Texans on Mission offer refreshing hope in Houston

By John Hall/Texans on Mission

HOUSTON (BP) — The city is hot, and it’s not just the temperature. People are angry and frustrated.

Five days after Hurricane Beryl swept across southeast Texas, large parts of Houston remain dark. Traffic lights, restaurants, homes all lack power in many places. Internet service is sporadic.

But the temperature is hot, as well, with the typical 95 degrees and high Houston humidity.

An electricity of frustration fills the air like the oppressive heat. People are on edge. It’s like having your wallet stolen, replacing your driver’s license and credit cards only to have the wallet taken again.

Waking up before dawn each morning, a group of Texans on Mission and church volunteers are ushering in a refreshing breeze of hope.

First they cooked 6,000 meals. The next day they did 7,500. Then 8,500. Soon, it’ll be 10,000 meals delivered across the city.

A reminder of God’s love

“A meal is more than just some food,” said David Wells, Texans on Mission disaster relief director. The ministry is cooking meals for Houstonians across the city. “It’s a gift. It’s a reminder people care about you. And when it’s prayed over by our volunteers and distributed by churches, it’s a way to show each person that God loves them.”

The Texans on Mission state feeding unit will continue breathing hope into Houston. The volunteers are working with the Salvation Army, which is distributing meals, and the National Baptist Convention of America (NBCA) and city leaders to identify distribution points.

Terry White, executive secretary and treasurer of NBCA’s Home Mission Board, is helping make sure the food is getting into often overlooked communities where suffering is at its worst.

On July 10, one of the meals cooked by Texans on Mission went to a woman who hadn’t eaten in two days. She had no electricity. She doesn’t drive. And her food spoiled.

“I hope this gives them hope that someone cares,” White said. “Trials and tribulations come, but they can count on the church. We are to be a beacon of hope. Hopefully, that will resonate in their hearts and minds.”

New Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church distributed some of the meals. Pastor Ronald Smith wants people to know the congregation is there to minister to people in their time of need.

It is a resource and asset to the community, he said. Without the church, it’s doubtful this neighborhood would have much assistance.

“It is our desire to become a united front when disasters hit,” Smith said. “This church can be a place people turn to for help. There’s many people here who are still without power, without food. We are here to provide as much as we can to those who need it the most.”

In other places across the region, Texans on Mission chainsaw teams are cutting up fallen trees and limbs. They’re making it possible for people to enter their homes again.

Each job they do saves the family they serve thousands of dollars they don’t have, Wells said. The teams prioritize the uninsured, elderly and impoverished.

“Disasters turn everyone’s life upside down,” he said. “But they’re especially difficult for people who were struggling before the storm. By removing the trees, we’re clearing the way for people to recover from the storms.”

But chainsaw ministry is about more than saving people money and getting trees out of the way, Wells continued.

“The teams listen to what families are going through,” he said. “They pray with people and encourage them.”

And at the end of the project, each team presents a Bible to the family they serve.

“We serve because God loves us and the Bible tells us to love our neighbors,” Wells said. “That’s what we’re doing after Hurricane Beryl. We aim to transform homes physically with our hard work and equipment. While there, we aim to be vessels through which God transforms homes spiritually with the gospel.”

Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief teams on cleanup in Texas

By Grace Thornton/The Alabama Baptist

HUFFMAN, Texas — The first Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief (ABDR) volunteers are on the ground in Huffman, ready to help with cleanup in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

“We’re going to provide chainsaw support to the community,” said John Hayes, the white hat leader for ABDR in Huffman. “Right now, we’re still getting set up.”

He said there is a “good bit of damage” to several of the areas near First Baptist Church (FBC) Huffman, where teams will be based. When Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on Monday (July 8), it toppled trees and left millions without power.

“As I get the assessors in … they will be out checking and finding the people in the community who will allow us to do their work and make sure it’s something we can safely do,” Hayes said.

Helping out, making contacts

Chainsaw teams began their work over the weekend. “We will only be doing chainsaw work at this time, but that could change,” Hayes said.

An ABDR feeding team will be set up at the church providing meals for volunteer teams, and a team of chaplains will be working in the neighborhoods alongside chainsaw teams, Hayes said. They plan to give daily reports to FBC Huffman so that the church can follow up with contacts after teams are gone.

“It’s a good way for them to make contact with people that they may not have gotten to make contact with otherwise,” Hayes said.

For more information on how you can help Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief as they come alongside those affected by Hurricane Beryl, visit sbdr.org.

Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief, other organizations respond to Beryl

By Hubert Yates/MBDR

Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR) will be deploying 20 volunteers to Brazoria, Texas, in response to a request for assistance from Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief (SBC DR) network partners Texans on Mission (ToM) and Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) Disaster Relief.

Composed of volunteers from Attala County Baptist Association, Calhoun County Baptist Association, Jackson County Baptist Association, Temple Church in Hattiesburg and Morrison Heights Church in Clinton, the four teams will be operating from a ToM Disaster Relief site at First Baptist Brazoria. The MBDR volunteers are scheduled to be on site July 20-21 and will be focusing on debris cleanup while ministering to homeowners who were affected by the landfall of Hurricane Beryl. 

The MBDR teams will be joining SBTC Disaster Relief and ToM Disaster Relief organizations, and other SBC DR partners in ministry efforts in six different locations across East Texas from the Houston area to Texarkana, Texas. 

In Wharton, Texas, SBTC is operating an SBTC feeding kitchen, a quick response feeding unit, a shower unit and providing 5,000 meals per day in partnership with The Salvation Army, one of our national disaster relief partners.

In Houston, ToM Disaster Relief has deployed a ToM feeding kitchen and is working in partnership with The Salvation Army to provide 15,000 meals per day to those who have been affected by the storm and the large power outage that has occurred as a result of the high winds. 

SBTC DR has operational sites in Spring, Jasper, Galveston and Texarkana, providing debris cleanup and survivor assistance. In Texarkana, SBTC DR is partnered with Arkansas Baptist Convention Disaster Relief to provide assistance in tarping and debris removal following a Hurricane Beryl spin-off tornado.

A sixth operations site is open in Huffman, Texas, and is being coordinated by Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief at the request of ToM and SBTC.

In addition to the Texas destruction, Hurricane Beryl spawned tornado and flooding events in Iowa and Vermont. SBC DR teams from those areas are conducting damage and needs assessments to identify response needs and ministry locations. It is anticipated that additional units of the SBC DR network will be activated for these areas.

At the same time, SBC DR Region 1 (Western states) is coordinating an SBC DR National Callout for the area around Ruidoso, New Mexico. This area has been affected by two major wildfires and three flash flood events within the past 45 days. SBC DR is assisting with flood recovery and ash out in ministry to those affected by these disasters. 

The ability to respond to multiple events across the United States is one of the strengths of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network as partners are located in all 42 Southern Baptist State Conventions. As SBC DR volunteers, we share a common training standard, management structure and heart for missions, providing for an effective ministry platform through and with our local church partners.

Because of the faithful giving of Mississippi Baptists through the Cooperative Program to the Margaret Lackey State Missions Offering and designated gifts to Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief, MBDR is able to bring help, hope and healing to those affected by natural and man-made disaster and crisis events.  Thank you Mississippi Baptists!  

Tax-deductible donations to assist MBDR in their operations are being accepted. Monetary gifts may be made by check. Checks should be made payable to Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, with “Disaster Relief” designated on the memo line, and mailed to MBCB Business Office, P.O. Box 530, Jackson, MS 39205-0530.

Missouri Disaster Relief responds to recent flooding in Iowa

By Tharran Gaines/The Pathway

SPENCER, Iowa — It’s a sad case of irony that following a disastrous flood, there’s still a need for more water. That was certainly the case in Spencer, Iowa, after the area received nearly 16 inches of rain over three days in late June, flooding nearly 500 homes, or roughly 40% of the town.

Granted, there was plenty of bottled water available after most utilities in the city were cut off. The needs that involved water that wasn’t readily available, though, were showers and laundry. That’s why the first response from Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (MODR) was to send in shower and laundry units within three days of the disaster.

Not only was the power out in most sections of town for a week or more, but there were literally hundreds of washers and dryers sitting on the curb where damaged possessions were piled for pickup. Those who couldn’t stay in their home or find shelter with friends or family elsewhere received temporary shelter at the Clay County Regional Event Center on the Clay County Fairgrounds. The Red Cross and local charities even provided hot meals for those who were displaced.

In the meantime, three MODR shower and laundry trailers, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) shower trailer, were parked next door to the event center where they served those in the shelter, as well as anyone else in the community who chose to use the services.

“On many deployments, flood recovery or chainsaw work is the main event,” said Toby Tucker, one of the first white hats to lead a team in Spencer. “In this case, the shower and laundry units were the main events. Even if the people who were affected by the flood weren’t staying at the shelter next door, much of the city was without power, water or sewer service for several days, affecting an even broader population.

“We were originally told people would be sheltered at four different locations,” Tucker added. “So, we had sent four separate shower and laundry units to the area, including the ADA shower unit. However, as the city consolidated housing into one location, we also consolidated our services at a location next to the event center.”

Consequently, the shower and laundry units have been in constant use since they arrived in Spencer on June 25. In the days since then, MODR has assisted the public by providing over 400 showers and doing close to 500 loads of laundry. And those numbers continue to rise each day the units remain on site.

In the meantime, assessors and flood recovery teams from Missouri, along with teams from Illinois and Georgia, have arrived in Spencer to help with clean-up. That includes the 12 MODR collegiate interns who were in Spencer on an earlier occasion when they helped with showers and laundry.

“As of July 10, we had 72 open requests for assistance,” said Gaylon Moss, MODR state director. “Several requests, which turned out to only need an application of Shockwave for mold, were taken care of by the assessors as they surveyed the damage.

“It doesn’t matter, though, whether the volunteers helped with assessment, flood recovery, showers and laundry, or feeding the teams, they’ve been invaluable in bringing help, hope and healing to a community that is facing a long recovery. I’m sure the community and the volunteers who continue to provide flood recovery can use our prayers.”

To donate to Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief, go to modr.org/give or mail your donation to: Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief, 400 E. High St., Jefferson City, MO 65101.