Liberty University to send second relief team to Maui following wildfires
December 7, 2023 : By Office of Communications & Public Engagement
Liberty University will send another team to Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, Dec. 13-21 to work alongside Samaritan’s Purse by ministering to the local community, helping provide relief from the wildfires that tore through the island in August.
The team, which consists of nine students and two leaders, will be the second group from the LU Serve Now program to serve Lahaina. The last trip was in September, when students primarily constructed temporary houses.
On the upcoming trip, students will spend the week sifting through ashes for personal belongings, helping residents move into temporary housing, and any other needs that arise. Outside of physical labor, students will also minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of Lahaina residents.
LU Serve Director Chad Nelson said the university’s goal is to “cultivate a culture of preparedness” to enable students to effectively serve the community.
“With the Serve Now program, we do extensive training with the students. Some of that training is to be ready and mature physically so we can go and do the work, but also be ready and mature spiritually and emotionally so you can minister and serve the needs of those homeowners,” he said.
Nelson also said he appreciates the willingness of Liberty students to sacrifice a portion of their Winter Break to serve others instead of being at home with their families, noting the tremendous impact these trips have had in the past.
“We’ve heard stories about how grateful homeowners are,” he said. “Whether our team is sifting through ash and finding a valuable item to that homeowner, or helping them move into temporary housing, we’ve heard stories about how grateful and how blessed those homeowners (feel). It’s also a blessing for our students to carry the light of Christ and the love and concern that Christ has for these folks. To be that representation is a blessing for our students as well.”
This trip will mark the fourth in which LU Serve Now has partnered with Samaritan’s Purse this semester. In addition to the first trip to Lahaina, the program has also deployed teams to Perry, Fla., for Hurricane Idalia relief in September, and Jackson, Ky., for flood relief in October.
