Students dispatch to Florida for disaster relief

Hurricane Ian made landfall on the west coast of Florida in September, crossing the state and heading up the East Coast, leaving damage and destruction in its wake.

In response to the widespread damage, LU Serve Now launched an initiative to help the residents of two towns that sustained serious damage, Fort Myers, Florida, and Englewood, Florida.

LU Serve Now sent a 53-foot tractor-trailer to McGregor Baptist Church in Fort Myers, Florida, on Oct. 17. The trailer was filled by local community members with bottled water, tarps, diapers, formula and wipes. 

“Our goal was to create an on-campus initiative. … Buying a $5 case of water and praying for the people (in Florida) is just as important as being a part of the Serve Now program formally,” Steven Gillum, director of partnerships and projects at LU Serve, said. 

Gillum also hopes the supplies from that trailer help connect the local churches in Fort Myers with the surrounding
community.

“I hope (the supplies) on that tractor-trailer open up opportunities for the local church to be able to do more outreach,” Gillum said. “I think this will create the opportunity to serve their neighbors and (allow) their neighbors to hear and listen to the gospel as a result.”

In addition to the tractor-trailer being sent down, LU Serve Now will soon be dispatching two teams of students to
Englewood, Florida. 

The first team will be in Florida from Nov. 6-12, and the second team will be there from Nov. 13-19. Both teams will be composed of 15 students and two leaders.

LU Serve Now partners with Samaritan’s Purse for the trips, and students will help with jobs requiring manual labor such as tearing out sheetrock or cleaning up debris from property.

“I really want (the students) to get the sense that they’re stepping into a unique opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” Chad Nelson, LU Serve director, said. “I also want (the local residents) to feel loved by Liberty, and ultimately, by Christ.”

Current Liberty student Isaiah Lee will be a part of the first team being sent to Florida.

“LU Serve Now trips help students realize that time, money and everything in life is not ours to give or dictate, but it’s ultimately God’s,” Lee said. “We are not confined just within the walls of Liberty, but instead, we’re called to love on everyone, especially those that are broken and in need of Christ’s love.” 

Lee also acknowledged that these trips provide students with opportunities to become more like Christ.

“There’s a brokenness in this world,” Lee said. “There’s no better way of showing (the love of Christ) than through serving those that need it most.”

Liberty student Ellianna Loy will also be on the first team sent to Florida.

“I hope that local residents will benefit from us physically, but also spiritually and emotionally,” Loy said. “I hope that we can meet their needs in physical ways while also feeling and seeing our love for them, which is ultimately Christ’s love in us.” 

Click here for more information about upcoming trips or text servenow to 839858 to be taken to ServeNow’s website.

Smith is the news editor for the Liberty Champion