When not following the tornadoes this year, SBDR teams have also responded to heavy flooding in Vermont, Kentucky, Ohio, Montana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, California, Iowa and Wyoming. Teams are currently gearing up for a major response in Minot, N.D., where flooding of the Souris River has engulfed 4,000 homes, requiring extensive mud-out work.
SBDR also responded to a rash of wildfires, which in 2011 have plagued Texas, Arizona, Kansas/Nebraska, Florida and Silver Lake, Alberta, Canada, with the latest fire in New Mexico.
From its disaster operations center in Alpharetta, Ga., the North American Mission Board coordinates Southern Baptist response to major disasters through a partnership between NAMB and the SBC’s 42 state conventions, most of which run state disaster relief programs.
The assets SBDR brings to disaster events include 82,000 trained volunteers and some 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, child care, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is the largest mobilizer of trained, credentialed disaster relief volunteers in the United States, including The Red Cross and The Salvation Army.
Even with this year far from over and in the midst of the annual hurricane season that does not end until November 30, 2011 will forever be remembered as the year of deadly tornadoes, historic flooding, wildfires, earthquakes and even a tsunami.
Except for 2005—the year of Hurricane Katrina—SBDR staff and volunteers have seldom been so taxed and spread so thin as in 2011.
“It’s been a very busy year,” admits Mickey Caison, disaster relief coordinator for NAMB, adding that he thinks the SBDR network is getting stronger all the time.
“We’ve had a lot of states involved in a lot of responses,” Caison said. “Even though we’ve been stretched thin and involved in so many states, our state leaders and volunteers continue to step up in ministry. We’ve had the diversity of disasters in past years but not the diversity of disasters spread across so many states.”
In July, NAMB sent $950,000 to Baptist conventions in seven states hardest hit by the storms. “We are grateful to Southern Baptists for their generosity and want them to know the money is going where it is most needed,” said NAMB president Kevin Ezell. He added that funds received after the most recent payout will go to North Dakota for flood relief.
While 2011 will go down as another successful year for the thousands of SBDR volunteers across the U.S. and Canada, it won’t be because of the 412,000 meals prepared, or the 28,000 “volunteer days” served, or because of the 4,000 mud-out and chainsaw jobs completed. It was successful, leaders say, because 100 more lives were led to Christ and 22,000 gospel presentations, ministry contacts and chaplaincy contacts were made during the first seven months of the year.
Gary Hunley will never forget the outpouring of love and support for he and his community. “Southern Baptists have been a true blessing to me. They’ve helped me grow in my faith.” OM
Mickey Noah is a writer for the North American Mission Board. Joe Conway is managing editor of On Mission.
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