October 20, 1999
Baptists continue Floyd flood relief
___LA GRANGE, N.C. (BP)-- "The church has put our talking into walking since this disaster" wrought by Hurricane Floyd, said David Leary, director of missions for Neuse Baptist Association in La Grange, N.C.
___Hundreds of recovery projects have been completed in North Carolina alone, along with more than 650,000 meals served by Southern Baptists since Hurricane Floyd flooded much of the eastern portion of the state Sept. 16.
___Led by Baptist volunteers from as far away as Missouri, disaster relief repair teams and feeding units in North and South Carolina and Virginia continue their work as floodwater begins to recede along the Mid-Atlantic coast.
___"People are responding like never before," Leary said. "They're seeing God's love inaction as the Christian leadership reaches out to help each other and the community. Even though we have tremendous damage ourselves, we believe we should go to them first."
R.D. FORTENBERRY (left) of First Baptist Church in Cherryville, N.C., and Don Phillips of Oatsville Baptist Church work together in preparing chicken and dumplings for distribution_to victims of the flooding from hurricane Floyd. (BP photo by Gibbs Frazeur)
___Ashley Summerlin, pastor of Seven Springs Baptist Church in Seven Springs, N.C., is a good example.
___Hurricane Floyd's rainwaters completely flooded Summerlin's 100-year-old church and home, but in the three weeks since the disaster, he has worked 16-hour days coordinating volunteer repair teams from across the state to help others in his community. He and his wife, Cynthia, have been living in a small apartment at the office of their local Baptist association. They recently learned repairs to the church alone would exceed $250,000.
___"We have fewer than 200 members in our congregation, so I'm not sure if we'll be able to afford to fix the church," Summerlin said. "We're not sure about the home either, but sitting here and worrying won't change anything. God has been good to us, and he'll see us through this. I believe we will be a better community--a more close-knit family--because of this tragedy."
___The property damage Summerlin and others suffered is not unique. Hurricane Floyd ravaged the East Coast with high winds and driving rains, causing many rivers to rise three times above their normal levels. As of Oct. 7, many communities were still under water.
___"I drove down a couple roads in our town right off Interstate 40," said Mike Parnell, pastor of Burgaw (N.C.) Baptist Church. "You see everything people owned--their whole lives--piled up on the edge of the street. And that goes on for miles and miles here."
___But tragedy and despair have turned to hope in many areas.
___Tina Sage, a Kentucky Baptist disaster relief volunteer in Wilson, N.C., told of working at an older couple's home to tear out the flood-damaged inside and sanitize the area. "Mr. Watson and his wife were standing in the rain watching a front-end loader scooping up their belongings," Sage recounted. "We tore out soggy drywall, pulled out wet insulation and ripped up buckling floors. Our work acted as a vaccine for the Watsons. They began to gain hope and even smile again."
___In Pender County, N.C., Baptist volunteers from Pilot Mountain, N.C., worked with a family who lived in desperate poverty even before Hurricane Floyd struck. "The volunteers were so concerned about the family, they took up a collection among themselves before they left," Parnell said. "They donated $500 on the spot."
___Relief workers say most people they encounter in the communities can't believe the volunteers have left their homes, often traveling hundreds of miles, to spend days tearing out dirty carpets and sanitizing whole communities flooded with backed-up sewer lines.
___But many areas have yet to be reached, and some people are in more desperate need than others. North Carolina's large migrant community was hit especially hard, and many Hispanics who lack full immigrant status are afraid to ask for help.
___"We will probably never know how many migrants have died and how many have lost everything," said Gilberto Barbosa, pastor of the Hispanic Mission of Tarboro, N.C. "They are scared to go to the government-run shelters and relief supply centers. The Baptists have finally been able to distribute food, clothes and other necessities to them from an old grocery store in Tarboro. The people are so grateful. They've told us that no other church in the area is doing as much to help them as the Baptists. Now they have hope."
___Even as the floodwaters begin to recede in some areas, much remains to be done. Community leaders believe many towns will spend the rest of 1999 simply cleaning up and evaluating the damage.
___"Sure, I'm tired," Parnell said. "But I can't stop. These people symbolize Christ for me. We are to serve our brothers and sisters as we serve him. And I just know Jesus is out there in a flooded trailer park, living alone with no furniture, no power and very little food. I have to find him. I have to help."
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