Disaster Relief Effort: Northeast Alabama, Part 3, and South Louisiana, Part 1
The following is another letter Paul Elliott has sent to his friends. He worked with relief groups in north Alabama after the tornadoes Soon he will travel to south Louisiana to help the flood victims.
Dear Friends,
(If you missed either of the first two posts, my friend, Mary Cheatham, has graciously posted them on one of her blogs. You can find them here:
1. http://moversandshakersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/letter-from-north-alabama.html
2.http://moversandshakersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/update-from-northeast-alabama-disaster.html)
May 8, Sunday, was a day of rest. The assessments were ahead of the chain saw teams, so we got to rest and enjoy Mother's Day. I returned to worship at the Bethel Baptist Church in the small community where I began the assessment process my first day out. They are recovering nicely and have been helping their affected members put their lives back together. The Alabama people are very hard working and very considerate of one another giving anything they have to those in need.
May 9 through 11, Monday through Wednesday, we were sent to specific addresses which had been called in by homeowners or disaster workers in other fields, such as chaplains or police. The pace was slower, but some of these addresses were difficult to find even with my Garmin GPS. I ran through 3 more helpers--5 total. I guess I was too hard on them. hahaha
Actually, the last 3 were chaplains. They could minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of the families while I assessed and wrote up the damage. It was an excellent arrangement.
I returned to Ruston, LA, my home base for disaster relief on Thursday, May 12, for more training on Saturday, May 14. I trained on the Shower and Laundry units. Now that I know how to shower and wash my clothes, maybe I'll go through fewer helpers. hahaha.
Actually at our Alabama Headquarters in Geraldine First Baptist Church, we had wonderful showers--good and hot. Great at the end of the day.--and a washer and dryer. They fed us wonderfully 3 times a day. The food and the desserts were sumptuous! Southern women do know how to cook!
The Alabama unit is now closed down and all of us have staggered back to LA to regroup for south LA. The whole LA group reported that 5 people accepted Christ's shed blood as the payment for their sins! It was all worth it!
I have been assigned to the Shower and Laundry units and we have been told we will be assigned to Jeanerette, LA, south of Lafayette and west of Baton Rouge, the capital, deep in Cajun country. Yummm! I'll have to slip off and find some boiled crawfish! Whoopee!
However, the flooding waters of the Mississippi River have been rising more slowly than predicted--praise be to the Lord--so they have delayed our departure from Ruston. We had thought we would be leaving Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. It now appears we will not leave before tomorrow morning, Wednesday.
It would be such a great blessing if the flooding were so much less that we won't even be needed!
Above all, pray for the dear people of the Mississippi River area in all the states affected who have lost everything but their lives. Many have no insurance and have lost not only their homes and everything in them but their livelihoods, too.
This is a creeping disaster versus a sudden one such as the tornadoes, but the devastation will be worse.
In His Service,
Paul
P. S. Again, let me emphasize, that this is NOT a solicitation of funds. But more people have asked how they may help, so I'm giving some places where tax-deductible donations can be given.
Christi Bates of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Disaster Relief efforts sent this --
Paul,
A fund has been set up for Disaster Relief regarding the AL tornadoes.
You can make a check payable to the LA Baptist Convention (memo DR Efforts).
Mail the check to:
LA Baptist Convention
Attn: Disaster Relief
PO BOX 311
Alexandria,LA 71309
Or you may contribute online with a credit card at
www.lbc.org
Thank you,
Christi Bates
Dear Friends,
(If you missed either of the first two posts, my friend, Mary Cheatham, has graciously posted them on one of her blogs. You can find them here:
1. http://moversandshakersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/letter-from-north-alabama.html
2.http://moversandshakersblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/update-from-northeast-alabama-disaster.html)
May 8, Sunday, was a day of rest. The assessments were ahead of the chain saw teams, so we got to rest and enjoy Mother's Day. I returned to worship at the Bethel Baptist Church in the small community where I began the assessment process my first day out. They are recovering nicely and have been helping their affected members put their lives back together. The Alabama people are very hard working and very considerate of one another giving anything they have to those in need.
May 9 through 11, Monday through Wednesday, we were sent to specific addresses which had been called in by homeowners or disaster workers in other fields, such as chaplains or police. The pace was slower, but some of these addresses were difficult to find even with my Garmin GPS. I ran through 3 more helpers--5 total. I guess I was too hard on them. hahaha
Actually, the last 3 were chaplains. They could minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of the families while I assessed and wrote up the damage. It was an excellent arrangement.
I returned to Ruston, LA, my home base for disaster relief on Thursday, May 12, for more training on Saturday, May 14. I trained on the Shower and Laundry units. Now that I know how to shower and wash my clothes, maybe I'll go through fewer helpers. hahaha.
Actually at our Alabama Headquarters in Geraldine First Baptist Church, we had wonderful showers--good and hot. Great at the end of the day.--and a washer and dryer. They fed us wonderfully 3 times a day. The food and the desserts were sumptuous! Southern women do know how to cook!
The Alabama unit is now closed down and all of us have staggered back to LA to regroup for south LA. The whole LA group reported that 5 people accepted Christ's shed blood as the payment for their sins! It was all worth it!
I have been assigned to the Shower and Laundry units and we have been told we will be assigned to Jeanerette, LA, south of Lafayette and west of Baton Rouge, the capital, deep in Cajun country. Yummm! I'll have to slip off and find some boiled crawfish! Whoopee!
However, the flooding waters of the Mississippi River have been rising more slowly than predicted--praise be to the Lord--so they have delayed our departure from Ruston. We had thought we would be leaving Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. It now appears we will not leave before tomorrow morning, Wednesday.
It would be such a great blessing if the flooding were so much less that we won't even be needed!
Above all, pray for the dear people of the Mississippi River area in all the states affected who have lost everything but their lives. Many have no insurance and have lost not only their homes and everything in them but their livelihoods, too.
This is a creeping disaster versus a sudden one such as the tornadoes, but the devastation will be worse.
In His Service,
Paul
P. S. Again, let me emphasize, that this is NOT a solicitation of funds. But more people have asked how they may help, so I'm giving some places where tax-deductible donations can be given.
Christi Bates of the Louisiana Baptist Convention Disaster Relief efforts sent this --
Paul,
A fund has been set up for Disaster Relief regarding the AL tornadoes.
You can make a check payable to the LA Baptist Convention (memo DR Efforts).
Mail the check to:
LA Baptist Convention
Attn: Disaster Relief
PO BOX 311
Alexandria,LA 71309
Or you may contribute online with a credit card at
www.lbc.org
Thank you,
Christi Bates
Labels: Alabama tornadoes, Bethel Baptist Church, chain saw teams, Chaplains in Alabama, disaster assessors, Geraldine Baptist Church, Jeanerete, LA, Movers and Shakers Blog
posted by Mary Lou Cheatham at
5:02 PM
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