There was one lily blossom in a world of grey.
Liberty University student and former BGEA intern Beca Bruder looked around a neighborhood covered in ash from the Carr Fire, which recently became fully contained after destroying more than 1,000 homes and nearly 230,000 acres.
Beca and three other students traveled from their college campus in Lynchburg, Virginia, to work alongside the Rapid Response Team in Redding, California, as part of Liberty University Send Now—a group of students willing to meet humanitarian needs and help out after natural disasters.
Each of the students shadowed a different chaplain, working with them to offer emotional and spiritual care to the hurting community through conversations and prayer.
Wearing a face mask to protect herself from the debris-filled air, the smell of ash hit Beca almost immediately as she gazed upon the massive destruction.
“It looked worse than a war scene in a movie,” she said, commenting on the number of burned cars left behind. “I thought maybe structures would still be there—but they’re not. There were no walls, just ash.”
Partnered with crisis-trained chaplains Diane and Jay Merritt, Beca witnessed firsthand how God never leaves His children during natural disasters.
“I saw God using people to practically demonstrate His love and care for those who are in need,” she said.
After watching the Merritts’ interactions with several homeowners, Beca got a taste of what it’s like to be an RRT chaplain spending time with people who just lost everything.
“Some people are mad and angry. Everything they’ve ever put their hope in was stuff—now it’s all gone. If their identity was in it, they don’t know who they are. They lost part of themselves with the house.”
Following in the chaplains’ footsteps, Beca began to have conversations with homeowners, asking questions like, “How are you holding up?” or “Where do you get your strength to keep going?” She realized people are often more open to talking about God after a crisis, but the road to recovery is long.
“It’s just hard because it’s a whole process. Not months but years,” she said. “I was just there for an hour or two with them.”
Yet, an hour can make the difference of a lifetime.
After spending some time with a resident who was open to talking about faith, Beca used the Steps to Peace with God booklet to lead the woman to the Lord. “It is the Holy Spirit that brings people to Christ, not me,” Beca said.
She also discovered more about who God is through her trip.
“I learned a lot about God’s stable character through the lives of the Christian homeowners,” Beca said. “God is still powerful and still God even when all the palpable things are gone.”
She saw this especially through a homeowner named Ruth.*
Ruth was one of many who had no warning the fire was headed her way until the power went out in her home. She only had a few minutes to grab her things and leave.
An artist, she quickly scooped up her painting titled “Casting Faith” based on Psalm 89:8-9. The painting portrays a raging sea about to engulf a person on a tiny boat. But instead of facing the storm, the sailor is looking at another boat that’s on peaceful waters and coming to the rescue.
Ruth found herself in a similar situation as that sailor—seeking the peace of God in the midst of a storm.
When she later returned to the ashes of her burned home, the first thing she saw was God’s faithfulness. Ruth found a fragment from her Bible, singed by fire. The passage was Psalm 89:8-9, and gave Ruth confidence that even in worldly destruction, God cared for her.
Like pops of color in a blanket of grey, God’s restoration was evident.
“We saw so many people making decisions and changing their lives,” Beca said. “It’s beautiful to see new life and beginnings.”
Back at school to continue pursuing her master’s degree in public policy, Beca is not forgetting what God has done. She recognizes recovery is far from over, and prays for those she met.
*Name changed for privacy.
Do you have new life in Christ? Start a relationship with Him today.
Interested in becoming an RRT chaplain? Apply now.
