Crisis-trained Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are in Louisiana following the devastating flooding that left 13 people dead and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
On Friday, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse president Franklin Graham visited some of the hardest-hit areas.
“The amount of damage is incredible,” Franklin said. “The recovery here is not going to be a matter of days, it’s going to take months.”
He posted about the visit on his Facebook page, asking for prayer for the people of Louisiana. The overwhelming amount of flood damage is being compared to the aftermaths of Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina.
As residents begin a lengthy cleanup process, the men and women who are part the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team—a worldwide network of crisis-trained chaplains—are working alongside sister ministry Samaritan’s Purse. Together they’re helping to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people who are suffering, as the chaplains focus on offering prayer and a listening ear to anyone who wants to talk.
“It’s so sad—so many people,” said Toni New, an experienced chaplain who is ministering in Baton Rouge along with her husband Al, and five other chaplains.
After driving the team’s Mobile Ministry Center down to Louisiana, they’ve spent much of their time with people whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged by the floodwaters.
“I prayed with and hugged so many people,” Toni said. “They are precious, each and every one of them. The need is huge. They can’t help one another because they all need help.”
While Al and Toni lead the chaplain team in Baton Rouge, another team is ministering in the hard-hit area of Lafayette.
The Rapid Response Team has deployed to Louisiana three other times this year. Beginning in March, a total of 25 chaplains spent more than a month in Bossier City (just outside Shreveport), ministering to people after deadly flash floods.
A separate team spent more than two months in West Monroe, Louisiana—halfway between Jackson, Mississippi, and Shreveport—offering emotional and spiritual care following floods in that area.
Most recently, a chaplain team deployed to Baton Rouge when a gunman opened fire on a group of law enforcement officers, killing three of them and injuring several others. That attack happened on the heels of the police shooting of Alton Sterling, which was captured on video and led to nationwide protests. Over the course of two weeks in July, 13 chaplains prayed with more than 800 people.
When the recent flooding hit Louisiana, a church in Baton Rouge asked the chaplains to come back and help meet the tremendous needs of the community.
Please join the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team in praying for everyone who has been affected by the floods.
