Posted 827 days ago

Hope Force Int'l: One Person Can Make a Difference

by Jack and Cherie Minton, founders of Hope Force International



Tsunamis… Hurricanes… Floods… Earthquakes… Fires…
Most of us have found ourselves watching the nightly news, moved by the heartbreaking calamities around the world… and wanting desperately to respond in some tangible way. The statistics by the World Health Organization and International Red Cross confirm what we already know: disasters are on a dramatic increase, especially over the past 20+ years. We often hear, “I would love to do something, but I don’t know what to do or how to get involved!”

At Hope Force International (HFI), our calling is simple: to equip willing responders and mobilize them onto pathways of service. Not all will be doctors and nurses, or even first responders such as firemen and paramedics, but everyone is needed. In our training, we emphasize “the ministry of presence”—walking sensitively and appropriately alongside those affected by crisis or disaster.

Experts tell us that every disaster is a local event, and depending upon the magnitude, a plea for outside assistance will take place when the local response is overwhelmed. It is often during times like this that our HFI Reservists will be called upon to serve. Earlier this year on February 6th, a series of unseasonable tornadoes struck five southern states, causing at least 52 deaths, 150 injuries, and considerable property damage. Hope Force International quickly responded to one of the hardest hit counties in middle Tennessee, offering hundreds of volunteer hours of services, including spiritual and emotional care.

One can only imagine the range of emotions when responders and victims came to grips with a disaster of this magnitude. Betty Lynn Duley, one of our Hope Force Reservists, shared a bit of her recent experience:

“…No words can actually convey the destruction, the loss of life and property in this tight-knit, rural community where families have known each other for generations. One could see the shock and brokenness of loss…. An elderly gentleman drove up and stopped at our canteen. Upon our offer of hot coffee and comforting conversation, he started to sob. Everything was gone—his home and all he had built there over a life-time had been blown away and destroyed by the winds. No pictures, no evidence of a family history, no favorite coffee cup or gift—all gone. An empty lot was all that memorialized where his home had stood….”

The reason Betty Lynn was able to respond is quite simple: she prepared herself in advance through training, becoming part of a dedicated team of volunteer responders. This area of devastation was highly restricted to the public, where even the media were not given access.

Most catastrophes that the majority of us will encounter are of a very personal nature, and will not make the headlines of our local newscast. In fact, they often go unnoticed: a family torn apart by divorce, a seriously ill child next door, the sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one. However, for these individuals, their pain is no less severe than if their loss had been experienced through a catastrophic disaster; in fact, it can be even more isolating and intense. Sadly, even at this most foundational level, people are often ill-prepared—even within the Church—to meaningfully come alongside others who are suffering. Often, we avoid a difficult scenario because we are concerned that we will not know what to say or do…and so we do nothing.

This is why we begin our Hope Force training at the personal level. By preparing in advance through relevant training, a responder is empowered to overcome the concern of being inappropriate or useless to those in crisis. We also stress the importance of understanding the typical grief and trauma curve, and the attitudinal, relational, emotional and spiritual dynamics necessary for Christian responders while working in the midst of chaos and heartbreak.

We believe that Jesus has commissioned His Church to “go” and lay our lives down in loving service to a broken world. We are to love through compassionate—and often times, spontaneous—acts of kindness, reflecting the very glory and nature of God to those whose image of Him may have been distorted through suffering and loss. All throughout the teachings of Jesus, it is simply impossible to miss the mandate that He has given to His followers: to show our love for Him by serving others in need.

We also believe in the power of one. One person properly trained and willing to serve can make an enormous impact. Vicki is a HFI Reservist who serves as our southern California HFI liaison. When the firestorm of October 2007 engulfed the region, forcing the evacuation of over a 1,000,000 people, she was contacted by Homeland Security in San Diego, desperately seeking needed sleeping cots and other supplies. Vickie contacted Wal-Mart, and within 45 minutes, 11 semi-trucks loaded with supplies were being rushed to Qualcomm Stadium. One person made a significant difference.

We also believe in the value of one. Effectiveness cannot always be measured by how much and how big. In some cases, slowing our world down and focusing upon the desperate need of just one person is the most productive thing we can do. This is true whether it is our neighbor next door or a major disaster scene. We display the value, and our respect, of that one person by our willingness at times to honor them with our attention; just listening to their story can be the ministry most needed.



What can you do to be prepared to serve?
Get some good training now from organizations like Hope Force International and The Salvation Army that are already involved in disaster response. Increasingly so, access to disaster sites is becoming much more restrictive. Therefore, being pre-qualified and vetted is essential. The federal government also offers training such as CERT, which is designed to prepare the average citizen to support the work of first responders in the event of a major disaster in their neighborhood. Once trained, get involved locally through volunteering your services with organizations like The Salvation Army or the Red Cross, and gain needed experience.

Take precaution for your own family’s well-being and preparedness
Kirk Dominic is a Battalion Chief with the Costa Mesa, California Fire Department and is the West Coast liaison for Hope Force International. He has created the following comprehensive Disaster Check List, as well as a Water Usage Chart for disaster planning, to help individuals in their efforts to be personally prepared.

Kirk teaches on personal preparedness all throughout southern California, and shares our passion to see Christians personally prepared, but also ready as “Good Samaritans” to serve others who have been traumatized.

Please, take the time to ask God how you should respond to the needs that have recently taken hold of our world; from the Gulf coast of the USA to the devastated regions of Myanmar and China. Pray and enter into a partnership with God to see the fullness of His redemptive love expressed in compassionate action on behalf of those who are in such desperate need. It is from this love that the spark of hope finds its origin.

About Hope Force International
HFI creates pathways of service for the global Christian community to compassionately and effectively respond in times of crisis and disaster. In early 2005, HFI signed a nationally recognized memorandum of understanding with The Salvation Army, the largest faith-based disaster relief organization in the United States. The primary purpose of the collaborative agreement was for the training and deployment of disaster volunteers. The two organizations have partnered on numerous training seminars and disaster events, resulting in hundreds of deployments. Graduates of the program, called HFI Reservists, number over 500—halfway to the organization’s initial goal of 1,000 trained and pre-qualified volunteers.

About the Authors
After serving in an executive capacity with the international relief organization, Mercy Ships, for 19 years, Jack and Cherie Minton were motivated by the dramatic increase in global disasters to create Hope Force International (HFI), a disaster relief organization based in Nashville, TN.

Add your comment or view comments » 1 people have responded