Face To Face: Praying with the 2007 CWS Calendar

SAVING GRACE
Geneva Sylvas (above) is a survivor. The mother of 13 children, Mrs. Sylvas left nursing when she was 87 and planned on a quiet retirement in the Slidell, Louisiana, home she was so proud of -- “proud of every nail.” Then in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared into her life, turning it upside down. Her son Peter (left) was with her when the storm hit, but “we thought we had made it through okay,” Peter remembers. “Then, all of a sudden, water was pouring into the house. I opened the door, and the water outside was already waist deep.”

Carrying his mother, he waded into the street. “Gas lines were down, debris was floating past. I set my mother up in the branches of a downed tree. She was shaking, and I was thinking ‘hypothermia.’” But, self-appointed rescuers with boats eventually got Mrs. Sylvas to a hospital. Her small home was in ruins. But Mrs. Sylvas’ hopes were not. The interfaith group North Shore Disaster Recovery, a CWS partner, renovated and improved her small home. In her long life, she says she has learned to have faith, to “take one day at a time.”

“You could hear people hollering, “Help me, help me.’”

Geneva Sylvas, Katrina survivor

Fact of Life:
Population of New Orleans before Katrina: 485,000

Estimated population of New Orleans in September 2006: 198,000

	SAVING GRACE Geneva Sylvas (above) is a survivor. The mother of 13 children, Mrs. Sylvas left nursing when she was 87 and planned on a quiet retirement in the Slidell, Louisiana, home she was so proud of -- “proud of every nail.” Then in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared into her life, turning it upside down. Her son Peter (left) was with her when the storm hit, but “we thought we had made it through okay,” Peter remembers. “Then, all of a sudden, water was pouring into the house. I opened the door, and the water outside was already waist deep.” Carrying his mother, he waded into the street. “Gas lines were down, debris was floating past. I set my mother up in the branches of a downed tree. She was shaking, and I was thinking ‘hypothermia.’” But, self-appointed rescuers with boats eventually got Mrs. Sylvas to a hospital. Her small home was in ruins. But Mrs. Sylvas’ hopes were not. The interfaith group North Shore Disaster Recovery, a CWS partner, renovated and improved her small home. In her long life, she says she has learned to have faith, to “take one day at a time.” “You could hear people hollering, “Help me, help me.’” Geneva Sylvas, Katrina survivor Fact of Life: Population of New Orleans before Katrina: 485,000 Estimated population of New Orleans in September 2006: 198,000
	Ms. Sylvas found help from familiar and unfamiliar sources. Have you ever been helped in a way you didn’t expect? What might her faith teach us about “living one day at a time?”
	Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. Prov. 23:25
	Saving God, in times of trouble we learn who we can count on for support. Let me always remember that in good times and bad, you are there to see me through the darkest night. Make me an instrument of your compassion in this wounded world. Give me the courage to reach out to those in need around the block and around the world.
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