I had the privilege of volunteering with Samaritan's Purse (SP) to help homeowners in Santa Rosa who wanted help sifting through ashes of their burned home for valuables and mementoes that are precious to them. Ever since the hurricane in Texas and fires in CA, I have been looking for opportunities to help people who are affected. I just couldn't find any opportunities in my time frame. But recently, my boss had approved my reduced work schedule, and at the same time, a mentor at a church told me about the opportunity, so off I went after making provisions for my family.
I am so humble to have the opportunity to serve a retired Novato police officer and a military family and witnessed a miracle. After checking in and listening to the safety orientation with SP, a team of 8 to 10 are sent out to work on two sites a day, spending a little over 3 hrs at a site with a short lunch and potty break in between. The area we went to was totally destroyed and two stories houses were flattened. Everything was burned with mostly ashes remaining. The first site was the home of the retired officer. He told us he would like to find his old police badges, other officers badges that he collected, and collectable coins. Since these things are metal, we were able to find quite a bit of them. Every time we found something, we would cheer and yell. Finding them was a blessing from God, because there was so much ashes that we were only able to sift through half of it with the time given to us. We had to be strategic as to where to dig and sift.
The second site required more physical labor because of the afternoon sun and it is located on a steep
hill where the two stories home collapsed into the basement. Since the house was more vertical and foundation was smaller, debris were stacked on top of each other. The homeowner wanted to find some jewelry, class ring, and a figurine of Don Quixote. This figurine is important to him because it was something precious between him and his deceased mother. We have no idea what the figurine looks like. We were told that it was white with a man sitting on top of some kind of animal. The site had so many metal things that we had to first moved them away. I found a pile of coins which meant that the jewelry was close by because the homeowner said that she had a jar of coins on her dresser where her jewelry was. We dug for two hours and didn't find anything. We were discouraged because we found so many things at the first site. So I stood there silently and prayed because I know God can direct our path. "God, please lead us to finding something valuable for these people to put a smile on their faces." Immediately afterwards, my teammate who was next to me prayed the same prayer out loud. After my break, I began to dig at a place where a desk used to be because I can still see the metal part of the chair. My teammate Suzan found a piece of something black and grey that vaguely resemble half an animal and it was just sitting on top of the debris. We showed it to the homeowner and he started crying, saying that it's Don Quixote! That one piece was worth all the work. Then I started digging in that similar area but a little to the side. I found something round with a cap like hat in the same color and texture as the first piece. Then to the side was a tiny piece that fits perfectly to form a round hat for Don. Then Suzan found another piece with the same color and texture. It turned out that we did find the head of Don Quixote and the saddle he sat on. Some would say that this is a coincident, but I say it's a miracle because as Hebron likes to say, "When we pray, coincidences happen." I have seem too many miracles like this to attribute them all to coincident. I see it as Jesus' gentle way of telling them that He cares about their pain and that He will walk with them every step of the way if they choose Him. Isaiah 41:10 says, "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
The volunteers are all amazing people. They all truly live by the verse found in John 13:34, "a new commandment I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." In a group of 40 people, there are people from North Carolina, Indiana, Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and California. They all came on their own dime to give of their time. Some are staying the entire time SP is there. You know what? Most of them are retirees. Suzan rode in my car for two days. I am not sure how old she is since I am not suppose to ask. But she told me that her son is going to retire in a few years. Assuming her son is retiring early, the youngest she can be is in her 70's... most likely older. She also had a minor heart attack not too long ago. She is out there shoveling, dumping things out of a wheel barrow, and pushing them. Every time we set up and clean up, she is there doing the work. At the hilly site, she pushed the wheel barrow up 80% of the hill. I kept asking her if I can do it because I didn't want her to injure herself. She finally let me and I could not push the remaining distant because it was too steep. Then her husband who is older than her and also had a minor heart attack not long ago and still on medication, pushed it the remaining way. Needless to say, I feel sooo embarrassed that a young person like me can't beat her. I have to seriously hit the gym. I am inspired to be like them when I grow up. :)
This is how Jesus called Christians to live: to love God and love people, not only with words, but in action and in truth. SP's goal is not to just provide labor, but to meet people's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. SP brings in chaplains to talk to each homeowner and to help them process their grief and give them hope. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to first listen to homeowners' stories because every time they talk about it, it helps them process the tragedy. Homeowners are very touched and surprised that volunteers come so far to help. Sometimes loving people means inconveniencing ourselves or sacrificing our own want or comfort for the sake of others. What a privilege it is to show love to those who are hurting.
