We had another good crowd at church yesterday. Lots of young children and adults of all ages. Pastor Kel continued his teaching through the Book of Mark. This one was one of my favorite stories. Bartimaeus. I did a monologue on the story many years ago. One of my favorites of those as well. Great lessons there. Check it out in Mark 10.
After church we went over to Way West Grill for lunch. Good BLT for me. Chris had a grilled chicken sandwich. Sam had a burger with all sorts of extra stuff on it. Ezra came with us. Oh, and his Mom and Dad did, too.
Late in the afternoon I responded to a fire call in Jamaica Beach. The house was fully engulfed by the time the fire departments arrived. The homes on either side were in danger as well, and both received some damage. Jamaica Beach FD got there first, of course. Galveston ended up responding as well, so I was able to see quite a few of our guys. And as usual, I was extremely proud of both departments for their professionalism and respectfulness.
As it turned out, when I arrived the chief asked me to connect with the homeowner. They had just found out that a friend of his might have been trapped inside. I became sort of a liaison between the homeowner and the fire department, relaying messages back and forth. Sadly, that meant I was also the one to deliver the confirmation of the death of his friend. Of course that is one of the difficult parts of my FD chaplain ministry.
On a more positive note, however, I was also allowed to deliver one object that had made it through the fire and had been found by the firefighters. As I handed it to the homeowner’s wife, she asked, “Is it a Bible?” A good friend of theirs who was supporting them immediately interjected, “What else would it be?” It was, indeed, the Bible she kept on a little table in the living room. It was in pretty rough shape but surprisingly still readable. They were very appreciative.
The Fire Marshall arrived and began his duties assessing the scene. He and the Jamaica Beach fire chief did a particularly good job communicating with the homeowners about some of the intricacies they might expect in dealing with insurance companies and getting the incident reports they would need (the owners of the two adjoining homes had arrived on site as well). And speaking of communicating with the homeowner, a Jamaica Beach FD representative explained to the homeowner about the many social services available to them. Nice job all around there.
Soon the Galveston crews were sent back to their stations, back in service to cover calls throughout the Island. The Jamaica Beach crew, however, was in for a long night. The backhoe arrived to dig through the wreckage. Inevitably, that process would uncover hot spots that would need to be blasted with water and foam again and again. The guys were tired, but ready to do what it takes to get the job done. Again, I’m proud of those volunteers.
Matthew 5:14 says, You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Father, please be with these homeowner families as they negotiate the next few weeks and months. And be with the family of the victim as well. Amen.
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