Representatives from Samaritan’s Purse and the Red Cross were honored Wednesday night in a ceremony at Riverside Church to give a sendoff to Samaritan’s Purse, whose final day helping in the first stage of recovery in the Three Rivers area was Wednesday.
By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — One of the charity organizations helping residents in the wake of the March 6 tornadoes in Three Rivers and Union City received a sendoff from the community on their final day in the area.
A few dozen residents, city officials and first responders gathered Wednesday night on the lawn of Riverside Church in Three Rivers to give a sendoff to Samaritan’s Purse, who have been in the area since a few days after the tornadoes ripped through the area, helping residents affected begin the recovery process.
Samaritan’s Purse, according to Program Manager Jacob Rutz, helped out 140 residences through the work of about 970 volunteers from all across the country and over 12,000 volunteer hours throughout the over three weeks they spent in the area. The main operation departed Three Rivers Thursday morning.
The sendoff, led by Riverside Church Senior Pastor Erick Penn, thanked the volunteers from the faith-based charity for their hard work and dedication for the community in their time of need.
“I don’t know if you felt like I did, but when we saw the damage from the storm, something in me realized this was too big for us to do alone, and that we would need each other, we would need community, and by the grace of God we would need help from people from the outside,” Penn said during the ceremony. “As a city, as a community, we wanted to say thank you, and God bless you guys.”
Jacob Rutz, a program manager with Samaritan’s Purse, then spoke about the organization’s work in the community, saying they have been “welcomed” by the people in the area, as well as the community’s willingness to help out.
“It really has just been an honor to be here and serve you guys,” Rutz said. “You have served yourselves as well; we were just the tools where you were able to go out. … That heart to serve is just ingrained deeply in Three Rivers, and to see that in action after this storm was an honor. It was an honor to be a part of it, and it was an honor and humbling to see. That’s the Lord working through all of you to serve your community, to stand up and help your neighbors hand-in-hand after this disaster.”
Rutz then said he’s excited for what’s in store for the community with how it moves forward with recovering from the tornado in the next “weeks and months and years.”
“I know it’s in good hands with the people out here, with the churches that are here, with the neighbors out here,” Rutz said. “I know that everybody is ready to continue that long process together with a focus on the love of Christ.”
Penn then presented gift baskets to Rutz and Samaritan’s Purse with items from the local area to thank them for their work.
The ceremony also recognized other organizations, such as the American Red Cross, the Huss Project, and the St. Joseph County United Way, as well as city officials and first responders for their efforts in helping the city recover. The city officials, in turn, had plenty of praise for the volunteer organizations that came to help, including Samaritan’s Purse and the Red Cross.
“It takes so many people to pull this off, and it is a community. The Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse, you jump into chaos and bring order. It is amazing to watch,” City Manager Joe Bippus said. “Every day, we could see the improvements you were making, and we thank you.”
“There is no way we could have put our city back together without the organizations that have been here, Samaritan’s Purse, the Red Cross especially, thank you so much,” Three Rivers Mayor Angel Johnston said. “For everybody that came to Riverside, you have been the heart and soul of this community through this whole mess; we never could have done this without you.”
State Representative Steve Carra then shared a couple of stories he had heard about the recovery from the storm, including people whose houses were hit by the storm helping others out in town during the recovery process.
Penn said he was grateful for the city leadership throughout the tornado recovery process.
“We’re thankful for how everyone came together. Thank you so much, we’re so grateful for all the incredible things you did that no one will ever see,” Penn said. “Thank you, police officers; when everyone else runs away, you run in. Firefighters, for the countless situations; I don’t want to imagine everything you’ve encountered in this. We are grateful.”
The ceremony concluded with a prayer by Riverside Founding Pastor Paul Booko for those that have helped in the recovery from the tornado, and there was cake served afterward. Rutz said he had never seen a sendoff like Wednesday’s from a community hit hard by a natural disaster in his five years with the organization.
“It’s great, the thing is it shows how this community’s come together. It’s that heart to serve and that heart to love on the community,” Rutz said. “It’s very humbling, it’s an awkward feeling, but it’s humbling and it’s amazing to see the community come together both in celebration and support of each other.”
“The recovery process is still beginning, and Riverside Church, the Three Rivers community, they’re all ready to continue that process together. I know the future is strong in Three Rivers,” Rutz added.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
