LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) — Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief (KYDR) Director Ron Crow said it was not a surprise to him that the request for 100 generators to aid those in North Carolina was answered so quickly.

“I often thought, ‘Why are we surprised when God does something like this?’” he asked. “I do stand in awe.”

It was less than a month ago in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene that he reached out to the state director for North Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief to find out what they needed.

“I had a lady email me who had heard that North Carolina was asking for generators,” he said. “I contacted the state director and said, ‘This is what I heard. Is this a need?’ He said, ‘I could use a hundred if I could get them.’ That is how it started.”

He said the woman who started it paid for the first 10 generators and more kept coming. They have surpassed the century mark including six used generators that were given to them.

Crow said they bought 100 to get a bulk discount, and money for 88 of those was contributed to offset that cost. They also ordered 100 electric space heaters and are collecting gift cards that will be divided into $2,000 packets and given to associational mission strategists who can locate pastors who are doing ministry in these hurting areas.

“We’re loading up Friday at Fishersville and have everything ready to go and spend the day Tuesday delivering them,” he said.

For now, the only Kentucky Baptist DR volunteers deployed are in Georgia, but they have spent weeks in North Carolina and are likely to return. KYDR volunteers spent more than a month in feeding units in Georgia and Florida during the hurricane season. They are home getting recharged before taking on another assignment, he said.

Crow said the response to the generators, which cost about $550 apiece, is another example of how “God uses people to accomplish His purposes. God moved in the hearts of people. I believe it is a move of God in the hearts of men that has generated this generosity.”

He said one couple donated 20, and the Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union provided 20. Two Kentucky Baptist associations bought generators, and individuals donated money to purchase them.

“We have 106 generators total, and the request from all of the areas is 104 generators,” Crow said last week. It was announced late Friday (Nov. 1) the number of generators had grown to 113 with 120 containers of oil and $50,000 in gift cards.

The KYDR director said he was blessed to see how God uses people in these situations, opening hearts to be generous. He has seen it happen before and will see it again.

“He could speak it into existence but has chosen to work through His people,” Crow said. “Again, it comes back to us needing to stop being surprised and stand in awe. If we believe in a miracle-working God, why are we surprised when He works a miracle?’”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Mark Maynard is managing editor of Kentucky Today, the news website of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. This article originally appeared in Kentucky Today.)