5 minute read
A Man on a Mission
MILLARD “M.P.” DUMESNIL
by Olivia Savoie
Today, Millard “M.P.” Dumesnil is a 91-year-old with a big smile and contagious laugh. He is also as adventurous as ever. In 2020 alone, he has already returned from a trip to Israel and another to aid the people of Honduras. At home, he awakes early each day and heads to work as a contractor.
M.P. was raised on the then-gravel University Avenue in Lafayette. At just 18 years old in 1947, he went into business as a contractor and, after having scraped together his childhood savings, constructed his first house. After that—aside from the interruption of two years of military service—he built houses. Then, beginning in 1960, he turned his attention to the municipal business and became a leading contractor of sewer plants, elevated tanks, pump stations, pipelines, and more. All the while, he raised a big family of eight children alongside his wife, Flo. He also took on another incredible challenge: mission work. M.P. says, “It all started with a meeting some 60 years ago.”
M.P.’s good friend, Louis Michot, invited M.P. and his wife to meet a missionary priest from Mexico, who was studying agriculture at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (presently ULL). Upon meeting the industrious, dedicated Father Verplanken and both hearing stories and seeing pictures of the plight of the people he supported in and around Creel, a small community in Copper Canyon, Mexico, M.P. and Louis partnered with Father Verplanken to aid the Tarahumara Indian Mission. Since Father Verplanken faithfully stayed at the same mission for the rest of his life, the partnership lasted well over 40 years.
In Copper Canyon in the 1960s, only 1 of 4 babies born lived to see adulthood. There was no running water, school, means to acquire much food, medical clinics, or other necessities. Over the course of many trips, the three missionaries—Father Verplanken, Louis Michot, and M.P.—with the help of others, changed that.
M.P. says, “We helped fund a church. I don’t see how he [Father Verplanken] could do this, but he [along with the locals] built the whole church. The next project was to get us [Louis and I] there fast. Father built us a gravel-strip runway.” After that, the trio solved a litany of other problems—such as running water 600 feet up, starting a medical clinic, building a hospital, opening schools, and even transporting a large generator to the site, among other things. M.P.’s knowledge of construction, paired with the dedication of others, greatly benefited the people of Copper Canyon.
M.P. acknowledges that Father Verplanken had a profound impact on his being a missionary. He says, “I am thankful that God used Father Verplanken’s example to inspire my productivity.”
During that time, M.P. recalls, “I met another priest, Father Francis Schexnayder. He developed an orphanage on an island off the coast of China.” Along with other supporters, M.P. says, “I furnished him supplies and finances. I’d advise him on construction and help him with the next step for his ideas.” Father Schexnayder, like Father Verplanken, was so dedicated that he stayed with the same mission until his death. So, his and M.P.’s partnership was a long one also.
Another mission project M.P. worked on was aiding an organization that developed a plan to build homes for those in need around the world. By providing sacks to first be filled with concrete and mud and then stacked, as well as other materials and detailed plans, the organization helped individuals construct many houses. M.P. says he is grateful to have had “financial and construction input on that.”
When asked why he has chosen to participate in the specific mission work he has, M.P. says, “Opportunities happen. Of course, God makes them happen.” Later, in 2016, he oversaw the construction on a new school for the local children, as well as the rehabilitation of the existing, formerly dilapidated school, which transformed into a computer lab. He has since completed other projects, including getting electricity into the clinic that medical and dental missionaries work in on annual trips. M.P. says, “I hope to return again for years to come and help with the Mission of Hope’s needs.”
Around 2012, another opportunity presented itself, and M.P. rose to the occasion. He began working with yet another priest friend, Father Louis Richard, who was hoping to aid the people living in the mountains of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, through an organization called Mission of Hope. M.P. says he set out to help “these beautiful people who had nothing.”
In 2015, donations were gathered to fund the construction of a new bridge, which would not only help coffee farmers get across, but also protect the children trying to get to school. After consulting with a local friend who was a bridge-building expert, M.P. took on the task. He oversaw the construction, making several trips to Honduras.
Later, in 2016, he oversaw the construction on a new school for the local children, as well as the rehabilitation of the existing, formerly dilapidated school, which transformed into a computer lab. He has since completed other projects, including getting electricity into the clinic that medical and dental missionaries work in on annual trips. M.P. says, “I hope to return again for years to come and help with the Mission of Hope’s needs.”
When asked what doing mission work has meant to him, M.P. says, “Now I look back at my life and say, ‘How can anybody keep from doing these things?’ It [mission work] has become a part of my life; I can’t stay away from it.” He encourages others to get involved with helping those in need, saying, “Giving is what God meant for us to do as far as our part of discipleship in our lives… I love being reminded what Christianity is all about: helping those in need.”
M.P. looks forward to overcoming new challenges in the future and remaining productive. He says, “God is leaving me here for a purpose. That purpose, for Him, is taking care of other people.”
Acadiana native, Olivia Spallino Savoie, interviews locals in their homes, writes their life stories, and works with her team to create lasting family heirlooms in the form of published life story books. The books Raconteur produce typically range from 50 to 150 pages and contain precious memories from early years to the present day. Olivia loves to walk down memory lane with each storyteller and create a keepsake that will be cherished for generations to come.
