ABDR ladies’ chainsaw team cuts new path 

Six ladies from the Russellville area recently donned yellow shirts and chaps and other safety equipment, picked up chainsaws and went to work in Valdosta, Georgia.  

“There’s nothing like it in the country,” Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief (ABDR) Director Randy Garrett said, describing ABDR’s first all-women chainsaw unit.

The deployment to Valdosta, Oct. 13-19, was the ladies’ first deployment together as a unit. The women – Janet Fryar, Tammy Chandler, Debbie Cooper, Linda Cherry, Cathy Smith, and Cathy Canitz – had all deployed previously with other ABDR teams.  

When preparing to depart for Valdosta, the First Baptist Church in Russellville team had a large chainsaw unit – 14 volunteers – prepared to respond. Fryar said that was too big of a team. Since there were six women in the group, she suggested forming a women’s chainsaw unit – an idea that had already been in her head for a couple of years. With the unit formed, they grabbed chaps and a couple saws, went to Incident Command, and requested jobs.  

“Everywhere we went, everybody was super enthusiastic about the women’s chainsaw team. 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,” Fryar said.  

The women – representing churches in Russellville, London, Havana, and Dardanelle – completed seven jobs, approximately one per day.  

On one of the jobs, out in the country, they pulled up outside the residence. They did not see anyone home, but the work order said they could do work without the homeowner present. As they were getting out of their vehicle, Fryar said a truck pulled up behind them. It happened to be the homeowner.  

“She said, ‘I got an email you weren’t coming.’ I said, ‘Well, we’re here now. So, if you have something to do, we’ll do it,’” Fryar said. And the team went to work.  

When they were getting ready to leave, Fryar said the homeowner told them she was on the phone with her sister upon arrival, talking about how nobody was coming to help. Her sister said, “Let’s just pray right now.”  

“She was still praying with her sister when she pulled up behind me. And she said, ‘I have to have a picture of all of you … I can’t wait to call my sister and tell her how God answered prayers.’ That was wonderful,” Fryar said.  

While on another job, the ladies heard a “bang” in front of the residence. Realizing it was a car accident, the ladies immediately stopped what they were doing to assist, which they did until the first responders arrived on scene.  

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. 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,” Fryar said. “That is the reason that we go – to share Christ everywhere we go.”  

ABDR volunteers extend the love of Christ to disaster survivors, offering help, healing, and hope that is found in Jesus Christ.   

Chandler touted Fryar as the “blue cap” unit leader.  

“I think the reason we are so confident in what we’re doing is because she is a great teacher. 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,” she said.  

For more information about Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief and how to be involved, visit abscdisasterrelief.org.   

“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,” Garrett 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.”