When Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains arrived in Van, Texas, shortly after a deadly Mother’s Day tornado swept through the small town, they were met with a warm welcome from a hurting community.
Since then, crisis-trained chaplains from across the U.S. have been working alongside Samaritan’s Purse to help the people of Van recover from the physical, emotional and spiritual trauma that accompanies a natural disaster.
Below is one of dozens of stories from the chaplains’ time in Texas. They’re asking for continued prayers for the people of Van and for the amazing work God is doing there.
Two chaplains—Mike Wingo and Myron Alderman, both from South Carolina—were on their way to visit a tornado survivor when they saw a woman flailing her arms, yelling for help. They pulled over and saw a young man face down on the pavement, not moving. The chaplains made sure he could breathe and waited with him, praying, until an ambulance arrived. It turned out the man was not from Texas, but part of a work crew hired to clean up after the tornado.
“He had gotten into a confrontation with some of the other people that he works with,” Wingo said. “He had been fired.”
Shortly after, he had a seizure, and that’s when the chaplains drove by. Knowing the man didn’t have any friends or family nearby, the chaplains decided to go with him to the hospital. One rode in the ambulance while the other followed behind.
Watch what happened below.
The chaplains were relieved to learn that the man, named Brett, was going to be alright. But as they talked with him they quickly realized he was fired up. He was not only out of a job, but now he was stuck miles from the work site without a ride back.
“He was mad,” Wingo said. “Real mad. We offered him a ride back. On the way back, we just talked to him … about what his hopes are for his life. He wants to be an architect. He wants to go to college. Really the core issue is his relationship with Jesus Christ. How can he live without this anger that constantly wells up inside him?”
As they drove, the chaplains explained what a relationship with Jesus looks like and how it transforms people from the inside out. That’s something that got Brett’s attention.
The chaplains walked him through Steps to Peace with God, and Brett prayed to accept Christ, right there in the back of the car.
“After I prayed I felt comfortable and more peaceful, not angry,” Brett said later. “I can start my life over and try to be better than what I was because I was a person that always liked to fight.”
Noticing an immediate change in Brett’s countenance, the chaplains decided to try something many would have considered a lost cause—getting Brett’s job back. But what happened next is further proof that nothing is impossible with God.
“We went back to the job site,” Wingo said. “We spoke to his supervisor, explained to him what had happened, and just asked for mercy. Asked for another chance for him, because that’s what he wanted.”
Amazingly, the supervisor agreed to let Brett come back to work. By that time, a van full of workers was getting ready to move on to a different site. The chaplains had just enough time to pass a Bible through the van window and share some final words of encouragement with Brett.
“I showed him some of the parts of the Bible where it deals with anger,” Wingo said. “Just encouraged him that now that you received the Lord, that’s just the beginning. Now what the rest of the story is, are you going to glorify God with your life?”
As they parted ways, Wingo stood in amazement at how God had turned an unplanned roadside stop into a story of salvation.
“When you see the mighty hand of God like that, I just feel humbled,” he said as he fought back tears. “Humbled.”
