2 Corinthians 9:12-15: Thanks be to God for His indescribable Gift! (Hurricane Ike relief)

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 12 October 2008
and Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army 28 April 2013
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Hurricane Ike struck Galveston TX a few weeks ago. More than 1 million people were evacuated from Texas and to date more than 72 people have been found dead as a result of Hurricane Ike. Bodies were still being found when I left a couple of days ago.

Homes are destroyed. Businesses are destroyed. The sewers, the water, and the phones are still not working. People are housed in shelters both on and away from Galveston Island. Many still have no place to go. Power is still out in some of the parts where we were posted. The power outage means that even for families that did not lose their stoves and refrigerators – and most did; there were many refrigerators destroyed and lying on the side of the road for pick up – they were unable to keep or cook any food. They don’t have food and they don’t have water.

Food and water: this is a big part of The Salvation Army mission down there. We have around 30 food trucks (called canteens) from which we help to serve around 75 000 hot meals every day and give the people water and ice. Ice is very important. It was around 900 F during our time there. And the food: many people told me that without The Salvation Army they wouldn’t have eaten at all. They wouldn’t have survived. We thank the Lord for the service that the volunteers are providing to God and this community. We pray for them that as they continue to serve down there, the Lord will continue to bless greatly the volunteers and the populace alike.

2 Corinthians 9:12-15: This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Thanks be to God indeed on this Canadian Thanksgiving Day. I would like to share with you some of the testimonies and miracles that we have to be thankful for from our time on Galveston Island.

I was part of the mobile Emotional and Spiritual Care team for most of my time down there. For my first four or five days I served on a canteen as an ESC Officers. I thank the Lord for all that he did through our crew. There were four of us on our canteen: myself Boss, John, and Jose.[1]

The Lord used Boss (Wilfred) greatly; he was our site supervisor.

John left his family back in Illinois to join us. There were some struggles at home when he was with us. (The devil attacks when we are serving the Lord.) When John heard some of the stories about the problems at home he was grieved but he prayed and experienced the Lord’s grace. He shared some of the testimonies from back home with us. The Lord protected John’s family. The Lord blessed me and so many people on the Island through John. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Jose was also on our canteen. He came from Virginia but he was born in Mexico. When he first came to the US, he spoke no English: now he is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. This is a real blessing because in this part of Texas there are many people who don’t speak any English at all and they were hit very hard by Ike. In the first few days he translated prayers for me. By the time I left, he was leading prayers for people in need in the community. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

There are many stories from our time down there. I can’t possibly share them all with you today. We don’t have enough time. I want to share a couple of very significant stories however.

I heard more than one account of a contemporary miracle paralleling that of the fish and the loaves.[2] Our canteens were instructed to make sure that they gave away all of their food before they came in for the night. They did not want food returned when people were going without. One canteen had some food left. It was getting late so they were seeking out someone to give their last Cambro (container) of food to. They prayed. One person then saw a line of about 12-18 tired and hungry looking construction workers so they headed over to offer them their food. They were really appreciative.

As they were feeding these men, a number of school busses filled with people pulled up. It is my understanding that they served over 800 meals at that location – no one went away hungry. Feeling blessed by what the Lord had done they started to clean up. (Now there was a non-believer, a Red Cross worker on their canteen with them today). Someone picked up the Cambro from which they fed the 800 meals and read from the side of it, ‘serves 90 meals’. The Lord fed more than eight times that number and no one went hungry. The Red Cross worker who was helping them on the truck that day began to cry. He said that he had never believed in God – until now. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

This same canteen was used by the Lord to lead many more people to Christ. There were also some very exciting open airs that led to many more accepting Jesus’ gift of eternal life. There were many miracles in the midst of suffering. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

We met families who lost everything: their homes, their businesses, their possessions. I met one man who cried as he watched the machines scoop up all his destroyed possessions that he had to throw out. He praised the Lord that he just lost his things but it still hurt to see all the tokens of his memories scooped up into the back of a dump truck.

Parts of the city of Galveston were under more than 10 feet of water. I spoke with one Lady who lost everything on the first floor of her house but praised the Lord because all her children’s things were unharmed on the second floor – so at least they were comforted and had something to do well their parents worked to clean up the mess and fix the house.

Many people relayed how they had lost all their possessions but praised God that they had escaped with their lives. This is really quite something because in 1900, a similar hurricane hit this same Island and claimed 8000 lives. Many people praised the Lord for the contemporary early warning systems. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! There was plenty of warning. No one needed to die. Everyone was saved who chose to leave the Island. Some, however, rejected their salvation.

There is a story of one 19 or 20 year-old who stood on the waterfront, intentionally defying the storm. He was swept away to his death. I met a man who lost his home and his business and praised the Lord for his insurance but he wondered why his brother chose to stay behind and die. How does he deal with the fact that his brother rejected salvation?

This is really the same for us today here. We thank God for His indescribable gift! We praise Him that the early warning for the end of times hurricane was sounded 2 millennia ago. We praise the Lord, that he gave his life so that everyone can be saved - but the sad thing is that some will reject this salvation.

Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we need not perish in that eschatological hurricane. The sad thing is that some refuse to call on the name of the Lord. Some ignore the early warning system. Some defy God. Some refuse to be saved. Some friends and family are like that man’s brother. Some friends and family are like that 19 or 20 year old – defying God and awaiting death. It is sad. It is tragic.

But there is good news. It is my understanding that though 75 may have lost their lives needlessly, over 200 have been saved eternally through this event. I have heard story upon story of people who have heeded the early warning system, who have accepted Christ and who have been saved. Praise the Lord. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

I want to share the story of Scott and the story of Paul. Scott was a canteen worker from central Texas who had accepted the Lord not too long before coming to Galveston and Paul is a twelve year-old boy.

Scott was working on of one of our canteens. Paul lives in an apartment with 10 other people and is familiar with the neighbourhood activities of gangs and drugs. This boy saw our canteen near his home and wanted to help. He approached Scott and volunteered to help. Scott welcomed him with open arms and very quickly made an impression on Paul - he kept coming back. Scott even gave him T-shirt and hat. The look on Paul’s face was worth a million dollars or more.

The evening before Scott was to return home from his deployment, I had the opportunity to give him his exit interview. During this interview we began speaking about Paul, whom I had met a couple of days previous. Scott told me that he had prayed with Paul on a number of occasions and that Paul was asking about Jesus. I asked if Paul had asked the Lord into his heart. Scott said ‘not yet’ and asked me to help him do that.

The next day, Sunday, Scott, Paul, and a number of other volunteers working on the canteen eagerly awaited our arrival – Paul was ready to ask the Lord into his heart. We arrived and I encouraged Scott to lead Paul in the ‘sinners’ prayer’. After a simple confession of sin and profession of faith, Paul was welcomed into the family of God. We then sang a verse of Amazing Grace and Scott presented Paul with a Bible.

While we were celebrating Paul’s proclamation of salvation, two apparent ‘good-ole boys’ rolled up in a pick-up truck with their radio blaring Hank William’s “I Saw the Light.” They were angels. They were messengers of God who had come to celebrate with us, then they were gone.

In the midst of all the turmoil and all the suffering God was there. In the midst of all our troubles and all our sufferings, God is here. He offers this same salvation to us in Nipawin that he offers to them in Texas.

So today we all here have the same choice that faced the people of Galveston Island. We can either defy the eschatological hurricane and perish like the nineteen year-old boy or we can heed the warning; we can see the light, choose to be saved, turn our eyes upon Jesus and celebrate with the Angles sent from God in Heaven. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

---
[1] Our Team – the Marshall’s team – consisted of Wilfred Leslie Jr., John Manley, Jose Lara, and myself.
[2] This is a second hand account. I don’t remember the exact numbers involved but I do remember the testimony of the miracle.