This November we’re talking about the power of community and the beautiful way God uses it to inspire, heal, teach, and encourage his people.
Gap C Racer Gabbi Ford saw this firsthand when God sent her team to the site of a recent Guatemalan mudslide that left hundreds dead and many more missing. In the wake of this natural disaster, they were able to offer comfort and hope in this grieving community.
On the night of October 1st, a mudslide occurred outside of Guatemala City, taking 253 lives, destroying over 180 homes, and leaving over 350 people still missing.*
I’m not just talking about the destruction of tangible things, like businesses or homes. I’m talking about something that cannot be replaced: people’s lives.
Ten days after the mudslide, I saw the devastation for myself. Because the crew was still searching for bodies amongst the rubble, the actual mudslide area was restricted.
Tents covered the surrounding region. We later learned they housed everything from disaster relief supplies to families awaiting news of loved ones.
We set up as close as possible to the scene: the side of a mountain, slick with mud. The air was hot and suffocating, unbroken by wind or even the hint of a breeze. Sweat slid down my back and I tied my hair up, trying to cool off. Due to the crowds and the amount of dust in the air, we had to wear gloves and masks as a precaution to protect against disease.
The tent city was silent — everyone was in shock, not quite knowing what to say or do. People just sat, eyes clouded with pain, lost in memories and fears.
In the quiet, their grief was deafening.
Eventually we walked closer to the tent city, where families sat waiting to hear on the status of loved ones. Scattered among them were psychologists, disaster relief professionals, and doctors. They formed a makeshift community, bound together by the aftermath of tragedy.
When I saw the word “morgue” beside a tent, I knew instantly why we were there: to share the comfort only God gives with anyone willing to receive it.
Some had waited for hours, even days — some almost a week. They ate and slept there, just waiting for someone to emerge and say, “We have identified a young boy’s body. Will you come see if it’s your son?” Unfortunately, some would never even have the closure of burying the body of a loved one.
We prayed over a teenager and two children, the only living survivors of their family. They’d lost their parents and two brothers and were waiting to find out about their sister.
I was glad I couldn’t speak Spanish well because I couldn’t think of what to say to them. What does a person say to kids who just lost their home and practically their entire family? I couldn’t understand what they were feeling. I’ve never experienced a natural disaster like this. How could I begin to comfort them in their pain?
There was nothing I could say that would make this disaster okay.
It’s a terrible feeling to see pain and not know how to help. To want to do something to carry the burden or ease the suffering, but to know that all you can do is be there with them, to listen, to console, and to pray.
As our ministry host prayed, I silently prayed along, listening for God. He told me, “I’m breaking your heart for what breaks mine. Just give them my love.”
The truth is I don’t have to have all the right words, and I never will.
But God had the right words; he understood.
Many people think of God as being far away in these instances, asking him why he would do something like this to them. Yet that is far from the truth.
He was right there with every single person waiting outside the morgue, feeling every emotion they felt. He was broken with them.
That’s all God wanted us to do: be there and be broken with them. Words weren’t necessary.
So that’s what I did.
For some reason God wanted me to feel their brokenness yesterday … maybe to remind me that in the midst of the darkest times he is still there, longing for his children to cry out to him.
I don’t know what his plans are for the people of Guatemala or why this happened. But I do know God is in control, he is here, and he has beautiful redemption in store for this community.
*At the time the blog was written; photos by Carly Marin and Reuters
How have you seen the power of community in hard times?
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