During the past two weeks my squad has served with Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief Program in Alabama. Their program’s goal is to provide both physical labor and disaster relief where help is necessary. However, they do so much more.
Samaritan’s Purse reminds us that these homeowners have not only been through a physical disaster, but they have also experienced other “life” storms prior to us showing up. We are encouraged to listen to, minister to, and pray over these homeowners if we feel led to do so.
It was the morning of Wednesday Nov. 4th, 2020 when we showed up to our first house of the day. To paint a picture in your head, these past two weeks have been filled with performing mud outs, sawing fallen trees, and tarping leaky roofs. Pretty hefty work. The only thing this particular homeowner was wanting from us was to cut down a ten foot tree standing in her front yard.
While two of my teammates cut down the tree in the yard, another two hit it off with the homeowner. But as for me and the rest of the team, we just stood there watching.
Right as the feeling of uselessness started to wash over me, I saw a man on a red bicycle ride over to us. He stopped and put his mask on, suggesting that he had something to say or a question to ask.
He hops off the bike and asks the group if we were from a church. One of our team leaders, Gary, is called over to answer his question. Gary explains that we are not associated with any church, but rather we are simply volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse.
As the two of them are now standing there and conversing, the Lord tells me to walk up and start listening… to just listen. At this point I am breaking out into sweats. My heart is beating out of my chest. I knew it would have continued to do so until I had obeyed the Lord, so I did as He asked.
I walked over and didn’t even get in a single word. I don’t even remember introducing myself. However, the silence gave this man the time and space to be vulnerable.
He spoke about everything. Before we knew it, he was telling us about how an immediate family member of his was murdered a few years ago. He became financially unstable, lost his home, and drank his problems away. In his own words, “just last night I had finally forgiven the Lord for the events that had taken place”.
Minutes went by and we were asked to leave the job site. Though we were physically done there, the Lord was not. He was still working in the heart of the man.
Per usual, two chaplains arrived on site to talk to the homeowner. However, when they were done, they had the opportunity to also minister to the gentleman on the red bike.
Later that same day one of the chaplains came up to me and told me the man had rededicated his life to Christ minutes after I had listened to his story. The Lord was moving in his heart, placing him on the red bike at the right time, so he could be faced with the decision whether or not to rededicate his life to Him.
The chaplain proceeded to tell me that the man says thank you. “Thank you for listening”. I was taken back. I had not gotten a single word in the entirety of the conversation. Yet that man thanked me for simply being present and listening.
Sometimes that is all someone needs.
Matthew 9:37 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
As a laborer, spreading the word of Jesus, sometimes you see the fruit. Other times you are the one planting the seed. And on other occasions you may have to start by being the one to remove the rocks or the boulders before that seed is planted by someone else.
When I met the man on the red bike, I was fortunate enough to see the fruit produced. I was told of his rededication to Christ.
However, most of the time you may never even see the fruit, but that does not mean what you are doing isn’t worth it.
So… I encourage you to step out. Smile at more people. Ask how their day is going. It may not feel like it, but you could very well be removing those rocks for someone to plant a seed and someone else to see the fruit.
Edit made 26th January, 2021– Samaritan’s Purse posted their own blog about how the Lord has moved through our time volunteering with them. They mentioned the man on the red bike. Check it out by clicking HERE.
