Website's a hit!

Well, it looks like the website was a great addition to the ministry. We have already received a couple e-mails generated from the last trip. I apologize for the late and out of order posts. I'm still pretty new at this. I have almost all the stops from the last trip on the blog. I have a couple days off from the day job coming up so I hope to get finished. Please keep an eye on the website as we generated a ton of ideas on the trip. There should be quite a few changes coming up. We are meeting together again as a group on the Monday after Thanksgiving to follow up on some of the plans to take this ministry to the next level. It is my goal to keep this blog updated as to the progress we are making. We will post when we receive any word from those who we have visited and of course you can follow any future trips here( I promise to update quicker). To God be the glory!

Macanaqua Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1, Shichchinny, PA William McDaniels LODD 09.15.07

Friday 11.13.09
Ocassionally as Dave plans out a trip for us he will come across an LODD that has occured awhile ago. If it is going to be on our way we make every effort to go there. This was the case with Bill McDaniels. Bill died in the Line of Duty after responding to an alarm at a local high-rise. We arrived in town in the afternoon and the fire house was empty. There was a small store next to the firehouse so Dave went inside to see if we could get some info. After returning he expalined that the owner of the store was related to Bill. We obtained the adress of his widow and set off to see her. We knocked on the door of the house and Bill's wife Debbie answered. We started to explain who we were and as soon as she heard the word firefighter she invited us into her home. Wow! that truly speaks for the immense bond of the brotherhood of first responders. Four big and ugly men show up at the door of this womens house and as soon as she finds out we are fifrefighters she opens the door and invites us in. We are extended this type of welcome almost everywhere we go. It just reiterates part of our message that we share with people. We want them to know that other firefighters and people care about what happend to them; no matter how far away they are or how long ago it happend. The bond between this group is unbelivably strong. As we presented her with the memorial plaque she became extremely emotional. It was obvious that although Bill died more than two years ago she was still hurting. This is when we have an oportunity to share with more of the awesome resources that MARKINC has. It is such a blessing that we have these tools available to minister to these hurting souls. We are thankful that we could visit Debbie in her home and hope that we were able to comfort her in her grief and offer her some hope with the resources we left.

Dushore Fire Company, Dushore, PA William Thompson LODD 06.18.09

Friday 11.13.09
After visiting Amity fire company we set out towards our destination just outside of Buffalo, NY. On the way there we would be stopping at another LODD in Dushore,PA. We were able to stop and drop off cd's at several firehouses along the way. We arrived in Dushore around 7pm. A small town that appeared to roll up in the evenings. We located the firehouse and there was no one there. This was typical for a lot of the volunteer companies that we visit. However, God always provides means for us to come in contact with someone that can help. We started to ride around the town to look for a vehicle with a fire department tag so we could stop and try to make contact. We noticed a gentleman walking down the street and stopped to ask if he knew of anyone we could contact. He gave us a name that sounded familiar. It happened to be the Chief of the department. We knew the name because it is listed on the information that we receive about the LODD. He gave us directions to his house. Before we tried to find his house Art suggested trying the local hardware store. (There is always a volunteer fireman that works at the local hardware store) As we made our way back around the block towards the hardware store we saw a truck and a man walking towards the door at the firehouse. We were able to catch him and found that he was the Chief. Amazing!, I know. These are the type of things that happen every trip! We had driven several hundred miles to a tiny town in PA, no one new we were coming, we drive around the block a couple times, stop and ask directions, and then just happen to run into the Chief. You can't keep seeing stuff like this and not believe that God is responsible. We are able to use these stories when we make other visits to share about our Lord and tell others of his mightiness. They help plant that seed that we pray will someday result in a conversion. Praise God for all the little miracles that he does each and everyday! Alright back to the visit, we got to spend a little time with the Chief as he told us how great Bill was. They were very close friends and had been for some time. In fact he was with him when he died. They had responded to a call the night before and the next day were traveling to a job site. The Chief was a General Contractor and Bill did subcontracting for him. Bill was traveling in a work van behind the Chief when he began feeling ill. They had to pull off realizing that Bill was experiencing a heart attack. Bill died on his way to work as a result of the heart attack. We thanked the Chief for sharing and prayed with him before heading out to the next stop.

Cape Vincent Volunteer Fire Department, Cape Vincent, NY Mark Davis LODD 1.31.09

On Saturday 11.14.09 we set out on a 3 hour journey from our base camp near Buffalo to Cape Vincent, NY. A small town that sits on Lake Ontario and the Canadian boarder. This small town was rocked by the death of Mark Davis in January 2009. Mark responded to a call for help and while treating the patient he became agitated and retrieved a high powered rifle. Mark and three others tried to escape the residence however the patient was able to fire two rounds one of which hit Mark, killing him. It has been the method of the First Responders team to travel unannounced. We rely on God traveling ahead of us and supplying the people he wants us to cross paths with. He has always been Faithful! Do to the nature of this incident Dave felt led to try to make contact with the Chief. He was able to do so and arranged to have Mark's family meet us at the firehouse. We arrived at the firehouse to meet the Chief and past Chief. We were able to spend some time with them talking about Mark, their department, and their town. It seems to be a vacation town. They told us that the population decreases 50% after Labor day. A short time later Marks' mom, dad, and younger brother arrived at the station. We were able to tell them our story and present them with the memorial plaque. They were then able to tell their story. Mom was doing pretty well. She was so proud of her son; you could see it in her face as she talked about him. They shared stories about him and those who loved him. They called Mark "the fat man". He loved to eat they said. He loved being a volunteer. He loved everything about it. She said he also loved everything to be big and exciting. She told us that he would have been so excited about how big the funeral was and how many departments and people came. We stood in front of the firehouse across the street from a small white church. Mom pointed to that church and said she would have never imagined she would stand in the front of that church and greet 1800 people attending her son's funeral. Although she missed him greatly she knew that she had to keep moving. She was worried for the others who were with him and those who had to try and rescue him. She was concerned for how they were handling everything and moving on with their lives. They shared with us that Mark had inspired their daughter who was also a volunteer in another town and how Mark's younger brother Michael now wanted to become a volunteer. They shared that it was Michael's birthday the night Mark was killed. They were grateful that they were able to spend several hours together earlier that night. Dad said that Mark wanted to take Michael drinking for his birthday but Dad told him no. Dad said if I would have let them drink he wouldn't have gone on the call and would still be here. Mom said Mark listened to us though, he wanted to try and do the write thing. The whole time we talked, Mom held that plaque as tight as she could constantly looking at it. The plaque we had given them had an EMT on it. She asked about the fact that there was no firefighters with gear on it the scene. She loved seeing Mark in his gear. Art, Bryan, Dave, and I all independently thinking the same thing gave each other a nod and a look. Each of us knowing that we needed to leave a second plaque with the firefighter seen on it. God had anticipated the need and allowed Dave and Bryan to screw up when ordering plaques so we had an extra with us. We were able to leave an additional plaque with her. The plan was to leave one at the firehouse and for her to take the other home. As we gave Mom some additional items we brought with us i.e. the first responders quilt made by a women from our church and a signed copy of Sharon's book, she was looking for someone to hold the plaques. As the Chief went to grab for them Mark's brother grabbed for them. You could see the desire he had to hold on to them. He too held them tightly. It was obvious that Mark's death had left a void in this young mans life that would be hard to fill. I wish that all of you reading this could experience first hand the joy that these personalized visits bring to these families both biological and fire department. Thank you! to all who support Mark Inc. and this ministry. The work that you are doing is amazing. I hope that we can describe some of the joy and hope that you provide. Please check out Mark's memorial page and some of the videos of the funeral and tributes to Mark.

http://www.ti-rescue.org/Mark%20Davis%20Memorial%20Page.htm

Buffalo Fire Dept., Buffalo, NY Chip McCarthy LODD 8.24.09

Sunday 11.15.09

After leaving Ladder# 7 we traveled a short distance to where Rescue #1 is housed. The rescue company had lost a brother in the same fire that FF Croom was killed. Lieutenant Charles "Chip" McCarthy lost his life after falling through a floor and becoming trapped. We learned that Croom became trapped in the same fashion when he responded to a mayday called out by Lt. McCarthy. When we arrived we found the door propped open like they were expecting visitors. I'm pretty sure the ladder called and told them we were coming. We went in and met Lieutenant Tony Liberatore. The first thing he asked is if we were hungry. I think by looking at us he could answer his own question. He sat us down and fed us a leftover Italian dish that they had for brunch. We shared with the Lt. who we were and why we do what we do. He then shared with us that he felt like things were just starting to calm down and the new normal was beginning. They had taken all the pictures and memorial items off the walls and had started to put other reminders away. He shared that several guys had taken Chips' death extremely hard. He also said that his platoon was a pretty quiet group and they may or may not want to talk with us. We told him that we could just leave everything and they crews could look it over when ever they wanted. He said no, he would make an announcement that their were visitors that had a presentation and whoever wanted to be part of it could come out. We had about 4 or 5 come out to see what we were about. Art was able to make contact with a FF who asked for material to give the Chaplin. We then were able to spend some more time with the Lt. He showed us around the station. He told us about a partner that he had many years ago that was injured in a collapse. He later slipped into a coma for 9 years. Miraculously he woke up one day. He was able to spend time with his wife and sons. He also remembered the Lt. He told us that he told his friend when he got his strength back that he would get him down to the station and take him for a ride on the rescue. Another brother there said how about fighting fire. The Lt. told him that if he wanted to fight fire that he had is back, so when he was ready to let him know. The Lt. said that the man sat up and ripped of the blankets and said "I'm ready now". His friend was paralyzed and blind. The Lt. said that it was to much for him to handle and he had to leave the room. The next day the man slipped back into a coma and died shortly after. What an amazing story. This hero had the opportunity to spend one last day with his family and friends. These stories are the reason that Mark Inc. produced Wounded Healers and why we have made it our mission to get them in the hands of these true heroes.

http://www.iaff.org/09News/082809Buffalo.htm

Buffalo Fire Dept., Buffalo, NY Jonathon Croom - LODD 8.24.09

Sunday 11.15.09

Today was another amazing day! We headed to Buffalo first thing this morning. We went to Ladder Co. #7 first. We were immediately welcomed in. Several of the men there worked with FF Jon Croom who was killed after being trapped in a working structure fire in August. We had the opportunity to speak with Jon's Lieutenant who was working with him the night he died. He described for us in detail how the events unfolded that evening. He said they had had a great day . It was obvious that he thought highly of Jon. He described him as a renaissance man. He said that he was trained in Islamic martial arts but on the other side enjoyed reading poetry. He was very well rounded and an excellent FF. He was engaged to be married and was expecting his second child. We were so captivated by the Lt.'s willingness to share that we spent nearly two hours at Ladder #7. If it wasn't for a detail that the crew had to perform we probably could have stayed and talked with him for two more hours. Before we left we were able to exchange names, addresses, and e-mails so we can keep in touch. After we got back in the car Art shared that many of the feelings that the Lieutenant was describing he too experienced when he lost his partner Jeff. It was amazing how similar the two situations were. I think the conversation was good for both of them.

http://www.iaff.org/09News/082809Buffalo.htm

MEXICO? I thought we were going to Buffalo!

This is only my second big trip with the team but I know that from last time that GPS has been an issue in the past. It seems that they have been wrong from time to time. The guys claim that it is always Divine intervention but I'm not sure that some occasions aren't operator error. We only had one minor address issue this time but when we saw the sign for Mexico we thought we would have a little fun.

Amity Fire Co., Douglasville, PA Robert Stone LODD-11.03.09

Friday 11.13.09

Day 1 of the trip started out pretty normal; Bryan and I were running late to pick up Art and Dave. Once on the road everything seemed to be going good. Our first stop was an LODD that just occurred on November 3rd. We usually don't visit that early but it was literally on our way. What should have been a 1.5 hr trip turned into a 3 hrs trip. In our usual fashion, accusations were flying around the car of who screwed up the directions. What we found was the address provided by the US Fire Admin. was wrong; Oh, and God wanted it to take that long. The delay allowed us to catch the Chief at the fire house. He was on his lunch break. Coincidence? not likely. We were able to spend about an hour with the Chief and their career guy. We talked with them about their fallen brother, explained what we were about, planted the seed, and prayed with them. The Chief asked us to come back when they have a company meeting so that all the members would be there to recieve the plaque. Thank you God for being in control. Thank you for going before us to place people in our path.