Captain Adam Moore of The Salvation Army prayed with many people in the aftermath of the I–35 bridge disaster in Minneapolis last summer, but his most important role may have been just “being there” for one police officer.
The officer had arrived at the scene shortly after the eight–lane bridge buckled at 6:05 p.m. on Aug. 1. Dozens of vehicles fell more than 60 feet from the collapsed span and couldn’t be reached. He saw a tractor–trailer on fire, and the driver was yelling for help, but he could do nothing.
“The police officer just continued to reiterate to me those feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy that he felt,” Captain Adam says. “There was someone who needed his help, and all of his training was no good. There was nothing he could do to get this man out of the truck. He just had to stand by and do nothing.”
An appointed time
Adam, who is based in Fargo, N.D., just happened to be in Minneapolis, about a half mile from the scene, because he had been visiting Fargo–area men enrolled in the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) program.
Adam says that when he arrived at the bridge, the police officer seemed to be drawn to him and wanted to talk.
“Every time he returned, I was just praying for the words to say,” Adam says. “In The Salvation Army, we often talk about the ‘ministry of presence.’ Sometimes it’s just us being willing to be there and allow Him to use us in ways that we can’t even ask or imagine.”
Adam says there was “no … time when we just stopped on the sidewalk there and bowed our heads in prayer,” but he offered a listening ear to the police officer.
“The Apostle Paul talks about when we don’t know what to say or … how to pray, the Holy Spirit utters [words] on our behalf,” Adam says. “I believe that was really the case on that night. My heart and spirit were broken for the hurting people.
“The Holy Spirit guided and directed, and I had some divine appointments that night, especially in the life of that one police officer who was just able to have a release and to share that with someone in such a clear and pointed way.”
Moved to pray
Someone was praying for Adam that night too.
Geraldine Knickerbocker, a retired Salvation Army officer who lives in Youngstown, Ohio, felt an urgent need to pray for her son–in–law Adam. She didn’t know that he was in Minneapolis or anything about the bridge collapse at the time.
“God quickened her spirit to lift me and my safety up in prayer,” Adam says.
Adam said he prayed with others at the bridge, helped inform people about what was taking place, and served refreshments from a canteen.
“For me, there was this constant attitude of prayer and just asking the Lord to open doors and opportunities for me to share His love with others,” he says. “Being able to give that police officer a hug and just let him know I’d be praying for him and that things are going to get better makes it all worth it.”
Care at times of disaster
Captain Moore has been involved in disaster services work for 16 years; his first duty came after Hurricane Andrew in 1991.
“We call it ‘emotional and spiritual care.’ Oftentimes that’s the most important recovery help that we can offer people,” Adam says. “The material things are very, very important—giving them a cold drink and food when they’re hungry—but [by] offering them hope in the hopelessness of the situation when their lives are so dark and hopeless, we can speak light and life into … their lives and see how God uses that.”
Adam cited an example of meeting a husband and wife recently who lost everything in a flood. He sat across from them at breakfast and told them about a God who loved them and cared about them.
Adam says the woman began to cry.
“We had lost sight of that,” she told Adam. “I want to thank you for reminding us of that today. Without our faith, we never would have made it.”
Adam says he sees disasters as an opportunity “to really love people into the Kingdom.”
“It‘s really us being willing to go where the hurting people are and get involved,” Adam says. “We are the hands and the feet of Christ, and we’re given the charge to get involved.
“I trust lives will be changed that I might never know about here, but maybe in Glory they’ll walk up and say, ‘Remember that one time at the bridge or when my house was flooded?’ That’s really the call that I give to our local soldiers [church members]. We have to get involved. Who else will share it if not us?”
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