NC Baptists respond to need for help after Hurricane Sandy

The North Carolina Baptist Men ^ | November 1, 2012 | NCBM Communications

[RegulatorCountry]

There’s a video of them in action at the link. The setup reminds me of those SPEVCO mobile stage and festival setups, convertible trucks and large, seoarate tentlike structures, aluminum and PVC supporting waterproof vinyl panels. The potable water, don’t know just how they’re handling that, whether it’s a filtration and distillation process or what. It would have to be something along those lines, since it’s seen Third World use.

[Littlejon]

Ahhh, NCBM disaster relief! Something I am very familiar with, since I was trained and worked with these fine folks after Katrina. I am about to recertify in 2013.

Anyway, to answer a few questions, yes, they ARE the most efficient, well run relief organization I have ever seen. Believe it or not, we were allowed into areas of Gulfport, MS that FEMA wasn’t early on. Yes, they fed 75,000 people in two days after the storm in Meridian, MS. There are 3 feeding trailers now, with two capable of feeding 35,000 each and on capable of 25,000 per day. The way they make meals, serve and clean up if absolutely amazing. We went to Gulfport 6 weeks after the storm to cover roofs and tear out to prepare homes for rebuilding, the NCBM stayed in Gulfport for 3 years and rebuilt 700 homes, IIRC. Nothing was wasted and they had people in charge who would check out applicants and the homes before work was done to ensure safety and to make sure there was a need.

If you want to donate, they will take anything you want to give. I believe you can donate online, too, at their website: www.ncmissions.org. Baptist or not, it is by far the most efficient, best run organization for this kind of work you will ever find. They were staging in Meridian and were in Gulfport 2 days after the storm, before FEMA and the Red Cross were there.

And if you don’t believe God has His hand in what they are doing, I can personally attest to it as I watched ever meal served to workers like me and people who had lost everything and when the last person went through the line, they were scooping out the last morsel from the pots. People who came to work who brought things they tout someone might need, like one of our crew driving an older car he had but rarely drove. He said he wanted to give it to someone in need. It sat all week until the day he left early when a young couple came into the church looking for assistance. They had a home damaged, but had lost everything, including their car. He just happened to overhear them say that, walked up to them as they finished up the paperwork and handed them the keys. The young mother broke down in tears because she had been praying for help because she had a job interview in another county and they had one car borrowed from a friend, a small child and her husband working any job he could find. The friend needed the car back and they were about to be without any way to get where they needed to go, but there was this man and his older car, still in good shape, who God placed where there was a need.