First Hurricane Irene dumped water along the East Coast, and then Tropical Storm Lee flooded parts of the Gulf Coast. So Alabama Baptist disaster relief teams are among the many Southern Baptist disaster relief teams mopping up (see story, page 3).
At press time, 11 disaster relief teams had been deployed to Vermont, North Carolina and parts of Alabama. Other teams are on standby.
Tom Berry led a team from Mud Creek Baptist Association to Montpelier, Vt., to do mud-out and cleanup/recovery ministry. Along with three seasoned disaster relief veterans, Berry has a newly trained team member, Barbara Wise. Although Wise completed her training only two weeks ago, she was excited about the opportunity to go to Vermont.
“This is an adventure for me,” Wise said. “I hope to learn more, but even more important, I hope to lead someone to the Lord.”
Ronald Bobo said he was “packed and ready to go” when the call came for his West Cullman Baptist Association team to deploy to Greenville, N.C. The team is doing mud-out and cleanup/recovery work for flood victims.
“We just want to help people,” Bobo said.
A mud-out team from Baldwin Baptist Association and chain saw teams from Chilton and Tuskegee Lee Baptist associations were deployed to the Greenville area as well. Belhaven, N.C., was the site Etowah Baptist Association disaster relief volunteers headed for, while volunteers from Cleburne, Colbert-Lauderdale and Tennessee River Baptist associations traveled to Kinston, N.C.
“This ministry is fantastic,” said Butch Hillis, disaster relief coordinator for Colbert-Lauderdale Association. “The rewards are great.”
For Hillis, the biggest joy is to see the expression on a homeowner’s face when the disaster relief trailer pulls up.
“To see the homeowner smiling lets us know we are in the right place,” he said.
Mel Johnson, disaster relief strategist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, called disaster relief “one of the crown jewels of ministry in Southern Baptist life.”
“The eagerness of our disaster relief personnel to reach out to those affected by Hurricane Irene is a testament of their devotion to our Savior,” Johnson said. “Even though many of our Alabama volunteers have been engaged in various communities throughout our state, as a result of the April 27 tornadoes, they could not refuse this opportunity to go and assist our neighbors in need on the East Coast.”
At home, the Birmingham Baptist Association feeding unit was serving meals in Bessemer and a St. Clair Baptist Association team was ministering in Coal City in response to Tropical Storm Lee.
To help with disaster relief efforts, visit www.sbdr.org.
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