By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – With hurricane season almost here, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief State Director Stan Statham said churches and residents must not delay preparations for the next big storm.
“The forecast is for a slower season, but everybody has got to remember that it just takes one storm to be a bad season,” Statham told the Baptist Message. “Don’t be lulled to sleep just because we didn’t have a hurricane here last season or the forecast is to be a slower season. Louisiana must be prepared.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a below-normal hurricane season, which runs June 1-Nov. 30. The agency is forecasting 8-14 named storms. Of those, three to six are forecast to become hurricanes, including one to three major hurricanes.
Meanwhile, Colorado State University estimates 13 named storms will develop in the Atlantic basin, including six hurricanes and two major hurricanes that are Category 3 or higher.
PLAN AHEAD
Statham said residents should create a plan, stay inormed and put together a storm readiness kit.
“We always think about hurricanes, but what if there’s a train derailment near your home and you had the police knock on your door and say you have got to leave here in five minutes,” he said. “If you have a kit to take with you, along with a change of clothes and a little bit of non-perishable food as well as a flashlight, you will be ready.”
Though a hurricane did not make landfall in the state last year, LBDR teams ministered in areas impacted by other storms in the U.S. mainland and the Caribbean.
After Winter Storm Fern knocked out power to thousands and scattered debris across properties in north Louisiana in late January, a feeding team from Rolling Hills Ministries in Ruston prepared meals and teams from Lake Charles, CENLA, Covington and Denham Springs assessed homes, completed chainsaw jobs, shared the Gospel, prayed with people and offered showers.
Joining the teams in Fern-related response were volunteers from Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
A month later, a LBDR team assisted residents impacted by winter storms in Lisbon, Portugal. While there, they worked on a Baptist camp that will be utilized as a response hub and partnered with local churches to repair roofs at the Baptist camp and homes.
And more recently, sessions were held to train new and returning team members at First Baptist Church, LaPlace, First Baptist Church, Pineville, First Baptist Church, Lafayette, and Temple Baptist Church, Ruston.
BE INVOLVED
More than 2,000 Louisiana Baptist volunteers are trained, and they will be critical when the next disaster strikes, Statham said.
“With 42 state conventions working together, we are the third largest disaster relief organization in the country and that’s the beauty of our network,” Statham said. “When Louisiana Baptists need help, we have others who come in, and we go help in other areas of the country when we are needed. That’s the beauty of the cooperative effort.”
Along with volunteers, money is needed to continue DR efforts, Statham added.
“We’re grateful for individuals, churches, associations and businesses who rise to the occasion and give,” he said. “From housing and feeding volunteers to maintaining equipment, the costs can add up real quick. All of that takes money, but we’re grateful for the people who continue to support our ministry.”
LBDR Associate Mark Morelock emphasized that prayers also are needed.
“Whether you are a part of Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief or not, pray in your heart how you can help your neighbors after a time of disaster,” he said. “Pray now and be resolved in your heart with the Lord that you are going to look to go help somebody, even in your neighborhood.
“We’re very isolated in our culture,” he said. “We don’t’ have a lot of interaction. If you can nail down between you and the Lord that you are going to find at least one person, that can offer a pathway for even greater things.”
DR volunteers should wear their gold shirts for worship services on Southern Baptist Convention DR Sunday, June 7. Learn how to volunteer or give to LBDR efforts: louisianabaptists.org/dr .
