Volunteers bring hope after Ike
By Carol Pipes
For years the big, blue pillars flanking the bridge to Galveston Island have welcomed tourists and beachcombers to the city. In the weeks following Hurricane Ike they welcomed Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers who helped restore hope in the hearts of Hurricane Ike victims by preparing an average of 31,000 meals per day.
In the wee hours of the morning on September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit Galveston and continued to cut a wide and destructive path across the northern Gulf Coast of Texas and into parts of Louisiana.
Residents of Galveston said it was the biggest storm to hit the island town since 1900.
“I’ve been through five hurricanes here, but this is the biggest I’ve seen,” said Russell Conner, a resident and business owner in Galveston. Conner rode out the storm staying at the highest point of the island. His downtown storefront was under 12 feet of water when the storm surge swept in from Galveston Bay.
“Southern Baptists have been great,” Conner said. “This is the best response I’ve seen in a disaster like this. You guys are giving us the support we need as we start over.”
Southern Baptist volunteers manned a feeding site with The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross on Galveston Island. From September 24 - October 23, they had already prepared almost 700,000 meals.
“We’ve been taking food out into the community,” said Glenda Watson, a disaster relief volunteer from Leonard, Texas, and a Southern Baptist chaplain. “The people are just so appreciative. One woman just sobbed when we prayed with her.
“We met another man who lost his home in the storm, his wife left him, and now he is living in his truck. We gave him a blanket just so he’d have something to keep him warm,” recalled Watson. “It’s just the little stuff that you can do to make people happy.”
In disaster relief activity related to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, SBC disaster relief feeding kitchens have now prepared over 4.7 million hot meals for hurricane victims and volunteers.
As of October 21, disaster relief teams have chalked up almost 41,541 volunteer days; completed 4,000 mud-out, chainsaw and roofing jobs; provided 41,000 showers and 12,876 laundry loads; and recorded 19,000 ministry contacts, including 3,000 chaplaincy contacts, 982 Gospel presentations and 186 professions of faith.
This issue of On Mission is dedicated to the thousands of short-term missions volunteers who give of themselves every year to help grow the Kingdom of God. Last year more than 125,000 Southern Baptists participated in some form of short-term missions through the North American Mission Board. The opportunities to serve are boundless. We hope this issue will inspire you to start planning your next mission trip. Are you ready to go?