It was never about the stuff Paris Perry could find, the sentimental – sometimes valuable – mementoes buried under crumbled houses.
The former family and children's pastor at the Olds First Baptist Church spent a week in Fort McMurray volunteering with Samaritan's Purse, combing through the rubble and ashes in pursuit of salvageable personal items for people whose homes had burned down.
Many of the recovered belongings were deeply personal so Perry doesn't go far into specific details. However, he lists things like jewelry, plaques, china, clay pots and a firearm among found items.
Perry said the search was about helping residents gain closure from losing their homes. On their minds was whether those possessions were still there. Sometimes they were. But if not, accepting that was the first step they could take toward rebuilding their lives.
"You can see the people from beginning to end, process memories. Depends how long they've lived there; it's all part of the journey of going through a loss. It's a stage in the process of loss – a loss of their home. For some, they left with the shirt on their back," he said.
Perry's work took place in June, as residents were allowed to return. Because he was digging through hazardous materials, Perry was equipped with a respirator, hazmat suit and received training on how to enter and exit the site safely.
In those cases where items were found, they were cleaned and returned to homeowners. As a Christian organization, Samaritan's Purse also distributed free Bibles and prayed with the residents.
For Perry, currently living in Calgary and searching for a new ministry to serve with, volunteering with the organization was about being "the hands and feet of Jesus;" taking action in response to a calling from God, comforting those who needed to grieve.
"Being able to help people in their journey of going through a crisis would have been the greatest thing," he said.
"It wasn't finding that something special for them, although those times were good. It was more about helping people deal with the devastation."
"You can see the people from beginning to end, process memories, depends how long they've lived there, it's all part of the journey of going through a loss. It's a stage in the process of loss – a loss of their home. For some, they left with the shirt on their back." PARIS PERRY, former pastor at Olds First Baptist Church
