BOLDER, Colo.—Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) continues to engage in disaster response after wildfires ravaged a thousand homes in Boulder, Colo., on December 30 last year. The fire caused more than 35,000 people to be displaced.
Coins collected by a war hero in Afghanistan were recovered by DR team members. Finding these coins helped a mother’s healing process after the Boulder fire in December.
“Sunday through Wednesday was sunny and beautiful, but Wednesday night, Boulder received 8.5 inches of snow,” said Don Williams, DR Director, in a Feb. 19 update on relief efforts in a Facebook post. “Yet our awesome team was out early Thursday morning to sift through ashes and snow.”
Williams reported that since the Oklahoma DR team has been deployed to areas affected by the fires, ashes in more than 500 homes have been sifted, and 14 people have prayed to receive Christ through evangelistic encounters.
“We are not allowed to move the ashes from homes, due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations, but we are allowed to sift through areas where people may think that they have valuables,” he said.
In a recent interview for the Baptist Messenger, Williams recalled a story from one of the DR team members among those who have been working in the area since December.
“One woman asked us to sift through her home, and we found out that her son was an Afghanistan veteran,” he explained. “Though her home was completely destroyed, our DR team was able to recover some of his medals and some coins her son had brought back from his time of service in that country. Finding those items was meaningful for this mother who needed them to help her begin the healing process of losing her home.
“I am so proud of all of our DR team members who provide help, hope, and healing to those impacted by disasters,” Williams said. “Thank you for giving to Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief. Because you give to DR., a team was able to help in fire recovery this week in Boulder.”
For more information and to donate to DR, visit okdisasterhelp.org.