Flood recovery has been one of the main issues that numerous residents have been dealing with ever since they were let back into their homes. Significant damage was caused all throughout the city, especially to the homes nearest to the Coldwater River. 

The waters spilled from the banks were strong enough to carry copious amounts of debris and have even displaced full sized mobile homes. 
Upon coming back, a number of residents have lamented the fact that their yard was completely ruined, covered in mud, dirt, and debris. 

In dealing with this issue, some have hired contractors while some have opted to work on the yards themselves, asking for assistance from friends and family. 

Fortunately, organizations, such as Christian Aid Ministries have decided to lend a helping hand by sending over a crew willing to work on residents’ flood-affected yards for free. 

“We are willing to help people clean up,” said John Dyck, Field Coordinator for Christian Aid. “The bible teaches us that when we see people in need, we need to help.” 

Since March 21, a group of volunteers from the Christian Aid Ministries have been going through houses, providing free clean up service.

“It’s been a blessing being here,” said Joe Leis, Chaplain for Christian Aid Ministries. “To be able to, in some small way for the glory of God, help these people in trying times.” 

Christian Aid Ministries is an international nonprofit organization promoting Christian faith through providing humanitarian aid. 
Funding for operations such as this one being done in the city, comes from donations and contributions of different members of the Christian Aid community.

“We have a good base of Christian churches that are behind us and they are just happy to contribute with what God had blessed them with,” said Leis.

“Actually, Christian Aid doesn’t solicit funds whatsoever,” Leis added. “ No advertising, no fundraising, nothing of any sort.” 

The organization has a rapid response team that scans for any places throughout the world which may need some form of assistance. 

“The rest of us have our work to do at home and we might miss, for instance, this bad flood in Merritt,” explained Leis. “But these men are designated to watch for any tornadoes, floods, or storms and they will get that information to head office so we can mobilize.”

After the November floods, the head office at Moorefield, Ontario received word from the rapid response team about the calamities that had taken place both in Merritt and Princeton. 

A team was sent in December to aid flood affected residents. Christian Aid Ministries and Samaritan’s Purse both had teams operating out of Crossroads Community Church.

In March, Crossroads once again hosted Christian Aid Ministries for their second mission in Merritt.

“The work has been going very well,” Dyck said. “We have equipment rented to clean the yards and the volunteers are enjoying it.” 

Christian Aid has a team of volunteers operating daily from 7 am to 5:30 pm. The team consists of people from Alberta, Ontario, and BC. 

“They are coming from all over and they’re giving up their time and talents here,” Dyck explained. “A lot of these men went to their employers and asked if they could have time off to come and help in Merritt.”

As it stands, the organization has already helped clean up 45 homes throughout the city. Dyck said that he got in touch with the Merritt Support Centre to get in touch with residents in most need of their assistance. From there, word of mouth spread and other homeowners started to reach out for Christian Aid’s service. 

“The homeowners are so appreciative, with the help they’ve received,” Leis said. “We point it out to them that it’s because of the love of Jesus.”

Ashley Fulcher owns a home in Coldwater Avenue. Unfortunately, her property had been hit hard by the floods. 

“The mud I had was pretty overwhelming,” Fulcher described. “In some areas, I had mud as high as three feet.”

Looking to restore her yard, Fulcher came across Christian Aid through one of her colleagues who is a member of Crossroads Community Church.

“I put my name on the list, and these lovely men and women just showed up and swirled around my yard,” Fulcher described. “One minute I had mud all over the place and then the next minute it was gone.” 

Fulcher feels very grateful to Christian Aid and has since passed the information along about the free service they are providing. 
“You are so overwhelmed just trying to get your life back,” said Fulcher “They’re meeting you when you’re in the depths of life ”

Christian Aid looks to not only provide a solution to these homeowners but they are also looking to build a rapport with them.

“Following the cleanup project, we present them with a bible and we pray with them,” explained Leis. “There are cases too, that we know someone is hurting more than others, we’ll keep records of those phone numbers and, even when we’re done, we might give them a call or a text and ask them how they are doing.”

The yard clean up service will continue until the end of April. For residents who are interested to get work done in their property, please contact Merritt Support Centre through email at [email protected] or call them at 1-877-655-0341.