After at least 37 people lost their lives due to high floodwaters in eastern Kentucky, Will Graham offered a word of encouragement and prayer to residents on August 3.
Ten BG-RRT chaplains are in Floyd County, and seven more are now serving in Breathitt County, a second deployment site that received nearly a foot of rainfall. Storms also caused widespread flooding in St. Louis County, Missouri, an additional BG-RRT deployment.
Will Graham, vice president and associate evangelist with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, joined his brother Edward, vice president of operations at Samaritan’s Purse, to minister to hurting residents in eastern Kentucky.
Piles of trash outside houses are evident signs of significant flooding, which damaged hundreds of homes and washed out dozens of roads in Kentucky.
For homeowners, chaplains can provide a sense of comfort. Many have questions about faith and God after facing a disaster. Chaplains often help show locals how they can find peace with God amidst the chaos.
"The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
—Philippians 4:5-7, ESV
Josh Holland (right), international director for BG-RRT, took time to greet fellow blue-shirted chaplains. More than 2,000 people serve as crisis-trained chaplains for the BG-RRT all over the world, including Ukraine—where Holland also recently visited.
This man lost his home in the floodwaters. His wife is pregnant and he is living in tight quarters with several family members. A Billy Graham chaplain paused to pray over his difficult circumstances.
As chaplains offer a listening ear, locals often share their survival stories—and even open up about other areas of struggle in their lives.
“We can’t even begin to imagine how scary this situation must have been and the loss of life is devastating,” Holland said as at least 37 people have been confirmed dead with many others still missing.
The Graham brothers dropped by local churches to encourage pastors who are trying to help their communities navigate this difficult time. Luther Harrison (middle right), vice president of BG-RRT and North American Ministries with Samaritan’s Purse, joined them. “Everywhere we go there are people hurting. We want to come along and meet people’s needs,” Harrison said. “This is heartbreaking to see."
