Ouachita Stories

Government employee by day, pickleball enthusiast by night and weekend warrior with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) Disaster Relief ministry – alumna Kim Fischer has been using her gifts, talents and experience to make a difference in the lives of those in crisis for nearly 15 years.

After graduating with a degree in health and physical education from Ouachita in 1982, Fischer spent 29 years with the Arkansas Department of Labor, mostly as an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) industrial hygiene consultant. It was during her time in that role that she was sent to an OSHA chainsaw class.

“I had no idea why they sent me instead of one of the men in our department, but now I think it was a God-thing,” Fischer said. “We went into the woods, received a lot of instruction, and they put saws in our hands. I really got into the technical part of cutting and enjoyed the challenge!”

With her knowledge and training, Fischer hadn’t really considered how she could use her chainsaw skills for God until Hurricane Katrina hit. Hearing that Baptist disaster relief volunteers were helping along the coast, she figured she could help out. She attended training through the ABSC and was deployed to Orange, Texas, on a chainsaw team a few weeks later.

“I have been trained in chainsaw, flood recovery, communications, home assessment, shower & laundry, water purification and the Incident Command System,” Fischer said. “I have been deployed several places in Arkansas, as well as in Houston and Panama City, and, now that I’m retired, I’m available and ready to go whenever and wherever called.”

“Kim Fischer is one of Arkansas Baptists’ great heroes,” said Dr. Sonny Tucker, executive director of the ABSC. “She has an incredible heart of compassion and is a highly effective leader in our state with our 50-plus disaster relief teams. We deeply appreciate her great spirit and enthusiasm to serve and feel she is indispensable to our work and effectiveness.”

When you meet Fischer, the thing that stands out most is her willingness to serve and do anything she can to help people. When food inventory workers were needed, she woke up at 3:15 a.m. to help organize food for the cooks to prepare. When the Communications Team needed training, she stepped up as a unit leader. Fischer developed safety monitor materials for chainsaw teams and traveled to New Orleans four times to rebuild homes through Baptist Builders.

“I learned something new each trip so I would know how to do more and be more helpful with each new opportunity to serve,” she noted.

While it could seem easy for someone with Fischer’s skills to report to the scene, complete the tasks and head home, she said disaster relief is about so much more than just meeting physical needs.

“We’re not going there to cut trees off their houses or cook food for them to eat; we’re going there to show them the love of God,” she said. “If we put our heads down and work really hard to get the job done but don’t stop to talk with and listen to the people, we are just like that clanging cymbal Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians. When we can talk about what God has done for us and what He can do for them, I feel like we’re getting to do what we came to do – God is using us! We love to share how God’s love has changed us and that that’s why we are serving others – because God loves us and He loves them too.”

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Lead photo by Andy Henderson

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