May 25, 2010: Taylor Morris never imagined he would see his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee overcome with flood waters following the torrential rains of May 2010. “Our office was closed on Monday during the critical flood stages in the area but then our staff all gathered at the office on Tuesday,” he recalls. “I explained that I had recently completed disaster response training with Hope Force and they were looking for volunteers to help. Next thing I knew, I was heading out for some in-service training from Hope Force, whose staff were already hard at work.”
 

Taylor’s company, e+CancerCare, is one of the leading operators of outpatient cancer care centers in the nation. After on-the-job training with Hope Force, his office gave him ample time to be part of the generous outpouring of assistance seen in Nashville and its environs. Eventually, he began leading teams of volunteers from all over, while e+CancerCare bolstered his efforts by providing three to five employees per day to help with the response effort. “What we saw in flood victims is the same as what we see in our cancer victims.” he explains. “Someone who finds out they have cancer often feels so overwhelmed, they don’t know what to do next. Many of the people we helped in the flood zones were in the same condition.”
 

Mrs. Curtis is a single working mom with two daughters, a husband that died of cancer at 31, and an elderly father without the physical strength to help her. “We took the time to check down a side street that didn’t show any signs of volunteer efforts and that’s how we met her,” Taylor says. “Her home had some furniture removed but for the most part everything was still in place from the floods. Mrs. Curtis was exhausted and paralyzed with how and what to do next. So, our chance encounter, if you believe in chance, resulted in us adding her home to the list of people we are assisting. We assembled a “box-up crew” to help clean out her house and our gang of demolition workers followed to clear out damaged materials from the structure itself.”
 

Taylor’s background in architectural design coupled with Hope Force’s Craig Snow created a positive synergy that allowed teams to maximize their efforts to help homeowners save as much as they possible could from flooded homes, and begin the cleanup process with many willing hearts and hands. “Some people are so overwhelmed or burdened with physical infirmities they can just watch what you do. They’re out of their home, living with relatives, unsure if FEMA will buy out their house or condemn it. Sometimes taking the approach of “giving a cup of cold water” in the name of Christ is the thing that people need the most.”
 

Taylor’s sense is that the city government and the people of Nashville are rolling up their sleeves and getting ready for the years of recovery, despite the understandable volunteer fatigue that is affecting the initial wave of first responders. The spirit of neighbor-to-neighbor help has been the hallmark of Nashville’s disaster although many teams have come from out of state, and others are on their way.
 

“My prayer is that the take-away from this disaster and events of the past few weeks is the parallel with God’s flood of grace and mercy,” Taylor points out. “Jesus took mud and helped a man to see – I believe this mud can be turned into His glory as we are the hands and feet of Christ to those who are suffering. If one part of the body suffers, we all do. God was getting a lot of us ready without us even knowing it. I was even getting in better physical condition without knowing how important it would be!”  
 

Taylor is quick to point out that none of this would be possible without the support of key individuals at his company. “I am astounded with gratitude when I see their commitment to support the Nashville community by allowing us to participate at their cost. Words fail me when trying to describe their commitment to serve others, whether battling cancer or a 500 year flood. For me, I am supremely honored to be able to serve the company and Nashville this way. But they are the ones who deserve the teary thanks the volunteers and I get from grateful folks. Ten days ago they and their neighborhoods were unknown to me. Now, I feel like I’ve made new friends and have helped just a few of the tens of thousands of middle Tennesseans pick up the pieces of their lives in hope of better days ahead.”