I have dedicated my life as a full-time volunteer this past 25 years, serving the needs of people on what is often the most difficult day of their lives, or in the lives of the people they love.

As a First Responder Chaplain, I am one of the first on the scene of disasters. These include fires, flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, mass shootings, suicides, hospital visits, any tragic event or disaster in which there is a loss of life, injury, displacement, or severe heartache. This is where the ministry & presence of a trained & experienced volunteer is most needed. My duties often include death notifications to victims’ families as well as military & first responder line-of-duty deaths. It is not uncommon for this to lead to performing funerals & memorial services, especially if the family is not connected to a local church, synagogue or mosque.

Disaster Response Chaplains are volunteers who raise their own support. Everything we do is completely self-funded by donors & supporters; this include airfare, food, gas, and lodging during each deployment. A deployment can be to a local church, business, hospital, school, or to a foreign nation, or anything in between. Deployments can be in a single day or for several months, it’s not uncommon to not know the duration of a deployment until I arrive boots-on-the-ground.

Serving over a dozen agencies, traveling both domestically and internationally, I am always prepared for deployment 24/7, 365 days a year. I remain unceasingly driven to render, comfort, emotional and spiritual support & practical guidance to those who are enduring horrific hardships.

My time is split between deployments across the nation and serving the local communities in San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Assisting the young to the elderly whose lives have been uprooted from emotional, mental, spiritual, even financial collapse, including PTSD. My commitment is to deploy & show up in the very moment of need, walk with victims through their trauma and navigate next steps to healing and recovery. Often these relationships are ongoing for a lifetime.

Comfort is a persistent & essential part of God’s character. Jeremiah 31:13 . . . "I will turn their mourning into Joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow."

- rik