SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — Inspired by the Christian faith of those who cared for them, a couple who fled New Orleans got married Sept. 10 in the shelter that has become their home since Hurricane Katrina.
Barry McBride and Samantha Holmes lived together for the past three years. After their daughter was born four months ago, they decided they wanted to get married as soon as they “could move to a better neighborhood where she would have a better life.”
That was before Hurricane Katrina. They could not have envisioned the journey that followed, enduring five nightmarish days in the New Orleans Convention Center before relocating to San Antonio.
Twelve days after the storm, the couple was married in the sanctuary of Churchill Baptist Church in San Antonio before 50 witnesses — church members, volunteer relief workers and fellow evacuees who also took shelter in the church's gymnasium.
“Together we decided it was time for us to give our lives to God, and this seemed like the best place to do it, a place where we have been surrounded by Christian people,” McBride said.
“When Barronice was born last May, we started talking seriously about getting married,” McBride said as he waited, red rose in his lapel, for the 10 a.m. ceremony to begin. “But we wanted to wait until we could be in a better place for her and for us.”
That goal seemed totally out of reach when the New Orleans levees broke and the east side of the city flooded. At times the couple wondered if any of them would survive. But eventually they were transported to San Antonio, along with 12,000 other storm victims. Their daughter's young age caused them to be assigned to the Baptist Child and Family Services, which is caring for all special-needs evacuees.
Churchill Baptist, one of seven emergency shelters operated by the San Antonio charity, gave the couple food, medicine, a safe place to sleep, and a sense of “home.” The couple became friends with relief workers, many of them Churchill members, who had a Christian faith that appealed to them, they said.
So a week after fleeing New Orleans, Samantha and Barry stood before Pastor Neil Bennett and exchanged vows. Samantha's wedding dress was provided by a local bridal shop. Three teenage boys, who had never met until that morning, struggled to figure out how to play “Here Comes the Bride” on guitars.
“I am glad Barry and Samantha realized they needed to be married,” Pastor Bennett said. “And I am pleased Churchill Baptist can play a role in that.”
Several church members told the couple they would continue to pray for them.
Before the wedding, Samantha Holmes made the rounds of the 100 cots at the shelter, inviting everyone to come.
Then, as she alternated between feeding Barronice and putting on make-up for the ceremony, she reflected on their new lives. “We have our own apartment we're moving into tomorrow, and we've both got jobs. I am so excited and happy.”
— Photos available from Associated Baptist Press.