Flood answers prayer
for small church
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Photo by the Rev. Larry Rankin |
| Ridge Manor resident Perley Stevens put concrete pylons under his trailer to protect it from flooding only to have the pylons knocked over by last month's flood. Community United Methodist Church is working to get Stevens and his son back home. |
By Michael Wacht
RIDGE MANOR — When the Withlacoochee River
spilled over its banks here last month, the flood affected more than
200 homes, filling some with as much as four feet of water. The Rev.
Deborah Nelson, pastor of Community United Methodist Church here, said
the disaster was not large enough to qualify the area for federal
disaster funds, but it did provide the church the opportunity to
minister to its community.
“Before this happened, our prayer was that the
church could be involved in servant evangelism,” Nelson said. “This
is just great. We get to give all this great stuff away in Jesus’
name. To be able to be his hands and feet in the community has been
such a blessing.”
Flooding is a regular event in the Ridge Manor
area, and many residents are “locked into their riverside property
and have no way out,” Nelson said. Many don’t have the funds to
move, and would not receive enough from the sale of their property to
purchase a home elsewhere.
Ridge Manor resident Perley Stevens lives with
his nine-year-old son, Johnny Lee, in a single-wide mobile home that
was damaged in this recent round of flooding. Stevens is mentally
handicapped and receives disability and food stamps, according to
Nelson.
Previous flooding damaged his trailer, so he had
it placed on six-foot pylons to prevent it from being damaged again.
Don Gerheauser, a member of Community church, said the floodwaters “came
up so fast and hard” that they knocked several of the supports out
from under Stevens’ home. Local officials condemned it, and Stevens
and his son are now living with neighbors.
Gerheauser said the church is working with a
group called Christian Contractors to repair Stevens’ home and make
it livable again.
In the meantime, the church is providing Stevens
with food vouchers donated by the local Winn Dixie grocery store.
Gerheauser is taking care of the technical
aspects of the church’s relief effort for Stevens and other
residents who were affected, including setting up an office and
creating budgets. His wife, Louise, is working closely with Nelson in
the community, and as many as seven of the 26 members of the church
are involved.
Local residents were “flabbergasted” when
church members first offered to help, Gerheauser said. “When this
started—stepping in and helping people—they didn’t know what to
expect.”
Nelson said residents “aren’t used to
calling for help, so we’ve had to go out and find them.” She has
asked people who have been helped to tell their relatives and
neighbors they can call the church for help.
The Florida Conference Disaster Relief ministry
and United Methodist Committee on Relief are also providing assistance
and have given $12,500 in grants.
“We’re the only group in the area that can
help these people,” Nelson said. “We’re working with about a
dozen people who’ve had substantial damage to their homes. Other
folks have problems, but they just don’t have the finances to help
themselves.”
Nelson said she is working with United Methodist
Volunteers in Mission and Florida Baptist Disaster Relief to bring in
teams to help several elderly and disabled residents clean up their
homes.
Nelson said the flood relief effort has been a
learning and healing experience for the church and community. “We
want to share the message that this is a loving and welcoming place, a
place to find Jesus, not only in the worship, but in the people, too,”
she said. “This has also been a pretty surreal experience. Sometimes
I say, ‘Slow down, Lord. Slow down.’ ”
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