First Baptist Church of Beltsville
Finding Peace with God on the Hilltop of Beltsville
By this time I am certain that you have heard stories of disgruntled residents of New York or New Jersey who waited long periods of time for relief after Hurricane Sandy made her presence known. My heartfelt prayers continue to go out to many people who have truly been devastated. However, not all news from the storm front was negative and pessimistic. The quick Christian response to severe flooding in Crisfield Maryland was both unexpected and overwhelming.
Less than two weeks after the flooding reached its peak, volunteers from FBC Beltsville were scheduled to descend on Crisfield to assist in the cleanout efforts. I first heard that there were so many volunteer teams that had arrived on scene that we may not find bed space available to sleep at night: Praise the Lord. Then I heard that the sheer volume of Christian teams was so great that relief efforts were logistically challenging in so much as finding enough work for everyone: Praise the Lord. By the time my family arrived to work, those pesky Disaster Relief folks were done with the cleanout work: Praise the Lord!
God can always use a willing Christian family, so we quickly fell into line (a serving line that is) and helped to feed a few hundred people in a community Thanksgiving meal. I provided childcare while I watched with admiration as my wife and daughter stood for hour after hour serving locals hot and fresh food. The local pastor and I delivered the rest of the dinners to residents of one of the poorest areas of Crisfield, and had dozens of opportunities to share Christ and words of prayer and encouragement.
There will be more work to be done in the coming months as homes dry out and residents decide what they can do to repair their homes. As the ministry opportunities become available I will pass them along to you. Praise the Lord for the flood of relief that flowed into Crisfield (Isaiah 41:10).