This summer will seem like an eternity to the staff of Union Baptist Association in Houston, said director of missions Tom Billings, Tropical Storm Allison completely destroyed their offices.
To make matters worse, Billings found out June 12 the association wasn’t insured against the flood.
“It will cost about $250,000 to replace everything,” he told Baptist Press.
He said the Baptist General Convention of Texas has already pledged its support to the association and plans to send letters to all the Baptist churches in Texas asking for monetary support. In the meantime, Billings said the association’s task is a simple but challenging one.
“We just have to start all over,” he said.
The storm dumped more than 30 inches of rain on Houston and a reported 20-plus inches of rain on parts of Louisiana. As of June 12, authorities reported 20 fatalities, including 70-year-old Thomas Lee Johnson, a Houston-area minister.
The association is maintaining a list of damaged churches on its Internet site at www.ubahouston.org, reported Karen Simons, an associational consultant in communications and missions. Among the flooded churches identified thus far are First Baptist, Deer park, and New Life Community Church, the latter being uninsured for the three feet of water sustained.
Floodwaters measuring five feet rose up around the Union Baptist Association building over the weekend, putting tremendous pressure on the plate glass windows that lined it. When the glass could no longer stand the pressure, the windows burst, sending torrents of water through the building, carrying with it furniture, computers and office supplies, shooting them out of the building and into a nearby ravine.
Eagerly waiting
As the water recedes in other parts of Texas and Louisiana, Baptist workers wait eagerly with cleanup teams and supplies.
In Houston’s medical district, the main disaster relief unit of Texas Baptist Men is preparing daily meals for at least 15,000 people.
In Louisiana, three kitchens were in operation June 12. Christ Baptist Church, Houma, will prepare meals for those hardest hit in the state, and plans to provide food for at least 1,600 people per day for as long as necessary.
At Williams Boulevard Baptist Church, Kenner, La., near New Orleans, workers plan to prepare meals for approximately 500 people per day. In Lafayette, workers are preparing the same amount of meals at First Baptist Church, Broussard.
(BP)
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