Over 750,000 meals.
Nearly 23,000 days volunteered.
More than 1,500 Gospel presentations and Bible distributions.
Almost 2,000 flood recovery, roof tarping, chainsaw and debris clean-up projects.
And most importantly, more than 250 new professions of faith.
This is what is possible when Southern Baptists come together to serve after a disaster.
Ranked as a category 4 storm, Hurricane Ida made landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina. Some cities in southern Louisiana were left without power for an entire month as torrential rain and deadly flash floods wreaked havoc on weary communities.
Send Relief provided disaster relief supplies and resources, including roofing materials, generators, pallets of water, meals and more, to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) teams on the ground.
“As Hurricane Ida wraps up, we marvel at the incredible ministry that Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers provided to tens of thousands of people in the aftermath of this massive storm. One of the greatest examples of the Cooperative Program in action is the ministry partnership between Send Relief and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, this was in full display as Send Relief supplied over a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of supplies that were utilized by SBDR volunteer teams to minister to thousands of hurting people from Louisiana to New York. What a vivid reminder that we in the SBC are better together,” Send Relief’s Crisis Response Director Coy Webb commented.
One of the many Southern Baptist volunteer teams present was the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief team, directed by Jennifer Thomas. A five-year disaster relief veteran, Thomas and her volunteers went door-to-door with a tractor and chainsaws, removing debris and trees from survivors’ homes. As they were working on one yard owned by a Louisiana resident named Glen, Thomas realized the tree they were removing was too big for the tractor, and the team began brainstorming creative solutions.
Thomas shared, “The fact the tractor couldn’t fit in the yard was a hidden blessing because that extra time is what allowed us to witness to Glen. He told us, ‘I’m only 85% sure I’m saved, and I want to be 100% sure.’ He received Christ and was given a Bible, and we didn’t know ‘til we were done working that day that three other people in the community had also been saved because we were in the neighborhood praying for so long.”
Pray for Glen and his family to be encouraged in their new spiritual walks and for the survivors of Hurricane Ida to find strength during the long road to recovery.
Published October 19, 2021