April 14, 1999
Baptists gearing up for relief work
___Baptist groups in America have swung into action to assist refugees who have fled Yugoslavia's Kosovo province in what has been called Europe's greatest humanitarian crisis since the Holocaust.
___A limited number of Baptist volunteers and missionaries are on the scene, and others are scheduled to join them. But for now, the biggest help Baptists in America can give will come through prayer and financial support, mission leaders said late last week.
___The Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board has allocated an initial $100,000 to help minister to ethnic Albanian refugees fleeing their homes in Kosovo. Missionaries will use the money to buy blankets and food and are assessing additional needs.
___Bill Steele, a Southern Baptist missionary in Bosnia, joined missionary Lee Bradley in Albania to assess the refugee situation there, said Jim Brown, the IMB's consultant for human needs ministries. Missionaries Kyle and Jackie Kirkpatrick are evaluating needs in Macedonia.
___After assessments are completed, missionaries will have a better idea how they can best respond to the spiritual and physical needs of the refugees, Brown said.
___Bill McIntyre, a Southern Baptist missionary in Hungary, reported Baptist workers are ministering to about 120 Kosovars who arrived at a refugee camp near Budapest. Churches and individuals have contributed food and clothing, and teams are forming to conduct Bible storying projects among the mostly Muslim refugees.
___Meanwhile, mission leaders with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship said they are focusing on ministry to Kosovar refu-gees in Albania, the country with the largest concentration of refugees and where CBF missionaries already have ties.
___Like the IMB, the Fellowship's global missions office is consulting with missionaries who work with ethnic Albanians about using volunteers and relief funds in the region.
___Early reports indicate the most pressing needs for now involve medical assistance, shelter and transportation, said Gary Baldridge, associate global missions coordinator.
___In other developments, three missionary families assigned to CBF's Albanian team evacuated their homes in neighboring Macedonia, at the suggestion of the U.S. Embassy, for what amounted to a long weekend in Thessaloniki, Greece, before returning on March 31.
___The couples are Darrell and Kathy Smith, Rick and Martha Shaw, and Arville and Shelia Earl. All three couples are Texans. The Earls have ties to Marshall, Gilmer, Longview, Jefferson and Mesquite. The Smiths have ties to Austin, Galveston and Dickinson. The Shaws have ties to Waco.
___Baptists may have difficulty ministering to refugees in Macedonia, which has been a reluctant host to tens of thousands of fleeing Kosovars.
___"The Macedonia government allows only NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that it recognizes to do big projects," explained CBF Global Missions Coordinator Keith Parks. "No Christian groups in Macedonia are in that number."
___But Baptists should have an easier time working in Albania, Parks predicted.
___Contributions designated for relief work among Kosovo Albanians may be directed several ways:
___Baptist General Conven-tion of Texas, 333 N. Washington, Dallas 75246-1798.
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___Of these three groups, only CBF had issued a call for volunteers as of late last week. CBF leaders asked for medical volunteers who can serve three weeks. For volunteer needs, call the CBF global missions office at (800) 352-8741 or send e-mail to mmoore@cbfnet.org.Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!