As the extent of Hurricane Fiona’s devastating impact on Atlantic Canada has become evident, it is clear that the road to recovery will be a long one – and that the people of Atlantic Canada need real, lasting hope.
Since being deployed to Prince Edward Island shortly after the storm, four crisis-trained Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains have been ministering to residents, volunteers and first responders, offering spiritual and emotional support.
The volunteer chaplains are working alongside a disaster relief team from Samaritan’s Purse, which is helping local residents clear their homes and properties of debris.
In the short time they have been on the island, chaplains have already been able to speak with several hundred people. Some conversations have gone on for hours, as men and women of all ages and walks of life open up to share their personal stories and deepest questions about faith and God.
During their first week of ministry, chaplains also had the privilege of being used by God to lead five individuals to faith in Christ.
One was a woman who had been to a Billy Graham crusade in the 1960s and, in her own words, “came out the same way I went in”.
But now, decades later, the message of hope she had once rejected would prove irresistible. After a lengthy conversation, chaplains were able to lead the woman and her husband through BGEA’s Steps to Peace With God booklet. Both gave their lives to Christ on the spot.
After clean-up efforts on another property finished, chaplains visited the homeowner to deliver a Bible and offer prayer. He was reluctant, but eventually agreed.
Overhearing the conversation from another room, the man’s wife emerged to ask if the chaplains could pray for their son, who struggles with addiction issues.
It was an unexpected and vulnerable moment that shifted the tone of the conversation. The man began to share more openly about his own struggle to find peace in life, and was willing to receive some resources to learn more about the Christian faith. In the end, the husband and wife chatted with the chaplains for over two hours and expressed how grateful they were for the visit.
Another young man spoke with chaplains for two and a half hours, sharing openly about his troubled past and how it has continued to impact his life. He listened attentively as chaplains ministered to him and shared about the unfailing and unconditional love of Jesus – the only person who will never let us down.
In the days and months ahead, we believe that many stories of Christ’s overcoming love will emerge out of Fiona’s wreckage. Please join us in prayer for our volunteer chaplains as they continue ministering to people in Prince Edward Island, sharing the peace and hope that can only be found in Jesus – a steady, sure foundation that not even a hurricane can overturn.
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