In today's local paper

Helping hands

Local church group helps clean up after recent hurricanes

By: Rhonda Morrow - Texarkana Gazette -

Published: 09/27/2008

Submitted photo Members of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently volunteered in Baton Rouge for hurricane damage cleanup. They are, back row from left, Joshua Miller, homeowner Monica Chedville, Mark Hoskins, Robert Anderson and Brandon Jenkins; middle row from left, Kevin Platt, Ricky Bowman, Henry Platt, Steve Davis and H.J. Platt; and front row from left, Michael Anderson and Mark Tew.

Sometimes work for the Lord is done in such a way the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.

Then there are times when the sound of the chainsaws makes it impossible to be discreet.

Such is the case with members of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-

day Saints who went to Baton Rouge to participate in clean-up after the recent hurri-canes.

The group was one of several hundred from the denomination that took their chainsaws, tools and ATVs to help with the cleanup organized by Martin Luther King III, son of legendary civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The younger King is the founder of Realizing the Dream, which spearheaded the cleanup. His vision for the organization is to help fulfill his father’s dream of creating communities where people are united and help each other as they work to eradicate poverty.

Local volunteers helped at the home of Darryl and Monica Chedville, who own the 10-

acre Lucky Plantation. The plantation was home to large pecan and live oak

trees destroyed during the storms.

Initially, the crew was given two work orders for their two-day stint, but by the time their two days were completed, they had actually assisted seven families.

H.L. Platt, leader of the local church, thinks the experience was an example of true religion cited in the Bible at James 1:27.

“I feel like we have participated in what ‘true religion, undefiled’ really is,” he said.

The local Latter-day Saints volunteers are part of a much larger crew working with King’s organization this weekend in Houma, La. King’s request was for 1,000 volunteers—a number Jileen Platt, local spokeswoman, said was exceeded.