The Story of Pierre and Jesse | Mission Centers of Houston

Map of Pierre’s Home

Our DR partnership teams have been working in the Trinity Gardens and East Houston area since September 2017. The majority of the work involved mudding out, drying out, and installing new insulation and drywall in several homes. In late November one of the neighbors approached Cheyenne, our DR Coordinator, and struck up a conversation. Pierre, an elderly widower, asked if we would be willing to help him and his next door neighbor Jessie, an elderly widow with diabetes (see map of Pierre’s Home). They were both still living in their flood-ravaged homes, were not receiving any help from anyone, and did not have sufficient finances to put their homes back together. So Cheyenne did an assessment and we immediately responded. Pierre’s kitchen had been destroyed by Harvey (see picture of Pierre’s Kitchen after mudout) and Jessie’s carpeting had been removed during mudding out, leaving a bare subfloor for her to navigate.

Pierre’s Kitchen After Mudout

Cheyenne picked up Pierre in our box truck one day in early December and took him to Home Depot to pick out new cabinets, counter top, plumbing and lighting fixtures, doors, trim boards and paint. Pierre was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning (see picture of Pierre and our truck). Cheyenne also hired a local contractor who would install the items at a very low cost since he knew we were doing this as a mission. Pierre’s kitchen is now totally redone, along with the sheetrock, painting, doors and trim work (see picture of Pierre’s new kitchen).

During this time Pierre and Cheyenne went to Jessie’s house to measure for new carpeting. They knocked and knocked, but no answer. Finally the door opened and there laid Jessie, bleeding badly because she had fallen on the subflooring. She dragged herself across the floor to open the door, causing a large part of the skin on her leg to peel off. After 911 arrived Jessie was taken to the hospital. The next morning her leg had to be amputated because of the damage done, combined with the effect of diabetes. Had Cheyenne and Pierre not come to Jessie’s house that day she may have died on the bare floor. While Jessie is in rehab Cheyenne hired a crew to install the new carpet we bought for Jessie (see picture of Jessie’s new carpet). What a nice surprise awaits Jessie when she is able to return home.