Final Prayer Requests

Our week of serving hurricane Michael victims came to a close today after Sunday service in the church’s gym. (The church building was severely damaged during the storm and is unrepairable.)
For many church members, this was the first Sunday church service they could attend . It was a touching reunion for many as they cried in each others arms. But these were tears of joy and there was plenty of laughter as people shared some testimonies that really were funny! The pastor had heartfelt thanks for first responders, volunteers and mission teams who helped in the past few weeks as well as words of hope andprayers for strength as well.

You  just never know what the Lord’s going to do on something so simple as a ride to the airport area. A young Christian who was next to me in the group sleeping tent said that he’d give another chaplain and I rides to the airport if we would baptize him on the way there. Yes, he really had recently accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and, no he wasn’t kidding. And he insisted on the full immersion dunk under. So as we drove out of the hurricane disaster zone, we passed by debris strewn ditches and came upon a small lake where the water was rust colored. We didn’t see any live fish but we didn’t see any dead fish either. So in we went!

We all laughed when we found a nice beach about one mile past where we went in.

Here are some final prayer requests:
For more laborers for hurricane recovery
For some much needed rest for local pastors and church staff who have been ministering nonstop for 40 days
For more chaplains to ease the load of local pastors
For the continued generosity of people in donations of time, equipment and supplies.
For a continued experience of community where people have welcomed other families into their own homes
And for God’s richest blessings on all prayer warriors who stormed Heaven during this deployment!
Blessings,
Wes

The Mission Never Ends, Though the Location Changes

Through the years, I’ve experienced 29 mission trips and now my first chaplain deployment. I’ve learned to thank God for being able to serve with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Here in Florida’s panhandle, reconstruction will take years. We were told yesterday that an analysis of aerial photos showed at least 4,000 homes and businesses are in need of major repairs from Hurricane Michael. Our mission here is to help bring hope and healing to the hurting. That mission continues around the globe.

I thank God for my chaplain brothers and sisters. Though some had gone on many deployments with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, they were humble, gentle and understanding with us wide-eyed newbies. And our chaplain coordinators were so encouraging and trusting that we would make the right decisions . The fantastic and dedicated Samaritans Purse staff went the extra mile with accommodations, logistics and food. Local pastors trusted us time and time again with their church members and resources. And finally, the residents Most affected by the devastation of Hurricane Michael. I did not see even one fist raised to heaven. At most I heard two people asking God “why?” The vast majority of locals thanked God for the lives of their loved ones. They reached out to help their neighbors.
Thank you and God bless you Prayer Warriors!

God provides

For the desperate homeowners sitting outside their unrepairable houses- a crew of volunteers pulls into the driveway. For the shivering families barely surviving the 34 degree night, a van pulls up with an elderly couple who packed their van with blankets, even though their own house was damaged beyond repair. For a local church’ food and clothing pantry to discover without warning and explanation that a Christian relief agency won’t show up today. So, what happened? A traveling chinese chef pulls up and starts cooking up fresh batches of stir fry and rice. Time after time, day after day here, God provides!

Lows and Highs

First the lows: The temperatures over the last two days have been just above freezing. I’m not complaining for myself (ok, just a little). There are still thousands of homes without power in the region. And with the cold rain pouring into homes with damaged, even missing roofs, that makes things just miserable for lots of residents. Around these parts there are no shelters, and hotels are fully booked for hours in every direction. Here was the worst part of our day: As work crews packed supplies into their trucks, i was with one crew leader as she called a home owner to let him know they would be coming to finish putting tarps over his damaged trailer roof. He told her not to bother because his trailer burned up late last night! When asked, he said it would be ok if some chaplains paid him a visit. We rushed over to find the trailer still smoking and the man in a small hunting camper with no heat, water or electricity.

We carefully listened to his lifelong story of tragedy, losing both his wife and 13 year old daughter. All he had left now was his faithful old dog. But he wasn’t complaining, in fact he truly believed that God had saved him from the fire because God must have some purpose for him. And that now leads to the highs of the day.
The man was very receptive to a presentation of the Gospel and prayed to receive Christ as his Savior! By nightfall, a nearby church had dropped off blankets, hot food and other necessities. Other residents we visited today also had breakthroughs, felt some hope, and even laughed for the first time in a long while! Work crews worked in the cold rain or continued to gut homes and even sang to keep their spirits up.
As we processed the day’s events, we thanked God for allowing us to minister in his name. We also asked the Lord’s forgiveness for our petty complaining.

Our base camp in Wewahitchka started two days after the storm. They housed some first responders and a few volunteers (about 20 total) . There was no electricity, no water, no 911 servicemen the area. Roads everywhere were impassable with fallen trees and storm debris. The first responders would do their job shift, then volunteer for hours in Jesus’s name. 

To date, 230 work projects have been completed! Over 1060 more remain and more requests come in daily. Please pray for more laborers to come, some rest for the pastors and scores of volunteers who have have given their all for over a month now.

So many people who desperately need help

The requests for help from Samaritan’s Purse keep pouring in. Another base camp is ready to open in Panama City. Samaritan’s Purse has needed to add additional service weeks we’ll into January. I am completely impressed with the experience, level of involvement and integrity of this organization! As the man pictured below called out repeatedly, “Don’t forget put us!”

Please consider investing a week in service in Florida’s panhandle : either in Wewahitchka or Panama City. https://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/hurricane-michael-barrels-toward-florida-panhandle-please-pray/

The power of 140 servant-hearted volunteers

As a chaplain, I am paired up with another guy and we usually visit the or four different Samaritans Purse teams, all doing hurricane recovery ministry for/with homeowners. EVERY home in the Mexico Beach area is damaged, some are damaged beyond repair, and some are nothing more than a concrete slab. Today, I traveled to a team who slogged the whole day through mud and water, clearing debris and hand carrying: mason blocks, fallen timber and waterlogged furniture through this swamp. Oh, this was also a team of brand new first-time volunteers, all over the age of 65. Sometimes their boots would get stuck in the mud, or they’d trip over some underwater obstacles and wind up face down in the mud. But I heard no complaints, no protests. The trailer home on this swamp was damaged and the owner paid cash to a man who said he would remove the damaged trailer so she could receive a new FEMA trailer. But when he used his crane to lift one side of the trailer, the trailer cracked in half and the guy left the cracked trailer and disappeared. At another site today,another crew worked tirelessly to remove tons of sand and severely damaged interior of a very tall two story home. The 74 year old owner ignored all the mandatory evacuation orders before the storm. The wind, now verified as a category 5 hurricane, blew cottages on the property off their foundations, tossed vehicles into trees and there was worse still to come. A 26 foot storm surge came over his roof, burst through his windows and swept him towards the windows on the other side of the house. As he was halfway through the windows on the other side, a wave came from the other direction and pushed him back inside the house, saving him from certain death. Today was 32 days after that night of terror. The SP team noticed his confusion and inability to make decisions as they spoke with him. He did mention that his girlfriend was having cancer surgery today as well. Moved with compassion, the teamasked if he might  want to speak with a chaplain and he immediately said “yes” and we rushed over. After a few hours of telling his story to me, I was surprised that his question was not why God allowed these tragedies to happen to him but why God would choose to save him.  It was perfect timing for presenting the Good News of Christ’s sacrifice to him and he received Christ this afternoon! He asked if we could talk more tomorrow- so please pray for our time together on Wednesday! God bless! The

God is moving powerfully!

thank you prayer warriors! Our base camp is now over capacity of volunteers streaming here. The devastation is vast. But in such dire circumstance the light of Christ shines brightly. So many reports of locals bursting out sobbing when the Samaritans Purse trucks pull up. Construction workers and just about everyone here has been moved by what the’ve seen and experienced. God is moving!

Some Facts and Perspectives on What the Lord is doing in the Area

We are beginning the 5th week of Samaritans Purse and the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. Already over 2,500 people have been prayed with and Samaritans Purse has received over 1,400 work orders. Deployment weeks have been added through Christmas and another hub is getting started in the area. By tomorrow, Camp will max out at 140 volunteersfrom across the country. For now, there is the triangle of ministry divided between the two hardest hit cities (Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe) and Wewahitchka. Between these three cities there are only a few operational churches. Tomorrow, after breakfast, devotion time and team prayer send offs, 12 Samaritans Purse teams will depart for things like: debris removal, house gutting, home repairs, staffing distribution centers and more.
This evening was an informal time of getting to know others. Every volunteer here has a story on why they put their jobs and family on hold, to come and cheerfully help others. Some received help from Samaritans Purse in their past and now need to pay it forward. Others came because the Holy Spirit called them here. White collar, blue collar - it doesn’t matter here- just servant hearted followers of Christ doing whatever is needed.
Please pray for God’s protection over the families of men and women who are earnestly praying, “Lord, I’ll go where you want me to go, do what you want me to do and be what you want me to be!”
Good night prayer warriors - we are praying for you as well!

Base Camp Setup

So what would you do if every one of your five GPS apps goes haywire and makes you go in circles on back roads? We laughed and laughed then stopped and asked for directions. The man was a jail chaplain, so we prayed with him and encouraged him! Here we go!

In Panama City Awaiting the rest of the Chaplains

Traveling to Deployment

Here are our initial prayer requests: For traveling mercies as we travel from Hawaii, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. All team members should arrive at our Wewahitchka, Florida camp by 4:30pm on November 10th. For the chaplain team: Wes Slawson, Mike Clark (chaplain coordinator), Jane Carter, Larry Crawford, Steven Forgacs, Marjorie Gibson, Andrew Henderson, Sean Morinaka, Daniel Quinones, Lori Rimar and Janet Uetz. Prayer requests from Wes Slawson: o For God’s protection on my wife and family while I am away, particularly: health, jobs and finances. o For continued healing for my respiratory system.