Neighbors looking out their windows might have wondered what was going on in the middle of Eighth Avenue South Wednesday morning. Few would realize it was nothing short of a spontaneous prayer meeting, a mountaintop moment prompted by an unselfish act of kindness and the recipient’s great joy.
Brilliant sunshine warmed the 25 or so Convoy of Hope volunteers who surrounded homeowner Mary Peek in the street. Sweat glistened on many as they caught their breath and sipped on bottles of cool water. They had just finished clearing the debris of a huge oak and smaller trees felled in Peek’s yard by tornadic weather that hit parts of Columbus four days earlier. The big tree had fortunately missed the house Peek has called home since 1975.
“God heard my cry,” the 86-year-old told the group. “I didn’t know how I was going to get that tree out. I’d been praying, Lord, please send somebody.”
With everyone assembled, all grew quiet as Peek offered a heartfelt prayer — one that reminded every volunteer of exactly why they were there.
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About 15 minutes before that prayer, Peek had arrived at the home site, driven there by her daughter, Arleen Weatherby.
“I’d told her I had a surprise for her,” said Weatherby, explaining how anxious her mother had been about the downed trees. “As we drove up to her house and she saw the Convoy of Hope truck in her yard, I told her: This is your surprise. These people are volunteering from all over the United States, and they came to help. Oh my gosh, she couldn’t get out fast enough.”
As Peek made her careful way toward the front yard, she took in the sight of men and women in blue Convoy of Hope T-shirts moving like an organized team, carrying limbs large and small to a massive debris pile at streetside. Others with wheelbarrows moved heavy sections of tree trunk from the yard.
“This is for me?” Peek asked her daughter, almost unbelieving. “Yes ma’am,” Weatherby told her mother with a smile.
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“This” is what Convoy of Hope does. When disasters strike, the faith-based nonprofit steps up. Long affiliated with Assemblies of God, the organization with its World Distribution Center in Springfield, Missouri, has deployed more than 350 domestic and international disaster responses since it first helped victims of flooding in Del Rio, Texas, in 1998 after Tropical Storm Charley. Since then, Convoy of Hope has assisted after hurricanes, typhoons, ice storms, earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires and floods in the U.S. and around the world.
To help Columbus, they coordinated with The Assembly, formerly First Assembly of God Church, staging from the church’s parking lot next to Lowe’s on Military Road
“Saturday night when the tornado hit about 5:30 p.m., probably within two and a half hours, Convoy had contacted me,” said Assembly Pastor Jody Gurley. He had volunteered with Convoy of Hope after Hurricane Katrina, when he lived in Mobile, Alabama.
The Convoy ministry can mount a variety of responses to meet different needs, but their focus in Columbus was debris removal. Peek was one of about 16 homeowners whose property was cleared by the team.
“This time they came particularly to do chainsaw work, but their tractor-trailer was full of cleaning supplies, too, and they’ve given all that to be distributed,” Gurley explained. Provisions include wide scoop shovels, push brooms, plastic totes, garbage bags and flood clean-up kits.
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Volunteers from many churches and businesses responded to calls to pitch in with Convoy’s mission this past week.
“Convoy of Hope has been on the front line for years, especially after Katrina,” said Anthony Prestage, pausing briefly while working at Peek’s property Wednesday. He pastors Maranatha Assembly of God Church in Greenville and serves as state coordinator for Mississippi Assemblies of God Disaster Response, which is also staging from The Assembly.
Other Convoy volunteers live in Columbus. Many belong to The Assembly, but other churches including Fairview Baptist and Vibrant have been hard at work. Others represented businesses, such as Pryor Morrow Architects and Engineers.
Jane Brooks attends First Baptist Church. Peek’s property was her 12th home site in three days to help clear. She was tired and scratched, but never thought of quitting. She had a particular empathy for those affected. Just five months ago, she and her husband lost a rental home in Panama City, Florida, to Hurricane Michael.
“Our house there was totaled, but I was able to go back and forth to Panama City and minister to people there,” Brooks said. “It devastated me each time I would go because it is bad. I thought, how can people survive this? And then, it happens right here.”
Brooks and her husband are chaplains with the International Fellowship of Chaplains.
“God prepared me for this, I believe,” she said. “I first heard about Convoy of Hope on Facebook. When I saw that, I said, hey, where can I sign up?”
“We’ve been pushing it hard on Facebook,” said Assembly Youth Pastor Andy Setiawan, who helps coordinate the church’s disaster response, which is ongoing. In addition to debris clean-up with Convoy of Hope, members are also utilizing the church’s kitchen as a base to help feed others, he said.
A “block party” in The Assembly parking lot Wednesday night served hot dogs and tacos to as many people as could come. Clothing and cleaning supplies were given out. It was a cathartic experience for some.
Gurley said, “Oh my goodness, there were so many people in our parking lot — black, white, Asian, Hispanic. Everybody was just telling their story, hugging. … I have seen a unity, just people helping people. What I’ve been able to see these past few days has been awesome to watch.”
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On Wednesday afternoon, seven tired but contented volunteers from Cornerstone Church in Southaven made their way back home after helping clear several homeowners’ properties. Connections Pastor Mike Hale led the group that answered the Convoy of Hope call for hands-on help. During the drive, they talked about what they’d seen in Columbus. They talked about Mary Peek.
“She made the day of the entire team,” Hale told The Dispatch. “She really made an impact on us.”
Peek expressed her gratitude to each and every volunteer, whatever their hometown.
“I don’t care where you are from,” she told them all Wednesday morning in the middle of Eighth Avenue South. “God sent you here.”
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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