Editor’s Note: At The Gathering, during the Cooperative Program presentation, Kris Buckman read a card from a hurricane victim who expressed her thanks to the Maryland/Delaware DR team. Here’s the rest of the story!

SPARTANBURG, SC—In November, a Maryland/Delaware Disaster Relief team was deployed for two weeks in Spartanburg, working on homes covered with trees and debris. Volunteers, ages 19 to 71, represented the Blue Ridge, Potomac, Montgomery, and Western Baptist Associations.

Andrew Starling, a member of First Baptist Church of Rockville, chainsaws a massive tree trunk. (Photo by Al Caho)

Surveying the neighborhood, team members saw massive oak trees that had fallen and debris everywhere. DR Leader Al Caho, a member of Faith Baptist Church, Knoxville, and longtime DR volunteer, said, “These are whole oak trees — 40-50 inches in diameter. South Carolina has a shallow root system and a sandy soil environment. The soil loosened up, and the trees just toppled over — not broken, they just came out of the ground and fell over — lots of them. And they crushed whatever they landed on.

“We fortunately had a tractor with us, thanks to three volunteers from Buck Valley Christian Church in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania.” Caho had arrived during the first week of the deployment. Knowing a team from Bucks Valley Church was coming the second week, he emailed asking if anyone could bring a tractor. John McKee brought his smaller 30 horsepower Massey Ferguson, which turned out to be the perfect size — big enough to get the work done but small enough to get through the gates. McKee, with Tracy Mellott and Robert Oakman, are new DR volunteers who trained in October, and this was their first deployment.

At one home, the trees had fallen on the back porch, collapsing it, making the homeowner‘s backyard unusable and preventing them from making the needed repairs. A family lived in the house with school-aged children. As the team finished, the mom came out with a card in her hand. The woman was overwhelmingly grateful.

Caho said, “She explained that she had just been diagnosed with a form of cancer.”

In the card, the woman wrote:

“My family and I are so thankful for your help. Two weeks prior to the hurricane, my husband and I were facing some uncertainty about my health. The big “C” word was being thrown into the mix of conversation with my doctors, and we were trying to wrap our minds around how we got here. Just as we started to embrace whatever chaos was going to come our way, Helene hit. We’ve been bouncing back and forth with insurance and finances and began to feel defeated. Then you guys showed up.

Having you all come in and help has been a weight lifted off of our shoulders. (It’s) minimal to some but huge for us. One of your volunteers said, ‘We’re just out here trying to be the hands and feet of Christ.’ I went inside and cried after hearing that. It was exactly what you guys were doing.

Being able to look out my back window and show my children that this is what the love of Christ looks like is a memory and conversation I will be able to cherish forever.”

At the bottom of the note she wrote, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”  Hebrews 6:10 (ESV)

The DR team repaired the roof of an older couple who used to be DR volunteers. (Photo by Al Caho)

McKee said the family’s situation deeply touched him and others. “It put a knot in your throat and tears in your eyes. It was devastation upon devastation.”

Caho said, “When she gave us the card, that opened the door for two ladies on our team, both cancer survivors, to be able to pray with her and give her comfort.

The team shared her need and within a few days thousands were praying for her.

Giving Back
The team also did an emergency roof repair for a couple who had previously served in Disaster Relief. “They were an older husband and wife who told us they had been involved in DR in their younger years and served in a South Carolina feeding unit. It was our privilege to pay it back. As is our custom, we always leave a Bible. They were part of giving Bibles and now they were receiving one. That was very emotional to them.”

Another gentleman the team served was a Vietnam combat veteran. “He was a crewman on a dustoff helicopter,” said Caho.“Dustoff Crewmen jumped out and helped the wounded while under enemy fire. He was a super courageous hero, and we were able to help him. We sat and listened to his story. It was an honor to take care of his situation.”

I don’t remember how many families we helped. I think it was probably 15-20 families in that 2-week time. It was a lot. Caho said this year has been the busiest DR season in his 22 years of DR ministry. But he keeps going. McKeef said he and the other new volunteers can’t wait for another deployment. They’re all ready.