Closing his eyes, Larry Murphy could almost taste the Thanksgiving turkey and dressing. He could even hear his family’s voices.
But the voices drowning out those in Murphy’s head were speaking Arabic. Instead of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, he was sampling beans served in olive oil and a chicken sandwich. He also was in a country mourning the recent assassination of its minister of industry, Pierre Gemayel.
Murphy, volunteer coordinator for disaster relief for Alabama Baptists, and five other Baptist men spent 10 days in November working in a southern Lebanese village devastated by this summer’s 34-day war with Israel.
"I feel my calling is to lead these missions teams into these parts of the world, no matter where it’s at," said Murphy, a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Enterprise, in Coffee Baptist Association.
"I thank the Lord that we have people in Alabama willing to stand in the gap if we call on them [to serve in disaster relief]," he said. "I praise God for (families) that understand the urgency of this [need] and [allow] their men to go."
Some of the needs were similar to those he and others had seen on other disaster relief trips to Bam, Iran, after the 2003 earthquake or Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and Thailand after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, but the devastation in Lebanon could not compare.
"It was different from anything we’ve ever seen because we went into an area where combat had taken place," said Murphy, noting that the devastation was worse that what he saw while serving in the Army during the Vietnam War.
Traveling to three villages during a seven-day span, the team handed out 18 water tanks, 100 oil heaters and 250 blankets to those in the greatest need.
Ranging in size from 100 to 400 families, the villages were a mix of Muslims, Christians and members of other religious sects.
The Alabama team joined Baptists from Texas, California and South Carolina in a rolling schedule of trips coordinated by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC). The effort is similar to that of Alabama Baptists in coordinating the disaster relief response in Thailand after the earthquake and tsunami, said Tommy Puckett, director of disaster relief for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
Since the U.N.-brokered ceasefire took effect Aug. 14, Southern Baptists have given more than $750,000 in aid for the region through the Southern Baptist Convention’s general relief fund.
But hands-on work was needed, and in October, SBTC took on the challenge of coordinating the trips, which are scheduled to continue into 2007. Puckett said Alabama Baptists will send a second team in the spring.
The main focus of recent trips has been installing rooftop water tanks. The 5-foot tall, black plastic tanks are mounted onto homes and filled by water pumped in from a local well or water tanker trucks. Gravity provides the pressure needed to pump the water into the house.
The blankets and heaters have become more essential as winter approaches, Murphy said, noting it is much like winter in Alabama, lasting January through March.
The Alabama team continued its original plans for the work despite arriving at its Beirut hotel just minutes before Gemayel was assassinated in the capital city. Team member Robbie Richardson, a member of Calvary Baptist Church, Russellville, in Franklin Baptist Association, said the assassination did increase security risks for them but they decided to stay on course.
"It just proved that God was with us," Richardson said. "We stayed together and were cautious during our stay, but you’re always safer in God’s will than you are anywhere else."
Murphy said the most important aspect of any disaster relief trip is prayer, and while the assassination garnered increased prayer for the group, prayer support was in place before the team left Alabama.
Along with the prayers being lifted daily by the men’s churches, families and friends, the team members also gathered each morning while in Lebanon to have a devotion and prayer before heading out to work.
As they worked, families of different faiths invited them into their homes. With tears streaming down their faces, Muslims and Christians would thank the team and ask for prayers, Murphy said. Some would ask why the team had come and about the men’s faith.
The climactic moment for the men was when their interpreter gave her life to Christ, Murphy noted.
A practicing Catholic, she started asking questions after a few days with them. "When that (lady) surrendered her life to Jesus Christ, it was confirmation that that was what the trip was all about," Murphy said. While the team rejoiced in her newfound faith, it is also praying for her and the opposition she is likely to face from her family and others. It also connected her with a local Baptist pastor and congregation for discipleship and support.
"We don’t do [disaster relief work] for the glory; we do it because God has called us to these types of things," Murphy said. "Every man who went is God called and God sent."
To be involved in future trips, e-mail Jim Richardson, director of disaster relief for SBTC, at jrichardson@sbtexas.com.Those with medical experience should e-mail dan@mmronline.org or call 1-866-667-8996.
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