A married couple who serves as pastors is being hailed as heroes for rescuing 154 people during severe snowstorms in Buffalo, New York, during the Christmas season.
As reported by CBN News, pastors Al and Vivian Robinson of Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry in Buffalo opened their church doors to those who had been affected by the storms.
Al Robinson noted that his church was the only place at the time that continued to have power.
“I’ll never forget asking my wife, ‘Why do you suppose God gave us power and didn’t give other people power? I mean, why did he choose us?’” he told NewsNation in a recent interview. “And then five hours later, I discovered exactly why our church still had power.”
While the Robinsons originally planned to spend Christmas at home with their nine visiting children, the couple ended up serving many people at their church.
“We just jumped into action and was able to deliver up to 154 people to the church, to not freeze to death,” Al Robinson told CNN. “I wish that I could say that for everyone.”
In a post on Facebook, Vivian Robinson noted how she and her husband had helped people in the past amid harsh weather conditions.
“We [have] been helping and opening our doors since the October storm in 2006. Traveling and picking up people and bringing them to our home on Porter Avenue that year. We rented the YMCA to feed others on William Street,” she wrote on Thursday. “It doesn’t matter what season or [what] the circumstance is, we are going to do what we have to do! Who cares about what you say you can do? It’s about what you will Do! Team Robinson action speaks a lot louder than words.”
According to Today, the Robinsons served about two weeks of food initially purchased to feed their family.
The couple also provided beds and mattresses for people to use while they stayed at the church.
Al Robinson attributed the ability to help those in need to his faith in God.
“People need to realize that if God has given them the ability to help someone else, it is incumbent upon them to help someone else,” Robinson told Today. “We weren’t expecting any of this chaos at all. God just knew what was going to happen before it even happened. And he already supplied the need before the need was needed.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/John Normile/Stringer
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.