Disaster Relief Update - Thursday, September 24, 2009
"For although I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people" (1 Corinthians 9:19, HCSV).
Mudout. The mere mention of this word sounds like terrible work. Nothing about mudout sounds fun. Just as Paul states in the verse above, Southern Baptist disaster volunteers continue to do the difficult work in order to share the love of the Lord. Mudout work is the dirtiest and most difficult of all the areas of SBDR ministry, and in recent months the bulk of our work has been in this area.
Georgia Floods
Historic floods have caused tremendous damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure in Georgia. These floods caused the closing of schools and businesses including the North American Mission Board on Tuesday, September 22. Interstate 20 (the major east-west freeway in metro Atlanta) was covered with water and closed down for two days. At this time 10 deaths have been reported with other people still unaccounted for.
Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief is responding. A feeding unit has been deployed to First Baptist Church Summerville. Assessment teams are working out of that location as the water begins to recede. An additional recovery unit is working out of the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, doing assessments there. Alabama is sending assessments teams to work in the area around Douglasville.
Tennessee has a feeding unit preparing meals for an America Red Cross shelter in Chattanooga, just across the Georgia state line. At this time Georgia has not requested assistance from other states.
Please remember the survivors and the volunteers responding to these disasters.
Texas - Eagle Pass Flooding Initial Response Completed
Southern Baptists of Texas disaster relief volunteers trained in clean-up and recovery, chaplaincy, operations, and communication shared the HOPE of Jesus while serving 128 volunteer days and cleaning 46 homes of mud and debris. The Del Rio-Uvalde Baptist Association will begin the rebuild process as soon as conditions permit.
California Wildfire Cleanup
California volunteers are cleaning up 15 home sites of fire debris in Auburn, Calif. Between 30-40 California volunteers are working to remove the debris and plan to be finished by Saturday. These volunteers are set up in Southern California at two Local Assistance Centers. They are also looking at approximately 25 homes in the Riverside area.
Baptist Press: Heavy Rains Trigger Georgia Relief Response http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=31311
2009 Activity Reported as of September 22
|
2009 Activity To Date
|
| Professions of Faith |
90 |
| Gospel Presentations |
516 |
| Chaplaincy Contacts |
954 |
| Ministry Contacts |
7,804 |
| Other Decisions |
162 |
| Volunteer Days |
23,672 |
| Meals Prepared |
229,512 |
| Mudout Jobs |
431 |
| Chainsaw Jobs |
6,625 |
| Repair Jobs |
56 |
| Roofing Jobs |
30 |
| Children Cared For |
31 |
| Showers |
6,138 |
| Laundry Loads |
1,374 |
| Water (Gallons) |
6,137 |
| Messages |
50 |
National Disaster Relief Leadership
- Bruce Poss, Disaster Relief Unit Coordinator
- Terry Henderson, Disaster Relief Operations Consultant
- Karl Ragan, Disaster Relief Planning Consultant
To contact the Disaster Operation Center, call 1.888.462.8657 or e-mail dr_offsite@namb.net
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