A Shining Light

 

When life is good, people are not looking for God.  Jeff Jensen pointed out that in the story of Ruth and Naomi, Ruth witnessed how Naomi dealt with tragedy after tragedy.  Ruth saw something different in Naomi’s life.  She was living out the reality of God being God even in tragic situations.  Speaking of the Nebraska tornadoes, he added, “We need to look different when life is bad.  People are living out their faith and helping out their neighbors.”

Jeff Jensen, pastor of Geneva EFC wears many hats.  He works with the Red Cross and is Chaplain for the Fillmore County Sheriff/EMS.  These roles have prepared him to respond to the tornadoes in Nebraska.  The largely farm area cannot run machinery in fields until all debris is removed.  Three nearby high schools released students to help clear debris.  The church has been active through local congregations, teams coming from across the country, and financial donations.

Pastor Jensen said, “It is fun to see God get credit and locals get together. … It is refreshing to see the good side of people.”  He also recognizes the need for a long-term response.  Repairs take time.  He asked a question for ministry focus, “Lord what am I to do in this situation?”  The answer for his long range plan is “Love your neighbor.  Be real in your faith.  People should know they are loved and Jesus cares because of us.  The church is shining and reflecting Christ.”

His prayer request is that the church reach out as neighbors and not grow weary.  He wants people to see who we are and the glory to go to Christ.  His commitment is to do this for the long haul, because it is what God would have him to do.

Mobilized in God's Timing

 

Mobilize Training in Moline, IL

 

Imagine a flood hits your hometown.  75% of your congregation’s homes, including yours, are flooded with water, mud, or sewage.  Roads collapse and all the surrounding neighborhoods are affected.  What would you do?  What are you feeling, thinking, and struggling with now?

You may feel there is no hope.  You need help.  Where do you even start?

“We work better together than alone,” stated Kevin Watterson as he laid out this scenario to a volunteer team serving in Staten Island from First Free in Moline, IL as he introduced the Mobilize initiative.  “What we’re trying to build here is a network of churches that can respond in this type of disaster and can be mobilized so we can help those churches get back on their feet again, get back into ministry, do what God has called them to do in their community, and be able to help people who have been affected by this disaster as well.”

When the team returned to Illinois, they incorporated Mobilize slides into their church missions’ presentation.  It fit well into the mission of First Free.  The church budgeted money for Crisis Response involvement.  This cleared the way for people to go quickly when needed.  The next step was their 10 hour training for Mobilize on April 25-26.  Little did anyone know how quickly mock responses in the training would become a reality.  Tornadoes in Alabama motivated a call to First Free for help a few days later. Three men cleared their schedules and responded the following Monday.  Team leader Rick Mills commented, “It was rewarding to be on the front side of things.”  Around 48 downed trees covered the property of the Schrock family from Hope Church.  They had responded three years earlier to help others impacted by tornadoes in their area.  Rick found it different working with a family who understood why they were there to help.

Rick and team member Tony Loete struggled attempting to pull a tree out of the creek using the Schrock’s small tractor.  It was humbling when the tractor got stuck, and they had to find help.  They traveled down the road until they found someone with bigger equipment who came and pulled the tractor free and removed the tree in minutes.  Tony remarked, “In our weakness, God’s strength was revealed.”  Later in the week, the willingness of the Schrock’s to have their tractor and volunteers used to help another homeowner their family did not even know impressed Tony.

God used First Free’s involvement serving on a volunteer team to plant a desire to partner with Mobilize and to train and be available just when they were needed to impact lives in a crisis.  The goal of Mobilize is to have enough churches and people to sustain a response for up to 6 months with volunteers who would be willing to deploy on a rotating basis.  Many types of people are needed such as people to assess needs, an administrator to process paperwork, people to gut houses and clean-up, a construction manager to manage projects, and a volunteer coordinator to contact team members.  Different skills are needed at different times.  Rick pointed out that you do not have to do construction for God to use you.  “Everyone can pick up sticks.” A commitment is requested for 2 weeks each year to come and serve and additional time to meet with their team locally serving in their own community.  For more information on Mobilize, contact crisisresponsenetwork@efca.org.



Finding His Way

David sat the week after the tornado holding a shotgun.  His daughter had taken her life two years earlier in this same spot, and he was contemplating ending his own life.  The tornado had taken all his material possessions.  Besides his home, he owned a rental house and 29 trailers.  He had canceled the insurance on the trailer park in January.  Unemployed renters, a mother with a disabled son, and others facing hardships paid David by the week when they could.  It was impossible to keep up with both utility payments and insurance.  He sat with is gun 20 minutes wondering if there was any hope. He felt God telling him to put the gun down and take care of his family.  David is raising his 17 year old grandson and caring for his wife with fibromyalgia.

He had survived the Alabama tornado in a small storm shelter with 30 people.  The tornado ripped at the door as those taking shelter clung to the door to keep it shut.  His arm bruised from the effort, but two people in the neighboring trailer park were less fortunate.  They lost their lives.

When Katrina and the team from Lakewood met David, he sat slumped in a salvaged recliner chair devoid of hope.  Darlena, part of the Lakewood Evangelical Free Church team, described him as “a shell of a man with no light in him”.  The team gutted his house and got rid of the barn where his daughter’s belongings were stored.  On Wednesday, when the team gathered with David in a prayer circle, David fell to his knees on the concrete sobbing and asking God to forgive him.  He had taught Sunday school and led youth group years ago, but he had fallen away from the Lord.  He told God he needed Him back in his life.

David felt a little like Job.  He had lost family, home, and possessions.  His loss brought him back to God. He kept asking God to forgive him.  The team assured him that God heard his prayer for forgiveness. David is planning to go back to church, and he said that people like those working with ReachGlobal Crisis Response had restored his faith in humanity.

Steve, another member of the Lakewood team, noted how changed David was by the end of the week.  David was springing out of his chair, smiling, and happy.  There will still be hard days ahead for David, but He knows God cares about him, and God sent people into his life who genuinely care.  Keep David and his family in your prayers.  Others need a touch of love in their lives and restored hope.  Maybe God is calling you to bring hope and love to those whose world has crumbled.

Team Work

Katrina and Miss Lily

 

Miss Lily, horrified by the deep water flowing down her Staten Island street, called Crisis Response in tears.  She has been watching our progress on her home eagerly awaiting when she and her family can move back home.  Now, she feared more damage.  When the team arrived, she requested that they go in first.  There was not a drop of water in her home!  Lily felt so blessed.  She wanted to bless others, so she went with the team to help others.  One volunteer, Marty, said at the end of the day, “I think God has been preparing me my whole life for the conversation I had with Lily.”

It was great to see Lily looking past her own needs to help meet the needs of others.  That is not easy to do.  Lily grew close to the Park City team working with her.  She remarked, “You guys are my family.”

Katrina Welsh, a staff member, noted, “My faith grows every day, because I see Him at work every day.  You can miss it because of the busyness of life.  Here, you’re just able to live it and see it every day.  My faith grows seeing the details.”

An inspired team member from Virginia said, “Watching you, it’s where I want to be, to be able to let go.  This week brought me a lot closer.”

One volunteer paid for repairs on Katrina’s car.  God sends some to serve in other places as missionaries, and He provides others to send out missionaries.  It is a partnership.  They are both an equally important part of the team.

 

 

Compelled

Tammy enjoyed spending weekends with her family at a lakeside cabin in Minnesota.  Katrina Welsh, a cabin neighbor, would grill with them and share her exciting stories of what God was doing through Crisis Response.  Katrina is a staff member for Crisis Response in Staten Island.  Tammy felt compelled to drive with Katrina back to Staten Island, so she and her son Jeremy returned with Katrina to see firsthand what Crisis Response was doing.

Although raised Catholic, Tammy, turned off by the church, no longer attended services at any church.  When torrential rains hit Staten Island that Wednesday, streams of deep water flooded streets, the roof and some windows at Salem Church leaked water, basements flooded, and many needed help.  Tammy and Jeremy were happy to volunteer to join our teams responding to help.  Jeremy spent his day helping Pastor Ed Cole of Salem Church.  Tammy worked alongside a team.  Jeremy rejoined his mom and questioned, “Mom, we’re going to church Sunday, right?”

On Sunday, Pastor Ed Cole’s words stirred Tammy’s heart.  She felt like he was speaking to her alone.  He spoke of growing up with tradition but lacking a relationship with God, with not knowing God as father.  As Pastor Ed offered the chance to know God personally, Tammy felt he was looking directly at her.  God moved her heart and she found her hand raising in response to the invitation to give her life to God.

Katrina, eyes closed during the invitation, did not realize what Tammy had done until they toured Battery Park later that day.  Tammy shared her decision, and Katrina, overwhelmed by joy and excitement, hugged Tammy.  Jeremy, curious about why they hugged, ran to them.  Katrina explained her excitement, and he joined in the hug.  Katrina knows a good church in their home area where Tammy can continue to grow in her faith.

Covering the roof at Salem Church to prevent more leaks