A month after storms hit, Samaritan’s Purse is still on the ground in Clarksville, Tennessee, helping homeowners recover.
Samaritan’s Purse U.S. Disaster Relief teams of staff and volunteers continue to serve Middle Tennessee families in and near Clarksville, where Dec. 9 tornadoes sadly claimed four lives and destroyed over 500 houses. Next to Fort Campbell, this town packed with military personnel is especially grateful for the efforts of Team Patriot, a U.S. Disaster Relief unit made up of wounded veterans who are alumni of Operation Heal Our Patriots, a project of Samaritan’s Purse focused on military marriages.
One military homeowner that Team Patriot served during this response was a self-proclaimed atheist. She isolated herself from others, even secluding her home from the outside world with trees. When she witnessed the love and joy by which Team Patriot worked on her devastated property, she said, “I don’t know this God you serve, but I could sure feel His presence today.”
As is customary on all U.S. Disaster Relief work sites, Team Patriot closed their service on this woman’s home by presenting her with a Bible signed by the team. They left praying that she would come to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
A number of days later, the woman asked the team to stop by her house again to receive a small gift she had prepared for them. When they arrived, they received a beautiful thank-you card and a box of homemade cookies. During this visit, they also learned that she had been reading the Bible they had left with her days earlier.
“I want to learn more about this Jesus of yours,” she said.
She will have plenty of opportunity to do so thanks to our partners in the area, First Baptist Church and Mosaic Church.
Please pray for this homeowner, that she will receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Pray also for the spiritual growth of 24 others who, during our deployment to Middle Tennessee, have already made the life-changing decision to follow Christ.
Praise God that so far in this response, Samaritan’s Purse has assisted more than 180 homeowners through the hard work of more than 370 volunteers.