Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,
It has been 4 months since the start of fires and floods here in Ruidoso. A few weekends ago our church hosted Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) who helped us train and deploy a Lutheran Emergency Response Team (LERT) and Care Teams into the village.
It started 6 weeks earlier when Lutheran Church Charities visited Ruidoso and we shared with them the devastation we have been experiencing over the summer. During that visit two needs became apparent, the need to help locals remove trees from their properties and the need to help locals process through a traumatic summer of loss.
Utilizing the money that was given for disaster relief in Ruidoso and with help from a grant from LCMS Disaster Relief, we purchased and outfitted a trailer with all the equipment we need for tree clearing in Ruidoso. Then, starting Saturday October 12 we began training. We started with a team of folks trained to work with chainsaws and spent the morning in the “classroom”. After lunch we then spent the afternoon practicing cutting dead trees on the property. Sunday, Pastor Chris Singer, President and CEO of Lutheran Church Charities shared the work of LCC and how they have been involved in helping guide our own work here in Ruidoso. He also preached a word of encouragement about how we as children of God are salt and light in this world. It indeed was a word of encouragement as I have watched you all as a community be so fervent in your callings to serve and watching some of you have the courage to be served by your brothers and sisters here at SHLC.
Sunday afternoon, 17 of us were trained to participate in Lutheran Early Response Teams. The training was full of useful and tangible information regarding safety and work flow for a team. It was also rich with why we do what we do in times of need, giving up our own time, energy and money. God be praised!
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, LCC’s Care Team, comprised of team Persis, a comfort dog, trained counselors, and myself as pastor visited Cherokee Village Mobile home park, fire stations, the police station, the dispatch center, businesses in midtown, a nursing home, and the Boys and Girls Club of Ruidoso. Each visit was unique in how our team was able to bring the comfort of Jesus to lives of people who are in the process of healing.
Monday the chainsaw team was able to visit members of our church who lost homes and help clear the properties of dead and down trees. We had the opportunity not only to work hard, but also do much praying. God be praised everyone was safe and the work was blessed.
Now, we have a team and trailer ready to go to continue to serve Ruidoso and our area. In the coming week, Pastor Brian Flamme from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Roswell will be asking for help after the horrible flooding event this last weekend. It is amazing how God works, that in this moment we have people trained and ready to serve. Our trailer isn’t yet equipped with work for flooding so we are waiting on another LERT team who is equipped to come and help. More information will be available in the coming days.
It is a joy to continue to serve with you here at SHLC. Your zeal for the Gospel and work for those in need brings me great joy. God be praised.
In His Love and Service,
Pastor Rust