thanks to you - Baptist Bible Tribune

From Crisis Control...
...to Christ Control
By Annie Gudzunas, member of Calvary Baptist Church of Yorba Linda, California
How missionaries visiting a local, sunny California church got weather warmer than expected.
Calvary Baptist Church (CBC) of
Yorba Linda has supported missionaries
around the globe for over
30 years, and on Saturday, November
15, Pastor Brian Moore was planning
his first missions conference. The special
missionary guests included Bruce
O’Neal (president of MANNA Worldwide),
Bill and Marie Burr (San Luis,
Mexico), BBFI Mission Director Jon
Konnerup, and Lance Gotcher (Manila,
Philippines). They had all arrived in
Yorba Linda, California, for this special
event and were planning to share their
experiences and testimonies with the
congregation. They were staying at
hotels and with friends, preparing for
the next day’s events, but nearby, an
innocent spark ignited somewhere
alongside the freeway.
This spark grew and a small fire
quickly became a wildfire, then two
wildfires. Later reports said the flames
destroyed 180 homes, severely damaged
a high school, killed countless
pets, ruined heirlooms, personal relics,
family photos, and displaced thousands
of families. The evacuations were sudden
and frantic. Fathers, husbands,
wives, mothers, grandparents, and
children all were suddenly homeless
and uncertain about the future. About
75 percent of our own congregation at
Calvary had to be evacuated. However,
we are grateful no one was killed.
Lance Gotcher describes his
experiences: “I smelled the smoke
when I walked out of my hotel room
and I could see ash coming down and
heard sirens all around. From my hotel
window, I could still see the lines of fire
burning through the hills surrounding
Yorba Linda. Once the sun went down,
the fires lit up the night sky with that
eerie, orange glow. The whole thing just
made me thankful to be alive and safe;
it also made me think about family.
Each day is a gift and I'm thankful for
God's protection in my life. This was
definitely an experience I will never
forget. You never know what a day will
hold; all of your dreams — your house,
your life — could literally go up in
smoke in a matter of hours.”
Lance, his wife, Melanie, and
their children have been living in the
Philippines for eight years and have
seen homes destroyed from flooding
and Typhoons. “In the Philippines, we
don't have the kind of response by aid
organizations, police, and government
that you do in the States. People of
course are in a state of shock at first
when natural disasters strike. Sometimes
(what they want most) is just a
shoulder to cry on or someone to show
that they care,” he says.
Bill and Marie Burr are long-time
members of Calvary Baptist and have
been commuting on missions to Mexico
for the past eight years. “We constantly
deal with natural disasters, mainly
due to frequent sandstorms in Mexico.
When the wind blows hard, the sand
gets into everything, making it impossible
for the people to even cook their
food. The sand pollutes the water, making
it even more dangerous to drink. It
is not for us to know why (these things
happen) only to reach out and pray.”
Bruce O’Neal was also staying
at a local hotel in which the flames
came right up to the parking lot. He
describes his dealings with victims of
natural disasters such as typhoons and
earthquakes: “Besides the immediate
needs of food and shelter, people need
to be mentally comforted. They want
someone to speak with, someone who
will sit down, pray with them, and
10 Baptist Bible Tribune [ January 2009 ]