At 7:53 pm on April 17, 2013, disaster struck the small town of West, Texas — 20 miles north of Waco and 80 miles south of Dallas.
A massive explosion struck the West Fertilizer Co. off I-35, devastating and setting fire to a 4-block radius. There were at least 15 fatalities, including 5 firefighters, and approximately 200 people injured.
The explosion was so huge, it registered as a 2.1 earthquake and could be heard 45 miles away in Waxahachie.
Among the people coming to the aid of West, a small town of about 2,800, is Mercy Chefs, a non-profit, all-volunteer, faith-based charitable organization committed to providing high-quality, professionally prepared meals to victims, first responders, and volunteers during natural disasters and national emergencies.
On April 21, 2013, Mercy Chefs in West, Texas, experienced a miracle of “loaves and fishes.” As recounted by volunteer Gary LeBlanc:
Last evening as I arrived for a meeting at the Command Center, I was greeted by a man who told me an amazing story from earlier in the day.
They had put out the last of the food they had on hand and saw it go quickly. They realized they needed another 100-150 meals for the recovery crew working so hard at ground zero and law enforcement guarding the site. They stopped and prayed that the Lord would do some sort of “loaves and fishes” miracle. They needed food for these selfless heroes and they had none. Ten minutes after the prayer a Mercy Chefs truck pulled up. We had 150 extra meals from lunch and felt directed to the command site. There were tears on both sides as they saw a prayer answered in real time.
Please do pray for the people of West and the Mercy Chefs team that God will continue to use us in such an extraordinary and humbling way.
Here’s a video showing the work of Mercy Chefs in West, TX:
Here’s Mercy Chefs’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MercyChefs
If you would like to be a volunteer, here’s the email: [email protected]
To donate to this very worthwhile charity, click here.
H/t my friend Robert K. Wilcox
~Eowyn
