The thought of traveling more than 14 hours to Iowa, sleeping on cots in churches and working all day cleaning and gutting muddy, waterlogged homes may not seem attractive to some people. But to Alabama Baptist disaster relief volunteers, it is an opportunity to serve others as Christ did.
Since a "historic flood" ravaged the Midwest in June, thousands of Iowans have returned to damaged or destroyed homes to try to pick up the pieces of their lives. And cleanup/recovery crews from Elmore, Baldwin, Mud Creek, Colbert-Lauderdale and Sand Mountain Baptist associations were there to help.
Prior to the arrival of these crews, Alabama Baptists from several associations traveled to the area with a feeding unit, the state shower unit and a mud-out team and to serve as chaplains.
On four separate disaster relief trips, the cleanup volunteers spent days clearing destroyed belongings, sweeping and shoveling mud, removing damaged Sheetrock, disinfecting homes and displaying the love of Christ.
"When people are hurting after a disaster, be it man-made or natural, Christians should be ready to go in, serve and provide hope," said Tommy Puckett, Alabama Baptist state disaster relief director. "I’m really thankful and proud of how Alabama Baptists have responded to the needs in the Midwest floods.
"They were willing to make the sacrifice to go and serve regardless of what it cost out of their pockets," he added, noting some spent anywhere from $300 to $500 of their own money on gasoline and some drove their own vehicles.
Tom Barry, disaster relief coordinator for Mud Creek Association, traveled with a six-person team to Iowa City, Iowa, where floodwaters crossed over sandbags stacked 3 feet high, came 38 inches into some homes and ended up 35 feet from one man’s backdoor after receding. Barry, a member of First Baptist Church, Oak Grove, in Mud Creek Association, considers it a blessing to do disaster relief work.
"I get excited about going on these trips," he said. "You meet so many fantastic people, and they become really close to you. It’s like you’ve known them all your life."
Seven volunteers from Colbert-Lauderdale and Sand Mountain associations were also scheduled to work in Iowa City but were redirected to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Team leader Lee Hill likened the damage there to that left by Hurricane Katrina.
"It was a terrible looking site to see the belongings of so many homes on the curb, and we saw block after block of that," said Hill, a member of Underwood Baptist Church, Florence, in Colbert-Lauderdale Association. "You can see the watermark on the homes. As we would approach, the people would stand outside their homes and look like they were saying, ‘What do I do now?’"
According to Puckett, floodwaters are slowly receding but there is much more work to be done. "There is going to be a need for more mud-out crews to come in," he said. "We are also going to need some repair/rebuild crews to go in and help homeowners."
Hill would encourage others to help meet these needs.
"They need help today and they’ll need help weeks from now," he said. "You can get in your car, take your sleeping bag and be a blessing to someone else."
Barry added, "The same tragedy could happen to your neighborhood, and you would appreciate those people coming to help you if it did."
To help with disaster relief efforts in the Midwest, send checks to the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, P.O. Box 11870, Montgomery, AL 36111-0870. Designate the checks for "Midwest Flood."
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