Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief continues to engage in disaster response after wildfires ravaged a thousand homes in Boulder, Colorado, last year. The fire caused more than 35,000 people to be displaced.
In a February update, Disaster Relief director Don Williams reported that since the Oklahoma DR team has been deployed to areas affected by the fires, ashes in more than 500 homes have been sifted, and 14 people have prayed to receive Christ though evangelistic encounters.
“We are not allowed to move the ashes from homes, due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations, but we are allowed to sift through areas where people may think that they have valuables,” he said.
Providing help, hope and healing
In an interview for the Baptist Messenger, Williams recalled a story from one of the Disaster Relief team members among those who have been working in the area since December.
“One woman asked us to sift through her home, and we found out that her son was an Afghanistan veteran,” he explained. “Though her home was completely destroyed, our DR team was able to recover some of his medals and some coins her son had brought back from his time of service in that country. Finding those items was meaningful for this mother who needed them to help her begin the healing process of losing her home.
“I am so proud of all of our DR team members who provide help, hope and healing to those impacted by disasters,” Williams said. “Thank you for giving to Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief. Because you give to DR, a team was able to help in fire recovery this week in Boulder.”
For more information and to donate to DR, visit okdisasterhelp.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article was written by Chris Forbes, and was originally published by The Baptist Messenger, newsjournal for Oklahoma Baptists.
