• Sarah Schmitt

Amazing Race in Amazing Grace

Lakeland, FL (October 19, 2024)- Paul and Elizabeth Gilbert of St Thomas, Ontario, Canada were set to embark on a beautiful getaway to Gatlinburg, Tennessee when the call came. “Would you be willing to deploy?” This was not any deployment but one that would see record-breaking intensity with Hurricane Milton and its impact to the Gulf Shores of Florida. This too would set a record for this amazing couple.

Paul and Elizabeth are not new to serving others, having deployed five times between the two of them, for Canadian disasters which are, typically fires. Hurricane Milton is their first time deploying to the United States. They started their amazing race in Newfoundland, Canada where they traveled by car to Nova Scotia, a seven-hour ferry ride to the USA, and 30 hours of drive time to Atlanta, Georgia. Arriving in Atlanta, they boarded a plane to Tampa International Airport where they received a rental car and continued to Sarasota, Florida, where they were ultimately assigned to the Lakeland, Florida, Incident Command. Paul and Elizabeth’s amazing race to Lakeland, Florida encompassed ferry’s, cars, and planes crossing 2,078 miles one way, and 37+ hours in travel alone.

Why would anyone travel to such lengths as volunteers, giving their time to help people on the opposite end of the continent? The answer is because they are an amazing couple, lead by hearts of servitude, and desire to help others together. They have been serving as Emergency Disaster Services volunteers for two years since Elizabeth saw her first EDS truck. She remembers thinking “What is that truck, and how do I get on it?”

Elizabeth, a retired community health nurse, and Paul, retired from finance, have been saved and wrapped in grace. Their life experience led them to adapt to ever-changing circumstances whether in the fields serving on deployments or in life to help those in need. They have prepped for field services with leadership and trainings with emphasis on canteen operations, compassion in emotional and spiritual care, serving meals, and “being ready to go, on any day ending in “y.”

Candor and joy of the spirit is the place from which leadership develops gives birth to renewed energies to keep giving, their time, their abilities, and provisions to serve others for the greater good. Those who witness the extraordinary efforts produced by the many volunteers of The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services are impacted with the “Above and Beyond” agility that is brought to disaster relief and community programs.

The calling to serve can be hard, even long and extensive, in the race to get to the finish line. Each person has a calling of their own, but there is assurance that the spaces volunteers fill produce blessings to their teams and the communities they serve. This giving spirit becomes the doctrine which volunteers like this amazing couple adhere to, allowing them to respond in times of need under the banner “Hope Is on the Way.”