Stories tagged with: hurricane matthew

• Church's Christmas story undaunted by hurricane

  by Lee Weeks, posted Thursday, December 22, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo courtesy of Anastasia Baptist Church

  ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (BP) -- Michael Arnold and his family were among hundreds of St. Augustine residents who fled their homes two months ago as Hurricane Matthew trailed close behind.

  And while St. Augustine, known as the nation's oldest city, didn't take a direct hit from the hurricane, coastal flooding from its storm surge and near-hurricane-force winds wreaked havoc and destruction for many who call it home. Read More

• She overcomes illness, serves hurricane survivors

  by Josie Rabbitt, posted Friday, November 04, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  NAMB photo

  LUMBERTON, N.C. (BP) -- Jean Freeman felt useless.

  Months before Hurricane Matthew hammered the East Coast, including her hometown of Lumberton, N.C., Freeman was lying in a hospital bed fighting her second round of cancer. Yet Freeman, who is a member of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Lumberton, said she was quickly reminded of God's "innate ability to use anybody at any time" after the hurricane hit.

  "While I was in the hospital, there were so many people taking care of me," Freeman said. "I used to lie there and feel like I wasn't doing anybody any good. But, though I felt useless then, God had so much in store for me where I could give back later." Read More

• N.C. anticipates weeks of continued Matthew recovery

  by Joe Conway, posted Friday, October 28, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Geoff L Johnson/NAMB

  CARY, N.C. (BP) -- Scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of 1999's Hurricane Floyd are playing out across a 250-mile stretch of North Carolina. Already North Carolina Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers, and those from seven other states, have served Hurricane Matthew survivors by preparing more than 400,000 meals from six SBDR kitchens.

  North Carolina Baptist Men Disaster Relief director Gaylon Moss said some of the same areas affected by Floyd were hard hit again by Matthew. Moss said volunteer days served in North Carolina have already surpassed 7,000. Read More

• Hurricane Matthew DR volunteers needed in N.C.

  by Diana Chandler, posted Monday, October 24, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo submitted

  CARY, N.C. (BP) -- Disaster relief volunteers are urgently needed to help North Carolina residents recover from flooding damage wrought by Hurricane Matthew, said Richard Brunson, executive director of North Carolina Baptist Men (NCBM).

  "Teams are needed to help individuals and families remove the wet furniture, floors, walls and other items as needed. We will need many recovery volunteers for many months to come," Brunson said today (Oct. 24). "Thousands of homes and many thousands of people were affected by Hurricane Matthew and we need volunteers to assist with cleanup for the long term." Read More

• 'Love where you live' shown to S.C. storm survivors

  by Josie Rabbitt, posted Friday, October 21, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Casey Jones/NAMB

  FLORENCE, S.C. (BP) -- Dwight Herring didn't know the men and women standing next to him as they prepared to make the drive from Greenwood, S.C., across the state to Florence, S.C., on Oct. 14 to serve Hurricane Matthew survivors. As a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) unit leader, Herring was used to calling complete strangers -- trained volunteers in his region -- and trusting God with the outcome.

  "We were going to set up feeding units at Hoffmeyer Road Baptist Church with only three volunteers in my unit," Herring said. "I thought, 'Wow, three people to feed a mass of Hurricane Matthew survivors?' But I knew if I showed up, God would show up. So we went." Read More

• Amid fallen trees & debris, Baptist teams carry hope

  by Josie Rabbit, posted Friday, October 14, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo by Ted Wilcox/NAMB

  PALM COAST, Fla. (BP) -- Though tragedy has been a recurrent theme in Holocaust survivor Margaret Oettinger's life, so has hope.

  When a large tree fell on her property during Hurricane Matthew's destruction, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers, including Florida Baptist chainsaw teams, were there to provide help and hope.

  As volunteers cut away the tree, Oettinger became one of many helped by SBDR teams in recent days. And the teams didn't just come bearing chainsaws. They came with prayer as well. Read More

• Fla. church & Ky. DR unite to help hurricane victims

  by Josie Rabbitt, posted Wednesday, October 12, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo provided by the Florida Baptist Convention

  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) -- Pastor Chris Coram watched as the Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief trucks rolled into the North Jacksonville Baptist Church parking lot in Jacksonville, Fla., Monday night (Oct. 10).

  "It was quite humbling to see the big disaster relief trucks here to help my city," said Coram, who serves as associate pastor of North Jacksonville Baptist Church. "And it is an honor to assist the volunteers and teams with KBDR by hosting them at our church. It is amazing how hearing the words, 'What can I do for you?' touches your heart." Read More

• N.C. plans for long haul after Hurricane Matthew

  by K. Allan Blume and Dianna L. Cagle/Biblical Recorder , posted Tuesday, October 11, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  CARY, N.C. (BP) -- North Carolina continues to reel from the damage and flooding left by Hurricane Matthew. As rising rivers have yet to crest in many areas, North Carolina Baptists are responding where they can and as quickly as conditions will allow -- a state Baptist disaster relief leader reported Monday (Oct. 10).

  North Carolina Baptist Men's (NCBM) 30,000 meal-per-day unit, Manna One, was headed to Lumberton, N.C., from Florida on Monday, reported the ministry's leader, Richard Brunson. According to The New York Times today (Oct. 11), the death toll in North Carolina had risen to 17 people as the state suffers record-breaking flooding across the eastern part of the state. Read More

• Hurricane-hit Haiti & Cuba draw Baptist relief

  by Margaret Colson, posted Monday, October 10, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo provided by Florida Baptist Convention.

  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP) -- Florida Baptists are already onsite providing aid in Haiti, where nearly 1,000 people have died from Hurricane Matthew and scores more are sickened by cholera in the storm's aftermath.

  Craig Culbreth, the Florida Baptist Convention's lead catalyst for missions and ministries, said the state's Disaster Relief volunteers are already on the ground assessing need and strategizing response.

  "We are hoping we can have a response and help those people in the south end" ... Read More

• DR volunteers serving Matthew survivors in 5 states

  by Joe Conway, posted Monday, October 10, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Photo provided by Florida Baptist Convention.

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- While Matthew was still churning up the U.S. eastern seaboard as a Category 4 hurricane, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers were already preparing hot meals for storm evacuees in Florida. Meal preparation will soon number in the thousands as multiple teams and kitchens from other states begin operations Oct. 10.

  Meanwhile, SBDR assessors are working in coastal communities from Florida to Virginia coordinating first responses for cleanup, mud out and recovery. North American Mission Board (NAMB) SBDR executive director Mickey Caison said ... Read More