When I first heard about OBR on Facebook, my heart skipped a beat. This is what God had prepared me to do. Six years ago I volunteered to go to Tuscaloosa Alabama following a massive tornado. I cooked hamburgers and delivered them door to door, no actually more like rubble to rubble to desperate folks who were confused, afraid, and very hungry. I needed them to know that they were not forgotten about, that they were loved. Since that time, I have known that from the deepest part of my heart and soul, I was meant to feed desperate people who were in situations they did not create but were simply tossed in by circumstance. My heart was changed forever.
Last year, in June 2016, I was at a crossroad in my life. I had been laid off from my job as a Culinary Teacher. I was able to jump in with OBR in Nitro, West Virginia. I felt purpose through humbly serving precious people.
In August 2016, I responded again to OBR in Hammond, Louisiana for 13 days. This was some of the hardest work and longest days of my life. Instead of being tired, I was energized by the adrenaline that comes from the knowledge of being able to serve rather than being served. What I mean by this is, how blessed I felt that I could be used to serve disaster victims and that I wasn’t the one being served, that I was so blessed to have not been flooded in my town.
Not only is it a blessing to serve, but I met my husband in Hammond, who I have served alongside since then. In October 2016, my now husband proposed to me and the very next day, he put me on a plane to go with OBR to North Carolina to cook and serve the precious flooded communities there. I feel so committed to OBR and what they provide. The friends I’ve had the opportunity to work have become family.
In May of 2017, I drove to West Plains Missouri and stayed serving the flooded communities for 9 days. I can’t explain the desire in my heart to help people, but I can say that I am fulfilled beyond measure when I am called to a disaster area to love on folks. It is a mission that both breaks my heart and fills it to overflowing. I thank God for OBR, for having the honor of being a servant, for having a husband who served with me and for the opportunity to listen to people who just need someone to share their story with.
Sandra Adcox Bunch