Chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are providing spiritual and emotional care for thousands of Carolina residents affected by the massive storm.
Hurricane Florence made landfall Sept. 14 near Wrightsville Beach, N.C., with sustained 90 mph winds and a storm surge of more than 10 feet in places. But most of its damage came in the form of flooding as Florence slowed to a 2 mph crawl and dumped up to 36 inches of rain in coastal areas. At least 37 deaths were attributed to the storm, some 1.4 million experienced power outages, and experts estimated damages at between $38 billion and $50 billion.
Amid the statistics were thousands of devastated and grieving individuals. Rapid Response Team chaplains deployed alongside disaster relief teams from Samaritan’s Purse in Jacksonville, New Bern and Wilmington, N.C., and Myrtle Beach and Horry County, S.C.
By early October, chaplains had prayed with more than 7,000 people, and 86 had prayed to receive Christ.
One of those was a man in New Bern who came to ask Samaritan’s Purse for help. A chaplain struck up a conversation and asked him if he had a relationship with Jesus Christ. “No,” the man said, “but my wife does.” As they talked, it was clear that the man and his wife love each other deeply and that she had been urging him to accept the Lord. The chaplain pointed out that the man’s wife has assurance of eternal life, and he asked if the man wanted that same assurance. He indicated that he would like that. Using the Steps to Peace With God pamphlet, the chaplain led him through the sinner’s prayer and gave him a Billy Graham Training Center Bible.
Another man had spent months and thousands of dollars remodeling his home before it was severely damaged by the storm. When Samaritan’s Purse volunteers first met him, he was angry and hurting. The storm was bad enough, but just two weeks earlier, his brother had died of an overdose. He said he didn’t like to accept help from anyone, but he allowed a team to help him remove wet drywall and furnishings and to clean out the mud in his house.
Rapid Response Team chaplains met him on the third day of the “mudout,” and they had a good conversation, during which they explained the Gospel. The man prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.