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
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