One family that sought the assistance of Adventist Community Services in the aftermath of the devastating floods were David and Wendy Kratz, who lived in the town of Pocahontas. They came to our local Distribution Center and expressed gratitude for all the help we could provide. David told the DR team his story of how he and his wife were addicted to Meth about ten years ago, but have fully recovered and are now raising their3-year-old daughter. Through this crisis, they were able to get in contact with the Seventh-day Adventist by meeting a group of people who he stated “live out their religion.” His wife added that the support was very much appreciated and they never realized how great the Adventist people were until now. David invited the ACS volunteers who were assisting in the area to visit on Labor Day as they grilled in his backyard. His kindness was greatly appreciated!
Another resident of the local community rushed up to some of the team members with a couple of Bibles in her hand. She explained that they had enough for each person in the house and she knew many would be stopping by our location, and perhaps we’d be willing to allow them to take one with them. As she was leaving, she asked if she could post our location to her Facebook and twitter page so others affected by the floods could stop by and receive the needed items.
The Bayfills also truly appreciated the services ACS DR was providing. Gary and Shella Bayfill, whose home was flooded by the devastating floods, left the house within hours of being evacuated. This family had nowhere to go and only had what they could fit into their vehicle. Both were recently baptized into the Pocahontas SDA Church. Calls went out from the local ACS team to support this local community with tangible resources, which included the Bayfills. When the team heard the family didn’t have anywhere to stay, the doors of the church were opened and the church basement was turned into a shelter. Shella could not stop expressing how blessed she was by the local SDA Church. She stated “no one knows what we go through when you experience something like this.” She went on to say how extremely grateful she was that the church stepped up, and believes that Jesus is strengthening her through them.