Our first UBA team of Disaster Relief Volunteers arrived home yesterday after cleaning up 7 homes in Louisiana. Our second team is there now, but that will not be enough. Please read the following message from Sam Porter of BGCO and volunteer to go if you can. Notice in the message below, they are welcoming all volunteers; trained or untrained. If you can't go; PRAY! Everytime we clean up a flooded home we earn the right to share Jesus with people. Pray for many to be saved as a result of our work. Share this message with your entire church.
Preston Collins, Executive Director for Union Baptist Association
Dear Oklahoma DR Leaders,
Please consider this as an APB (all points Bulletin).
Arkansas and Louisiana have received record rain fall much like Oklahoma did last year.
Louisiana has 18,000 homes affected with 11,000 confirmed flooded the other 7,000 homes are cut off from access to get in or out of their homes.
At the present Oklahoma has Approximately 30 volunteers in Monroe, La. and 6 in Crossett, Arkansas.
Oklahoma under Wes Johnson’s leadership has an Incident Command set in NE La. at Monroe.
We have a 3 week commitment there for now. It is predicted that the cleanup for La. will take 2 months. However it is tornado season so we are committing for 3 weeks and we will see what the forecast looks like.
FEEDING
Dean Kizer sent a small group feeding team to the Monroe, La. area yesterday. The Arbuckle Mobile kitchen is the kitchen that is set up there.
The ideal team size is 20 volunteers but no less that 15 if at all possible. For now they are about 12 short for this week. Officials have Requested 4,00 meals per day.
We desperately need volunteers not necessarily blue caps to go TOMORROW if at all possible.
And, we need Feeding teams / Blue caps willing to adopt a week beginning Monday March 28. And the weeks of April 4, April 11,and possibly April18.
The plan is for the teams to depart Oklahoma on Mondays and return the next Tuesday of each week.
If you cannot go as a Blue Cap please call your alternate Blue caps on your unit to see if they can lead. That is why we must always have 3 blue caps per unit so that our units can respond when called upon.
If you can go any of these times please reply to volmin@bgco.org or call Dean Kizer at 405-760-9697.
I realize that this is Easter Weekend . If you do not have leadership responsibilities in your church and if you do not have major family plans please consider serving others in need as your act of worship this Easter weekend. I truly believe that is the heart and soul of what Serving the Lord is about by “putting yourself in the offering plate.’
Flood Relief
We have two flood relief/mud out trailers in Monroe just waiting for a team of volunteers to arrive next week. Darrell Kastner will be the Coordinator the next two weeks in Monroe. Richard Brown just finished a week there and is back to take his church on a planned spring Mission trip to Mexico for the next two weeks.
If you are willing to go as a team leader or as a volunteer please call Deryl Kastner 405-213-4638.
Again this would be for a week’s work Leaving each Sunday.
The LeFlore and Muskogee Associational Mud out units will be going to Crossett and Dermott Arkansas. Both of these units are some of our new Hybrid units being developed that are equipped to do flood relief, chain saw, ash out, and even tarpping.
We MUST be willing and able to do whatever the task is at hand.
As I often say… Flooding is the most extensive damaging and deadly type disaster worldwide yet it is the one area that Oklahoma MUST increase our volunteer base.
As Jesus indicated we all need to strive to become ‘Second Mile Saints’..basically doing whatever it takes to meet the needs of others in times of crisis.
Thanks in advance for prayerfully considering stepping up to lead. If you cannot go please at least pass this along to all within your sphere of influence.
Last but not least On a Nationwide State director call today we all agreed that ANY ONE MAY COME SERVE ON OUR TEAMS REGUARDLESS OF THE TRAINIG THEY HAVE HAD OR NOT HAD. There is THAT MUCH OF A NEED TO SUSPEND THAT RULE IN THIS CRISIS NEED. So, ask anyone in your church, family, community, etc. if they would like to serve others during this Easter season. Jesus gave his life for us are you willing to offer your skills for others for a short term mission trip? They can get the basic training they need during the drive time and then with On the Job Training on site.
Texas and Mississippi for now are able to cover their own flooding response but Arkansas and La. Are just overwhelmed.
Thanks for prayerfully considering,
Sam Porter
Director
Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief
