By Chris Houghtaling BRKC-DR Admin
“I just wanted to see.” said the woman as she looked around the room. There were tears, prayer, a hug.
She explained she had been telling herself over and over “There HAS to still be good in humanity! There just HAS to be!” But she was seriously starting to think she was wrong.
She was badly needing to see a confirmation that she wasn’t wrong. When she looked over at her neighbor’s place and saw it swarmed by people in gold-colored shirts freely giving their time to help her neighbor clear downed trees and limbs, that was the confirmation she had been looking for. They needed help badly and help was there.
She had come to the Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief Command center to see us for herself, to meet us, to say, “Thank you.” for restored hope.
The early morning hours of June 8th brought strong winds and an EF-2 Tornado to areas of Eastern Jackson County bringing downed tree limbs, downed trees, and damage to homes.
After accessing the damage and confirmation of the need for help, MoBaptist DR representatives met with the Emergency Management leaders for both Independence and the Fort Osage Fire District June 9th at the FBC Buckner Annex building which became the Disaster Relief Command Center for the days following.
From June 9th – June 15th, MoBaptist DR volunteers from the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association, the Clay-Platte Baptist Association, the MoBaptist DR Collegiate Summer Internship team based out of Jefferson City and another out of town DR team worked together to bring Help, Hope, and Healing to 31 families affected by providing a listening ear and cleared downed trees and branches from homes and yards for 24 families.
This was the second time FBC Buckner has worked together with our Disaster Relief teams, the first time being a response to help with flood recovery in nearby Levasy, Mo. a few years ago.
Just as before, they were very gracious to allow the use of their buildings, time, and resources, and they kept our volunteers fed with a smile on their face.
They were a valuable asset in helping us navigate the back roads to identify the hard-hit areas and in spreading the word of our availability to help within the community.
We are also grateful for Pisgah Baptist Church in Excelsior Springs who set up and manned their shower trailer so that volunteers could have a refreshing shower at the end of the hot days.
Working together, we can truly do more. This was a beautiful picture of unity in the body of Christ.
