Mothers Day Flood Report
By Jack Ward
June 1, 2006
The Southern Baptists have opened their Command Center for their well known ministry of Disaster Relief. Their Command Center for New Hampshire is located at the Sarto Center, 17 Londonderry Turnpike (NH Bypass 28), Hooksett, NH. The ministry includes a total clean-up (Mud-Out) of homes that have been flooded from the rain and flood of Mothers Day, May 14.
They start out by removing damaged belongings in the home, placing them into dumpsters (supplied by the home-owner), and then tearing out the damaged areas of the home. Once completed, they power-wash, kill any mold with bleach and water, and clean up.
The New Hampshire Baptist Association's Disaster Relief Mud-Out unit has been operating since Mothers Day when the Concord Chapter asked them to come in and cook at one of their shelters. Mud-Out recovery then followed.
They have completed two (2) homes in Raymond, One (1) home in Concord and have started working in the Allenstown area on Riverside Park Rd. The homes they have started on are what they consider a Priority One, since the home owner has medical problems or concerns.
The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief ministry was last used in New Hampshire during the flood in the Keene area last Fall, where they worked on over 40 homes.
The Red Cross handles the paperwork, asking the home owners to fill out the Job Requests. The Red Cross sends the Job Order Request forms to the Southern Baptists, who then logs the orders, sends an assessor to the house to meet with the family, review the damage, and assign a Priority number, one through three (one being the highest).
New Hampshire Baptist Association's Director of Disaster Relief, Jack Ward, asked for help from the Baptist Convention of New England, but they were tied up in the Billerica, MA area with their Mud-Out Unit. So a request has gone out to the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board for help in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. Teams will start arriving in New Hampshire from around the country on the 5th of June. A NAMB White Hat has arrived at the Sarto Center to work with Mr. Ward and NHBA to begin receiving and coordinating teams to cover Raymond, Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Salem, and the east side of the State. So far there are 87
home owners that have requested work on their homes, with more still coming in.
The Southern Baptists have also have been asked by other faith based groups to train their volunteers and let them work along side NHBA members. Anyone that wishes to help in this endeavor should contact the Command Center.
The work performed is free to the home owners and we are looking for volunteers for one or more days. Building God's kingdom is the focus of this ministry. If you can't help by volunteering your labor, maybe you can help with a donation to NHBA (earmarked for Disaster Relief), and mailed to NHBA, 543 Pembroke St., Pembroke, NH 03275-3319. Supplies are consumed and equipment sometimes needs to be repaired or replaced.
For information on training and volunteering, please contact the New Hampshire Baptist Association's Disaster Relief Director or send an E-mail to Disasterrelief@NHBA-SBC.com, and he will get you set up for work.
(Revised 7/13/06)
