In June of 2013, the Black Forest Fire burned 14,280 acres north of Colorado Springs, Colorado. It killed two people and destroyed 509 homes. But because of the work of Oleta Goodrich’s team of men, it didn’t burn her home or the homes of six of her neighbors. Here’s her story as told by her daughter:
In August of 1998, my father died. At age 72, mother was left with a home and 5 ? acres of woods to care for. The men at Faith Evangelical Free Church (Colorado Springs), taking the admonitions of the Word literally, began to take care of the home my dad had built with his own hands and the property?he had so faithfully maintained. Every month for over twenty years, the men of our men?s ministry have come out to Black Forest to do repairs on the home and to remediate the land.
In 2013, our area of the forest was involved in a wildfire. The men had come out just the Saturday before the fire began on Tuesday. They raked pine needles out 30-40 feet from the house and trimmed tree branches up over six feet from the ground. Two homes on our road burned, but because of the work of the men from Faith, our home was saved. Because a clear path had been maintained to access the back of the home, the firetrucks had been able to keep the fire away there. Because the needles had been removed, the fire had less fuel close to the house. Because all the branches were six feet above a burnable surface, the roof did not catch fire.
One of our men happened to be working volunteer dispatch for the fire department. When he saw on the computer that our road was on fire, he immediately dispatched the needed resources to save our home and the homes of six other families around us. God is good. We thank Him daily for the faithful and loving service that the men of Faith have performed year after year, never asking for thanks or recognition.
Our pastor’s young son had been out with the men that Tuesday before the fire. He hadn’t been too enthusiastic about raking in the hot sun. However, after the fire he commented to his dad that, “Wow! What we did was really important, wasn’t it? We helped save their house!? Yes, Nate, you did. That’s what our men’s ministry is all about.
Janet Hafer for Oleta Goodrich
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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