The Shed

Posted by Elizabeth Demarest



This story has captured my heart and the reason why we do what we do in Donaldsonville as part of Healing Place Church:

I heard a rumor going around in the community about a girl who got beat up by her "boyfriend." Now, it's sad to say this, but physical abuse is very common and thus we usually do not visit people who are abused as spouses. There are too many cases for us to go around the community so we help the ones that come to us. For some reason the staff and I felt compelled to go after this particular young lady. We've never met her but we knew we needed to find her. After a few phone calls and asking around we found out where she was living.

I did not know what to expect when we arrived. I have been working in D'ville for 4 and 1/2 years and it seems like there is always something new happening. I drove up knowing that I just needed to totally rely on God. I was really afraid of her rejecting our help.

We walked into the house where the girl was staying and she was lying on the couch, tall and slim and 5 months pregnant. She had yet to be to the doctor to check on her baby. Her lips were swollen, her head was cut with some scratches, and her cheek bone was fractured from her "boyfriend" beating her the night before. Her shirt still had the blood on the front as a reminder of the previous night. She was so determined to escape the night before that she did not have time to grab clothes. She also had her 2 year old daughther with her in diapers and with a lung infection so bad that the baby was breathing heavily.

I asked her if we could go to her house where she had been brutally abused to change and get some clothes and she told me that we could because her "boyfriend" was in jail.

As we arrived at the place I was in total disbelief. I saw what appreared to be a poorly built, small shed in the back of the house. I followed her as she walked toward the tiny little box and could not believe that she was going to show me that this was her home. The door was made out of plywood with a wooden latch. I could not believe what I was seeing. I have been in this community for many years and thought I had seen it all but nothing prepared me for this.

She was living in the shed with no running water, no bathroom, and little electricity run from the house in front. There was a small bed, a small TV and some pieces of furniture crowding up the remaining space. She went in and grabbed about five pieces of clothes for her and her baby. That was it. And the shoes that she grabbed did not even come close to fitting her feet - maybe 3 sizes too small.


I was in awe of the poverty and was moved for this victim of such abuse and such a degrading life.

We got her to her mom's house for the night. However, as if the situation could not get worse, the mom's boyfriend came home that night and put this young lady and her baby back in the streets. The next morning we all prayed that somehow we would find her and God answered our prayers.

We have started the process of helping this young lady get cleaned up and on her feet. It will take time to get her restored and healed both physically and emotionally. We are looking at getting better housing for her and her family right now. We have gotten her daugther to the doctor and are working on getting them both healthy.

This story describes to me what Jesus meant when he said,"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be release, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come." Luke 4:18-19.

Thank God for Healing Place Church in Donaldsonville, La. We love the fact that he has trusted us to be a healing place for a hurting community.