While many relief agencies respond to necessary physical needs after a disaster, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Rapid Response (RRT) chaplains come along side to minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of hurting people. Chaplains encourage, counsel, and pray with people in distress, including victims and first-responders. BGEAC chaplains are specially trained volunteers who can respond to community-wide disasters or personal crises-serving as the hands and feet of Jesus to those who wonder where God is in the midst of their troubles. The ultimate purpose of our RRT ministry is to share the eternal hope of Christ with hurting people. In 2011, RRT chaplains offered Christ's hope to disheartened homeowners in response to spring floods in Quebec and to forest fires that destroyed large parts of Slave Lake, AB. The chaplains also served at Operation Christmas Child processing centers in Calgary and Cambridge, ON For more information on our RRT ministry, please email info@bgea.ca.
May 3, 2012 Five weeks after arriving on-site in Perth-Andover, NB to help the town recover from devastating flooding, Rapid Response Team (RRT) chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada have wrapped up their work. Chaplains, along with the Disaster Relief Unit from Samaritan's Purse Canada, began work in the village of 1,700 in late March, shortly after an ice jam prompted a state of local emergency and evacuation orders. The community impact of the flood was immense, as generational family homes, seniors housing, and businesses succumbed to the overflowing St. John's River. As the reality of the flood and its long-term impact hit Perth-Andover residents, RRT chaplains served the spiritual needs of locals. "There has been a huge impact here," said chaplain Mark Hidlebaugh. "Truly everyone in the community has been affected." Lorilee was one of the first people Hidlebaugh visited in the community. Her home had been devastated and she felt vulnerable. "It was hard for her to get through each day," the chaplain said. As Samaritan's Purse assisted at her home and Hidlebaugh spent time with her, he shared the Gospel with her and she dedicated her life to Christ. Later in the week, the chaplain was surprised when Lorilee showed up to help clean out other homes with Samaritan's Purse. "She said, 'I know how good it made me feel to have that work done, and then to have you there as an extra person to talk to was just amazing,'" Hidelbaugh explained. "So in the same few weeks, she went from emotional devastation and needing assistance, to realizing how much she'd been blessed and choosing to bless others. That kind of healing in a short amount of time is amazing." And Lorilee is not the only one. "I heard the same thing over and over again," Hidelbaugh reported, "people saying, 'I really need to go back to Christ.' Not 'maybe one day I'll go back to church,' but a real urgency and need to recommit to Christ right now. Normally, people are very grateful, but here, it's different; Christ is moving - and I fully expect more people to come to the Lord in the coming weeks."
Please continue to pray with us for the people of Perth-Andover and with thanksgiving for what God is doing on their behalf, knowing that He began a good work in the community, and "will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6, NIV). Your support is crucial as the Rapid Response Team responds quickly to disasters across Canada. Please pray for these chaplains and the families they minister to in the midst of crisis. Also, please consider making a gift of $75, or any amount, to provide training and resources for chaplains to offer Christ's comfort and hope in difficult situations.