19 Jun Volunteers are Changing a Country and Possibly the World
On Sunday June 3rd a volcano erupted near the capital city of Guatemala and the pictures told us that this was not a small eruption event. This was something big and we knew many lives were possibly lost. We had been around this volcano called El Fuego during mission trips our church and our family had taken over the last several years. We were very familiar with the villages as well as the resorts where thousands of families lived, worked and came to visit its beauty.
The next morning when we woke up, what we had feared was confirmed by our friends in Guatemala and we immediately knew we had to go and help. As we packed for the days that were ahead we talked through the many unanswered questions such as, what would we do when we arrived, where would we stay, how would we get our equipment on the airplane, how could we help? Just because we were trained in areas of Search and Rescue and first aid and had served in many hurricanes and tornado disasters and earthquakes, we knew this was going to be different. Different because it was a different country, a different language and a government with it’s own rules and requirements. Even with so many unanswered questions, we felt strongly that we still needed to go so we called one of our missionary friends and the three of us secured the last three airplane tickets and left that day for a recovery effort that changed our lives.
Unbeknown to us, there was something already happening in Guatemala and it was something we had been praying for in the United States. There in Guatemala City, a church that believed their people should be trained as first responders, an elite First Responder Organization called ZAKA from Israel, and a disaster relief organization from the United States called IRIS Relief had already been meeting and training volunteers to be ready when disasters strike. They also believed that by coming together in a partnership they could globally help other nations respond to many types of disasters and impact the lives of millions. They not only believed it, they were doing it.
For us as Storm Warriors, our heart was to get to ground zero and help in the recovery and the search and rescue efforts but for many reasons we were not allowed. Instead, we found ourselves taking part in assessments and going to meetings at a church called Casa De Dios with these organizations and others to discuss how the Church would bring aid and comfort to the thousands of families who were in great need. As we flew into areas where other churches and community centers had been transformed into medical brigades, shelters to house families, and food banks to feed the hungry we began to see something we had never seen before. All of these people who came to serve were all volunteers. Not just any volunteers, these were empowered volunteers; empowered by the love of Jesus to go and be the hands and feet, to render aid, give a cup of water, a hug, or a prayer of hope to any family who was in need. These volunteers were willing to go wherever they were sent to be a light and a beacon of hope to those who had no hope. You see, hundreds of families lost everything. Covered with ash, rocks and lava, many communities would never recover. Several hundred people were unaccounted for and feared dead. Hope was what they needed and hope come to them through these volunteers.
Over the next several days we saw a church become a command center, a drop off center for needed relief items and more volunteers pouring out to deliver whatever was needed, where ever it was needed. The Church volunteers gave their goods, food, trucks, employees, money whatever was in their hand as well as their time to help. It was an outpouring like we had never seen in the numbers of years we had been doing disaster restoration. This was for us the model of the Church in action. Yes, it’s easy to write checks and give to other organizations but this church believed that there was a greater blessing. They believed that by empowering their people to not just give but to go, they would receive greater blessing than the ones they were blessing.
This empowered volunteer outreach was so powerful that the Government and CONRED (much like our FEMA) began to turn many of the community’s shelters and the care of the people to Casa De Dios. It was truly remarkable to witness such an amazing event happening around this disaster. The Church and its partners were taking their rightful role in helping the masses in great need through empowered volunteers. The question for us here in the United States is, are we ready? Are we ready to be empowered to be a volunteer like Jesus was, to be trained to go and serve and to unite as the Church to make a difference in the lives of so many.
Yes, anyone can give a cup of water, food for the hungry and a bed for those who have lost everything. But who is going to bring the hope? FEMA? The Government? No, it can only be brought by the ones who have the hope to give. Empowered and believing volunteers ready to go into all corners of the world. There is now a Global initiative that has begun to awaken God’s people through the Church to be His hands and feet and serve. Are you ready to become an empowered volunteer?
Our willingness to go became a blessing as we were a witness and now a testimony to what an impact the Church can have when God’s people are in great need. We believe is the time to act is now. As storms, disasters, terror, and calamities are becoming more frequent and much more violent, we should recognize them as signs and wonders. These signs and wonders are for His people to wake up, raise our hands, volunteer, and go. We can bring Heaven to Earth today through the obedience of Christ. All we have to do is believe and say yes.
