Texas Baptist Men is deploying three fire recovery teams to meet needs in the wake of the Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colo.
A team from Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo left home on Jan. 13, and teams from Deep Southeast Texas and Collin County will join them in Colorado soon.
The teams will minister to families affected by the fires by helping sift through ash in search of meaningful mementos and heirlooms that survived the fire.
“So many of the items that are special to us are small, like jewelry and silver,” TBM Disaster Relief Director David Wells said. “Other items with sentimental meaning may be guns that have been handed down from one generation to another. These teams will take the time to sift through piles of ash to help families recover treasures they thought were lost forever.
“When we give the items to the families, it reminds them that not all is lost. It encourages them. It reminds them that people care about them. It helps them push forward.”
The Marshall Fire caused more than $500 million in damage and destroyed more than 1,100 homes.
In recent years, Colorado has repeatedly suffered from wildfires. Last summer, a TBM team helped sift through ash and clear lots in nearby Grand County, Colo.
“The more we serve in an area, the more our volunteers get to know families,” Wells said. “People begin to open up and share what they’re going through. We try to encourage them and offer to pray with them.”
To support TBM disaster relief financially, give online at tbmtx.org/donate or mail checks to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron Drive, Dallas, TX 75227.
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