Six teams of Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are scheduled to go to flood-ravaged southern Louisiana over the next month. The first team, from Harrisburg First Baptist Church in Saline Baptist Association, will serve from August 28-September 3. It will include flood recovery and chaplaincy volunteers.
According to Baptist Press, over 65,000 homes and 60 churches in southern Louisiana have been affected by the recent flooding. IBSA is offering a one-day Disaster Relief Training event Saturday, August 27 at Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman. Potential volunteers will have the opportunity to train in flood recovery or food preparation. To learn how you can participate, visit IBSA.org.
Dwayne Doyle, State Disaster Relief Coordinator, shared, “Disaster Relief teams will be traveling through flood zones with recovery trailers and heavy equipment. Please pray for their safety. Pray for open doors in affected communities as volunteers offer physical assistance and spiritual comfort. Our chaplains often report salvation decisions from their work sites as people suffering after disaster turn to Christ.”
Doyle said he has received phone calls and e-mails asking, “if we will be accepting practical supplies like buckets, mops, and the such for the response. At this point, we will not be receiving practical supplies like these, but are needing funds to help mobilize our many volunteers and equipment. Your sacrificial giving helps Illinois Disaster Relief meet the many needs of those who are suffering.”
Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief is funded through individual and church donations. When you give, 100% of your offering will assist storm victims as disaster relief volunteers assist in recovery efforts. Ask your pastor to take up a special offering for Illinois Disaster Relief this Sunday. You may also give individually by mail or online. Mail a check payable to Illinois Disaster Relief to: Illinois Baptist State Association, P.O. Box 19247, Springfield, IL 62703.
The city of Denham Springs is among the hardest-hit in flooding across south Louisiana. Baptist Press/Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
This isn’t Illinois Disaster Relief volunteers first time to serve in the state this year. Volunteers participated in Louisiana flood recovery efforts in March and April. It was during that call-out that volunteer Don Fulkerson, a member of First Baptist Church of Galatia, IL., died of a heart attack while serving flood victims in Leesville, LA. His team returned to Louisiana to finish the work it began later in the spring.
IBSA has over 1,600 trained volunteers who serve as part of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Disaster Relief ministry, the third largest relief agency in the United States. Disaster Relief often responds to natural disasters by providing feeding stations, mobile kitchens, child care and chaplains. In the case of flooding, volunteers in their signature yellow shirts help homeowners with “mudout,” clearing flooded properties of debris and contaminated building materials, so they can begin rebuilding and recovery.
If you are already a trained volunteer and want to go to Louisiana, contact one of the team leaders below.
Team Leader: Joe Jackson – Region 6
Date: August 28-September 3, 2016
Location: Southern Louisiana
Needed: Mud-out/Flood Recovery and Chaplaincy
Contact: joeluj@frontier.com
Team Leader: Don Kragness – Region 4
Date: September 4-12, 2016
Location: Southern Louisiana
Needed: Mud-out/Flood Recovery and Chaplaincy
Contact: donjank1@gmail.com
Team Leader: Dennis Felix – Region 4
Date: September 4-12, 2016
Location: Southern Louisiana
Needed: Mud-out/Flood Recovery and Chaplaincy
Contact: crossconnect2u@hotmail.com
Team Leader: Don Ile – Region 3
Date: September 11-18, 2016
Location: Southern Louisiana
Needed: Mud-out/Flood Recovery and Chaplaincy
Contact: donruthsawdust@gmail.com
Team Leader: Butch Porter – Region 6
Date: September 14-21, 2016
Location: Southern Louisiana
Needed: Mud-out/Flood Recovery and Chaplaincy
Contact: bp.dp@hotmail.com
Team Leader: David Howard – Region 2
Date: September 17-24, 2016
Location: Southern Louisiana
Needed: Mud-out/Flood Recovery and Chaplaincy
Contact: david@capcity.org
Media contact:
Lisa Sergent, IBSA Director of Communications
(217) 391-3119
LisaSergent@IBSA.org
Springfield, IL
iB2 News 