A Quebec priest is using his kayak and his prayers to try and save people from the floodwaters that fell from the heavens during Hurricane Harvey.
Father David Bergeron is originally from Granby, Que. His calling led him seven years ago to Houston, Texas, where last week’s record-setting storm displaced more than a million people and killed dozens.
Bergeron takes his kayak virtually everywhere in the back of his pickup truck and uses it so often that locals have taken to calling him “the kayak priest.”
Bergeron’s passion came in handy after Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25. He ended up saving several people and shared a quick prayer with anyone who asked.
“I guess kayaks are more popular right now (since) they can almost be a survival tool,” he told CTV News.
Bergeron says “the turmoil” from Harvey was not only with the weather.
“I was praying for calm of the storm, but especially for the storm in the heart of the people,” he said.
When not looking for people in distress, Bergeron has been collecting donations and handing out hugs. It’s a mission he says is guided by what he calls “love in action.”
“If we say ‘I love God’ and we don’t do anything,” he says, “you do not prove your point.”
With a report from CTV’s Melanie Nagy in Houston, Texas
