Members of three North Dakota congregations, Redeemer in Mandan, Our Savior in Bismarck, and Grace Lutheran, a preaching station in Minot, have been affected by widespread flooding in June. While the extent of the damage is not yet fully known, Rev. Ryan Wolfe, who is serving the congregations, said that 10 families from Redeemer have been displaced from their homes. The church buildings and parsonages have not been damaged.
WELS Christian Aid & Relief is providing $5,000 to assist families in congregations with their cleanup efforts. The assistance will go towards pumps, generators, temporary lodging and food.
Wolfe says his congregations came together to help one another, setting up lists of those who needed assistance and those who could help, and coordinating efforts to support each other and try to keep homes and families safe.
Amid the seemingly unstoppable waters, God showed his power to protect. “One of the families was right on the edge of the mandatory evacuation zone [in Minot], so they moved all their stuff out of their basement, all of their stuff out of the first floor. They moved it all as high as they could go and they left and had no idea what they would find when they got back,” Wolfe says.
“When they came back, they had neighbors all around them who had water problems and water everywhere. They got into their house and they didn’t have a drop of water. Praise God for blessings like that.”
Wolfe began serving the congregation in Mandan in April; he is also serving as vacancy pastor to Bismarck and Minot, which share a pastor, until a new pastor is installed in July.
