In early January, South Fork Baptist Church in Hickory, North Carolina, became our base camp as we responded to a large storm that swept through Burke County. Staff writer Michelle de Carion talked with Pastor Scott Thomas about his perspective on partnering with Samaritan’s Purse during a disaster.

Through this response, what have you seen are the spiritual and emotional needs of the community?

We’ve been preaching and teaching what it means to be a disciple of Christ here at the church. The sermon prepared for the Sunday after the storm was entitled “Mimicking Jesus.” When this first happened, a lot of people told me, ‘The Lord is trying to get our attention.’ I began to pray about changing the sermon to fit that. But after seeing the response of our church, the other churches in the area, and Samaritans Purse, I realized that my sermon has already been preached.

That’s the thing that has overwhelmed me the most—to see Christ lived out in the members of the church and the members of your organization.

As you stop and look at the spiritual needs of our community, they needed to see what it really means to be a Christian. I’m proud of our community for volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse, and I’m excited for the future ministry possibilities. We are seeing a lot of churches coming together to show the love of Christ, so there is a lot of potential out there for us.

What kind of challenges have you had as a pastor ministering to the people in this area?

We have institutionalized Christianity so much. We have church and Sunday school … for a lot of folks that is what Christianity is all about. But when you stop and look at the life of Christ and His commands, those things actually have nothing to do with what Christianity is all about.

It’s important to go to church, but it must be more about living like Christ in our everyday lives, not only within the church walls to our Christian families, but outside the walls to those who don’t know Christ.

They need to see that Christ loves them, and when they see that we earn the right to then tell them about having a relationship with Jesus.

What is your perspective of Samaritan’s Purse coming in and partnering with you in this work?

This has been a wonderful three days. From the day they came on site on Thursday morning until now, I have been amazed. I love the way they have ministered not only to the physical needs of the community, but to the spiritual needs as well. More often than not when I speak with the leaders, it’s not about a certain problem, but it’s about a person who got saved or another person who rededicated his life. I have been very impressed with everything Samaritan’s Purse has done.

What would you say to someone who might be questioning where God is in this disaster?

I’ve been through a lot of difficult situations in my life. It’s easy to say God works all things together for good. It’s another thing to really see it or understand it. One thing I have learned is that when I don’t understand, God knows what is happening.

On Saturday, I came into the church and there was mail sitting on my desk. I got a letter from somebody who is not a member of the church. Inside was a check for a large sum of money. We prayed Saturday night and Sunday night into Monday, asking God, ‘What are you doing?’ We thanked the Lord for the financial gift that was given, but we had no idea why we received it.

But God knew what was coming, and He put it in the heart of a person from another church to send us money. God laid it upon that person’s heart to give a week before this disaster came to allow our church to minister in the area. So you see that God was in control.

The hardest question I have ever been asked as a pastor is why. Sometimes God shows us why He is doing what He is doing, but sometimes He chooses not to. And sometimes I have to say to people ‘I don’t know why … but God knows.’ I don’t understand why this storm occurred, but I trust His heart.

Pictured above is Suda-san, a homeowner whose house is being rebuilt by Samaritan's Purse in Japan. Mr. and Mrs. Suda lost their pregnant daughter, swept away before their eyes in the tsunami. They weren’t sure if they even wanted to return to their home, the scene of such a great tragedy. Our team began praying for them, and they decided to let us rebuild.

The volunteer crew adopted Suda-san as one of their own, made him a supervisor’s hat, and put him to work. While the pain of his loss remains, his frequent smiles are testimony that the unconditional love being shown by the team is making a difference.

“His smile shows that God is begin to heal him and restore his hope for the future again, and blesses my heart,” said Ayako Lawrence, an SP staff member. “Please continue to pray for him as well as for his wife.”

Dr. Dan Galat, an orthopedist who served with the Samaritan’s Purse Post-Residency Program, blogs from Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya.

Some brilliant, long-past resident of our house at Tenwek had the foresight to plant a coffee bush in the back yard. And so, last month, we harvested the first crop of our own, homegrown Kenyan coffee (although small enough only for one French-press pot).

The processing of the coffee, from the picking of ripe berries to the roasting of the “green beans,” was quite involved, but fully worth it after taking the first perfect sip of fresh-roasted brew.

When Heather and I were researching opportunities for orthopedic mission service in 2006, we stumbled across Tenwek Hospital, which happened to be in Kenya. At the time we had no clue, geographically, where this small country lie on the African map.

But in our passion for home-roasted coffee, our hands-down favorite had always been (and still is) Kenyan, with its characteristic “bright citrus notes, and black currant, winey hues” (as described on sweetmarias.com). We thought, “If the coffee coming from Kenya is this good, it must be a really cool place to serve.”

So here we ironically are, now full circle, thanking God for bringing us sovereignly to this place of service, while drinking a cup of our very own Kenyan brew.

God often works and directs in and through our passions to accomplish the purposes of His kingdom. What are your passions? And how is God directing you to strongly serve Him in and through those passions?

Let us encourage one another to step out in in the unique gifting, calling and interests that God Himself has given us. Oh, and once you have tasted home-roasted coffee, you can never go back ... nothing else compares!

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.



Picking coffee berries from our bush in the back yard.


The beans inside each newly-picked berry must be squeezed out or separated from the fruit, and then allowed to dry


After drying (using the "pulp natural" method of processing), the parchment covering each bean must be peeled off. The yellowish beans on the right are "parchment coffee" and the beans on the left are the "green beans" which have each been individually hand peeled. This is the longest and most meticulous part of the processing


Green coffee ready for roasting


A hot-air popcorn popper serves as an excellent coffee roaster


Fresh-roasted beans ready for grinding and brewing

By Simon Gonzalez, Samaritan's Purse web editor

Death is never too far from your thoughts when you work for a ministry specializing in disaster relief.

When we write about a Samaritan's Purse response, the number of people killed is part of reporting on the scope of the tragedy. I’ve written or edited stories about the tsunami and earthquake in Japan last year (at least 15,845 deaths), and the Haiti earthquake the year before (over 300,000 dead). In 2009 it was a typhoon in the Philippines, earthquakes in Indonesia, and a tsunami in the Samoan islands (more than 1,500 perished).

Every year for the past 11 there have been many pieces involving Samaritan's Purse responses to natural disasters, wars, genocide, refugee crisis, and famines that have included death tolls.

Just last year, I had first-hand experience with a couple of disasters, covering the spring tornadoes and Hurricane Irene. I’ll never forget the terrible feeling when looking at the horrifying devastation from the massive tornado that killed 160 in Joplin, Missouri.

Death became a bit more personal a little over a week ago, when I attended the funeral of my mother-in-law, Mildred Russell.

We rushed to Texas when we got the news that Christine’s mother had suffered a massive stroke. We saw her in the hospital, and were at her side when she died in hospice a couple of days later. It was difficult, especially for my wife. There were plenty of tears, plenty of sorrow.

And yet we did not mourn as those without hope. Mildred trusted Jesus as her savior, and believed He died for her sins. She was stalwart in her faith, never wavering through the ups and downs of life.

There were more laughs than tears at the visitation and the funeral, as we celebrated a life well lived. We knew that Mildred, who suffered from congestive heart failure and the early stages of Alzheimer’s, was in a better place.

What’s the connection between writing about disasters and attending a family funeral? Simply this. Both are reminders of the transitory nature of life.

Some will get a memorial service at the end of a long, full life. Others perish suddenly in an earthquake, a tsunami, a tornado. Both are hard, sorrowful, even heartbreaking.

But the real tragedy comes when, regardless of the end, the person dies without Christ.

The primary focus of Samaritan's Purse is to tell people about Jesus, to point the way to eternal life. The aid comes with no strings attached. People don’t have to hear the Gospel, or profess faith in Christ, to receive help. But the Gospel message is the most important thing we can give, because it is the only thing with lasting value.

What applies to a disaster relief ministry applies even more to all of us as individual Christians. The most important thing we can do is tell about Jesus, to proclaim that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that He is the only way to the Father.

So when the inevitable end comes, sorrow is mixed with rejoicing and we can boldly say, death, where is thy sting?