Reflections from the hurricane zone

MDS volunteers from Parliament Community Church (l–r) Wes Braun, Don Wiens, Marilyn Bien, Donna Suderman, Peter Suderman, Rob Sawatsky, Elaine Wiens, Tim Friesen, Janine Gunther, Jason Unruh, Kristen Willems, Laura Unruh, Thomas Gunther, Andrew Braun, Brian Wiens, Ken Wiens, Ben Friesen.

On Monday, Oct. 24, seventeen of us from Parliament Community Church in Regina walked onto a plane and headed south to Bayou La Batre, Alabama. The evening before we had completed our mission festival at the church, with the theme “Free to serve like Jesus.”

That was our goal. We were going to serve with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) and we wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus and do what we could to help people who had been impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

So, what happens when a bunch of prairie people head down to a hurricane zone? When they start connecting with the people and needs of Bayou La Batre?

Disaster relief was something very new to all but one of us. Prior to departure we experienced excitement and anticipation mixed with some anxious moments and a variety of questions. I could relay the questions to MDS staff and get some answers, but for the most part we just had to wait and see.

Soon after we got off the plane, Bob Klassen, the onsite MDS director, sat us down and prepared us for what was to come. He told stories of people helping people through this crisis, and spoke of his own passion for not just fixing houses or patching roofs but sharing Christ. He said that Katrina, with all its destructive power, had opened up a doorway for us to share God’s love in very practical ways.

Our team caught that message. Compassion grew in our hearts as we related personally to individuals. Katrina wasn’t just a news event anymore but became personal as we attached faces and stories and new friends to the disaster. This was about people. Patching roofs was a part of what we did, but so was listening to people and looking for opportunities to love any way we could. And, as we opened our hearts to people, they opened their hearts to us.

Late one afternoon, as we were finishing repairs to a roof, I saw the woman of the house returning from the store with groceries in hand. She wanted to prepare us a special dish before we left. We all knew that money was hard to come by in that home, but she wanted to serve us because we had served her.

We washed our hands in the little trailer they were living in temporarily and then we sat and ate with them. Before we left we asked how we could pray for the woman and her family and she shared freely from her heart. We prayed and then went on our way.

Deep joy

What a privilege it is to be able to help people along on their journey! A deep sense of joy was flowing through our hearts. We had something to share; we could help people. We weren’t just talking about serving like Jesus, we were doing it. A disaster reminds us how fragile our lives really are. They can be dramatically changed in moments by forces beyond our control. Yet when God is part of the picture, hope and joy are also close at hand.

One of the men on our team was carrying a work phone and on occasion was called for work-related business. He shared with us how at home he would jump to answer those calls. At Bayou La Batre, his reaction was much different. He felt interrupted. In his words, “I am doing something here that is important.”

As we encountered people and their needs, we began to re-evaluate our value systems. On more than one occasion team members made comments like “These people have so much less and yet they’re happy” or “We don’t need all the stuff that we have.”

The question that remains with me is this: how can we serve like Jesus would at home? Mission trips are a blast because you get to travel to new places, experience new cultures and meet new people. We clear our calendars for a week or 10 days and can serve in ways our normal schedules don’t allow.

But the question still remains. What “disasters” are happening around us, where we live, that could be doorways God is opening for us to serve in Jesus’ name?

I think this is where love comes in. If we are willing to clear our schedules for an hour or two, or maybe even a day or two, as the need arises, we may have opportunity to love people like Jesus did – right here at home. And, as we open our hearts to others, they may open their hearts to us and to the Lord we serve.

Brian Wiens is associate pastor of Parliament Community Church, Regina.