SURFSIDE, Fla. — One hundred and 47 people are still unaccounted for, and 18 people are dead, as the frantic search for survivors in the south Florida building collapse continues.
While search teams from across the world help in the rescue effort, one team based in our state is there is offering support and prayer to the families and first responders: the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team.
Nearly a week after the collapse in Surfside, Florida, Michelle Gawlinski said the tone is changing for the families of the missing.
Both she and her husband Mike are chaplains with the North Carolina-based Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and have been on the ground for days as support and a presence for those who need it.
"I think in the next few days, those realizations and reality are sinking in," she said, "In the beginning, they had a lot of hope. The families and community got together and there was a lot of hope that they would be able to rescue.
"Today, very discouraging. Heartbreaking. They’re losing hope. [The families] are able to go to the site the last couple days, and after seeing the site - because they only saw it on TV - actually seeing the site - their realization that there is little to no hope left."
She said many are waiting now, for recovery and for closure.
"A lot of things that we do - it might just be our presence here - a little smile, a touch on the shoulder, just here to sit with someone and hold their hand. There's not much we can say, and sometimes, they open up and they want to talk. We listen. One of the big things is listening."
Despite this hopelessness, Gawlinski said their support and prayers are welcomed, as rescuers return to the scene day after day, hoping to bring this community peace.
