Haiti Update

Unit Directors, DOMs, AMSs and Secretaries,

Just a quick update on the situation in Haiti.  At this point I am taking units off of Alert and standing you down.  We are coordinating with Send Relief International to best meet the needs there on the ground without currently sending in teams.  We have personnel and connections there that we will be supporting as God provides opportunities and funds. Continue reading

Dorian Update and More Places to Serve

DOMs, Team Leaders, and Secretaries,

Just wanted to give everyone and update on where things are at with different needs and things coming up in the future. There is a place for you to serve.

Dorian:

North Carolina:

  • They are looking for Flood Recovery teams that may also be able to do roof tarping.  While there will probably not be a lot of chainsaw work, it would be good for any teams that go to carry at least 1 with you in case you have to remove any when doing the other part of the work.  If you have a recovery team that would like to go there in the next couple of weeks, let me know as soon as possible so that I can get your group on their schedule.  Where they are working are Atlantic, NC, Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island.  Look at your map before deciding.  Unless the Cedar Island ferry gets up and running again, you will probably need to go on I-64 over to Chesapeake, VA and then down to Nags Head and down the Island chain.  Housing is in Hatteras at this time with groups working in Ocracoke going over by ferry until they can find suitable housing on the Island.  Contact Elizabeth and me if you have a team that can go and also your preferred dates and number of team members.

Continue reading

Callout Opportunities – Illinois & Massachusetts

Just to let our TNDR volunteers know that we have been asked to send crews to Illinois and Massachusetts.

A town in Illinois had 10 inches of rain in 4 hours and is in need of Flood Recovery Crews starting this Thursday. In Massachusetts, they were hit by 3 F-1 tornadoes and are in need of Chainsaw Crews immediately.

If you can go over the coming weeks, please let your team leaders know ASAP. If you do not know who your team leader is or do not have a team in your association, contact us here at the office and we will try to hook you up with a team that is responding if possible.

Tennessee DR and the Needs Ahead of Us

DOMs and DR Team Leaders,

My apologies for not have updated everyone on what was going on for a while.  As many of you know, it has been very busy in the DR world since Florence struck, followed closely by Michael.

TN units have continued to respond to both North Carolina and Florida along with some having responded to Georgia and South Carolina.  I cannot thank you all enough for the Help, Hope and Healing that you have brought to so many in these devastated areas.  You have been faithful witnesses and God has opened the heart of the people you have served, and we have seen at least 4 come to know Christ as their Savior. Continue reading

Teams Continue to Respond in the Aftermath of Maria

Aerial view of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, Sep. 2017.
-Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Disaster Relief teams from Tennessee continue to respond in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean.

Teams continue to go and do rebuilding in Puerto Rico, fixing up homes and churches.

Teams going to Dominica continue to work on devastated homes, putting on roofs and helping to rebuild structures. Gifts and teams have helped set up a block plant in the La Plaine section of the island.  Continue reading

DR Teams Sent to Florida; Others Will Be Needed in Hurricane’s Aftermath

Baptist and Reflector

Photo: NOAA.gov

Photo: NOAA.gov

BRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptists have been asked to respond in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti on Oct. 4, causing massive destruction before hitting Cuba later that night. The damage in Cuba was not as extensive as first expected but some areas were hard hit.

In Haiti, at least 478 deaths have been attributed to the massive storm and the number is expected to rise. Continue reading

DR Teams Needed to Work in Nepal

Help_Nepal_red_markerfrom the Baptist & Reflector:

BRENTWOOD — Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is looking for volunteers to serve with Baptist Global Response in Nepal.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the country in late April, killing thousands of people. Millions of people were affected and hundreds of thousands of homes were either demolished or rendered uninhabitable.

Baptist Global Response was on site within 48 hours and is now looking at a long-term response.

BGR cautions potential volunteers that the “workplace environment will be very rugged. There is limited infrastructure due to the widespread disaster and intensity of the disaster. Volunteers will need to be in excellent physical condition to join a team.”

According to BGR, projects will be mostly general labor oriented and will include, but not be limited to, housing construction, water systems, debris removal, latrine construction, institution recovery construction, medical clinics, and other needs as found by assessment teams.

Mike Overcash, interim Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief director, said interested teams need to contact the North American Mission Board directly at sbdr_logistics@namb.net.

He noted two teams from East Tennessee have expressed an interest in responding to the needs in Nepal and that he expects additional teams to follow suit.

The Tennessee Baptist Convention is still accepting cash donations to help send volunteers to Nepal, Overcash said.
Contributions can be made online at www.tnbaptist.org/pymt/dr2015nepal.htm or by check designated “Nepal” and mailed to Tennessee Baptist Convention, P.O. Box 728, Brentwood, TN 37024.

TBC Disaster Relief Teams on Standby For Nepal; Contributions Accepted

Residents drive by some of the destruction in Kathmandu caused by an earthquake that struck the country April 25, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring thousands of others. -IMB photo

Residents drive by some of the destruction in Kathmandu caused by an earthquake that struck the country April 25, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring thousands of others. -IMB photo

Compiled by Baptist and Reflector

BRENTWOOD – Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief is gearing up to respond to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25.

Nepal is a small country located between India and China and is the home of Mount Everest. Most of Nepal’s nearly 30 million people are Hindu.

Tennessee Baptists have inquired about what they can to do help the devastated country where the death toll has surpassed 5,000 people with more than 11,000 injured, according to Mike Overcash, interim DR director for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The death toll continues to rise as rescue efforts expand from the capital city of Kathmandu to outlying areas, Baptist Press reported.

“The needs are extensive as of now,” Overcash said. “As is so often the case, Southern Baptists – and Tennessee Baptists – are rising to the occasion to alleviate suffering and to share the light of the gospel,” he continued.

Many relief teams have already been activated and the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s disaster relief teams are on standby to send aid and teams in June, Overcash added.

“Any contributions you make through the TBC will support these relief teams, and any funds not used to support Tennessee’s response will be forwarded to Baptist Global Response,” Overcash said.

Contributions can be made online at http://www.tnbaptist.org/pymt/dr2015nepal.htm or by check designated “Nepal” and mailed to Tennessee Baptist Convention, P.O. Box 728, Brentwood, TN 37024-0728.