"That building was under five feet of water a few months ago."

I looked at the restaurant that was no more than a stone's throw from the hotel parking lot and tried my best to picture what the surrounding area looked like in the fall of 2016.

As we set about driving to the work site, our driver and host, Paul David, began to paint a picture of how impacted the Lafayette Region was by the "no-name storm" that had hit the area six months prior. As the Co-Hospitallers for the Lafayette Region of the Order of Malta, Paul and his wife, Marla, were leading one of what would turn into many "Rebuilding Weeks" facilitated through three organizations: the Order of Malta, Catholic Charities of Acadiana, and Rebuilding Together Acadiana (now a part of CCA). I had heard about the need for help in Southern Louisiana from knights and dames in my region for the Order of Malta in Dallas and made the trip down from Texas for the first time that February. I had traveled to other parts of Louisiana years before, but never to Acadiana. When I arrived, I learned exactly what the joy of living, or joie de vivre, was all about. In my conversations with our hosts, the volunteers, and homeowners, I quickly learned that everyone was impacted in a personal way by the storm that dumped 7.1 trillion gallons of water in the streets and towns they called home, but somehow, they still remained resilient, grateful, and... joyful.

When I journeyed down I-49 to Lafayette, a lot of baggage was traveling with me, and it wasn't necessarily sitting in the bed of my truck. I was still reeling from a few curveballs that life had thrown over the past few years, and my spirits needed lifting. Finding direction through my faith, my daughter, and the missions, or charisms, of the Order had helped keep me centered during that season, but I was still stuck.

When I arrived on the job site, smiles, laughter, and conversation filled the air as people were given their tasks and went about them. I learned about their stories, they learned about mine, and the work we were doing didn't seem like work at all. The smiles and gratitude of the homeowners brought warmth to every heart and passed along that joy in a special way. Each day was filled with the essentials of life as a Catholic: mass, vigorous, meaningful work, hearty food, and wonderful community. All of a sudden, I found myself not wanting to leave the wonderful people and surroundings I'd become acquainted with over a matter of a few days. That pull is what has kept me coming back year after year since then to continue this wonderful tradition of service to others. As one of our chaplains, Msgr. Edward Dillon, said during our Rebuilding Week this February, our time in Lafayette is very close to how knights of the Order lived over 900 years ago: living, praying, working, and sharing life in community together...

...what better place is there to do that than in a part of the world that values all of those things?

I can't imagine the past 8 years of my life without the many memories, lessons, and blessings that have come from the moments I've spent with my confreres and friends in Acadiana.

Merci Beaucoup, Mes Amis.

John Griffin, KM
Chair, Communications Committee
Member, Auxiliary Committee
Order of Malta - Federal Association, USA

Discovering the joie de vivre through service to the poor: The Order of Malta in Acadiana