Windowless, destroyed buildings. Blown-out tires on vehicles swallowed by flames during the recent Hawaii fire. “Everything was burnt to the ground,” Becki Haag said. “Everything was gray.”
Haig is back in Phoenix after serving as an Arizona Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer in Maui, which was ravaged by wildfires starting in August. She returned along with other volunteers at the same time a new team headed to the island — and a team of 10 volunteers returned from Guam. Guam was struck by Typhoon Mawar on May 19, with heavy rains continuing until June.
RELATED: Check out more stories on the Hawaii fire here.
In addition to the 10 who served in Guam, so far, 22 volunteers have served or are currently serving in Hawaii. Four volunteers were scheduled to go to Hawaii Oct. 25, while a team of nine was expected to return to Arizona the same day. Thirteen volunteers, including four who have already served in Hawaii, are scheduled to go to Hawaii before Thanksgiving.
The 10 volunteers serving in Guam did recovery work and a lot of re-roofing for families who live in substandard housing, said Don Vickers, director of Arizona Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. They worked hand-in-hand with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“It will take years for them to get back on their feet,” Jim Godfrey, one of the volunteers, said. “Pray for hope and that they’re made aware of the gospel.”
Volunteer Russ Wise added, “Regardless of the task at hand, the Lord will form a team at the right time and place to care for His children. We all answered the call and blessed many people.”
Next steps
- Pray for the residents of both Guam and Maui and for any gospel conversations that have or will take place.
- Pray for the safety and physical endurance of Disaster Relief volunteers on current and future Maui deployments.
- Consider signing up for a Hawaii deployment, or giving specifically to Disaster Relief so expenses like travel can continue to be covered.
To read full story click here.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Claudia Macdonald and originally published by Arizona’s Portraits.
