A volunteer couple that has been in the area since September has played a big role in local disaster recovery efforts through United Methodist Disaster Response.

Denny and Patti Brady, of Auburn, Nebraska, came to Beaufort County as long-term volunteers of the United Methodist Church in September 2014. For many years, the couple enjoyed doing short-term volunteer missions in places like Haiti, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Mexico and areas in the United States like Pine Ridge, South Dakota and DuLac, Louisiana, Patti Brady said. As they neared retirement from being schoolteachers, they pondered how they would spend their retirement years.

“We asked ourselves, ‘Are we going to just retire and vegetate, or are we going to live life with a purpose,’” Patti Brady said. “We decided we wanted to continue to help others and felt a calling to continue volunteer mission work but on a long-term basis.”

Among some of their favorite Bible scriptures, one stands out, portraying the spirit of their outreach. Isaiah 6:8 says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then said I, ‘Here am I; send me.’”

Denny and Patti were trained and certified as long-term volunteers through Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, Denny Brady said. They sold their two cars, moved out of their home, sold or gave away many of their possessions and placed what furniture they had left in storage in Nebraska and started their first six-month placement in Feb. 2014 with Bahamas Methodist Habitat on the Bohemian island of Eleuthera where they served as camp host and hostess. The main focus of the mission is hurricane recovery and in 2014, 42 teams of 850 people came down to serve there, Patti Brady said.

Patti Brady commented on leaving their home, breaking out of their comfort zone to make a difference in the lives of others.

“People ask us why we left our comfortable home, family and possessions,” Patti Brady said. “Though we love our family very much, we try to look upon volunteering as an opportunity to move beyond our comfort zones. Most people like what’s familiar and comfortable, but we have challenged ourselves to experience something new. With God’s help and support, we welcome and embrace the opportunity to experience life in a new way. We are continually meeting wonderful people either as other volunteers or disaster victims.”

Denny Brady said he feels that Jesus came to comfort them, not to make them comfortable.

Patti Brady said she shares the belief that they represent Christ by their work.

“We are Christ’s hands and feet, and we are privileged to help others,” Patti Brady said.

In August, toward the end of their six-month volunteering campaign, the two started to look to the future for other missions through UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief).

“A good friend, Stephanie Hunt, who had served in the Bahamas with us, was working in Edenton for the North Carolina Conference United Methodist Disaster Response,” Patti Brady said. “She told us of the needs from the tornadoes last April. We contacted Pastor Cliff Harvell, Disaster Response superintendent of the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church, and Cliff invited us to serve a six-month term starting October 1.”

After a short visit with family in September after leaving the Bahamas, the Bradys purchased a Subaru Forester, loaded it with all their clothes and any other necessities and headed east to North Carolina, Patti Brady said. On September 29, the couple arrived at Camp Hannah Bonner in Washington to volunteer their services for a six-month period. UMDR set up a permanent camp at Hannah Bonner to house volunteer teams, according to Harvell. It can hold 34 volunteers comfortably with a possibility of eight more volunteers, if needed.

“Since we have been here, our camp has been full of volunteer teams,” Patti Brady said. “We serve as camp host and hostess, and we also go out and work construction sites with the various teams under the guidance of Tommy Gilbert, Field Operations director.”

The Brady’s feel their job as volunteers in mission is to share the love of God in ways that make a Christian difference, they said.

“The task we do is important but is secondary to our true mission as Christians — to share Christ’s love. God has allowed us the privilege of working with others, helping people in need.”

Harvell said the Brady’s are special in the sense that they came with the intent of staying as long as UMDR needed them. They have agreed to stay in the area through the summer to aid in disaster recovery. They have also provided leadership as far as leading teams, which has allowed UMDR to cut costs of hiring administrative employees to do so, Harvell said.

“They’ve been a huge blessing because they’ve provided leadership manpower,” Harvell said. “They are just super people. They’ll do anything you need of them—they’ll jump in and help, and if they don’t know how to do something, they’ll learn. They just have a compassionate heart in how they interact with the volunteers and the clients. Everyone thinks highly of them. We’ve been able to accomplish more because of them. They’ve been a true blessing. We’re going to miss them when they’re gone.”