By Baptist Message staff
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Thirteen days after Hurricane Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams continue to “give a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name” to those affected by the storm.
Disaster relief units from 14 state conventions manned 12 ministry sites around Southeast Louisiana on Monday, Sept. 13. Through Monday morning, SBC feeding units have prepared a staggering 462,350 meals. Other units have assessed 2,033 damaged properties, completed 308 chainsaw jobs, and offered 4,942 showers and have done 3,374 loads of laundry.
Teams also have distributed 420 Bibles, shared the Gospel 338 times and seen 93 people profess their faith in Christ.
Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief state disaster relief coordinator Stan Statham said he is proud of the effort being put forth by all the teams in-state and from around the country, even as another tropical disturbance threatens areas of the state still recovering from Hurricane Laura and Delta in 2020.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Nicholas was about 45 miles northeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande River and about 140 miles south of Port O’Connor, Texas. The center of Nicholas is forecast to make landfall along the coast of south or central Texas sometime Monday afternoon or evening.
This storm is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 20 inches across portions of the middle and upper Texas coastal areas through the middle of the week and 5 to 10 inches across southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
“If you would please pray for us,” Statham told the Baptist Message. “We have another storm, Nicholas, out there that we believe may bring significant rainfall and possible flooding to the western parts of Louisiana and eastern Texas. Pray for our friends in Texas and western Louisiana. Pray that this would be a minimal impact to the area. Our disaster relief forces from across the country are heavily burdened – wildfires out west, flooding up north, landslide in Virginia and of course Hurricane Ida recovery. Thank you for your prayers. God bless each one of you.”
