King Road Church specializes in disaster relief

After the 2004 tsunami in East Asia, King Road Church of B.C.’s Fraser Valley took a big step of faith. Mid-year, they added $10,000 to their budget so members could travel to help with disaster relief. The whole fund was used.

Now that special line in their budget has drained back to zero for disaster relief closer to home in B.C.

Back row (l–r): Elmer Schmidt, Erich Penner, Helmut Hein, Paul Klassen, Roman Dueck, Greg Friesen. Front: Elvis Dueck, Leonard Klassen, Marvin Giesbrecht, Vic Beutelspacher.

This fall, 11 men from King Road went to Terrace, B.C. to rebuild homes badly damaged by the 2007 Skeena River flooding. Over a two month period each of the 11 took time off from work, travelled the equivalent distance of Vancouver to Sacramento, Cal., and tackled the challenging job of making a home out of a mucked out mess.

Leonard Klassen, associate pastor of King Road, says their church is blessed with many tradesmen. “We have so many members with the heart and the skills to help, that we can make a real difference in a time of crisis.” Klassen is also the B.C. unit chair of Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). He is excited that so many people in his church want to share in a ministry so close to his heart.

The team was preceded by Samaritans’ Purse, who removed sandbags and cleaned out the mud and debris from flooded basements and damaged rooms.

Most of the King Road men put in a full week and then returned to their jobs and families. True to the saying, many found that on a mission things don’t always happen as one would expect. Carpenters had to learn to tape and mud drywall, straining whole new muscle groups. “You just try your best – and just do it,” joked Greg Friesen.

The group was part of 42 volunteers who went to rebuild 12 homes in Terrace. Making a donation is impersonal, they say, but helping in person, especially when expecting nothing in return, speaks volumes about Jesus’ love.

A King Road MDS veteran, Erich Penner, was one of the first to arrive. He found skepticism among the homeowners he had come to help. “People didn’t quite believe this would be ‘free’ labour, and they were not that friendly at first,” he said. “But then they could see we really meant what we were saying.” Elmer Schmidt remembers being told, “We could never have done this on our own.”

Now they are back home from Terrace, these 11 are urging King Road members to top up the travel fund once more – to be ready for the next time of need.

—Barrie McMaster