There are heels women wear and there is the heel of a chainsaw. The heel of the cutter provides stability and support during while being used. One Chainsaw crew in Arkansas is familiar with both.
An all-female chainsaw crew from the Russellville, Ark., area helped with disaster relief in Valdosta, Ga., last month. “There’s nothing like it in the country,” Randy Garrett, director of Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief says.
The women — Janet Fryar, Tammy Chandler, Debbie Cooper, Linda Cherry, Cathy Smith and Cathy Canitz — all had deployed previously with other teams.
“Everywhere we went, everybody was super enthusiastic about the women’s chainsaw team,” Fryar said. “The homeowners were all like, ‘Oh, wow, I can’t believe this. You’re all women.’ They enjoyed it, and it was a blessing. We were able to bless a lot of people.”
Clockwise: CAthy Smith, Tammy Chandler, Linda Cherry, Debbie Cooper, Janet Fryar and CAthy CAnitz. The first all-female chainsaw team for Arkansas Baptist disaster relief.
The women completed seven jobs, approximately one per day. While completing jobs and assisting however they can, wherever they are needed, Fryar said they are provided opportunities to share the gospel.
“We get to share Christ everywhere we go,” she told Baptist Press. “Sometimes, what you see is there is not an openness in America to share the gospel, but when a person is in need and you are meeting a need for them, they are willing to talk with you. That is the reason that we go — to share Christ everywhere we go.”
Chandler touted Fryar as the unit leader.
“I think the reason we are so confident in what we’re doing is because she is a great teacher,” she said. “She is patient, and she has given us the encouragement to realize what we can do. We can run a chainsaw. We can do more than we thought ourselves to be able to do.”
Garrett agreed.
“If you want to contribute, whether you want to run a chainsaw or you want to pick up limbs or you want to be a chaplain, you name it, we have an opportunity for anybody to serve,” he said. “It’s all about Jesus. We do this for one reason only, to represent Jesus Christ. These ladies chose to do this, and they are all good friends. It’s amazing that they’ve done it and what they can do. Just because they are ladies doesn’t mean they can’t get out with a chainsaw and work.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice