Surrender – Samaritan’s Purse Deployment, Part 7

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to HIm be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3: 20-21) 

On October 12, 2022, Sara Victoria Christiansen and David Robert Olson had a divine appointment to meet on a Hurricane Ian disaster relief bus while serving Christ through Samaritan’s Purse (SP). What began as an act of total surrender has blossomed into a love story to span the ages.   

As described in my earlier SP blogs, I began serving in Fort Myers, FL, on Sunday, October 9. When members of the Beyond The Storm (BTS) team sat down for dinner at my table, the wheels of God’s destiny began turning. After joining this group for their post-meal Bible study, I felt an immediate sense of belonging. While I couldn’t join their group immediately, on Wednesday, I felt compelled to do so. After receiving permission to change teams from the central on-site coordinator, I had to secure the same from both my current team leader and BTS. Granted this approval, I moved to their SP box truck – number 7 – for our preliminary pre-work assignments and circle-up prayer time of blessings on our day.   

The BTS team is self-sufficient. They arrive at SP disaster relief events as a pre-formed unit out of Seminole, FL. No additional help is needed. My acceptance into this group was purposeful and significant. I was thrilled and excited to become part of their ministry.   

During circle-up time, the BTS team leader, Ken, advised the group that they had two new members that day – me and David. David had just arrived in Fort Myers, having driven down from Virginia Beach, VA, to start his SP journey that day. We all cheered when Ken announced that David had 38 years of general contracting experience. He’s exactly what we need today, I thought. What a blessing to have him on our team!  

As always that morning, I packed extra food in my lunch bag to share however and whenever God allowed. On my first day, I shared my meal with two homeless men sitting on the street outside our base camp. On day two, homeowner Mary granted me the blessing of dividing my lunch with her. On day three, God had dramatically different plans.   

After storing my lunch bag in the BTS refrigerator, I advised David to do the same.   

“I don’t have lunch,” David replied.  

“Didn’t you make one before breakfast this morning?” I inquired.   

“I just got here,” David said.   

“That’s okay,” I replied. “I always pack extra, so we’ll share.” Smiling, I moved forward on the bus to sit with the ladies and celebrate the blessing of joining this group.   

Later that morning, I found David to split my sandwich and a few snacks with him. We ate separately and returned to work. Not much was said between the two of us that day.   

On Thursday, day five of my SP deployment – day two with my BTS team – our group was dispatched to the home of Herm and Nancy, whose story I detailed in my previous post, Turning trials into triumphs.   

God allowed me to share more than my lunch with Herm and Nancy that day. I gave them a piece of my heart as we traversed their road to recovery together. I was so pleased to learn that we would return to complete their home’s gut-out on Friday.   

My original plans were to depart Fort Myers on Thursday afternoon, but I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving this God-given work just yet. In consideration of the same, I secured special permission to remain until Friday from both on-site and SP headquarters. I was ecstatic about this extra time to serve.   

During our post-dinner Bible study – a time that I might not have had if I’d left earlier that day – David shared his testimony with our team. As tears filled his eyes, David explained how God’s love had filled him with warmth during a low point in his life. I was immediately struck by the degree of his adoration of our Savior.  

As David explained, he had many God-given talents – including general contracting, acting, and writing. Above and beyond his testimony, I was amazed to hear that David was a writer like me. In fact, David told our group that he was developing a film script he hoped to one day share with the world. His movie would be family-friendly, depicting the journey of a troubled youth struggling to find his place in the world.   

Ray, one of my fellow BTS team members, approached me later that evening with David by his side. Handing me a business card, Ray explained, “This card has a link to David’s film site. If you get a chance, you should check it out.”  

“I will,” I promised, countering by sharing my blog-site address with Ray and David. I knew I would explore David’s site when I returned home. I was excited to learn if his passion for writing matched my own.   

As our group returned to base camp following our work at Herm and Nancy’s, I continued to ponder David’s promise to not only tear down their kitchen wall but also return to restore their home to its pre-flood state. What kind of man would make such a massive commitment as spontaneously as that? I wondered. Is he for real?    

After returning to the church where we were based and sharing goodbyes with our BTS team, David stood up to tell our group that he had something to share. Before joining our group that morning, David asked the supply team if he could have one of the official SP Bibles we distributed to homeowners at each job’s completion. While his request was unusual, David was given a Bible without issue. Our team leader, Ken, commented that even he hadn’t been given one, which made David’s gift all the more special.   

Standing on our bus and hugging his new Bible, David explained that God took him directly to Psalm 31 that morning as we traveled to Herm and Nancy’s house.   

“Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.” (V 2-3)  

The joy of these words was evident on David’s face as he explained how much this time spent in service meant to him. He asked us to each sign his Bible before departing, as we had with the Bibles given to the homeowners we’d assisted that week. I reached for the Bible quickly, wanting to be the first to sign it for him.   

David was not around for me to say goodbye to initially, but we ran into each other later as I was preparing to begin my return journey home. After hugging, David said “Love you” in departure as we all had to our SP teammates. I returned the same response to him.   

“I’m coming right past Brunswick on my way home, later this weekend,” David explained. “Maybe I could stop by to say ‘Hello’ when I’m close by.”   

“Absolutely,” I said. “That would be great!”   

We exchanged numbers, and I pondered the continuation of our friendship as I drove home that afternoon.   

A few days later, David texted me to let me know he was nearing Brunswick and to ask for my address. “I hope you’re not allergic to cats,” I responded. “I have three, but I’m not a crazy cat lady. I promise!”   

“I love cats,” David replied. “As a matter of fact, my cat is right here with me now.”   

With that admission, David shared a picture of his kitty, Bo – short for Mr. Bojangles – sitting on his lap while David was driving.   

He loves cats? I mused, looking heavenward. And his cat is with him? You’re sending me a cat person who also loves you? Is this man for real?  

What ensued thereafter is too grand, too incredible, and too God-given to detail in one blog post. Our story includes massive wall-breaking, bonding, and communication moments that started as a friendship and ended in David and I becoming mutual soulmates.  

For now, suffice it to say that on December 9, I returned to help David restore Herm and Nancy’s home in FL. December 10 was a beautiful day filled with Christian music, laughter, and love as David and I worked with Rojas, his subcontractor, and Aaron, David’s nephew.   

On December 11, I woke up crying in remembrance of the beauty of our previous day. After hearing me tell him how I never wished such a perfect journey would never end, David shared that he was waiting for me to return to where it all began before asking me a question.   

“You don’t have to answer me now,” David began. “But I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ve known that for a long time now, but I wanted to get you back here before asking you. Sara Victoria Christiansen, will you marry me?”   

As tears spilled down my face, I answered without hesitation. “Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand, million, billion, cazillion times yes!” I replied as we hugged.   

And so, what began as a simple act of surrender to God became my heavenly Father’s return to me of the deepest desire of my heart. I had found a man who could love me as God does. It’s all I’ve ever wanted in life. I always knew God loved me, and that thought has sustained me through incredible trials throughout my lifetime.   

Until now, I wondered if I would ever find God’s love with skin on it. Could someone love me as my heavenly Father does here on earth? My experiences suggested that such a thing could never exist outside of fairy tales and movie plotlines. No one could love me like God does – until David stepped into my world.   

How the angels must have rejoiced on the day David and I met on that bus in Fort Myers. “It’s happening now!” they must have said. “What God planned long ago is taking place today! Finally, their surrender has brought them together!”   

The chances of David and I meeting on that bus – two souls from different states who shouldn’t have been on that team that day were brought together for God’s great purpose. I had jumped through hoops to be permitted to move to the BTS team that didn’t need my help. David was new and could have easily been assigned to another group – even the one I’d just left that was now short one team member. I had also originally planned to depart the next day.   

But God had bigger plans.   

A one-in-a-million-chance encounter on a hurricane relief bus in FL brought two hearts together with a shared lunch, heavy construction work, and a passion for God’s ministry. Neither of us was looking for the other. There was no pretension, and no attempts were made to impress one another. Instead, each of us was focused on performing the hot, messy, physically demanding work God gave us each day.  

But there was always love. It was our mutual love of God, love of service, and love of others that brought us together. God gave us the desires of our hearts through separate acts of surrender to our Savior. Together, we are stronger in service. Together, we are complete in Christ.   

I can’t wait to share more of our God-given love story here, as it is beautiful beyond description.  

For now, I will end with the message that permeates this story. If you fully surrender to God, He can give you the desires of your heart. It may take a lifetime, and the journey may seem endlessly challenging at times.   

But God is always there. He longs to bless you as He has me. My Creator has always been present in my life – holding, healing, guiding, and correcting me. Without God, there would be no David, and I can never thank my Heavenly Father enough for this – His greatest gift to me beyond my salvation.   

For now and forever, as Jesus, Himself told us, “And the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)