2012 Hurricane Sandy

EDISON, N.J. (BP) -- "We've faced some tremendous challenges, but we are still serving people despite it all," said Karen Smith, a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief leader serving with her Kentucky feeding kitchen at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, N.Y. "This has been an awesome experience," said Smith, whose team was among the first SBDR units deployed in response to Hurricane Sandy. "We've faced obstacles, but we are here serving people in need." Smith and her crew of 37 fellow Kentuckians have been preparing meals for nearly a week. They supplied 15,000 meals on Sunday, Nov. 4, to be delivered by American Red Cross volunteers into the surrounding community. Smith expected the total to be much higher Monday. Kentucky Kitchen 01 is capable of producing 50,000 meals per day. Four professions of faith in Christ were reported by volunteers -- two armed services members at a military base and a couple in coastal New Jersey. Members of a Tennessee SBDR team were distributing meals at the base when they were able to share the Gospel with the servicemen. In Little Egg Harbor, N.J., a South Carolina recovery crisis intervention team was canvassing a neighborhood, South Carolina disaster relief director Cliff Satterwhite recounted. Two male members of the team led the husband to faith in Christ at the front door of the home while two female members shared the Gospel with the wife in the backyard. As more SBDR volunteers arrived in the affected areas over the weekend, plans were developing for the transition to recovery work, primarily chain saw, mud-out and clean-up. And with a predicted nor'easter on its way to the region, a tremendous amount of work is yet to be done, according to SBDR leaders. Forecasts called for freeze advisories Monday night and warned of winds from 20-30 mph and up to three inches of rain when the storm was expected to come through Wednesday. SBDR leaders cautioned against sending donations of supplies or collected items to the affected areas. ...

EDISON, N.J. (BP) -- "We've faced some tremendous challenges, but we are still serving people despite it all," said Karen Smith, a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief leader serving with her Kentucky feeding kitchen at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, N.Y. "This has been an awesome experience," said Smith, whose team was among the first SBDR units deployed in response to Hurricane Sandy. "We've faced obstacles, but we are here serving people in need." Smith and her crew of 37 fellow Kentuckians have been preparing meals for nearly a week. They supplied 15,000 meals on Sunday, Nov. 4, to be delivered by American Red Cross volunteers into the surrounding community. Smith expected the total to be much higher Monday. Kentucky Kitchen 01 is capable of producing 50,000 meals per day. Four professions of faith in Christ were reported by volunteers -- two armed services members at a military base and a couple in coastal New Jersey. Members of a Tennessee SBDR team were distributing meals at the base when they were able to share the Gospel with the servicemen. In Little Egg Harbor, N.J., a South Carolina recovery crisis intervention team was canvassing a neighborhood, South Carolina disaster relief director Cliff Satterwhite recounted. Two male members of the team led the husband to faith in Christ at the front door of the home while two female members shared the Gospel with the wife in the backyard. As more SBDR volunteers arrived in the affected areas over the weekend, plans were developing for the transition to recovery work, primarily chain saw, mud-out and clean-up. And with a predicted nor'easter on its way to the region, a tremendous amount of work is yet to be done, according to SBDR leaders. Forecasts called for freeze advisories Monday night and warned of winds from 20-30 mph and up to three inches of rain when the storm was expected to come through Wednesday. SBDR leaders cautioned against sending donations of supplies or collected items to the affected areas. ...

LUMBERTON, N.J. (BP) -- Serving as a command center for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers has offered Southside Baptist Church in Lumberton, N.J., rich opportunities for fellowship with other believers, said Fernando Downs, pastor of the 150-member congregation.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (BP) -- Hundreds of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers continued to provide ministry in the wake of Hurricane Sandy Friday, Nov. 1. More than 450 volunteers with some 45 units from nine Baptist state conventions were working in at least six states affected by the storm. [QUOTE@right@180=WAYS TO HELP:
Churches -- Video Download
Individuals -- Donate]SBDR volunteers from Kentucky, New York and Virginia were working at feeding kitchens in New York. In New Jersey, volunteers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina were feeding storm victims. Virginia volunteers continued to serve alongside West Virginia volunteers in the Mountaineer state. Assessment teams were working in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Chain saw and recovery teams were also at work across the region. "There is an incredible amount of ministry taking place," SBDR area response commander Mark Gauthier said. "We have four kitchens feeding in New York, four in New Jersey and one in West Virginia. There are another half dozen en route to New York now," said Gauthier, who serves as mobilization director for the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia state convention. Three Kentucky Baptist kitchens were serving at Aqueduct Racetrack, on Staten Island and at Deer Park on Long Island, all in New York. A Baptist General Association of Virginia kitchen was feeding at Rockaway, N.Y. Volunteers from Pennsylvania-South Jersey were serving in Hammonton, N.J., where they were joined by a kitchen and team from South Carolina. Georgia volunteers also were serving with their kitchen at Waretown, N.J. Two North Carolina kitchens and their volunteer teams were serving in New Brunswick and Tom's River, N.J. The mobilization of another half dozen kitchens and 250 volunteers was in full swing Friday with teams from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Southern Baptist of Texas, Texas Baptist Men and Tennessee on their way to New York. Fritz Wilson, executive director for disaster relief for the North American Mission Board, said he expects most of the teams to be serving in the New York City area by Monday, with a capacity to produce 450,000 hot meals each day. Potential requests for additional meal-per-day capacity could take the number well above 450,000 meals per day provided by SBDR volunteers. Video of a North Carolina feeding unit at Rutgers University is available for download at namb.net/sandy_rutgers_video. NAMB President Kevin Ezell released a video on the SBDR response to Sandy this week. The video may be downloaded at namb.net/sandy_video. From its disaster operations center in Alpharetta, Ga., NAMB coordinates Southern Baptist responses to major disasters through a partnership between NAMB and the SBC's 42 state conventions, most of which have their own state disaster relief programs. SBDR assets include 82,000 trained volunteers, including chaplains, and some 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, childcare, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained disaster relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army. Southern Baptists and others who want to donate to the disaster relief operations can contact their state conventions or go to NAMB's disaster relief fund site ...

NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- Hurricane Sandy, which now has killed at least 96 people on the East Coast, also brought with it opportunities for churches to connect with people in their communities, a church planter on Long Island, N.Y., said.

[QUOTE@right@180="The aid that we're providing will open up the opportunity to share the Gospel for at least the next couple of years."
-- Pastor Freddy T. Wyatt]NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- The elderly lady was afraid to open the door. Alone in the dark in her apartment on the 23rd floor of the Fulton government housing complex in Chelsea Park days after Hurricane Sandy struck, she was not accustomed to people helping.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (BP) -- Hundreds of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers continued to provide ministry in the wake of Hurricane Sandy Friday, Nov. 1. More than 450 volunteers with some 45 units from nine Baptist state conventions were working in at least six states affected by the storm. [QUOTE@right@180=WAYS TO HELP:
Churches -- Video Download
Individuals -- Donate]SBDR volunteers from Kentucky, New York and Virginia were working at feeding kitchens in New York. In New Jersey, volunteers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina were feeding storm victims. Virginia volunteers continued to serve alongside West Virginia volunteers in the Mountaineer state. Assessment teams were working in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Chain saw and recovery teams were also at work across the region. "There is an incredible amount of ministry taking place," SBDR area response commander Mark Gauthier said. "We have four kitchens feeding in New York, four in New Jersey and one in West Virginia. There are another half dozen en route to New York now," said Gauthier, who serves as mobilization director for the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia state convention. Three Kentucky Baptist kitchens were serving at Aqueduct Racetrack, on Staten Island and at Deer Park on Long Island, all in New York. A Baptist General Association of Virginia kitchen was feeding at Rockaway, N.Y. Volunteers from Pennsylvania-South Jersey were serving in Hammonton, N.J., where they were joined by a kitchen and team from South Carolina. Georgia volunteers also were serving with their kitchen at Waretown, N.J. Two North Carolina kitchens and their volunteer teams were serving in New Brunswick and Tom's River, N.J. The mobilization of another half dozen kitchens and 250 volunteers was in full swing Friday with teams from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Southern Baptist of Texas, Texas Baptist Men and Tennessee on their way to New York. Fritz Wilson, executive director for disaster relief for the North American Mission Board, said he expects most of the teams to be serving in the New York City area by Monday, with a capacity to produce 450,000 hot meals each day. Potential requests for additional meal-per-day capacity could take the number well above 450,000 meals per day provided by SBDR volunteers. Video of a North Carolina feeding unit at Rutgers University is available for download at namb.net/sandy_rutgers_video. NAMB President Kevin Ezell released a video on the SBDR response to Sandy this week. The video may be downloaded at namb.net/sandy_video. From its disaster operations center in Alpharetta, Ga., NAMB coordinates Southern Baptist responses to major disasters through a partnership between NAMB and the SBC's 42 state conventions, most of which have their own state disaster relief programs. SBDR assets include 82,000 trained volunteers, including chaplains, and some 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, childcare, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained disaster relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army. Southern Baptists and others who want to donate to the disaster relief operations can contact their state conventions or go to NAMB's disaster relief fund site ...

NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- Hurricane Sandy, which now has killed at least 96 people on the East Coast, also brought with it opportunities for churches to connect with people in their communities, a church planter on Long Island, N.Y., said.

[QUOTE@right@180="The aid that we're providing will open up the opportunity to share the Gospel for at least the next couple of years."
-- Pastor Freddy T. Wyatt]NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- The elderly lady was afraid to open the door. Alone in the dark in her apartment on the 23rd floor of the Fulton government housing complex in Chelsea Park days after Hurricane Sandy struck, she was not accustomed to people helping.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (BP) -- In an unprecedented move for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, all large capacity mobile kitchens in the fleet east of the Rocky Mountains have been asked to mobilize in response to Hurricane Sandy. The goal is to begin preparing a minimum of 400,000 meals a day by Monday, Nov. 5. "As we worked through the planning and continued to receive reports about the need, the conviction came on me that Southern Baptists need to step out in faith and mobilize now," said North American Mission Board Disaster Relief executive director Fritz Wilson. "I contacted [NAMB] president Kevin Ezell and shared the conviction of our area command team and he agreed." On Thursday NAMB trustees authorized the entity to cover the travel expense for state conventions that needed the assistance in mobilizing their DR teams to the region. During the height of SBDR response to Hurricane Katrina, volunteers prepared 425,000 meals per day. On Thursday SBDR volunteers from Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina were serving in New York and New Jersey, along with volunteers from the affected states. SBDR volunteers from those states and the Baptist General Convention of Virginia, Maryland-Delaware, New England, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia and West Virginia were preparing up to 150,000 meals and were working with chainsaw and recovery units. The New York Baptist convention's kitchen was on its way to Staten Island where volunteers will begin serving meals Friday. "Staten Island is a high priority," said NAMB DR response coordinator Eddie Blackmon, who is stationed at national American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C.