A team of 10 Alabama Baptist chaplains left for southeast Minnesota Aug. 30 in response to a call for help from victims of major flooding in the area.
Chaplains from Randolph, Cleburne, Autauga, Marshall, Escambia, Tuscaloosa, Shelby and Mobile Baptist associations were among those deployed, said Tommy Puckett, Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions director of disaster relief.
“We are not sending our own mud-out crews, but these chaplains will be following the mud-out crews that are already there to see if there are any other needs. They will try to use the open door for ministry as a chance to witness to the homeowner,” Puckett said, noting that the chaplains would be in Minnesota “a minimum of four or five days.”
All total, more than 570 disaster relief volunteers from the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention and eight other state conventions — including Alabama — are working long hours to aid victims.
Southern Baptist disaster relief units were activated the day after the rains hit, and by Aug. 20, volunteers began showing up for duty.
In response to Aug. 21 flooding in Ohio, up to 80 disaster relief teams from across the Southern Baptist Convention were either on standby or on the way at press time.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, disaster relief incident command centers have been established in Mansfield and Findlay by the North American Mission Board and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
The Ohio state convention is handling child-care and feeding units in Findlay, while the North Carolina volunteers are handling assessment and cleanup operations. (BP, TAB)
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