A Disaster Relief Unit is headed to Pensacola to serve Floridians in Jesus' Name. Volunteer teams are helping residents in the Florida Panhandle and in southern Alabama.
A third Disaster Relief Unit arrived at Myrtle Grove Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, on Oct. 27 as we expand our response to help in hurricane-damaged communities. Hurricane Isaias hit the Gulf Coast areas of Florida and Alabama nearly three weeks ago as a Category 2 storm. Samaritan’s Purse is serving at three sites across the two states.
VOLUNTEER IN FLORIDA AND ALABAMA
Volunteers at this third response location will begin work Thursday, Oct. 29. Thousands of families across the three locations need assistance with cleanup, which includes removal of fallen trees and debris from properties. Volunteers will also help with tarping damaged roofs.
God’s Love Heals the Hurricane-Hammered South
“How did you all hear about Brewton, Alabama?” asked 68-year-old Raymond Coleman. It was a mystery to him that anyone could find his home, deep in the woods at the end of a muddy road near the train tracks.
As Hurricane Isaias made its way across the Florida-Alabama border, unleashing Category 2 winds, it sounded like the passing trains he’d heard thousands of times before. Only, this sound didn’t stop.
He huddled in the closet as the pines and oaks snapped around him like thunder.
“All I was thinking was to not get scared and run out there. It was dark. It was rough,” he said. “The storm almost picked me up with it.”
Raymond assumed that he would be all on his own clearing the trees lying across his yard. At least that’s what he thought before eight volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse—strangers to him at the time—made their way down his backcountry road and arrived at his house ready to work. The crew cut up the giant fallen trees and cleaned up remaining debris, and their presence on his property reminded Raymond that he wasn’t alone in this trial.
Raymond was surprised to see Samaritan’s Purse volunteers show up at his rural Alabama house so quickly after the storm.
“You hardly ever see anyone come this quick, so it’s just a blessing,” he said, thanking his neighbor for signing him up to receive help. “Some folks come up here and be mean or try to get money from me, but Samaritan’s Purse comes with the Spirit of Christ.”
For Raymond, who’s called this place home since 1968, the work meant more than clearing fallen trees. He grew up under this same roof with his eight brothers and two sisters as his father worked at the paper mill down the road. Later in life, he drove a front-end loader for the city, so he understood the effort required to clear his yard.
“I lost a lot, but it could be worse. I’m happy to see these people out here and I’m blessed by what they are doing,” Raymond said of the volunteers. “I wish I could get out there and help them like I could in the past.
“But I’ll leave it to them,” he said with a chuckle as he watched the volunteers work.
Four massive trees fell in Raymond’s yard when Hurricane Isaias tore through the region Oct. 9.
Answering the Call to Serve
Among the volunteers working at Raymond’s property in Brewton was Selena, who lived just a couple towns away. After the storm, she was sitting in her living room, thankful her property hadn’t been damaged, when the Lord called her to help neighbors whose homes had been hit.
“When the Lord hits you that hard and says, ‘You need to do this,’ you hurry up and do it,” she said. “I was comfortable, but the Lord had more for me.”
After years of volunteering with Operation Christmas Child in the winters, Selena served with U.S. Disaster Relief for the first time, helping homeowners in Alabama and Florida after the storm.
After the crew finished clearing Raymond’s yard, Selena presented him with a Billy Graham Training Center Bible, a special reminder to the homeowners we help that God’s love is what compels our work.
Selena answered the Lord’s call to serve with Samaritan’s Purse. She ended her day of service presenting a Bible to Raymond, reminding him of God’s love.
“He brought us here for a reason—more than to just clean up your yard—and that is to touch your heart with His love and for you to encourage us with your endurance,” she said to Raymond as she handed him the Bible. “I want you to know just how much of a blessing you are to us, and how much God loves you.”
Later, Selena recounted what God was doing in her life as she encouraged others to serve in the storm-rattled region.
“I’m not questioning God anymore, and neither should others who are debating whether or not to come out and serve,” she said. “I wake up in the morning and I say, ‘Guide my words, my heart, and my steps, and lead me through whatever Your will is for that day.’ He has never disappointed.”
Volunteers surrounded Raymond for an extended time of prayer, asking the Lord to comfort him as he recovers from the storm.
Our three response locations in Alabama and Florida have received more than 4,000 requests for assistance. Fallen trees caused widespread power outages, damaged homes, and injured many people across the two states. Our teams use tools and equipment, including heavy machinery, to help families recover.
VOLUNTEER IN FLORIDA AND ALABAMA
Help in a Time of Great Need
Not too far south of those Alabama forests, Telacy Allen and his five children felt the full force of Hurricane Isaias in Pensacola, Florida. As the storm made landfall late Oct. 9, it rocked coastal communities.
The winds toppled a giant tree onto the corner of Telacy’s home. Praise God that the wall held under the weight of the tree, but the damaged roof caused water to leak into the home, and the tree was too large for him to move on his own.
The hurricane added a burden to the already heavy weight on Telacy’s shoulders, but Samaritan’s Purse volunteers arrived to help the overwhelmed father in Jesus’ Name.
“I stayed home—me and my kids—and we bunkered down and prayed and kept the faith,” Telacy recounted. “It started snapping the trees and we heard a ‘whoosh’ and the bushes were all against the screen. Our lives could’ve been gone. That’s what I’m thinking about.”
A group of Samaritan’s Purse volunteers arrived at his home days later and began cutting up the massive tree and carrying the pieces to the curb. They also climbed onto his roof and covered damaged areas with our long-lasting blue tarp to protect against further rain damage. Telacy was overcome with emotion by their help.
“God sent you all,” Telacy said as he held back tears. “My wife put in paperwork to everybody, but God chose you all. You are the only ones that showed up … the Lord knows I appreciate you all.”
Telacy hadn’t felt a love like this in decades. When he returned to his hometown of Pensacola after being released from prison 12 years ago, he was overcome by hopelessness. Although he moved in next door to his father, he struggled to feel the love and presence of God that he had known as a child.
“When I came back home, I wanted to give up on life,” he said. His mother died while he was incarcerated, and he never had the opportunity to say goodbye. “I was in the house alone and I had too much to think about. I wanted to give up, but I know my momma wouldn’t have wanted that.”
Telacy shared his testimony with the volunteer team after receiving his Bible, overwhelmed by the joy and love he experienced through their work.
Through the kindness of our volunteers, Telacy was reminded of God’s love for him, a love that could not be thwarted by Telacy’s wandering heart.
“This might be a sign to get right,” he said. “There’s the wide door, but then there is the straight and narrow way to Christ … I got to go through the narrow door.”
As these Florida and Alabama communities continue to reel after Hurricane Isaias, please pray for the many hurting families and for the Samaritan’s Purse teams ministering to them in word and deed, sharing the hope of the Gospel as we help in Jesus’ Name.
Please also prayerfully consider volunteering with us to serve in the region as the hands and feet of Jesus to remind homeowners like Raymond and Telacy that God loves them and hasn’t forgotten them in their struggles.
