Check It Out: Neighbours helping neighbours instead of waiting for government help

By Joan Janzen

A fellow helped a neighbour by doing some work. Overcome with gratitude, his neighbour said, “I’m so grateful I could marry you!” Afterward he told a friend, “I can’t believe it. You do something nice for someone and they threaten to ruin your life in return.”

There have been thousands of neighbours helping one another during the weeks that have gone by since North Carolina was struck by a hurricane. Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization, was on hand to offer help. “These are my neighbours,” Franklin Graham from Samaritan’s Purse said. “Usually, we’re working in other communities, but this is special to us because this is our home.”

Franklin was speaking to Dr. Phil McGraw on an episode of Phil in the Blanks. Dr. Phil spent time immersed in what was going on in support of the people in North Carolina.

“If you’re waiting for the government to show up, you’ll be waiting for a little while,” Franklin said. “It was neighbour helping neighbour in the middle of the storm. Neighbours helping people out of flooded houses or rescuing someone’s child.” He described the people from that area as having a country attitude that appreciates government, but at the same time, they don’t wait on them to save lives. “This isn’t about politics; it’s about trying to save lives and helping others on the road to recovery.”

Dr. Phil made a few observations as he visited a number of areas hit by the hurricane. “I haven’t heard one word that sounded like someone viewed themselves as a victim. Every one of them talked about it in terms of this is a challenge we need to face. They weren’t angry; they weren’t saying ‘poor me,’” he said. “They were saying thank you for what you’ve brought. And what can we do to help distribute and help others?”

The other thing he noticed was, “Everywhere we’ve gone, the person who met us was the pastor.” A volunteer by the name of Mary helped explain the process.

“Today, 1200 people showed up at the church where we were deployed out of,” she said. “Samaritan’s Purse had no idea how many people would show up, but they were able to quickly put people in groups and send them to work. We don’t have time to wait for the government to get it together. We just go and do what we can do.”

There can be close to 4,000 volunteers serving each week. After receiving their work orders, they begin shovelling knee-high mud out of basements, placing tarps on roofs, cutting out drywall, removing insulation, putting gravel in driveways, fixing roads and bridges, and cutting down trees.

“These are the things we do to earn the privilege to share why we do what we do and that God loves them and they’re not forgotten,” a volunteer explained.

Franklin considered it a privilege to help communities that had become totally isolated. “We’re the first to arrive and give them water, generators, battery power, supplies and things like that,” he said. Their help enabled the people to see they weren’t forgotten.

Dr. Phil watched the process unfold. Only after all the giving, caring and listening did Franklin Graham’s son, Edward, ask if he could pray for people. “By then, they were so willing, the circle couldn’t get tight enough,” Dr. Phil said. “It was so uplifting. And I’ve watched this live out at stop after stop that we’ve made.”

“We want to help people,” Franklin said. “I feel like this is what God has called me to do, and I’ll do it to the best of my ability.” He’s also training the next generation to carry on, as his son and daughter are hard at work.

When Dr. Phil flew in with a plane loaded up with supplies, they were all wheeled into a huge store room, and dispersed into aisles much like a grocery store. Volunteers made packages, gathering up whatever families needed. Some of the supplies went into helicopters headed to regions that were heavily hit by the storm. Meanwhile cars were lined up outside waiting for supplies.

“We have a lot of church members going out and talking to them, listening to their stories,” a volunteer said. “They’re telling us we’re giving them hope.”

Samaritan’s Purse connects with numerous other organizations in the recovery process. For example a business in Tennessee donated the use of Blackhawk helicopters, fuel, pilots and supplies at a value of over $300,000.00.

A fire and rescue volunteer said he cried more in two days than he had cried in fifteen years. “I realized God is in control,” he said. His team focuses on three phases. Phase one was search and recovery followed by the second phase of making sure home owners were safe. The third phase is sustainability over the months ahead.

Upon his arrival, Dr. Phil was quick to explain his reason for coming. “I’m not here to make a show,” he said. “I’m here to remind people what’s happening and to support this. Months down the road, people are still fighting this, but the media has moved on to the next headline and the next story.”

Franklin recalled that if there was a crisis 150 years ago, the church was always the first to respond. “Here in the mountains, you’ll see the church is still the centre of these communities.” Neighbours like Samaritan’s Purse are often the first responders when disaster strikes.