Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief members have been helping with hurricane recovery near Augusta, Ga., since late September.
“I would describe it as one big debris field,” Toby Tucker, who led the first deployment, told “The Pathway.” “Consequently, our immediate focus was on feeding people who had been displaced or weren’t able to fix meals due to the power outages. The other priority has been removing trees from homes and driveways, and tarping roofs.”
The mass-feeding team initially prepared as many as 10,000 meals daily in cooperation with the Red Cross and has distributed more than 800 cases of water. However, the number of meals has been declining as power has returned to some areas. After preparing 85,000 meals, the mass-feeding team closed in mid-October, although other recovery efforts are in full force. Nearly 700 work orders have come in for help with tree removal, clean-up and tarping.
“One of our personnel in Kenya sent me a message saying that individuals with the Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief team serving in Augusta, Ga., helped remove trees from the roof of his house in the U.S. after the hurricane,” said Kevin Moots, of the International Mission Board in Uganda, Africa, who is currently serving as a logistics coordinator.
READ: When disaster strikes, Texans on Mission is ready to respond
Apparently, a neighbor had contacted him about the effects of the hurricane and told him about the trees on the house.
“I’m from Lebanon, Mo., myself, and I was thankful to God to hear that story and how God has used chainsaw crews from Missouri over the years,” Moots said “I can’t tell you what peace that gave our staff member as he’s serving with his family in Nairobi, Kenya.”
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams have been busy in every state affected by Hurricane Helene. Nationally, more than 3,200 volunteers responded to the disaster by early October; more than 600,000 meals have been served and more than 800 homeowners were assisted with flood or chainsaw clean-up or roof tarping. Equally important, more than 500 gospel conversations were made, and there have been 56 professions of faith.
Donations to support this work can be made at www.modr.org/give.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
