This week as we’re eating turkey and counting our blessings, it’s an important time to remember to pray for people in our country and around the world who are going through a difficult season. The coastlines of New York and New Jersey are in shambles after Hurricane Sandy. This Thanksgiving is very different for the families whose homes were destroyed, and they’re having to dig a little deeper to find things to be thankful for.
But we serve a faithful God who brings life out of situations of death, and this tragedy is no exception. This week we heard a beautiful story of restoration from one of our Adventures Disaster Relief participants.
Rosemary McDermott and her husband Anthony’s Breezy Point, New York home burned to the ground in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. As they surveyed the damage, everything appeared lost. Their shelter, their belongings, their memories.
A team from Adventures Disaster Relief arrived to help the couple sift through the remains of their lives. Todd Griffin and Kevin Striegle strapped on their headlamps and started digging. Even though nearly everything was burned beyond use, they found a safe that was still intact.
When Rosemary and Anthony opened it, they found something priceless – their family genealogical research. All the hours of investigation and discovery weren’t lost. Their family will now have a piece of their past to give to the next generation. It was a simple thing, but a sign of how God works: He is restoring our past and preparing our future, even in the midst of fires and storms.
Rosemary McDermott and Anthony Minor react as they open a safe containing a family genealogy. On the left are Todd Griffin and Kevin Striegle, participants from Adventures Disaster Relief who helped find the safe beneath the rubble. Photo credit: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
It’s not too late to be part of the relief efforts in the Northeast. Adventures in Missions has more relief teams launching soon. If you want to be involved there are several ways to help.
Pray
Keep standing with us in prayer for the people affected by the hurricane. And please pray for the teams from Adventures already on the ground and those launching this weekend to Ocean City, New Jersey.
