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5/30/97 Texas relief work gears up; Dakota ‘mud-out’ ongoing

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP)–As Southern Baptists began winding down their initial response to flooding in the Upper Midwest during the week of May 26, Texas volunteers were on the job in the wake of a tornado in Jarrell that killed 29 people, including a Baptist minister of music and his family.
Survivors were allowed back into the area May 29. Two Texas regional feeding units, from Tyler and Fort Worth, were operating at First Baptist Church, and the Baptist General Convention of Texas has placed a team of crisis counselors in the area.
In North Dakota and Minnesota, the disaster ministry began shifting from meeting immediate needs to long-term recovery. All feeding and child-care units had closed by May 29, but volunteers are still needed as the “mud-out, clean-up” phase continues.
“We expect the mud-out will continue until about June 21, and we will still need volunteers until then,” said Mickey Caison, national disaster relief coordinator at the Brotherhood Commission. “Call your state convention Brotherhood office, and be ready to rough it if you go.”
Caison said he is working to develop plans for reconstruction assistance when the cleanup phase is complete and asked for prayer that “these efforts will go forward and result in more opportunities to minister and share the gospel.”
In 39 days of operation, feeding units from Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas had provided more than 565,000 meals. Child-care units from Arkansas, Illinois and Ohio, assisted by volunteers from six other state conventions, served an average of 90 children per day.
The Brotherhood Commission coordinates multi-state disaster response on behalf of all Southern Baptists. Disaster relief is projected to become a ministry of the new North American Mission Board in June.