June 2, 2010: This past Sunday, my wife Cherie and I joined a team of Hope Force Reservists that came from Washington, D.C. to help in the flood efforts right here in our own backyard.  Last month’s flood has been called a 1,000 year flood and has affected the population of Nashville across the board – rich and poor, homeowner and business owner alike. It also covered a wide expanse of our own local area near the Hope Force office. Areas have flooded where previously it was thought impossible for water to reach.
 

Even a month later, people are still in a daze… their lives having turned a dramatic corner so quickly. The fact that there has been so little national media coverage has created a sort of “cocoon” effect where the citizens of our city have truly had to rally to help one another in significant and heroic ways.
 

As we talked with one of the homeowners on Sunday, Beverly told the dramatic story of how the flood waters crested a 50-foot river bank, crossed an unimaginable distance, and flooded her home to the rooftop. In the aftermath, she and her husband were simply overwhelmed, and did not know how to move forward. That’s when our team, led by our HFI flood expert, Craig Snow, came alongside to bring help and hope. Beverly wrote us on Tuesday to express her heartfelt gratitude, acknowledging that they could not have possibly moved forward on their own, stating, “We so much appreciate Hope Force!”
 

Cherie and I recently were meditating on the verse in Acts 10 where the scripture tells us “Jesus went about doing good.” It sounds so simple and yet in our complex and sometimes convoluted world, it is easy to lose sight of the example Christ set for us. At Hope Force, we believe that we are “called to respond to chaos”. This takes the form of finding the courage to step into scenes of disaster or calamity, where people’s worlds have fallen into disorder, and provide a refuge for them. God wants us to be His sanctuary as we reach out to a world in need.  
 

Having a disaster the magnitude of Nashville’s floods has impacted us so personally and has made us even more grateful for those who make it possible for us to be able to respond at a moment’s notice. Besides our local Reservists, we have had Hope Force volunteers come from California, Michigan, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Montana and Missouri.  It has also increased our sense of urgency to be prepared to help those in need in places such as Haiti, where people have been in such desperate need – even before the earthquake. 
 

Whether you have given to the Hope Force efforts, prayed for us or joined us as a Reservist, we want you to know that we could not move forward without you… And we are grateful for you!

 

Jack Minton

Hope Force has established a fund to facilitate assistance efforts for those affected by the flooding in Central Tennessee. If you would like to contribute, please note "Nashville Floods" when you make a gift.