Jon Gaul, in the North Central District Newsletter

Tornados, floods and so many disasters worldwide have really hit hard this spring. It can be seen by some as a test of faith. I was really encouraged this morning to hear a national news reporter comment that the flooding in Iowa seems to have strengthened people’s religious faith rather than weaken it. The report then ran a video clip of a flood victim who said God didn’t cause this to happen, but that God would help them get through it.

I am of a similar mind and belief. I believe God created this world to operate in an orderly pattern. We need to understand and respect that pattern, which includes storms, tornados, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and the list can go on. The occurrence of these phenomena can have disastrous effects, especially when they hit populated areas. However, I do not believe God causes these storms to punish us or even to teach us a lesson, although we should and do learn from them. They are a part of God’s naturally occurring creation and we need to respect them and minimize our risk of being affected by them. However, we cannot do away with all risk. Anywhere we live in this world, we can be affected by one or another of these occurrences. When they do occur, what we need to do is be ready to respond by witnessing to our faith and helping out in any way we can.

We have a number of churches in our district doing this. I tagged along with members from the Ogden church as they helped out in Parkersburg on June 10. It was an unbelievable sight to see the devastation there. You may wonder what difference a few people could make. But as they say, “many hands make light work,” and it will take many more hands to rebuild that community. Much of the big debris had been pushed into piles. Our job was to pickup the small pieces of debris that were everywhere. We started out at three house sites in a neighborhood that had been totally flattened. As we finished up and were getting ready to move on, one of the home owners happened to come by and then we knew it was worth it. He expressed such appreciation and was especially touched by the flowers the Ogden group planted in his yard to bring some life back to the area.