It’s like all other disasters — it’s a disaster up here."
Where Vernon Lee stands in Iowa City, Iowa, floodwaters are receding and people are rushing back in to find a devastated hometown.
But he and 50 other Baptist volunteers are there with a purpose — to share a hot meal and the love of Christ.
"We’re here to give a cup of cold water in His name," said Lee, an Alabama Baptist disaster relief leader and member of White Springs Baptist Church, Rainbow City, in Etowah Baptist Association.
There in the Midwest, thousands of people have been displaced as the swollen Mississippi River has broken or overflowed at least 20 levees and devoured farmland and homes.
"They’re calling it a 500-year flood, because it’s the kind of thing that only happens once in several lifetimes," said Tommy Puckett, Alabama state disaster relief director.
And such a big disaster calls for a big response, he said — state Baptist teams and volunteers from Morgan Baptist Association went in June 15 set to prepare and serve 30,000 meals per day. At press time, the number of meals needed was much lower, but as people begin to return to the flood-devastated area, Lee expects the teams to prepare thousands more.
Chaplains, the state shower unit and a mud-out team from Alabama are also on the ground in Iowa City to meet residents’ needs.
"We’re part of a big effort," Puckett said. "Teams of Baptists from different states are spread all across the Midwest, trying to do whatever they can to help these victims." (TAB)
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