Illinois and Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers cook meals following Hurricane Francine.
Mass care feeding wrapped up this week as Send Relief and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) prepared and served nearly 40,000 meals in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine’s landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 storm on Sept. 11. A team of Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) volunteers was responsible for helping prepare more than half of those meals.
The team of IBDR volunteers coordinated with Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR) volunteers to help cook over 24,000 meals that were served by the Salvation Army. The team, led by Tom Clore, IBDR Feeding Coordinator and a member of First Baptist Church in Eldorado, was based at Renew Church in Baton Rouge where they worked out of the MBDR “Spirit Kitchen” feeding trailer. The team, which also included members of First Baptist Churches Karnak and Du Quoin, ministered in the area for four days before returning to Illinois.
A deployment of IBDR flood recovery and chainsaw teams to Morgan City and Houma, Louisiana was canceled earlier this week after assessors determined existing teams already onsite could do the work.
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) expects its repair and recovery work to continue for at least another two weeks in and around Morgan City, which was the hardest-hit community.
“Morgan City was impacted by Hurricane Ida” in 2021, Statham said. “So, some of these same families are dealing with more damage, and even though the damage field is not as wide or quite as devastating, it was still a strong storm. In those areas where there’s damage, it’s bad.”
Approximately 100 families requested SBDR clean-up and recovery assistance through their recovery site located at First Baptist Church, Morgan City. Volunteers from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention have been serving at the site, with other states expected to send volunteers over the next two weeks.
Send Relief shipped recovery items, rolled roofing, flood recovery supplies, bottled water and food – as well as equipment that helped SBDR distribute food to storm survivors.
Statham praised Send Relief for providing the supplies and food that supported Louisiana SBDR’s response. “We’re very grateful for our partnership with Send Relief in Louisiana,” he said.
“The dedication of our SBDR volunteers always amazes and humbles me,” said Coy Webb, director of crisis response for Send Relief. “Even after serving nearly two decades leading Kentucky SBDR, I never lose my own sense of gratitude to those volunteers who drop everything to go help others when disaster or other crisis strikes.”
Earlier this week, Webb said, a chaplain who was serving alongside a recovery team was able to witness a homeowner come to faith in Christ while the team worked on the home.
“Send Relief is grateful to support their efforts as, together, we bring physical help and spiritual hope to people in need,” Webb said.
Since the storm’s damage was not as widespread, Hurricane Francine quickly faded from the news, but there are still hundreds of people reeling in the aftermath.
“When you go through a couple of these storms, and your home is damaged, it can leave you dismayed,” said Statham. “So, pray for those impacted. Pray for our volunteers. We have a lot of volunteers traveling with equipment. Pray for safety.”
NOBTS back to full operation
Both New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) and Leavell College returned to full operation on Monday (Sept. 16). In anticipation of the storm, all classes and offices were closed on Sept. 11-12.
The storm, which passed almost directly over the campus, caused minimal damage to campus and loss of power for a portion of residents. “The Lord was incredibly gracious to us by protecting us through Hurricane Francine this past week,” said NOBTS President Jamie Dew.
An all clear was given on Sept. 12, and power began to be restored for some residents as soon as that afternoon. No injuries were sustained among individuals on campus.
Dew said the many faithful Southern Baptists who prayed for NOBTS during the storm would be glad to see the godly community of people preparing for ministry service on campus.
“Southern Baptists will be proud to see all that God is doing on our campus,” said Dew.
Next IBDR training
The next IBDR training event is Oct. 4-5 at the IBSA Building in Springfield. DART (Disaster Assistance Response Training) is a cooperative effort between SEND Relief and IBDR to equip responders in providing compassionate ministry that meets the physical and spiritual needs of people during crisis events overseas. It covers the basics of international disaster response, how to assess and report needs, coordination with local and international disaster relief partners, and best practices for providing technical assistance and relief supplies to communities in need. For more information about this free training event, visit IBSA.org.
If you would like to become a trained Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer, IBDR 101 training is available online 24/7. The course fee is $50 which includes a background check and certificate upon completion. For more information, visit IBSA.org/dr.
– Send Relief with additional reporting from the Illinois Baptist and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary