Students restore hope to California wildfire victims
Last January, the deadly Eaton and Palisades wildfires ravaged over 37,000 acres near Los Angeles, Calif., leaving at least 29 dead and destroying more than 16,000 structures. Families lost their homes as whole neighborhoods were left unrecognizable.
Liberty University’s LU Serve Now disaster relief initiative kicked into gear, sending a team of 12 in April to join Samaritan’s Purse in widespread recovery efforts.
(Photos by Jessie Jordan)
Wearing hazmat suits, the team spent a week sifting through the rubble and searching for sentimental family heirlooms spared by the flames.
Through this daily selfless service, the Liberty students found opportunities to share the love of Christ with homeowners.
“I wasn’t sure how what we were going to be doing would be that impactful, but seeing how the homeowners reacted to us, working with a smile on our face, for free, in the sun, it broke them down in such a way that they were so open to why we were there. That was really special,” sophomore Jonathan De Klerk said.
Finding everything from wedding bands to other cherished treasures like an Emmy Award, a torch carried in the 1968 Olympics, or even family members’ remains, Liberty’s team helped provide a small spark of hope for individuals who had lost almost everything they owned. Praying with the homeowners on site and presenting them with a Bible, the students had the chance to be a light in a dark, tragic time.
“Most of the homeowners embraced us almost immediately … we were taking time out of our lives to be there and that hit them immediately of why we were doing that,” junior Leah Kelley said. “The initial interaction we had with them opened the door to them wanting to share their stories and tell us what they had been through. They wanted us to walk alongside them.”
Waking up before 6 a.m. each morning to prepare for a full day of work, the group said the Lord gave them the strength to overcome fatigue and serve faithfully.
Liberty’s team prayed with homeowners and presented them with a Bible.
“We had way too much energy for the work we were doing,” De Klerk said. “It was not normal. We were just going at it eight hours a day. By the last two days, we were slowing down a little bit, but we were still really motivated. It was amazing to see.”
LU Serve Now not only sends teams in the timely aftermath of disasters but also remains dedicated to ongoing recovery efforts even years later. The week before the LA trip, another team arrived in Lahaina, Hawaii, to assist Samaritan’s Purse in rebuild efforts from the 2023 wildfires that decimated the region. This was Liberty’s third time sponsoring a trip to Lahaina; two teams were dispatched in 2023.
During the 2024-25 academic year, 10 LU Serve Now teams assisted homeowners recovering from hurricane damage in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
The LU Serve Now initiative provides care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of individuals and communities impacted by disasters. The program’s success is largely due to the contributions of generous donors. Visit Liberty.edu/Serve-Now to support future trips.
