LOUISIANA—Approximately 75 members arrived in Hammond for the 11th annual Cajun Weekend August 1-3. After traveling from Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and South Africa, members assembled at the Ponchatoula home of Phillip and Melba Delaney.

The weekend started on Friday, August 1, with an evening of fellowship and traditional Cajun food. Kids of all ages used paddleboats or fished in between bites of Cajun chicken and okra gumbo.

“The Cajun Weekend, to me, is a fun family reunion,” Jessie Hester, Herbert W. Armstrong College alum and former Louisiana member, said. “I really enjoyed just being with the people I grew up in the Church with.”

The group met in Covington the following day for Sabbath services, hearing a sermonette from Texas Preaching Elder Jim Cocomise and a sermon from Evangelist Wayne Turgeon. After services, many of the brethren took a short drive to a local Greek and Lebanese restaurant. As the Sabbath drew to a close, the group returned to the services’ meeting room for a games night, topped off with a sundae buffet.

On Sunday morning, members met back at the Delaney’s home. The group feasted on another Cajun meal, featuring jambalaya, a bayou favorite. Finding a pot large enough to cook enough jambalaya for everyone proved to be a challenge for the lunch coordinators.

In the afternoon, members traveled southeast to Slidell for a two-hour excursion at the Honey Island swamp. They climbed aboard two custom-built skiffs, which are similar to an airboat but without the piercing sound of an airboat engine. Alligators came right up to the skiffs, tempted from their hiding places with offers of marshmallows. Members saw a variety of wildlife including native birds and even a wild boar. The boats drove past moss-draped cypress trees, some of which were hundreds of years old.

After the tour, many returned to the Delaney home to continue the fellowship and feast on leftover Cajun food.

“This Cajun Weekend was one of the best, well-organized Cajun Weekends that we’ve ever been to,” Texas member Armando Tunales said. He and his family have attended all 11 Cajun Weekends. Louisiana members are already planning for next year’s weekend.

“It is truly a one-of-a-kind adventure with Millennial-type fellowship—down on the bayou,” Texas deacon Dewayne Defee said. As they say on the bayou, “laissez le bon temps roulet”—let the good times roll.

Check out the video highlightsof the weekend made by hwac grad and native Lousianan Jessie Hester.