Several churches
in Maumee Valley Presbytery sent mission teams to the Gulf Coast
after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They included congregations
in Adrian, Michigan; Findlay, Defiance, and Grand Rapids, Ohio;
and Christ Presbyterian and Fairgreen Presbyterian in Toledo.
Elder Pat Gibson from Fairgreen Presbyterian Church shares this
story:
“When we went to Gulfport, Mississippi, to help with
relief efforts, we discovered our real purpose for being there
was to listen. People who had been through the hurricane and
then evacuated returned to tell their stories to people with
fresh ears.
“The daughter of the couple whose home we were drywalling
said her mother and dad, who celebrated their fiftieth wedding
anniversary in 2006, were in their Gulfport home when the water
surged into the bayou behind their house. The water rose so
quickly they could not get out. They stood, holding each other
and praying. Water rose to their chins before it receded. We
measured the waterline’s height on the drywall and stood
beside it. Some of us would have drowned.
“This couple trustingly placed their clasped hands into
the hand of God. Their witness of love for one another and their
steadfast faith in our Lord deeply impressed us.”
Maumee Valley Presbytery has 76 churches and 1 new church
development in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. There
are 12,262 Presbyterians in Maumee Valley congregations. |
