FORT MYERS, FL — As Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains walked down streets strewn with debris, they stopped to talk to one shocked survivor named Elaine whose home and yard were covered with fallen trees affected by the hurricane. The conversation turned to spiritual matters, and Elaine decided it was time to surrender her life to Jesus Christ.

“I’m making Oct. 7 of 2022 my … new birthday as far as accepting Jesus into my heart,” she said. “It was just beautiful. I was crying.”

Chaplains saw both her countenance and perspective change while they were with her.

“She’s going to be a powerhouse for the kingdom of God,” one chaplain shared.

Elaine:

The sound of the hurricane you just, you don’t forget. It was so powerful.
Things were hitting the house. It’s all coming down and then when the trees fell on the line there went all my power.

Dianne Reynolds – Billy Graham RRT Chaplain:

So we met a woman named Elaine and trees fell everywhere in her yard and on her house. Tons of trees. The most tree damage I’ve seen. At first she was very much in shock still. She was very welcoming for us and really needed to be loved. She realized we were there with the love of Christ and she wanted it. She really wanted it. We asked her if she knew Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and she said not really. So we taught her a little bit about Christ’s love and we asked her if she wanted to receive Him into her heart. And she received Jesus into her heart in a big way. She’s going to be a powerhouse for the kingdom of God.

Elaine:

October 7, 2022, my born again, my new birthday you know as far as accepting Jesus into my heart and it was just beautiful and I was just crying.

Dianne:

Her whole countenance changed. She’s at complete peace now. She wants to serve. She wants to love on people and she’s thrilled.

About the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) proclaims the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world by every effective means available. From its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., the BGEA directs a wide range of domestic and international ministries, including: large-scale festivals led by evangelists Franklin Graham and Will Graham; The Billy Graham Library; The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, located outside of Asheville, N.C.; SearchforJesus.net, an Internet evangelism project reaching thousands of people for Christ online; and many others through print, television, telephone, radio and the Internet.

For more information, please visit BillyGraham.org.
Get news updates on Twitter at Twitter.com/BGEAnews.

About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team

The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was developed by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has since grown into an international network of chaplains in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed to more than 300 disaster sites, including shootings, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.

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