Living Water quenches local kids’ thirst for love

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Five years ago, Chet Bergeron and Josh Lymous never imagined a walk around downtown Houma, Bibles in hand, would lead to hundreds of lives transformed in their own backyard.

The friends founded Living Water, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Houma, in 2013 with the mission of “meeting people where they are” in an effort to share their faith and provide the needs of those they would reach. To accomplish this, Bergeron and Lymous knew they would have to work in the city’s darkest trenches, where light is seldom seen.

“We spent our Saturdays at the Sugar Bowl Motel in the middle of drug and prostitute rings. We were ministering to pimps in Houma,” Bergeron said. “It’s not a glamorous ministry. You have to roll up your sleeves and be willing to go in and love on people, some of whom don’t want to be loved. It’s a dirty job.”

But for the quickly growing Living Water team, the job was the Lord’s work — and hard work reaps rewards.

The ministry expanded to Colonial Village in Houma and today reaches nearly 40 kids each Wednesday at a government housing complex in Thibodaux. Led by Travis Croutwell and Justin Helton, the Living Water team, which averages five volunteers weekly, arrives at the complex with games, balls and Bibles, ready to share the Gospel with the next generation.

“These kids are craving and starving for attention,” Helton said. “They get their siblings and friends to join, and we get the opportunity to hang out and be a positive influence for a little while. Knowing that we’re coming each week gets them excited. It gives them hope.”

Forced to live in challenging environments at home, some of the kids are untrusting and want no part of the midweek activities. Others warm up to the team after a few visits.

“It takes consistency,” Bergeron said. “Each week, you have to listen to them. The more you are consistent, the more they trust you. It’s like sales — you want to develop a positive relationship. The more you go and the more you show you care, the more they respond.”

Each weekly visit begins with a game to break the ice followed by two Bible studies, one for kids up to seventh grade and another for kids in junior high and older. Living Water has identified a spiritual battle at the complex and is working to quench the kids’ thirst for knowledge.

“We’re fighting for the next generation to teach them the truth and love on them and show them who the real Jesus is,” Bergeron said. “It’s tough sometimes. There’s a risk being in some of these areas.”

Helton remembers the first time he visited the complex.

“Your heart is beating fast,” he said. “You’re nervous because it takes you out of your comfort zone.”

The nerves quickly disappear as relationships are formed and the kids flash smiles ear to ear upon receiving a surprise gift as simple as a jacket.

“Some members of our church bought jackets for the kids, and we took them out there last year right before it started getting cold,” Bergeron said. “They needed them. Later in winter, you find kids walking barefoot when it’s 30 degrees outside.”

Coats and shoes aren’t the only daily essentials some of the kids are lacking.

“A few of them don’t even have toothpaste,” Bergeron said. “We sit in our comfortable homes and send money overseas to help other children, but we have kids in our own backyard who need help and love.”

Living Water hopes to expand its reach to more neighborhoods in the Terrebonne and Lafourche parish communities. The effort requires dedicated volunteers; unfortunately, finding them hasn’t been easy.

“There’s a large need, but a lot of people don’t want to roll up their sleeves and do the dirty job in ministry,” Bergeron said. “The good news is that if someone comes out for one time, they love it and want to do it again.”