Students help clean up tornado damage from January in Georgia

In January of this year, a tornado struck Griffin, Georgia, leaving severe damage in the area. Thousands of people were affected in the aftermath, and answering the call for help, LU Serve Now sent a team there over spring break to help as much as possible.

Chad Nelson, director of LU Serve, said the goal of the trip was “to bring physical relief, as well as emotional and spiritual healing to those affected by the storm. Moreover, we strive to be a blessing to our partner organization, Samaritan’s Purse.” 

The Serve Now team consisted of eight students and two leaders who spent every day of the trip going out into the community to help homeowners clean up debris on their properties and tend to damaged items in their homes. 

Most importantly, the team took the time to talk with the homeowners it ministered to and hear their stories. 

Natalia Garcia, a sophomore at Liberty on her second trip with LU Serve, shared her experience talking to a homeowner’s wife. 

“She kept praising God in her speech, and their story is beautiful on how God protected them through the tornado,” Garcia said. “At the end, once we were finished with their house, I was then able to present the Bible to them. I was so overwhelmed and will not forget this moment.” 

The team was even able to help a Liberty alumnus who was impacted by the storm among many other people. It focused on bringing the love of Christ to those in need, practicing and embodying the principles of servant evangelism. Servant evangelism is the idea that the best way to open the door to share the gospel and the love of Christ is to help those in need while expecting nothing in return.

“Jesus leads by example (for) how we can outreach to others. He demonstrates the importance of meeting people’s needs and then sharing the word,” Garcia said. “We can’t just pray for revival but wait and do nothing. We need to pursue Christ in all the things we do and have our hearts hurt for the things that hurt God’s heart.” 

LU Serve Now sends out four to five trips every semester, as well as over winter and spring breaks. Students can apply to join the program at the beginning of each semester.

Johnson is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on Twitter