Huddling in their basement, the Longmuir family was able to survive a catastrophic tornado that tore through their southern Alberta farm on Canada Day.
As they moved aside debris to emerge and see the remains of their house, they knew they would need plenty of help to recover. That includes spiritual and emotional support.
While volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse swarmed over their property to clean up debris and cut down mangled trees, support from partners like you made it possible for a team of crisis-trained Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains to spend many hours with the family.
They listened, sat in silence when needed, offered prayer when it was appropriate and, when God provided opportunities, they compassionately shared the love of Christ and His offer of eternal salvation.
“The chaplains were absolutely wonderful,” Christina said while sitting in the Longmuirs’ garage and workshop. With the roof of their home missing, this is where the family is living. Nearby, Christina’s husband Karmen spoke with volunteers and their two teenaged children helped with the clean-up when needed.
“The chaplains were very real, not pretentious and not preachy,” she continued. “They really helped me—even asking me to take a nap, which I did.”
Lacey Longmuir, Christina and Karmen’s 14-year-old daughter, noted, “The prayer they did for us was very nice; it reminded me that people still care and it helped me think about what happened to others affected by the tornado.”
Fourteen properties were damaged by the July 1 tornado, but no one was killed and there was only one minor injury. We thank God that the nearby prairie towns of Carstairs and Didsbury were untouched.
The chaplains’ spiritual and emotional care “is an essential part of healing and moving past trauma,” said Christina. “So, thank you to those Billy Graham supporters. Without them, none of this work would be possible.”
Please pray for the Longmuirs and the other families affected by the Canada Day tornado. Your prayers and gifts make it possible to keep reaching families facing crisis with the hope of Christ. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV).
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