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Sam Porter, Disaster Relief State Director for the BGCO, has traveled all over the world helping people and sharing the Gospel. On Oct. 13, Porter was the keynote speaker at the Cherokee Strip Baptist Association Annual Meeting held at Ringwood, First.
He spoke about the importance of Disaster Relief and how impressed he was with the Association’s mission vision. He left right after his message to catch a flight to Colorado, where the work is already having an eternal impact. Twenty people have placed their faith in Jesus in the last month because of the disaster response in Colorado. Sitting in the church that afternoon was a 12-year-old boy, listening intently to every word spoken.
Samuel Summers is the son of Aaron and Dulcie Summers. “We named him Samuel for two reasons. First, it was Dulcie’s favorite story of the Old Testament. Second, her maternal grandfather was named Samuel.”, said Aaron Summers who serves as pastor of Perry, First. “’Little Sam’ came home talking about what ‘Big Sam’ had to say. People are going to assume that I put him up to this. The truth is, however, that ‘Little Sam’ was so impressed that he changed his mind about how he wanted to dress for Halloween,” Aaron continued.
Samuel said, “I was going to be a Musketeer again, but after hearing ‘Big Sam’ talk, I changed my mind! Helping people and telling them about Jesus is really important. I needed to be Sam Porter for Halloween.”
“I pulled out my disaster relief uniform and let him wear it,” said Aaron. “I made a name tag with Big Sam’s picture and info. He went to school with a clipboard that had a world map and 2012 statistics we pulled from NAMB’s (North American Mission Board) website.”
“I am honored to have a young Christian boy respect me and be wowed by Disaster Relief to the point they would dress up as me for Halloween,” commented Sam Porter. “I have known Little Sam since he was born. It is a high honor to have him make this choice. I am thrilled to see a young person be interested in Disaster Relief. Our desire is to impact the younger generation. We are currently developing a DR plan for college teams, and we will be providing opportunities for teens to assist with debris clean-up. The energy, passion and excitement of this age group is infectious. I have older men now wanting to serve completely with the college group! It is refreshing to see a new generation take hold of the importance of serving people in the name of Jesus.”
Disasters come in all shapes and sizes and so do the volunteers that assist through those difficult times. Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires and ice storms are just a few of the times when a call is made to Disaster Relief. When those wearing yellow arrive, people know help is on the way. Feeding, cleaning debris, providing showers and laundry opportunities, cutting trees and doing mud-out on homes all help physically. During the process someone will always ask “Why?” At that moment every volunteer is prepared to make a statement about the Gospel and begin to help spiritually.
Southern Baptists are loving people and rebuilding lives through Disaster Relief. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or making a donation, contact the BGCO through their website: http://www.bgco.org/ministries/disaster-relief.
