DAVENPORT, Iowa (BP) — Amid continued historic flooding in the Midwest, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are working their way through more than 1,400 mud-out requests for homes devastated during the disaster.
The timing is critical to saving homes in the impacted region, said Sam Porter, national director for SBDR at the North American Mission Board.
With tornado season looming and increased volunteer needs anticipated nationwide, SBDR leaders are asking Southern Baptists to consider opportunities to aid flood relief efforts in Nebraska and Iowa.
Pacific Junction, Iowa, located 25 miles south of Omaha, Neb., is among the many Mississippi River communities hit hard by this spring’s flooding. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief leaders say more volunteers are needed before summer heat brings more complications.Photo by Nick Burt/Arkansas Baptist State Convention
Volunteers are needed “even if they’re not a part of SBDR, — if a church has an organized group or they have some leadership that was a part of disaster relief,” Porter said. Survivors in Nebraska and Iowa as well as Kansas “would welcome them to go up and help us mud-out and clean the homes.”
“When it warms, the homes will be consumed by mold, and they’ll have to destroy the whole house. It’s really urgent to get in and take all of that out of there as soon as we can,” Porter said.
The devastating floods started in late March after heavy rain and melting snow led to floodwaters 10-feet high in places. Flood conditions continued throughout April. The Mississippi River has been above major flood stage around Davenport, Iowa, for a record 39 days this spring, according to The New York Times.
Farmers have been hit particularly hard by the flooding. In March alone, more than 1 million acres of cropland were ravaged by floods, according to a Reuters report.
Southern Baptists responded immediately to the flooding, with Porter estimating that Southern Baptists representing a dozen states have participated in the recovery efforts. SBDR needs a strong push in the next four weeks to complete as many of the remaining jobs as possible before summer hits, he noted.
“The Cooperative Program for Southern Baptists is about more than just money,” said Porter, who served for 19 years as Oklahoma Baptists’ director of disaster relief before becoming SBDR’s national director. “It’s manifested probably the best in Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, where we go to help each other and will stay as long as we’re needed, even when we’re hurting in our own states.”
Currently, SBDR’s ministry to flood survivors is based out of churches in Freemont and Bellevue, Neb., and Glenwood, Iowa.
Randy Garrett, director of disaster relief for Arkansas Baptist, has been overseeing the Midwest flood work for Southern Baptists. While trained volunteers are greatly appreciated, he said anyone is welcome regardless of previous training.
“We can train people through video and on-the-job training,” Garrett said. “We’ll provide volunteers with all the safety equipment they’ll need.”
Garrett said past experience shows that the number of volunteers declines the longer it has been since a particular disaster. With tornadoes hitting multiple southern states, including Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas, he also noted the needs in the Midwest.
Louisiana Baptists responded to a powerful F3 tornado that hit the north-central Louisiana town of Ruston on April 25. The tornado killed two people and left heavy damage on the campus of Louisiana Tech University. About 1,300 Louisiana Tech students volunteered to help with cleanup efforts, with Louisiana Baptists and several other organizations helping manage the student efforts.
Porter attended a worship service at Temple Baptist Church in Ruston where several people shared testimonies about how Southern Baptists had been there to help in their time of need.
Garrett emphasized that the SBDR efforts are all built on the foundation of sharing the hope of Jesus in the midst of disaster.
“We’ve seen a tremendous outpouring of people giving their faith to Christ,” Garrett said. “We have some people who have been unbelievable in evangelism and sharing the Word of Christ. It goes hand in hand. We don’t just go into places to fix things. We go there to share Christ.”
For more information about helping flood survivors in the Midwest through SBDR, visit the North American Mission Board’s directory of state Baptist convention websites under the Volunteer tab.
