As Tropical Storm Andrea tracks through the state today, North Carolina Baptist Men stands on alert.
With Andrea expected to drench the state with rain and with the threat of tornadoes, the organization said leaders are watching the storm system closely to see if and when they need to respond.
“North Carolina Baptists have been blessed with over 14,000 trained men and women volunteers and lots of equipment that can be used to minister to hurting people and to glorify God,” said Richard Brunson, NCBM executive director, in a recent story about the Oklahoma response. “Pray for the teams and the people they will assist.”
Meanwhile, this weekend about 400 people will be in Hendersonville for the last disaster relief training weekend. Inspired by stories of people responding to other disasters such as the recent Oklahoma tornadoes and Hurricane Sandy from last year, men, women and youth are learning everything from the basics of disaster relief to more highly skilled tasks such as chainsaw or food preparation rules.
Also today, four people are headed to Hungary to help with flood relief efforts along the Danube River. These are members of Rescue 24, an emergency response team. Working with Hungarian Baptist Aid, the crew will be assisting with sandbagging and evacuation efforts. A second team is being assembled in case they are needed.
Since responding to Oklahoma, N.C. Baptists have racked up 420 total volunteer days (as of June 6) with 140 completed projects. Greater than that to the volunteers, however, is the 18 people who have made salvation decisions since N.C. Baptists have been sharing the gospel in Oklahoma. Around 900 chaplaincy visits have been recorded by N.C. Baptists in Oklahoma as well.
N.C. Baptists are also involved in ongoing rebuild projects in Allenwood, N.J., and Freeport, N.Y. N.C. volunteers there have racked up more than 6,000 volunteer days.
Brunson thanked N.C. Baptists for their support of disaster relief missions. He asked people to continue praying for the victims and volunteers.
For more information about NCBM disaster relief efforts in Oklahoma and how you can help, go to www.baptistsonmission.org/oktornado. To support this effort financially, please donate to the Oklahoma Midwest Tornado Fund; 100 percent of all donations will go toward this disaster. Mail to: NCBM Disaster Relief, P.O. Box 1107, Cary, NC 27512 or donate online by clicking the “Donations” area on the right of website. Baptist Men is also accepting donations for its other endeavors in other states and countries. Please be sure to designate which project. Visit www.facebook.com/ncmissionsdisasterrelief.