Baptists from Georgia were among the first on the scene to help with rescue efforts following the state’s deadliest series of tornadoes in 53 years. The Feb. 14 storms left at least 22 people dead and hundreds injured.
Jim Richardson, director of the Georgia Baptist Convention’s disaster relief team, called the damage “very extensive.”
“It looks like we are going to be here at least two weeks,” he said. Alabama Baptists were among the first groups to offer help to their Georgia neighbors. Tommy Puckett, director of men’s missions of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, and Pat Kines, director of church and community ministries with the Columbia Baptist Association in Dothan, both offered trained disaster relief units to assist in the aftermath of the storm.
However, Red Cross officials asked that they wait until officials on the scene can better coordinate rescue and recovery efforts. Kines explained that without proper coordination, volunteers can become a hindrance to efforts already underway.
Richardson said the first wave of response teams from nearby Warner Robins and Moultrie, Ga., arrived soon after the storm. “We’re working with the Department of Transportation and local utilities to cut away tree limbs and clear away debris,” Richardson said.
“Southern Baptists are mobilizing all across the state. When it’s all said and done we’ll have more than 200 volunteers on the scene,” he said.
More teams are expected to arrive, including a mass care feeding team.
Authorities confirmed many of the deaths occurred in the town of Camilla, 200 miles south of Atlanta, where the tornado cut a five-mile path of destruction through a housing development located two miles south of town.
Todd Harrell, 32, director of the children’s ministry at Pine Level Baptist Church, lost his wife, Shannon, and eight-month-old daughter, Kylie Rae.
Ron McCaskill, pastor of First Baptist Church, Cairo, described Harrell as a strong Christian young man who was raised in the church. His mother, Annette Harrell, was the past Woman’s Missionary Union president at Cairo.
According to McCaskill, Harrell was trying to get his family to safety just moments before the early-morning tornado hit their trailer.
“Todd opened the door and he was literally sucked out of the trailer,” McCaskill said. “The trailer exploded and he was carried into the air.”
At least one Baptist church, Macedonia Baptist Church in Grady County, sustained major structural damage. A church spokesperson said the building’s steeple and the front porch were blown away.
The executive director of the Georgia State Convention, pledged support not only in rescue efforts but also in helping to rebuild the church.
“We will be providing assistance to any churches that may have sustained damage,” J. Robert White said last week. “And our Baptist builders will be actively involved in doing rebuilding work.”
The homes of eight members of First Baptist Church, Camilla, were heavily damaged, and 20 others were moderately damaged in the storm, which hit around midnight. The homes of pastor Harris Malcom and deacon Chris Anglin, who lived in the same subdivision, were destroyed as the families huddled together in hallways and bedrooms.
Malcom said the first thing he remembers was being awakened by his wife, Phyllis, who heard the increasing wind and hail batter their frame house. The first thing 16-year-old Katie heard was her mother waking her at midnight, pulling her to the hallway and saying “hit the floor.”
“It sounded like 15 freight trains; it was so loud,” she said.
The family grabbed a mattress from a daybed and huddled under it as the tornado hit in full force, pulling the roof from the master bedroom, destroying the dining room and porch and flooding the house with cold rain.
Only the small hallway sheltering the family was left structurally intact and dry.
Another hard-hit community was Moultrie. Jerry Songer, interim pastor of First Baptist Church, Moultrie, said the Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter in the church.
“Our minister of music is also a volunteer firefighter, and he’s been out all night assisting in the recovery efforts,” Songer said.
“But it doesn’t look good,” he continued. “They anticipate finding more fatalities.”
Richardson’s team of volunteers from across the state set up a command post at First Baptist Church, Camilla. The church is also operating as a shelter for victims of the deadly storm.
After the tornado struck the Spence Community 20 miles south, Macedonia Baptist Church bivocational pastor David Pickering went out into the night to check on an elderly member of the church. Shortly after he arrived, he met Macedonia music leader and volunteer fireman Richard Powell, who also as concerned about Willie Hurst.
Between flashes of lightning they discovered Hurst’s mobile home had been destroyed and its contents scattered among the trees. As they fanned out in ever-widening circles, they heard Hurst groaning in the darkness.
Eventually they found Hurst lying face down in the mud with severe injuries. He is slowly recovering from seven broken ribs and a broken jaw in a Tallahassee hospital.
Joe Beechum, director of missions for the Tucker Baptist Association, said the shock of what happened is being felt across the region.
“This is enormous,” he said. “You can’t even get to the areas that are the hardest hit.”
“We’re here to lend a helping hand and help minister to people who’ve been affected by this storm,” Richardson said.
“That’s what Baptists are all about, being there when someone needs help,” he continued.
The disaster relief teams are funded through the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptists’ giving channel for missions and ministry by state Baptist Convention.
Additional Baptist volunteers are expected to assist with cleanup efforts.
Share with others: