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Calvin Christian Reaches Out to
Neighbors
Christian School Offers Gym, Services to
Help Fire Victims
In the early hours of Monday,
October 22nd, Superintendent Terry Kok learned that the local
public high school was already at capacity. He called the Red
Cross and by 7:30 AM, they accepted his offer to have Calvin
Christian School begin operation as an evacuation center for
those displaced by the horrendous fires devastating northern San
Diego County. Members of the Emmanuel Faith Church, already
working on the relief effort, arrived to help set-up the ad hoc
facility.
“The fire crisis happened so quickly
no one could believe it. I didn’t know how we would do it, but I
knew we had to open our facility to those in need. We put our
faith in God and I made the call that we would take hundreds of
evacuees and trust that the Lord would provide,” commented
Calvin Christian School Superintendent Terry Kok.
No one was prepared for the
challenges ahead. The little school for a few hundred Christian
families immediately began praying and asking for volunteers to
help man the new facility as well as get the supplies needed.
By 6 PM Monday 350 people were in
the school’s gym. And they needed first aid, phones, internet,
showers, food and water.
It’s impossible to create a timeline
of how the next hours unfolded because everything happened at
once.
“My dad is the high school
principal. He put me in the office and told me to make calls and
field calls. I was amazed by the torrent of calls offering help.
We told people to show-up, we gave them a job and they went to
work,” commented Katie Steidl.
The word went out via prayer emails
and phone calls: come to school and help. Teachers,
administrators, parents, and students… everyone seemed to
respond to the call.
Calls went out to get the resources
needed to serve these victims. And Calvin Christian and our
community responded.
Teacher volunteers organized games
for children. Computer labs were opened to anyone needing the
use the Internet. Junior high students emptied trashcans,
secretaries served food, and high school students organized
children’s games. A planned dress rehearsal of the school’s fall
play was even performed for evacuees. Supplies came in by the
truckload to help those in need. All donated by businesses and
individuals:
-
Pallets of water from Palomar
Water
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Gallons of milk and juice from
Hollandia Dairy
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Cases of groceries from Stater
Bros., Albertsons, Major Market, Ralph’s, and Vons
supermarkets, CVS, Costco, Longs Drug, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club,
were donated.
-
The hospitality industry--
knowing the needs of these poor displaced people-- donated
soap, towels, toothbrushes and shampoo. Comfort Inn, Motel 6
and the Roadway Inn brought boxes and boxes of supplies.
-
One school parent donated $1,000
for lunch for the victims.
-
A school grandfather, seeing
that there weren’t enough, went out and bought toothbrushes
and toothpaste for 45 victims.
And still the need wasn’t met. The
school was now overflowing with over 400 souls and we needed
meals for 400 people. Panera Bread, Subway, Chik-fil-A,
Starbucks all stepped-up. Sam’s Club donated 24 bags of teriyaki
chicken and 3-25 lb. bags of rice. Volunteer parents, staff and
teachers cooked around the clock. The work went on 24/7.
Volunteers worked in shifts day and night.
After four days of non-stop service,
Calvin Christian’s Evacuation Center closed Thursday, October
25th. The last evacuee was a 90-year-old lady from Valley
Center.
“It was an amazing experience. We
study about putting our faith into action, but here was the
opportunity staring us in the face. I knew that I would be
serving Jesus by serving these people in need,” explained High
School Senior Amanda Vos.
This article was written by Steve
Whitener.
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