Divine Demolition & Inspiration: Sandy Disaster Relief Trip

Most of us have heard of Hurricane Sandy. NOAA  put out before and after shots showing the destruction caused by the storm. 

I had the opportunity to see some of this destruction up close last week when I, along with 170 other volunteers from Baptist Collegiate Ministry groups from across SC served on a disaster relief mission trip with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team.


We filled 3 charter buses with students exhausted from final exams and settled in for a 13 hour drive from Columbia, SC to Staten Island, NY.

Why do this when they could have been going home to sleep, watch Christmas movies and hang with family and friends? 

Because Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." - Mark 12:31.

If Hurricane Sandy had hit SC instead of NY, I know all 170 of us would have been incredibly grateful if the students of NY drove down to love us through disaster relief.

Supposedly Forgotten

Staten Island, we were told is often called "The Forgotten Borough" of New York.

But, even if the world overlooks it, we knew that the Lord does not.

Because Jesus said, " I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep" - John 10:14.

He knows his sheep, whether they live in Staten Island, South Carolina or Syria. Anywhere. Everywhere.

So we set out to serve his sheep of Staten Island ;)

Each morning we would wake up, get breakfast and load up our buses to depart to our work-sites where, even 40 days after the storm hit, there was still lots of mud-out and demolition left to do. We would work until about 4 or 4:30 and then head back to our "Volunteer Village" - tents to sleep in, trailer showers and porta-pottys.

 Sweet Women & Work

I had the wonderful blessing to work at the homes of two sweet ladies -  Ms. Ginny's home on the first day and Ms. Mary's for the final 3. We pulled out pipes and bathtubs, tore up floors with crowbars and shovels, ripped out insulation, picked up trash, did yard work, power washed, and sprayed for mold.

It was cold and rainy and sweaty and dirty and exhausting... and WONDERFUL.

Because the Bible says, "Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically." - Romans 12:11

People, even me, often say we should "be the hands and feet of Jesus."

I have never had an opportunity to do that in such a tangible, visible way.

We literally used our hands and feet and broke some fingernails and acquired some bruises to serve those sweet ladies by getting their homes cleaned out and ready to be rebuilt. Why?

Because the Bible says, " Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress." - James 1:27

Ms. Ginny had moved into that home to care for her parents who have since passed away and Ms. Mary's husband has passed away as well. Orphan and widow. In distress.

Though these women were certainly in distress having had much of their homes ruined and many of their things destroyed, they were strong, positive, inspiring ladies.

Beautiful Spirit & Perspective

Both of these women were a joy to be around and so kind to us. That really says something. At one of the toughest times in their lives when they are trying to salvage and rebuild after Sandy, they were others-focused.

My favorite memory of Ms. Ginny was her efforts to help us. Instead of sitting and watching us work, she jumped in there and ended up schooling all of us even though she is over twice our age. We were using crowbars and hammers to pry up the wet, molded plywood above the sub-floor and it was not easy work.

While my team of 9 students and I were plugging along and making decent time, Ms. Ginny jumped in with a crowbar to help and within about 5 minutes, she had ripped up about half the floor!?! She was so strong and motivated and impressive.

She clearly has a fighting spirit determined to move forward and recover quickly.

I spent more time with Ms. Mary so it is hard to pick just one favorite memory...

• She had a great sense of humor and was always making us laugh, like when she charged us to use her bathroom... with a hug, every time :) 
• She would come and sit with us during lunch to tell stories and get to know us
• The last morning she surprised us with hot chocolate and donuts waiting for us

Though I was already impressed with her ability to laugh in the midst of what she is going through, I would have to say that hands down, my most favorite memory of her (and possibly the whole trip) was this:

We gathered each morning to pray on site before beginning our work and one morning Ms. Mary was outside so we invited her to join us. It was the day after the Connecticut school shooting.

When we asked her if she had any prayer requests, I fully expected her to ask for herself about her health or her home or her family. Instead she said this which was so moving and true:

"I'd like you to pray for the families in Connecticut. All this that I've lost here is just stuff. But they lost their children and I bet any of those mothers would give away every single thing they owned just to have their kid back."

 Perspective. It is a powerful thing.

Ms. Mary has a great perspective.

A Different Way to Worship

Another perspective I gained while on this trip was a different way to worship. 

One of the days we were gone was a Sunday but we did not go to church. 

We went to our work-sites and I posted this picture and this caption on facebook: 

On this Sunday, we worship not in khaki pants or singing from hymnals but by pulling up floors and working in the cold, rainy weather of NY. I mean Jesus was a carpenter ;) Here is to worshiping a little bit differently sometimes!

The whole trip was a way to worship differently. 

While you and most of the world have never head of these two, single women living in the Forgotten Borough of Staten Island, the Lord knows them well and wants them cared for.

Because Jesus says, "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders" - Luke 15: 4-5


In addition to caring for the over-looked and worshiping through divine demolition, on a light-hearted note, here is what we also learned

1. The southern stereotype that northerners are not hospitable is simply false: they were so friendly and grateful, often stopping their cars in the street to say hi and thank you.
2. The warning we've heard since childhood that we should never take food from strangers apparently does not apply during disaster relief! More than once, kind people saw that we were volunteers and they offered us free sandwiches, juice, chips, etc. We never hesitated to take them or enjoy them.
3. One can do hard physical labor but still look good while doing it ;) For example, I may have broken several nails but they were painted red underneath my work gloves. In addition, while I had to borrow my brother's camo hunting jacket because it was insulated and could get dirty, I accessorized with my bright pink scarf ;) Truly a Southern Belle Feminist moment!!! 

On My Knees

It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security.

                                                                      - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I was feeling slightly insane, wavering in my faith, and insecure.

The moment those feelings were "struck" into me came as I began my senior year with a Women and Religion class. This class is full of women (and a few men) who are very intelligent and different from me.

Usually, I find this environment refreshing.

Not this time.

This time it was personal. This time it was draining: mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

This time it was frightening. Because this time it was messing with my faith. 

I have been learning about pre-history and the religions before Christianity. I have been taught to question all truth, even whether there is any truth. I have been surrounded by those who call their gods "She." I have listened to people bash my religion and point out nothing positive, simply flaw. After flaw. After flaw.

The scary part was I understood - and agreed with - some of their points. I trust in my teacher's knowledge. I have studied and read her textbooks about goddesses.

I have questioned my faith, my God, my role as a Bible study leader.

And worst of all, I told NO ONE.

I didn't want to burden them with a problem I couldn't solve. I didn't want them to have the same struggle if I couldn't help them out of it. I feared their judgment for my wavering faith. So I kept these thoughts to myself.

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Until this weekend. And that is when I began my hopefully not too "long uphill climb."

This weekend was the Charleston Baptist Collegiate Ministry Fall Retreat. I went knowing I needed to go but not knowing how much it would affect me.

Before I give you the detail of when I hit my lowest low, here is some background information:

• My homechurch is over 200 years old filled with several traditional people, many of whom are old, all of whom are subdued in their worship style: aka if anyone says "Amen" in the middle of the sermon, we all turn his or her way and glare as if to suggest they should lay off the coffee next Sunday. It is just too much. We're quiet and keep things simple, assuming that showy worship of waving your hands around and shouting is insincere. 

• Well, upon getting to know other believers in college and how they worshiped, I realized one can be showy and sincere in praising God. In fact, it was an encouragement for me to see them raise their hands. When I finally worked up the guts and sincere desire to attempt this on my own, I was nearly sweating and my heart was beating fast but once I got past my nerves, I realized it heightened my own worship. So now, as I feel moved, I will raise my hands.
• Also, I have been trying to figure out how to make prayer a conversation: not just me rambling but also listening for God. My favorite description for his response is a still, small voice putting a crystal clear thought into your mind that was not yours, but simply was placed on your heart out of nowhere. I agree with that.

So, back to the BCM retreat.

We had wonderfully powerful music, enhanced especially by all of the Citadel cadets with their deep voices and clapping as we sang along. One song we sang was Indescribable with a lyric that says "Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim/ You are amazing God."

I had a still, small voice whisper: "That would be cool. I think I'd like to do that; it might elevate my worship like when I started raising my hands."

Enter my active thoughts: "Yes, that could be cool BUT certainly not here. Too many people. I mean I don't want to be all trying too hard or distracting people. Yea, maybe... someday..."

Without a second thought, I continued singing songs until  a few things formed the final cracks in my emotional dam: hearing our leader use words like "battle" and reading through the Lord's prayer about "Lead us not into temptation/ But deliver us from evil," etc.

My emotional dam broke. Warm tears poured from my eyes.

I don't usually cry. I quickly tried to regain my composure but it was melting away like much of my mascara. 

I walked to the front of the room where our Prayer Team leader was sitting in a chair. I don't know why but she pulled me to the ground. At that moment, I was at my lowest point, physically and emotionally and spiritually.

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We sat on our knees as she hugged me and prayed for me and read me a few perfectly relevant pieces of scripture.I admitted my fears and my doubts and I let my tears flow.

Once I regained composure I stood to leave but before I could get to the end of the front row, another lady reached for me which I was totally not expecting but graciously welcomed. She hugged me and began praying for me.

However, the way that she grabbed me brought my upper body in for a hug but left my butt awkwardly in the air so, without realizing it, to fix this...

I fell to my knees. 

It wasn't until later after she finished praying for me and I had returned to my seat that I put all of this together. I never had the intention to do any of that, nor did I even want to. But at that point, not even an hour after I had heard that whispered thought, I had fallen to my knees not once but twice, humbled before the Lord in prayer and worship. 

I was like, "Ok, God. I got it. You're there. To me, you are truth and you are real and you are worthy of praise."

Better yet, we sang You Alone Can Rescue with the perfect lyrics for my situation. 

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As I begin this "uphill climb" I realize that I don't have all of the answers yet and I am certain all of my doubts are not disappearing any time soon, but I am also certain of my faith.

If I had all the answers it would be called FACT, not FAITH.

But I do feel certain that with God, the acceptance and support and prayer from fellow believers, and with patience I will one day make it back to the top of the hill, "back to sanity and faith and security."