When Rick Ellison arrived in the Lake Martin area of Tallapoosa County shortly after the April 27 storms, damage was what he saw.
“There was a lot of devastation,” said Ellison, an associate in the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions’ (SBOM) office of leadership and church health.
In fact, he saw a man sitting on the foundation where his house had been just a few hours prior to that. The man’s house was in a field.
Ellison prayed with him.
That scene was not unique to Tallapoosa County. It was the case in county after county in the aftermath of tornadoes that wreaked havoc on two-thirds of Alabama and other parts of the Southeast.
More than 240 people were killed that day in Alabama.
In District 4 — which includes Bullock, Chambers, Lee, Macon, Russell and Tallapoosa counties — most of the damage was experienced by Tallapoosa County.
Though the damage there was not as severe as in Tuscaloosa County and some other areas of the state, it was still significant, Ellison said.
Six months have lapsed since those events changed the landscape, destroyed homes and disrupted normal life. In that time, some homes have been rebuilt or repaired and God’s people have responded in a tangible way to those who were hurting.
Tallapoosa Baptist Association
In Tallapoosa County, an evening storm centered its destructive forces around Lake Martin and Dadeville.
There was “a lot of damage close to Lake Martin Baptist (Church, Dadeville) in a subdivision” and in a subdivision along U.S. 280 East, said Barry Cosper, director of missions (DOM) for Tallapoosa Baptist Association.
At least one person died.
Melissa Poe, executive director of the Tallapoosa County chapter of the American Red Cross, said 64 homes were destroyed and another 59 sustained major damage.
Cosper and his wife, Cathy, served as disaster relief chaplains, working alongside the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Right after the storm, Lake Martin Baptist opened its fellowship hall to feed displaced people and disaster relief volunteers 24 hours a day. The church did this for two weeks with the help of many people, some from other churches.
A team from First Baptist Church, Robertsdale, in Baldwin Baptist Association arrived quickly with a disaster relief team, Cosper said.
Ellison added that a crew from First Baptist Church, Montgomery, in Montgomery Baptist Association responded swiftly as well.
Volunteers from many churches in Tallapoosa Association assisted with cleanup and helped those affected by the storms.
Calvary Heights Baptist Church and Sixth Street Baptist Church, both in Alexander City, became distribution centers where displaced people could get necessities and supplies.
Other churches assisting displaced people were Calvary Baptist; First Baptist, Eagle Creek; and Beulah Baptist, all of Dadeville; Camp Hill Baptist; First Baptist, Alexander City; Mountain Springs Baptist, Wadley; New Salem Baptist, New Site; and Daviston Baptist.
Poe, a member of First, Alexander City, said people all over the United States provided assistance for the county’s affected residents. However, the people of Tallapoosa County and Alabama really blew her away because their outpouring of care was “overwhelming.”
“It was fantastic how the community and state stepped in,” she said. “It was like being on a missions trip at home.”
So great was the response that the Red Cross had to open a warehouse to handle all the donations, Poe said.
“There were people from all over who came in,” Cosper said of the help that arrived. Some brought tarps; some brought food; some came to make repairs.
Tallapoosa Association received an abundance of food and was able to give some to assist displaced people in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.
Now the association’s focus is helping people rebuild, repair and take care of other needs, Cosper said.
Poe estimated that 24 houses either are in some phase of construction or have been completed. Some homeowners, she said, are still navigating insurance issues.
Of course, construction projects will continue for a while.
“It’s a long process,” Poe said. “It takes quite awhile to rebuild your life.”
Cosper said some out-of-state teams — from North Carolina and Texas, for example — have indicated a willingness to help rebuild homes in Tallapoosa County.
Through the response of Christian people, there is an “awareness (in the community) that the body of Christ is still alive and well,” he said.
The people of the association also have been made aware of how essential it is to be prepared to respond in a disaster. Cosper said 14 additional chaplains were trained in August to work with the association’s disaster relief team. In the spring, more people will be trained in food preparation and cleanup.
In addition, Cosper said the association is investigating the possibility of setting up an equipment trailer.
Bullock-Centennial Baptist Association
“Our association came out OK,” with practically no damage, said Gene Bridgman, DOM for Bullock-Centennial Baptist Association and pastor of Eastside Baptist Church, Union Springs.
Nonetheless the members of the association’s nine churches and Hispanic mission were determined to assist those in need and went into action immediately.
The churches, as well as the association itself, sent money to the SBOM’s disaster relief fund.
Also volunteers went to Eclectic in Elmore County to help people affected by the storms.
Six months removed from the April 27 tragedy, “the shock of the disaster is over,” Bridgman stated. It is time to persevere — to keep reaching out for as long as it takes to rebuild, he said.
Bridgman said volunteers from the association are likely to team with First, Montgomery, for missions trips to rebuild storm-damaged areas of the state.
Like so many other Alabama Baptist associations, Bullock-Centennial Association wants to be better prepared next time.
Already the association has some volunteers trained in cleanup, feeding unit and mud-out, said Bridgman, who is working to become a disaster relief chaplain. Now the association is looking at the feasibility of establishing a shower or laundry unit and just elected a disaster relief coordinator, he said.
East Liberty Baptist Association
Chambers County, where East Liberty Baptist Association is based, did not escape harm April 27.
A few properties sustained significant damage and one house was rendered uninhabitable, DOM Dale Wood said.
The county Emergency Management Agency (EMA) gave the association’s pastors the names of people affected by the storm so that the churches could follow up and provide needed assistance.
To help elsewhere, volunteers from the association took supplies to Hackleburg in Marion County and teamed with Tuskegee Lee Baptist Association on disaster relief projects in Tuscaloosa, Cottondale and Cullman.
Also churches went into other areas to serve: LaFayette Heights Baptist Church helped in Ashville in St. Clair County, and First Baptist Church, Lanett; First Baptist Church, LaFayette; and First Baptist Church, West End Baptist Church and Blanton Baptist Church, all in Valley, worked in chain saw, cleanup/recovery and food service in Hackleburg or provided equipment.
Moreover the association teamed with Alpha and Omega Processing in Daphne to assemble backpacks for students in Hackleburg.
A Bible and a letter of encouragement from students in Fairhope in Baldwin County were included in each backpack.
This effort was given a boost by a Michigan group that assembled backpacks for junior and senior high students in Hackleburg.
The effort was such a success that excess backpacks went to students in Phil Campbell in Franklin County and other places, Wood said.
For the next year, the association has “adopted” Hackleburg and will help to rebuild there, he continued.
Through the storm and recovery, “I’ve witnessed folk caring for one another,” Wood said.
Some people have drawn closer to God because of the care they received from church members.
There have been reports of professions of faith, Wood said.
With an eye on future readiness, the association is creating a disaster relief unit trained in mud-out, chain saw and cleanup/recovery.
“We are not going to be caught off-guard again,” Wood stated.
The association has purchased a 16-foot trailer for its supplies. West End Baptist has been instrumental in getting the trailer equipped, Wood said.
That church, along with Blanton Baptist, held a benefit singing to obtain funds for equipping the trailer.
Recently five people were certified in disaster relief, joining the three others in the association who already were deployable. This month, the association will see six people finish chaplaincy courses.
Wood said it is the desire of the association and volunteers to become a “first call” unit in a disaster.
“We want to be capable of immediate response,” he said.
The association also will be involved as the local EMA strives to create a Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster unit to coordinate volunteer efforts during a disaster. Wood said he is scheduled to speak at a meeting for that this month.
Russell Baptist Association
Russell County was about 70 miles away from the storms’ paths, putting Russell Baptist Association in the position to help those who took a direct hit.
“We’re working with St. Clair (Baptist) Association and have been ever since the storm,” DOM Wayne Burns said.
“We’ve been up there repairing roofs, helping clean up on Shoal Creek Road,” among other things, Burns said.
Most Russell Association churches have assisted in some way, either by collecting needed items or monetary donations or giving their time.
The association also has secured portable storage units, called PODS, for families who were able to salvage some things. “That has been a joy and a blessing to see that happen,” Burns said.
A number of times, volunteers from the association have made trips to St. Clair County to deliver supplies. Some volunteered with the District 4 feeding unit in Birmingham and St. Clair County.
Russell Association has committed to partner with St. Clair Association for a year to help rebuild homes and lives and meet needs.
“A lot of things have been done,” Burns stated.
For example, some families have progressed to the point that they no longer need PODS.
Yet much is still to be accomplished. “That’s going to be the continuing thing,” Burns said.
Tuskegee Lee Baptist Association
Macon County sustained no damage, so Tuskegee Lee Association’s disaster relief efforts have been focused on one of its other counties, Lee County.
“We’ve been very much involved in the recovery effort,” DOM Bill King said.
The association has dispatched chain saw and feeding unit volunteers, as well as chaplains.
Twice, volunteers from the association have been to DeKalb and Sand Mountain Baptist associations for rebuilding endeavors, King said. On one trip the work concentrated on Mountain View Baptist Church, Sylvania. The other trip’s focus was homes in the High Point community and others near Henagar Baptist Church, which provided lodging for the volunteers.
Workers from Tuskegee Lee Association also have been to Tuscaloosa twice, Cullman and Dadeville, King said. In addition, they served with a feeding unit in Bessemer in Jefferson County and Ragland in St. Clair County.
King said disaster relief personnel from the association were on the ground for almost two months following the storms.
Each time a disaster relief team has completed its task in an area, team members could look back at that effort and see that individuals had been helped, he said. But they also could see that much more was needed.
“It’s encouraging and discouraging at the same time,” King observed. “It’s going to take a long time to recover,” possibly two years for the Sand Mountain area.
It is his concern that as time passes, people will forget the needs of those affected by the storms.
“We don’t need to do that,” he said.
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