HELPING THE HURTING
Disaster Relief
When Bob Cooper sat down beside Mr. D, the man gave him one directive — he wasn’t allowed to talk about religion or politics.
“When Hurricane Ian came through Arcadia, Florida, he and his wife only had minor damage, but she called and asked for a chaplain to come because her husband had liver cancer and knew he was dying,” said Bob, an Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief chaplain.
Mr. D was an atheist and “defiant about the Word,” but before Bob left, Mr. D let Bob pray with him. Another ABDR chaplain, Thelma Goolsby, had also been there that night visiting with Mr. D’s wife, who is a believer. And after Thelma returned to Alabama, she couldn’t stop thinking about the couple. So she went back
to Florida to visit Mr. D, and as she talked with him, something happened — he softened. Then he softened some more. And when Thelma asked him if he wanted a relationship with Jesus, he said yes, and he prayed for that.
“He had a smile on his face and no hardness in his voice,” Thelma said. “I talked to his wife in the weeks following that, and she said he was different — he was kind.”
A few months later, Mr. D passed away. Thelma said only God can change a heart, but she’s grateful ABDR chaplains were able to plant the seeds
How you can pray...
- Pray for ABDR chaplains as they respond to the hurting.
- Pray for more people to volunteer to train and deploy as chaplains.
- Pray for Mark Wakefield, state disaster relief strategist, as he leads ABDR efforts.
