Annie Gudzunas – member of Calvary Baptist Church of Yorba Linda, California
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 listen to them about their personal experiences.”
Jon Konnerup had to walk a mile and a half back to his hotel after they closed the roads off that led up to it. A small inconvenience compared to many. He witnessed our community and our church in a time of crisis and went on to say, “We (the missionaries) are used to being the ones ‘putting out fires’ around the world. This time the emergency was here in Yorba Linda and we were blessed and impressed to see Calvary Baptist pull their forces together, reach out, and help the community.”
Calvary Baptist Church of Yorba Linda did not miss a beat. During the first hours of the fire, our staff members immediately phoned all our members. They made sure all evacuees had shelter, food, medicine, childcare, whatever they needed. For those without a place to go, many of our church members opened their homes to displaced families. The church opened its doors as well. We had some families sleeping over in the youth room. We prayed with many of them. Our parking lot looked like a temporary RV park.
Pastor Brian and Youth Pastor Colston Copeland drove up through neighborhoods, helping the young, the old, and even the pregnant evacuate, and managed to pry open some garage doors for some thankful residents. Power was out and many people could not get their cars out of the garage.
Sadly, one of our longtime members, Becky Bates, did lose her home. She describes the moment she found she had lost her home. “I had to walk up that hill [to my house]. It nearly killed me. I’m not a young woman. My heart was beating 1,000 beats a minute. When I finally reached my street, several of the homes were burned down. Before I saw it, I knew my house was gone. There were so many people there. When they realized I was the homeowner they all flipped out their cameras. It was all too much to absorb.”
When asked about her plans, she replied, “I’m not sure about my future, but I do know that this is all part of God’s plan. I’ve been thinking a lot about Romans 8:28 the last couple of days. I will call upon the Lord no matter how great or small the problem. Through all of this I’ve found out who my true friends are. Many of my friends at Calvary have called, prayed for me, and offered me assistance during this difficult time. This is a blessing in disguise. I received a phone call from my daughter I haven’t heard from in two years. I pray that God will give me the grace to handle everything that comes my way.”
Pastor Moore summed it up in a statement; “Yorba Linda, for the most part, is a very white-collar, upper-class city. It isn’t often that people in our city experience heartbreaking struggles. For one weekend our congregation experienced a crisis. I’m convinced that people come to know Christ during times of trouble, tension, or transition. This experience gave our church an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Many Christ followers sacrificially gave of their money, bought food, met and prayed with their neighbors, provided comfort to those that have lost their homes, and have showed one another the love of Christ. That was the theme for our mission conference. Our church was reminded that many around the world are in a constant state of crisis. We must take the gospel across the street and around the world. This was a missions week that our church will never forget!”