Aide aux victimes d’innondations – help to flood victims! When the Richelieu River in southern Quebec overflowed its banks in April, May, and June it ravaged 3,000 homes and forced the evacuation of 1,000 people.
Now people are facing the nightmare of cleaning up. CAM sent volunteers for two weeks in June.
Jonnie Jarry was standing in her driveway wearing a frustrated look when David and Irene Martin from CAM offered to help her clean up her property. Delighted, she asked, “Where are you from? Why do you come so far to help us?”
“It’s because of the love of God in our hearts,” our volunteers replied.
Jonnie began to cry.
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Volunteers Elam, Steve, and David taking a well deserved break in Quebec with the home owners, Lucie and David. |
“There were angels all around my house during the flooding,” Pierette, an elderly widow told Julianne Frey, a CAM volunteer who was helping her. “But you’re the first live angel I’ve seen.”
Manfred, a farmer who received help removing debris from his fields told our volunteers, “I saw your truck and trailer go by and I thought, They’re just like the rest. They’re going home. But you came back. I can’t believe you turned around. I can’t believe you turned around!” He had a smoker’s cough, used coarse language and looked hard and haggard, but his heart was touched.
What a mess greeted the eyes of our volunteers as they surveyed the flood damage! Large ponds of water adorned fields of what should have been productive farmland. Ducks and geese swam happily about. Campfire wood, plastic, Styrofoam, boards with nails, etc. littered the dry, cracked ground of fields where waters had receded. Homes and cottages bore marks of water damage. Smells of stagnant water and wet soil weighted the summer air.
CAM volunteers cleaned up lawns for some elderly people. They pressure washed and then shined the windows of one house that had been flooded with four foot waves. They ripped the insulation out of a crawl space, (because all walls that have been flooded must be opened up, aired and washed with bleach to prevent bacterial build-ups). They opened up sandbags. They prayed with people, shared hugs and gave away Amazing Grace CDs.
In the words of Dominic, a flood victim, “You are a gift from God! When I say grace, I’m going to thank God for you.”
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Flood scene in Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois |
Cleanup work starts in Canada
For the past number of years, CAM-USA has actively
worked on disaster response needs within their own country.
The response and encouragement this help is bringing to
disaster victims has inspired us at CAM-Canada.
Our board of directors has recently seen more needs in
Canada; the need to share the Gospel has never been greater.
Often when people are faced with a disaster, they are more
open to the Gospel. CAM of Waterloo has slowly started becoming
involved in disaster needs in Canada. We have been
very blessed with the experiences and responses in Quebec.
Our plan for the future is to provide volunteers for initial
cleanup after a disaster moves through an area. The
goal is to bring hope and the love of Jesus to those who
are suffering.
For more information on similar projects please click here.
