A blanket of ash won’t hold hope down

Since Logos Hope arrived in the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in late May, 120 teams of volunteers have been sent ashore to connect with local people and offer practical help.

Many have been in Georgetown, on the edge of the ‘red zone’ near the La Soufrière volcano. A pastor from a church which was cleaned by Logos Hope’s crew says, “We didn’t have a Sunday service since the volcano erupted because, with ash covering everything, the church couldn’t be used.”

Monica Harder (Canada) is one of the crewmembers who helped clean the building inside and out. “I enjoyed cleaning as I saw the need of our help,” she says. “Local people came to help as well. It was the first time that I saw how we can be a vibrant community of Jesus-followers among the least reached. Even though this island isn’t a place that has not heard about Jesus, to see random people who aren’t believers come and join us showed me how much of an impact we can have on those around us.”

One local man stayed for hours and when the volunteers asked him to join them for lunch, he agreed. A crewmember asked him if he knew why the ship team was there. When the man’s answer was that he thought it was because they are good people, the crewmember explained that what brought them together from many different countries was to glorify God and serve Him out of gratitude for His love.

The crew was glad to help and share their faith at the same time. Monica says, “Before leaving, I asked the man if I could pray for him, which he welcomed. It was a day full of physically hard work but also a day of opportunities and hope.”

Another crewmember was very encouraged by the people he met in the red zone. He shares: “I had prepared myself to meet many desperate people there, as they had already been through the COVID-19 pandemic and the island was suffering with many cases of dengue fever. As if this wasn’t enough, the volcano erupted and made many of their houses uninhabitable. But I didn’t meet any desperate people. I met people who stayed faithful to God. We cleaned the entrance to a lady's home and she wasn’t complaining about what she had to deal with – she was thankful that we came to help and even cooked for us. To see how much you can overcome with the help of God reminded me of His strength in our trials.”