Ray and Evelyn Gilliland are not going to spend their retirement days in matching rocking chairs. They would rather be serving the Lord.
They may not be rocking — but they are rolling.
RELATED: Check out more stories on disaster relief efforts.
The Gillilands are among six couples who are on the ground in Pikeville this week as Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers in flood-damaged eastern Kentucky. Ray is doing difficult mudout work, clearing water and mud from basements, while Evelyn is a chaplain trying to encourage homeowners and other residents who are going through difficult days — some for the second time in 30 months.
The Gillilands have been married 41 years, so it seems natural for them to be together.
“I’m happy she became a chaplain so we can go together” on DR deployments. “I love it. We are both serving at the same time. We love serving the Lord and we love helping people. It goes together. It’s perfect.”
Evelyn said she is on her first deployment as a chaplain, and it has not been easy holding back the tears as she talks with homeowners who have lost everything.
“It breaks your heart,” she said. “I have a hard time not crying but sometimes you have to be tough. We’ve seen it at all levels – trailers, duplexes, houses — and they are all affected the same way: basements flooded, garages flooded, and it all has to go to the road, to the dumpster. I don’t want to be blubbering. I don’t want them to feel like they made me cry.”
When the day is over, Evelyn said it is nice not to have to wait for a phone call to find out how everything is going. With Ray there, they talk with each other about what they experienced in their own debriefing that helps them cope.
“This is the first one where we’ve been together on deployment,” she said. “Usually, I’m at another site and he’s out on jobs. We enjoy being there at night instead of getting a phone call to say how the day went. It’s good to be onsite together.”
Common denominator
The couple does a lot together, including serving at First Baptist Church Fisherville where she works in the kitchen, and he takes care of the grounds. Serving the Lord is a common denominator for the Gillilands.
It was through a deacon at the church, Chris Cropp, that Ray Gilliland became involved in Disaster Relief work. He does a lot of physical activities such as chainsaws, mudouts and cleaning up brush. He recalled a couple of years ago working in 106-degree temperatures in the shade in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But the reward is great, he said, “It’s our passion.”
Ray said he was deployed to disaster scenes seven times in 2024 and prays that number decreases in 2025. But if he or his wife are needed, they will be there. Even the children are understanding that now although that was not always the case.
“Sometimes our children don’t understand,” Evelyn said. “We don’t neglect them but sometimes our youngest son is like ‘Are you all going again?’ We say, yes, we’ll be back in a few weeks. The whole family has learned when disaster happens, they ask, ‘Are you going this time? When are you leaving?’ They worry about us. I assure them we are very capable of what we’re doing.”
Evelyn has become a stronger encourager to the survivors of the flood, listening to their stories and offering them a hug and prayer. They also share the gospel truth with them, making inroads in leading them to salvation. She said many have said they are Christians but haven’t been to church in many years.
Being retired makes it easy for the couple to be ready at a moment’s notice, Ray said. “We love serving the Lord and are both retired so we can go on a spur of the moment most of time. But we need young backs. I’m 68 and the Lord has blessed me. I can still do (physical) things.”
‘Something anyone can do’
Evelyn said Disaster Relief is something anyone can do whether they can manage a chainsaw, do laundry, dish out food or just be an encourager.
“There are areas where a lot of people can work,” she said. “We train and go from there. There are people who say, ‘I can’t be a chaplain; I’m not a preacher.’ I tell them chaplains are not preachers; they are just encouragers. Pastors can’t be everywhere. We can stand in the gap.”
So not only can anyone be a Disaster Relief volunteer, but any couple can be as well.
“It makes us closer to serve together,” Ray said. “Everything we do together brings us closer to each other and to the Lord.”
“It gives me a confidence that I can do what the Lord needs me to do,” Evelyn said. “I’m confident my husband is there and filling the position they have him doing. We lean on the Lord more even with our health. We count on the Lord to keep us strong.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mark Maynard and originally published by Kentucky Today.
