Disaster Relief Update - Monday, August 3, 2009

"If I speak the languages of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1, HCS).

Whatever we do outside the love of Christ is useless and maybe even irritating to God. It can be loud and seen by others as wonderful, but without love it has no lasting value. As we serve in disaster relief, it must be from a heart of love and compassion that comes from a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.

Tell Us How You Saw God Work in the Midst of Disaster

A new eNewsletter, Volunteers in Motion is now available. In it you will find opportunities for volunteer missions, helps for successful mission trips and stories about how God has worked through Southern Baptist Volunteers to change lives in North America. To view the latest eNewsletter and subscribe to future mailings click here. You can read stories submitted by DR volunteers here. To share your story with others visit the Share Your Story website. 

We are thankful for a quiet hurricane season thus far. The eastern Pacific has had several storms, but the Atlantic has been mostly quiet.

Pennsylvania Flood Response

South Jersey disaster relief volunteers recently responded to flooding in Erie, Pa. A total of 37 volunteers responded from July 7-18, completing 14 jobs.

Kenton Hunt, Pennsylvania Blue Hat, reported the following.

"Most of the residents, though not all, were elderly, sick, or disabled. The Reed family was a tough one for me. It turns out he was a career Army man who had served 20 years when he suffered a debilitating stroke that left him approximately 90 percent paralyzed and unable to speak. His wife Gwen has been caring for him in this condition for 10 years. We were honored to have been able to serve them.

"Another tragic story unfolded while we were there. A Bosnian family by the name of Hajrudin asked for help cleaning their basement. When we arrived to do the job, Mr. Hajrudin was sitting on the front porch crying. He told me that his wife had just died of a brain tumor. He refused service at that time but I prayed with him. What a humbling appointment from God!

"As always, we made many efforts to be verbal as well as visual witnesses for Christ to all the people we helped. We gave Bibles to the families and prayed with them and other families and friends who were present. I estimate that we included at least 45 people in our closing circles of prayer. We made a point of saying that our motivation was to serve Christ and be His representatives of love and grace in such times of need. We encouraged everyone to trust Jesus, serve him, and pray for us as we continue the ministry of disaster relief."

2009 Activity Reported as of July 31

National Disaster Relief Leadership

To contact the Disaster Operation Center, call 1.888.462.8657 or e-mail dr_offsite@namb.net