Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) chaplains are offering comfort in Jesus’ Name after a horrific attack on New Year’s Day killed 14 people and left New Orleans in grief and shock.
Deborah* came to pay her respects at a memorial set up on Bourbon Street—where the attacker rammed into pedestrians at high speed for three blocks.
“This is all too real for me,” she told chaplain Kerri Galagan.
She shared that only two months ago, her grandson—who was in his early 20s—had been shot and killed.
“She was just standing there with tears coming down her face, holding the grief,” said Kerri. “So many of these victims were in their early 20s and it was very emotional for her.”
As Kerri listened and asked questions, she discovered that Deborah occasionally attended a satellite campus of her own church in New Orleans.
Deborah explained that she was not a Christian but had tried hard to raise her kids to do good things and be good people.
Kerri opened up Steps to Peace with God—a small Gospel booklet—and explained how Deborah could have everlasting hope through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
“I think this is a beautiful prayer and I want this for my life,” Deborah said about one of the final pages of the booklet, which guides readers in how to receive Jesus as their Savior.
“We prayed together and we hugged and hugged,” Kerri said, describing the moment Deborah gave her life to Jesus.
Before the two parted, Kerri encouraged her to find support in her church community and prayed for her as she grieves the death of her grandson.
Please continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones in this horrific tragedy and for the chaplains who are ministering to heartbroken people in New Orleans.
*Name changed for privacy
