‘God’s EMT’ arrives in Lewiston to try to ease the ache
LEWISTON, Maine — Dan Beazley thinks of himself as God’s EMT. On name 24/7, when the Large Man calls, Beazley doesn’t give it a second thought.
“I simply go,” he mentioned.
So it was, Saturday morning, when Beazley awoke earlier than daybreak at his house in Detroit, Michigan. Feeling the decision in his coronary heart, he loaded a 10-foot, 65-pound, wood cross into the again of his white, Ford F150 pickup truck and began driving east.
By Sunday evening, the 60-something Beazley was standing sentry along with his cross exterior Schemengees Bar and Grille, praying with advert hoc teams of mourners, making an attempt to assist them make sense of final week’s mass shootings and jumpstart their therapeutic course of.
An actual property dealer by commerce, Beazley crisscrosses the nation, bringing his mild demeanor and selfmade Christian image of religion and sacrifice to disasters and tragedies. Thus far, he’s visited 25 states since 2021. Beazley has been to many mass capturing websites together with these in Uvalde, Chicago, Buffalo and Memphis.
However earlier than Sunday, he’d by no means needed to set foot in Maine.
Beazley mentioned God’s calling by no means comes within the type of phrases or formal directives. It’s extra a sense in his coronary heart.
“Once I begin to cry, watching the information, sitting in my household room, which I don’t usually do, I do know God’s satisfied me,” he mentioned. “And this time, God mentioned, ‘You gotta go man.’”
Although driving all evening, then standing beside the highway is bodily taxing, it’s work Beazley is grateful to bear. He reckons it’s higher and extra helpful than sitting at house. Beazley mentioned his large cross acts like a type of signpost or beacon, reminding believers {that a} larger energy cares about them.
The cross additionally often attracts the trustworthy straight to Beazley.Simply earlier than 10 p.m. on Sunday, a small group of locals had been gathered in entrance of Schemengees, the place a makeshift shrine of pictures, candles, flowers and pumpkins was starting to take form. Although many had been strangers to one another, and none knew Beazley, he quickly had them gathered in group prayer, everybody’s arms round their neighbor.
Beazley prayed that all of them discover peace of their hearts, that the neighborhood proceed to return nearer collectively within the face of the tragedy and that these nonetheless within the hospital have speedy recoveries. He didn’t ask them for cash, direct them to a web site or inform them who to vote for subsequent month.
On the finish, a lot of the mourners gave Beazley a hug and thanked him. A number of wiped away cathartic tears. He gave every particular person a tiny wood cross comprised of an olive tree.
“I instructed them that if tomorrow or 10 days from now or each time, in the event that they begin to really feel issues are going sideways, that they only maintain on to it and simply pray for God’s mild to proceed to shine on them,” Beazley mentioned.
Ultimately the group dispersed, leaving the Michigander standing on the lonely stretch of highway, alone with the flickering candles and flowers. Beazley mentioned he most likely wouldn’t stand out within the chilly until daybreak, however his one-man vigil would doubtless proceed some time longer, into the evening.
“I’m right here for nonetheless lengthy God desires me,” Beazley mentioned. “I’ll simply be standing right here, quietly, and simply praying over the neighborhood. When of us present up, I’ll do no matter I can do to assist them heal their hearts.”
