1st Response, God’s Response
by Rob Swanson

“I want this article to be about the miracles, not about me,” Doug Gondera told me.
Sorry, Doug, that’s not going to happen. What makes this such an extraordinary story is the fact that Doug is, in his own words, just an ordinary guy…with an amazing ministry. Doug is the leader of the 1st Response Disaster Team; a group of volunteers who take a modern-day chuck wagon to victims of catastrophe.

These Good Samaritans take off in Doug’s 35-foot trailer as soon as the winds die down. Often, they’re the first organization on the scene, handing shell-shocked survivors and emergency personnel hot coffee followed quickly by a hot meal. “We don’t do any cold food. I know I’d want a hot meal, so we dole out beef stew, spaghetti, anything but sandwiches,” Doug says. The trailer is stuffed with kitchen appliances, food, water and sleeping quarters.

“It started in October of 2004 with another church,” he told me. “I’d gotten the opportunity to feed people after Hurricane Charley. It was the first time in my life that I experienced so many miracles and felt the hand of God on my shoulder.” The ministry was quickly politicized by that church, so Doug walked away from it. “But the Lord wouldn’t let me rest. The next hurricane came and no one did anything, and the next, and the next. God just wouldn’t let me rest, so I prayed about it and felt directed to Sabbath Grace Fellowship.” Doug was sure people would want to help, so he needed a place to call home and to run donations through. Sabbath Grace has been faithful to that, seeing the hand of God on 1st Response.
And then the miracles started coming.

It began with a need for a trailer. Doug looked everywhere for the right one and finally discovered the perfect trailer across the street from his company. The only hitch was it wasn’t for sale since it was a vital part of the owner’s business. Until, that is, the neighbor found out what it was for, and was moved to not just sell it, but at a fantastic price. Similar moves of the Spirit prompted donations of kitchen appliances, generators, and everything they needed. Doug was convicted not to take money from Federal funds or grants, but instead to rely on the movement of God in people’s lives. His faith has been rewarded again and again, and not just in material needs.

1st Response doesn’t wait on other agencies. They rely on God to take them where the need is greatest; stopping only when larger agencies show up to take over. That’s how they found themselves in Biloxi, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. All power was out, clouds were still in the air, and at three in the morning that makes it dark! Unable to see beyond their headlights, stopped at an intersection, they had no idea where to go. Then, way off in the distance, they saw an unwavering light coming straight at them; so straight the pastor said, “I hope it isn’t a train!” The light belonged to a motorcycle cop who led them to a nearby parking lot, promising to return in fifteen minutes with hungry people. They set up, ready to serve the streams of people who would pour in, and pour in they did. One man told of a school a few miles off with 200 handicapped people with no food or water. He walked off weeping when Doug threw together provisions for the school; he provided as much hope as he did food.

Daybreak came and with it the need for more provisions. They had given away everything they had come with, but gained so much more. Including a shocking discovery…the intersection at which they’d seen the headlight coming their way had no straight approaches. All the other roads were twisting with buildings blocking visual lines. There was no way the motorcycle could come straight at them, and yet the light had never broken from their sight. In addition, none of the crowd who had come that night knew anything about a cycle cop; they’d come because they “knew there’d be help.”

Another time they were passing out water from large drums that were quickly emptying. Down to the last drum, his volunteers were telling Doug to shut it down, they were out of water. Doug told them to keep pumping; God would provide. Even as he said it, a truck pulled up and asked if they needed more water. The driver had a generator and knew where a well was. He filled their water drums, refusing payment. Doug tells me that’s a common occurrence with water, food, and even gasoline – as precious as water in times of catastrophe.

Equally common is people asking to pay for the food 1st Response provides. Doug won’t have it. No money is accepted on a mercy run. In Naples, in a more affluent area, people would bring handfuls of money that were always turned down. There would be time for donations afterward, though Doug never solicits them.

So what do they need? People and partners. Doug is willing to speak with other churches interested in providing affiliate services, whether it’s serving hot drinks or providing fresh clothes, more food stations or some other emergency immediate response. His stories alone will motivate others to seek God in this manner. “I’ve seen angels, I’m sure of it.”

Contact Doug Gondera at doug@1stresponseteam.org or through his church at www.sabbathgracefellowship.org.