Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers Danny Daniels (left), Richard Ward and Bill Surls (right) load a portable generator for transport to St. Louis, Mo., to be used with the SBDR flood response in the city. Daniels and Ward are both from Trussville, Ala., and members of Ridgecrest Baptist Church. Surls is from Cumming, Ga., and is a member of First Redeemer Baptist Church, where the unit was being stored. (NAMB photo by John Swain)
Alpharetta, Ga.—Deadly storm systems slashed across the nation over the holidays killing scores and bringing rapid response from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers.
In Texas alone, eight people were killed and more than 800 dwellings were damaged or destroyed by tornadoes that struck the day after Christmas in Dallas. The rain accompanying the storm systems has the Mississippi River and its tributaries at flood stage.
North American Mission Board SBDR interim executive director Mickey Caison described the response as all too reminiscent of historic flooding that hit the St. Louis area in 1993. As of Jan. 4, 11 states had volunteers serving at ministry sites in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
NAMB also dispatched equipment to assist flood survivors in Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri.
“The lives of so many families and communities are forever changed,” Caison said. “Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is so much larger and has so much more experience today to be able to bring help, healing and hope.”
Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief is deploying two flood recovery teams and units, along with a chaplain team to respond to historic December flooding along the Mississippi River, according to Coy Webb, director of Disaster Relief for the Kentucky Baptist Convention. The teams will be working in the flood-ravaged St. Louis area.
“We pray that our teams will bring much needed help, the healing of God’s grace, and the hope of Christ to multitudes of hurting folks in the Midwest,” Webb said.
Webb said Kentucky Baptists will be assisting residents with mucking debris from homes and removing water-damaged drywall, carpeting and cabinets.
“Being a disaster relief volunteer isn’t glamorous,” Webb said. “It’s messy, it’s sweaty and it’s exhausting, but it’s not about us. It’s about demonstrating the love and compassion Christ has for all His children.”
NAMB president Kevin Ezell said, “Our prayers go out to the survivors and volunteers across our nation. Many volunteers sacrificed time with their own families at Christmas to serve others.”
“And they did it with the same kindness and compassion that they always bring to relief ministry,” he added.
Missouri Baptist Convention state disaster relief director Dwain Carter said the storm system that dumped rain across the state followed the I-44 corridor from the southwest corner of the state into the metro St. Louis area. Carter anticipates serving at least 1,000 homeowners in the response.
“We served our first meal on New Year’s Eve,” said Carter of the first of four feeding units now operating in the state. “We are in day five now at First Baptist Church, Ellisville in suburban St. Louis. We have feeding units operational around St. Louis at Central Baptist in Eureka, First Baptist, Arnold and at First Baptist Church in Diamond near Joplin.”
Carter reported Missouri volunteers, now 125 strong, will soon be joined by SBDR teams from the Southern Baptists of Texas, Texas Baptist Men, Kansas-Nebraska, Kentucky and Tennessee. NAMB SBDR coordinator Eddie Blackmon is serving with Carter’s command team.
“We have chaplains and assessors already working,” Carter said. “I know we will serve at least 1,000 survivors who had homes damaged. Our chaplains have had great opportunity to minister to people at temporary shelters. They are reporting a great response. Our working relationship has been solid with all the municipalities. We appreciate people’s prayers and support.”
Caison also asked for prayers. “Please pray for the southern states responding to the tornadoes as well as those responding to the floods,” he said. “We know our Lord will inspire our volunteers to mobilize. We will be sending resources for a long-term response. Mississippi and Tennessee are planning for potential flood responses there, as well. And all of this with active tornado responses in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma.”
NAMB is dispatching a mobile command center, a portable generator and two mud-out units to St. Louis. On Jan. 5, two semi-truck loads with supplies will leave NAMB, one bound for Arkansas and Illinois, the other, for Missouri.
Greg Forbes, a meteorologist with The Weather Channel, reported at least 55 tornadoes struck the nation during the span of days from Dec. 23-28. (BP/WR)