A Servant’s Heart: Disaster Relief Volunteers Jim and Marsha Kaufmann

Jim and Marsha Kaufmann have been married for 54 years. For 22 of those years, they’ve volunteered with The Salvation Army. They’ve responded to so many disasters that they’ve lost count. From Gainesville, Georgia, they’ve been deployed to many weather-related events and were in Valdosta last year for Hurricane Idalia relief.

“My father was a Salvation Army officer,” said Marsha. “After he passed away and Jim and I retired, I asked him if he wanted to do something to honor Dad...One thing led to another, and here we are.”

Jim, a long-time law enforcement officer, and Marsha, a high school secretary, say they both love serving.

“Both of us have a servant’s heart,” said Marsha. “I think that is one of our spiritual gifts...we tell everybody that we do this to help you, but the truth is someday it could be us. I say to people, 'You would be there to serve us, wouldn’t you?' And people say, 'Yes, of course.'”

Jim and Martha are accustomed to disaster survivors asking why they volunteer, and their answer is simple. “We love being the hands and feet of Jesus,” says Marsha.

“The Lord said, feed my sheep,” added Jim. “You see such need. Frankly, in many places we go, people could use our help 365 days a year.”

They say the most challenging part about disaster relief is when they leave.

“At two weeks, when we have to go home, it breaks our heart,” said Marsha. “We just want to stay and help.”

The long hours on their feet serving meals to others don’t bother this couple. They are always grateful when they get home, where they say they are reminded of their blessings, and they happily remain on standby for their next deployment.

“We will be ready,” smiled Marsha. “We will keep a bag packed, and when we get that phone call, we will be ready to go out the door, and off we’ll go.”