By Janet Erwin
The Alabama Baptist
After being trained by Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief officials earlier this year, I donned my yellow shirt and yellow hat for the first time Nov. 3–4 in Adamsville, Tennessee. The area had sustained 75–100 mph winds from Tropical Storm Olga the previous weekend leaving portions of the town a war zone and I joined a group to serve along with the Alabama mass feeding team.
Operating out of the church kitchen of First Baptist Church, Adamsville, the experienced feeding team welcomed and mentored me each step of the way. While we were not feeding the thousands, we were providing necessary meals and snacks for the chainsaw teams, chaplain, administrative team and our feeding team. Our days were filled from morning till night prepping, cooking and serving meals, cleaning up and preparing for the next day. Organization was first and foremost.
TAB editor-in-chief, Jennifer Davis Rash, believes in missions and ministry. At the beginning of the year she encouraged us to become credentialed with disaster relief in our specific area of interest. In addition she offered TAB employees seven workdays a year for ministry opportunities such as disaster relief.
So when I popped my head into her office and asked for time off to join the disaster relief feeding group in Adamsville, she readily responded, “Yes.”
Having survived a tornado and the loss of my belongings in 1974, I felt honored to serve others who find themselves victims of natural disasters.
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