Editor’s note: Susie Wilkins, our circulation manager at The Baptist Courier, recently returned to her hometown of Columbus, Ind., where she and other volunteers from First Baptist Church, Simpsonville, assisted a Samaritan’s Purse ministry team with cleanup from floods that have devastated the Midwest. We asked her to share her story with our readers.
Storms come and go in our lives, but a storm on June 7, 2008, not only took my hometown of Columbus, Ind., by surprise, but left the town in shock and designated a disaster zone.
Samaritan’s Purse team members from First Baptist Church, Simpsonville: Marijon Ellison, Pamela Salisbury, Ann Simmons and Susie Wilkins.In South Carolina, 500 miles from home, our imaginations could only wonder, “How bad is it? Are our families okay?” Seeing televised images of Columbus on CNN gave us a quick glimpse of reality.
Earlier that Saturday morning, families were safe, going about their business as usual – shopping for groceries and mowing lawns. Around 5 p.m., the waters rose and entered “no flood zone” areas all over Columbus. Stories people told of the flood carried the same message: The water came so fast that people were in shock and had no time to prepare for evacuation.
Within 45 minutes to an hour, many had lost their homes and all their possessions. Others were devastated by the impact of water, mud and broken glass, with no flood insurance to help with their loss. Many people who were running errands could not get back home. If you were visiting in Columbus when the water rose, you could not leave because the flooding had closed main roads everywhere. People were gracious and willing to open their homes to unexpected guests for the night.
Ann Simmons uses a vacuum hose to remove stray clumps of insulation from underneath a mobile home.The only hospital, Columbus Regional, was severely damaged by the record flooding and storms. The hospital’s entire basement (12 feet high) was completely flooded, and six to eight inches of water covered the first floor, prompting an emergency evacuation. Helicopters, ambulances, buses and cars worked through the night to save lives.
My heart was broken for my hometown. What could I do to help other than sending money? I prayed for God to use me for his glory and service. I told my husband, Curt, that I would serve in Vacation Bible School at our church, since I had not signed up for a mission trip this year. But God had other plans for me. On Tuesday at VBS, God brought together in one room three ladies – Tracy Adrian, Ann Simmons and myself, all originally from Columbus, Ind. – where we talked about the flood in our hometown.
God was at work, preparing an opportunity for me to travel to Columbus with Ann Simmons, Marijon Ellison and Pamela Salisbury from our church to serve with Samaritan’s Purse in Columbus. The scripture from Isaiah 6:8 (“Here am I, send me”) kept running through my thoughts. Within 24 hours, it was confirmed that I would be on this mission trip. God took care of all the necessary details. On Saturday, June 28, the four of us headed down the highway in Ann’s van to begin our mission trip.
Marijon Ellison stuffs water-soaked home insulation into trash bags for pick-up.In Columbus, Samaritan’s Purse was supported by two local churches. Columbus Free Methodist Church (Ann’s former church) was used for meals and lodging, and Columbus Community Church served as the headquarters for the tool van and as the place where the work orders were issued to the volunteers for their service assignment for the day.
Arriving three weeks after the flood might give a visitor passing through Columbus the wrong impression. One may say that the town didn’t look that bad. The waters receded as quickly as they came, but the devastation and damage left its ugly mark on the town, especially in individuals’ homes and the buildings representing many different businesses. Numerous subdivisions in Columbus were a disaster. Many of the homes had to be gutted all the way to the studs and floor joists. Personal belongings were on display in front yards as residents sorted through their possessions to decide what to keep, donate or toss.
Our team’s responsibility was to remove insulation from beneath mobile homes. The task was challenging, especially with the blown-in type of insulation. But God was faithful to supply the strength and energy we needed to fill a dumpster to the max. When the day ended, we knew we had made a difference in that family’s life. When each project was completed, Samaritan’s Purse would present the homeowner with a Bible signed by the team members, along with encouraging messages.
Neighbors and volunteers pulled together to help residents of Columbus, Ind., one of several towns in the American Midwest devastated by record floods.Throughout our time in Columbus, people wanted to share their stories of how the flood affected their homes. One lady at the Free Methodist church said that volunteers came to her rescue and cleaned her flooded basement from the mud and yuck. A lot of people had critters, fish or some type of animal found in their basement cleanup. A friend came for cleanup duty and delivered toys to her children, stuffed frogs with the letters FROG on them, which stood for “Fully Rely On God.” After her basement was livable again, they found only a live frog in their window well of the basement. (God is faithful, and reminds us in the smallest ways that he is with us.) She happily reported the frog has a new home in a nearby pond.
The main mission of Samaritan’s Purse is to travel to disaster areas for immediate relief. Volunteers were described as the Samaritans, and the Purse was there to financially support the disaster relief efforts. Because people in the community poured out their hearts and energy to help not only their neighbors, but total strangers, Samaritan’s Purse was able to leave Columbus the following week to help another disaster area.
I thank Samaritan’s Purse for ministering to my hometown and for the privilege my fellow volunteers and I had to serve with them in the name of Jesus. If you would like to make a donation for disaster relief or learn more about Samaritan’s Purse, please visit www.samaritanspurse.org.