A few days ago we heard about a tornado going through Iowa. Some friends of mine live in that area and posted pictures of the storm as it was happening. Pictures of the aftermath reveal the devastation. I’ve seen it up close. Over the years I have helped clean up after tornados in Oklahoma and North Texas. I have also helped with clean up and rebuilding after Katrina, the flooding from Harvey in Southeast Texas, and then after the floods in Nebraska a few years later. Most recently, right after I retired, Cheryl and I went to Sulphur, Louisiana to help clean up after Hurricanes Laura and Delta. We were there for two weeks.

That was when I met the folks from the Trinity Lutheran in Tyler, Texas Disaster Response Team. What an awesome group. Their mission is to get to disaster sites as quickly as possible, usually within 48 hours, to start helping and caring. Their primary focus is chainsaw work/tree removal. They cut up downed trees or dangerous standing trees and get them out of the way so the other clean up and recovery can begin. See how they describe themselves here:   https://bit.ly/3vMY18K

Last week I went with them to build a couple of Disaster Response Camps they mentioned in #2. It will speed things up the next time they need to respond after a hurricane.

By the way, every Lutheran Disaster Response Team I have been a part of does this as a gift, at no cost to those whose lives have been turned upside down by disaster. Volunteers pay their expenses to get there and back. It is a way for us to be the hands and feet and arms and ears of Jesus to those people. It also gives us the chance to tell them why we are doing it. We are sharing to love of God in Christ with our labors. We tell them about our Savior who loved us and gave Himself for us all. He showed us how to be a servant to others, and we are trying to follow His example.

Sometimes you might think there is nothing you can do, or that your little bit won’t make a difference. One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” The man laughed to himself and said, “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, “I made a difference to that one.”

If you have not been part of a disaster response team, I strongly encourage you to give it a try. Do so in response to what Jesus said in that parable about the End Times:

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

The kindness we show by serving others gives us the chance to share the Good News with them. And that is something they all need to hear.

Hark! the voice of Jesus crying, “Who will go and work today?
Fields are white and harvests waiting, Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth, Rich reward He offers thee;
Who will answer, gladly, saying, “Here am I, send me, send me?”

 If you cannot speak like angels, If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus, You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked, with the judgment’s dread alarms,
You can lead the little children To the Savior’s waiting arms.

If you cannot be a watchman, Standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven, Off’ring life and peace to all,
With your prayers and with your bounties You can do what God demands;
You can be like faithful Aaron, Holding up the prophet’s hands.

Let none hear you idly saying, “There is nothing I can do,”
While the souls of men are dying And the Master calls for you.
Take the task He gives you gladly, Let His work your pleasure be.
Answer quickly when He calleth, “Here am I, send me, send me!”