Chapel Progress!
June 16, 2011
Our chapel project is moving along! We are hoping to pour the slab this Saturday. More pictures and updates to come.
Blessings,
Johnny Carriere
“A Growing Chance” by Ms. Stacey Judice
June 16, 2011
The Opelousas Lighthouse Mission is using a different type of seeds to help men who have fallen on hard times.
The mission serves as a temporary home to one who was living on the streets or a temporary shelter.
Mission director Johnny Carriere once lived the same life that leads many men on a path of destruction.
A former drug addict, Carriere understands the demons that can destroy one’s life.
“At my lowest point, people kept reaching out to me and offering me a second chance. Once I took the higher path and sought help, I vowed to assist other men who were in the pit that I once called home,” he said.” I became clean in 2007, entered college in 2007, became director of the mission in 2009, and earned a degree from LSU in 2010.
Carriere knew giving the men of the mission a job was imperative in building their self-esteem and self-worth. Over an acre of land located on the side of the mission was transformed into a garden with the help of Southern University’s Agriculture Department.
Each man living in the mission takes a hand in maintaining the gardens.
Two years ago, Bruce Fontenot came to live at the mission.
Like many who enter the mission, Fontenot, now a garden supervisor, didn’t have a clue on how to make a seed grow or research information on the proper techniques of gardening.
“When I walked through the doors of the mission, I was broken in mind, body, and spirit,” Fontenot said. “Due to physical limitations, I focused on gathering helpful information from the internet on how to make our plants produce a great harvest.”
The success of the gardens at the mission is evident for anyone who passes on South Street.
Twenty-five rows are home to over 20 varieties of bedding plants, vegetables, and fruits.
“The produce and plants are sold seven days a week at the mission,” Carriere said. “The men are also selling in the community at the Opelousas Farmer’s Market four days a week. The skills of farming and selling have helped the men to gain dignity and purpose.”
Another growth project spearheaded by Carriere broke ground last month. In the morning hours, dignitaries from St. Landry Parish celebrated along with residents and staff from the Opelousas Lighthouse Mission.
The stir was caused by the first stages of construction on the missions’ new chapel that will serve as a multi-purpose building for the men.
The 1,800 square foot building will host bible studies, morning devotions, board meetings, guest speakers, and educational training.
The room will also serve as a quiet place for the many men who call the mission home, Carriere said.
“When I look at the people who make up the mission, I am brought back to the time when I was offered grace by God and others to repair my broken life,” he added. “Our gardens, the new chapel, and the mission itself is growing hope, grace, and mercy into a man’s life. Each resident is offered a chance to rebuild their life and enter society as a self-sufficient individual who has learned how to depend on God.”