Baptist Press
Disaster Relief volunteers assist homeowner Lois Richburg with damage to his home and property from Hurricane Matthew. Photo by Geoff L Johnson/NAMB
CARY, N.C. — Scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of 1999’s Hurricane Floyd are playing out across a 250-mile stretch of North Carolina. Already North Carolina Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers, and those from seven other states, have served Hurricane Matthew survivors by preparing more than 400,000 meals from six SBDR kitchens.
North Carolina Baptist Men Disaster Relief director Gaylon Moss said some of the same areas affected by Floyd were hard hit again by Matthew. Moss said volunteer days served in North Carolina have already surpassed 7,000.
“The extensive nature of the response, the scale and scope, are larger,” Moss said. “From the northeast corner of the state to the southwest, we are serving across 200-plus miles.
In the overall SBDR response to Matthew, volunteers from 15 states, including Tennessee, have served. More than 575,000 meals have been prepared. More than 4,000 chaplain contacts have been made. There also have been 284 gospel presentations reported and 88 decisions for faith in Christ. To date, 815 chainsaw jobs have been completed, along with 104 heavy debris removal jobs. David Melber, North American Mission Board vice president for Send Relief, expressed gratitude for the work volunteers have already accomplished in the response.
“We are thankful that the heart of Southern Baptists for service is demonstrated in the action of thousands of volunteers and church members assisting their neighbors in the wake of Hurricane Matthew,” Melber said. “As with the response to Louisiana flooding, the needs related to Matthew will be long-term. We are confident and thankful Southern Baptists will continue to serve until all of those needs are met.”
Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, noted that a Tennessee Baptist team served in North Carolina last week and another team is scheduled to go to North Carolina in mid-November.
In addition, Tennessee teams are continuing to serve in South Carolina and will be for at least the next two weeks, Jones added.
Tennessee Baptists interested in donating to hurricane relief can respond online at tndisasterrelief.org to 2016 Hurricane Matthew or by a check made payable to the Tennesseee Baptist Convention and mailed to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief, P.O. Box 728, Brentwood, TN 37024.
