By Maggie Evans, TAB Media HOUMA, LA. -- When Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers hear that they’re needed, individuals from across the state put their lives on hold and descend on an area. And these strangers form teams, work long days and pour themselves out into disaster-ridden areas. “It’s amazing how God works — how He puts teams together of people with different skill sets for this work we’re doing,” said Farrell Hataway, a “blue hat,” or team leader for the feeding unit in Houma. Take the team in Houma, for example. “We’ve got a gentleman on a forklift who has had a knee replacement and both shoulders are bad,” Hataway said. “But he’s the best forklift driver I’ve ever seen. He can land what we need on a dime target.” Even through near constant rain Sept. 14, the team in Houma has big smiles behind their masks and jokes keep the atmosphere upbeat, even when things don’t go to plan. Alabama Baptists were called out to Louisiana after Hurricane Ida struck the state Aug. 29 as a Category 4 storm. This team is hosted by Mulberry Baptist Church in Houma. More volunteers are expected to arrive Sept. 15. For Cheryl Davis, who’s a member of Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover, this was her first time … [Read more...]

By Maggie Evans, TAB Media HOUMA, La. -- The week of Sept. 12, Cheryl Davis was all set to go on a vacation with a friend. Then Hurricane Ida hit Aug. 29, and the call went out that volunteers were needed to serve in a variety of ways including feeding ministry — the area where Davis just received training. “I thought to myself, ‘Why did I train if I’m not going to serve?’” So, she canceled her trip and headed down to Houma, Louisiana, south of New Orleans, to wake up at 3 a.m. every day and help produce thousands of meals for the community. “I can’t replace everything they lost, but I can feed them a hot meal today,” said Davis, a member of Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover. “Why would you not want to be a part of that?” Davis considers her retirement an opportunity to serve people with her more flexible schedule. She heard about a Disaster Relief training session at The Baptist Church at McAdory in McCalla and decided to check it out since she didn’t know much about it. “The woman who taught the class was just so passionate,” she said, and it made her want to invest in this ministry. “[Disaster Relief] is a very good opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ like God has commanded us to be,” … [Read more...]

By Maggie Evans, TAB Media METAIRIE, La. -- Ever since Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana on Aug. 29 as a Category 4 storm, Metairie Baptist Church outside of New Orleans has hosted an average of four teams a day, according to Sonny Davis. Davis serves as the “white hat” for the command center that works out of Metairie Baptist, meaning he’s the person in charge of all the teams coming and going out of that location. It’s his job to know where everybody is and what they’re doing. The “blue hats,” who serve as team leaders, keep their focus on what’s going to happen in that particular day. “I’m concerned about what’s ahead,” said Davis, who works to keep everything flowing as efficiently as possible, which includes a computerized tracking system for teams, the priority levels of incoming jobs and data. There are currently 70 volunteers working out of this command center. “I do a lot of work in the off season to try and make the process run as smoothly as possible,” he said. Sonny and Terry Davis pull up their map of jobs in the area where they’re working. The different color pins denote different priority levels. The visual mapping helps the pair coordinate teams. And while he has a lot of data to keep track of, … [Read more...]

By Maggie Evans, TAB Media HOUMA, La. -- Ferrell Hataway approached the car that pulled up by the tents where industrial cooking equipment and supplies were housed. A man was behind the wheel, and an 8-year-old girl was in the passenger seat. As Hataway was talking to him, he learned that this family’s trailer had been destroyed by Hurricane Ida, and the family of five had lost most of their earthly possessions. Hataway invited the family to come under the tent and shared some snacks and drinks with them, and as he did, he knelt down in front of the three daughters, two of whom were twins. “I said, ‘Girls, I want you to know something. These are hard times. Y’all have lost a lot, and we know that. But I just want to mention to you a few things you haven’t lost. You haven’t lost God, because He’ll never forsake you. And you’re so lucky because you’ve got your momma and daddy, and they love you. And you’ve got people like us … who are here to help you and to represent Christ in your life and help you get through these difficult times.” Hataway and his wife, Connie — members of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham — got to pray with the family. That’s what Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief work is all about. “In … [Read more...]

By Maggie Evans, TAB Media METAIRIE, La. -- If you were to drive past Metairie Baptist Church just outside of New Orleans, you would see a parking lot filled to the brim with vehicles, trailers, tarps and all kinds of equipment inside a chain link fence. You would also see several Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers ensuring the safety and security of these materials, no matter the hour. These volunteers are members of the onsite management team — a team that includes former military and law enforcement members who have unique experience and training to offer. Albert Melvin flew Cobra helicopters during Vietnam, but fused vertebrae in his back ended his flying career and limited his physical abilities. But as a member of the onsite management team, he can serve those around him well. “Most of the equipment that’s used for cleanup belongs to the individual who brought it,” he said. By keeping watch over it so others can rest and recuperate from a long day’s work, Melvin — a member of Pine Terrace Baptist Church in Milton, Florida — can be a part of this ministry he loves. “Disaster Relief is the best example of friendship evangelism. … Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep,’ and we intend to be the hands and … [Read more...]

By Maggie Evans, TAB Media BELLE CHASSE, La. -- When Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams arrive in the days following storms, they strategically set up Incident Command Centers at churches in and near heavily damaged areas to serve as bases of operations. It’s in and out of these command centers that all information flows — work orders, volunteer efforts, coordination of teams, feeding, equipment. They function much like an ant hill. And when one of those command centers can’t function properly, it brings recovery efforts to a grinding halt. That’s exactly what happened at the Incident Command Center working out of First Baptist Church Belle Chasse in Louisiana. One of the Disaster Relief volunteers who had worked out of that command center tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home, which delayed the arrival of the next round of volunteers while the church was deep cleaned and sanitized. Work is expected to begin again Sept. 14 with teams from Alabama and South Carolina. … [Read more...]

By Maggie Evans, TAB Media HAMMOND, La. -- When Pastor Tim Moffett heard that Hurricane Ida would likely hit the Lake Pontchartrain area of Louisiana, he contacted Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief to offer up his church for whatever was needed. “We were in contact with the Arkansas Baptist Convention one day after Ida hit,” Moffett said. That’s how Woodland Park became an Incident Command Center that hosts teams from other states as well as other relief organizations. “We’re thrilled to be able to be their resource for our community,” he said. “Most people in this community are taking care of themselves and maybe a family member or neighbor … so we’re incredibly blessed by these people who walk away from jobs and responsibilities and just show up to help.” As of Sept. 14, there were 127 Disaster Relief volunteers staying at Woodland Park. Moffett says the volunteers were largely from Arkansas, but they also had some from Tennessee, Texas, Arizona and Alabama. Chainsaw teams out of this command center are working on more than 600 work orders, and the rainy weather coming in from Tropical Storm Nicholas isn’t helping the volunteers, but it isn’t completely stopping them either. Moffett said, “I’m so … [Read more...]