No one would have wished for the record-breaking blizzard that hit Buffalo, N.Y., in October, but from an evangelistic standpoint, many are saying it has provided more opportunities to share Christ than at any time since 1988’s Billy Graham crusade.
"The citizens of Buffalo and the surrounding area now know who the Southern Baptists with the yellow shirts and yellow caps are," said Terry Henderson, disaster relief associate with the North American Mission Board (NAMB).
The heavy, wet snow — 24 inches during a 12-hour period — blanketed Buffalo Oct. 12–13.
Because the storm hit so unseasonably early — when colorful autumn leaves were still on the trees — the combination of leaves and heavy snow caused trees to fall across homes, power lines and streets in record numbers.
An estimated 20,000 trees were lost.
Following downed trees and limbs came a massive electricity blackout, with some 400,000 homes and businesses without power for up to seven days.
When the Baptist Convention of New York’s disaster relief director, Chuck Stebbins, asked NAMB’s disaster relief group for assistance, Henderson activated NAMB’s disaster operations center and mobilized chain saw teams.
The first volunteers to arrive were from Virginia.
More than 1,200 disaster relief volunteers from 20 Baptist state conventions worked in shifts in Buffalo during disaster relief efforts, Gerald Peters, commander of NAMB’s national Incident Command Service (ICS), reported.
As of NAMB’s last report Nov. 9, the chain saw crews have completed 542 tree-removal jobs for local citizens, along with serving 3,440 meals and providing nearly 1,200 showers. The ICS office received 1,560 requests for assistance with downed trees.
"More importantly, our chain saw crews have presented the gospel 236 times resulting in 14 decisions for Christ," Peters said.
The crews also have distributed hundreds of free Bibles and tracts. (BP)
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