College Retreat With Hurricane Katrina

At the age of eighteen, Aaron Joseph Moore Stovall had begun his freshman year at Xavier University of Louisiana. He had attended a few days of classes in college when the natural disaster, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. A few weeks prior to attending college, Aaron through our church activities participated in a two day retreat entitled, "An Encounter with God." Although hurricane Katrina catapulted Aaron into overwhelming events, we believe our church retreat prepared him spiritually to go through this horrific catastrophe. Aaron stated, "I owe my life to the Lord " The experience of living in the dorm after the hurricane hit was worse than a horrible nightmare. There was no electricity, no water to take showers or to flush the toilets, and the noxious smell of sewage and gas was overwhelming. The intense heat and humidity made him feel as though he was suffocating. Aaron had heard on television about natural disasters killing people in this nation and other countries. Now, he was experiencing first hand an ordeal with one of the worst hurricanes in the history of this country. his life literally flashed before him. On the sixth day, men in boats evacuated Aaron and the other students from the dorms and transported them to a highway overpass. There everything looked like a scary movie when the world ended and a few people survived. Aaron was succumbing to despair and feeling hopeless until Reverend Jesse Jackson drove up in his car and prayed. This unbelievable experience gave him a different outlook on life. In September of 2005, after two days of being evacuated from New Orleans, Louisiana, Aaron transferred to Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. He is very grateful for the kindness and support of the staff and students at Morehouse College. "We give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness to the whole world" Psalm 105:1 (revised) Dr. Joyce M. Stovall Aaron's mother