Tennessee Baptist disaster relief volunteers Guy Patterson and Dick Rollins speak with homeower Earline Gaskin about a tarping job that the DR team was about to do for her.
FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist disaster relief volunteers are accustomed to hard work and sweat.
This week, there’s been plenty of both for a team from Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville.
Traveling to Morgan City, La., to assist victims who are recovering from Hurricane Francine, the DR team is dealing with oppressive humidity while completing various tasks for homeowners in the area.
Steve Brock, who is leading the team, said the volunteers have needed to constantly change shirts because they are “sweating out” their clothes each day.
Through Sept. 19, the team had completed 14 jobs, including tarping several rooftops and performing a number of chain shaw jobs. The team has also had many opportunities to share their faith, Brock said.
“We have engaged in about 20 faith conversations,” he said, “and each time, we’ve given them a personalized Bible.”
The volunteers write notes of encouragement and highlight their favorite verses in each of the Bibles, Brock said.
The hurricane hit the Louisiana coast in Terrebonne Parish on Sept. 11, with Morgan City facing particularly bad damage. Baptist Press reported that thousands were without power in Louisiana in the storm’s aftermath, and some residents faced structural damage, downed trees and flooding.
The Forest Hills team is being hosted at First Baptist Church, Morgan City, said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
The Tennessee team is working with a Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma incident command team, Jones said.
Jones has also received a request for teams from Coy Webb, national director for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
“We have a call out for chain saw teams with chaplains to go to Morgan City,” Jones said.
Teams or individuals who are available to make the trip should contact Elizabeth Holmes at eholmes@tnbaptist.org or Garry Maddox at gmaddox@tnbaptist.org, Jones said.
Donations to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief can be made online at tndisasterrelief.org/contributions. Click either “Hurricane” option.
