High water, wider witness

“It’s never about the houses. It’s always about the people,” said Claus Burchert of Samaritan’s Purse, Calgary, during a meeting in May on B.C. flood relief.

Burchert and other workers travelled to British Columbia, ready to help in case waters continued to rise. Some have referred to this as the region’s “200-year-flood.”

The meeting was designed to facilitate emergency networking. It’s clear there’s a rich variety of relief ministry among God’s people in the province.

• Mennonite Disaster Services, says B.C. chair Leonard Klassen, is “there for the long haul – we help with the recovery.”
• The Salvation Army is ready with 12 mobile, fully equipped kitchens scattered around B.C. to help in the midst of calamity.
• The Billy Graham organization trains local church members to minister to people after the first, practical help phase is over.
• Samaritan’s Purse organizes work on site, helping people rebuild and training relief leaders through seminars in local churches.
• Local churches are ready to assist according to their location and size. Mennonite Brethren churches in B.C. can serve in various ways: as reception centres (Central Heights, Abbotsford), emergency crew muster centres (Nechako Community, Vanderhoof), and meeting places for flooded-out churches (Sardis Community, Chilliwack).

Devastating events can crush families and individuals, but people willing to show the compassion of Christ can make all the difference.

—Barrie McMaster