If you have ever wondered what it’s like to be a Chaplain with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, facing disasters and heartbreak, you can now read all about it in Ginger Rogers’ new book, He Goes Before Us.
Ginger Sanders, and her husband, Denny, trained and served as chaplains with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following their retirement from successful careers; hers in finance and his in law enforcement. As Chaplain Coordinators, they are on call in case of disasters, natural and manmade, to give emotional and spiritual care.
I caught up with Ginger at the recent NRB 2016 convention in Nashville, where she told me that in her new book, she shares her experiences and those of other Chaplains. It is a collection of thirty-one stories from the front lines of both natural and man-made disasters.
Author Ginger Sanders; Photo Courtesy of ASSIST News.
Trained and often sent out on a moment’s notice when catastrophe strikes, the Chaplains give physical, emotional, and spiritual care to those who need it most. From the floods of Iowa to the scene of the horrific theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, Ginger and her fellow chaplains continually see God at work. Lives are changed and souls are saved through His amazing hand.
Each story in this collection is unique. Chaplains pray with a group of teenagers after the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, save a man on the verge of suicide, and help a Japanese woman turn to Christ. In every situation, the Chaplains see the dramatic presence of God even before they arrive, proving that only God can orchestrate these situations.
Filled with love and hope, He Goes Before Us is an uplifting and moving testament to the power of the Gospel.
Ginger Sanders’ two latest published books; Photo Courtesy of ASSIST News.
If Sanders’ experiences have taught her anything, it is that bad things happen to good people. “Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, and man-made disasters…it is not a pleasant thing to contemplate, but it is nonetheless a universal truth, an incomprehensible paradox,” she acknowledges. “The human condition is frail, but God is bursting with life! Through all this pain and grief, God allows us to be His hands and feet, offering those who are suffering the love of Jesus through the power and strength of God.”
In every situation, Sanders says she and her fellow Chaplains have witnessed the dramatic presence of God, proving that only God can orchestrate these situations.
In fact, an international team from the Billy Graham Response Team are, at this moment, on the ground in Brussels, bringing comfort and love to the survivors of the recent deadly two-pronged terrorist attack in the Belgium capital.
Members of the Billy Graham Rapid Response team ministering to a man injured in the deadly earthquake in Haiti; Photo Courtesy of ASSIST News.
Ginger also talked about another of her books, Round Eyes, An Adopted Child’s View of Love, which is based on the true story of Jamie, an adopted son from South Korea, first realizing he is slightly different from his parents.
As if that wasn’t enough, her newest book Fireflies will be released this spring. It is a colorfully, illustrated book about sharing the light of God to a child in the time of grief. It is a story of hope to helping a child understand the loss of a loved one. In the back of the book she also shares How to Lead a Child to Christ.
To learn more about Ginger Sanders visit www.gingersanders.com
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