lake Charles.

The church reported that the people who received the food and donations were very thankful for the acts of kindness.

Victorious Life Family Worship Center is located at 8896 Richmond Drive in LaPlace. There is also a location at 500 Corporate Drive Suite J in Houma.

Founded in 2015, Victorious Life Family Worship Center is a multigenerational church led by Ambassador Winston and Apostle Renita Graber. The church is attentive to all ages by training adults, young adults and youth to invade, occupy and influence the world with the culture of the King.

Sunday worship is at 10 a.m. For more information, call 985-212-0553.