Out of the Ditch

"Out of the Ditch" is written to inspire the Good Samaritan IN YOU for response to those in crisis. It is about being a loving neighbor to those left brokenhearted and devastated by loss, trauma and abandonment. Physical, emotional and spiritual support was given out of compassion by an ordinary man as described by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. From his story, we learn to love our neighbor as ourselves and to apply the love and compassion of Christ in responding to the hurting. Join me through the journey of this parable to see how you, too, can be a modern day Good Samaritan. Gene Grounds is the founder and Executive Director of Victim Relief Ministries located in Dallas, Texas – a faith based ministry responding to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of crime victims. Grounds founded the organization in 1999 in response to God's call on his life in the area of victim services from a faith perspective. (For more information – www.victimrelief.org) He is the President of Victim Chaplain and Counselor Association, a professional association that recruits and trains chaplains, counselors and laymen to respond through Victim Relief Ministries in events of crime and disaster. Grounds has personally responded as a Chaplain to more than 65 major critical incidents and disasters that have resulted in mass fatalities, including the World Trade Center in September 2001. He was a First Responder to Hurricane Katrina leading over 250 Victim Chaplains and Crisis Responders to provide emotional and spiritual care to the families of the missing and deceased. Gene graduated from Western Michigan University in 1962 with a B.A. degree. He is married to Virginia, and has three married children plus seven grandsons. He was ordained to the ministry in 2001.