Southern Baptists are pushing forward toward the goal, a goal that will not be attained this side of eternity. We are doing what God has called us to do with the excellence that He expects. We are learning from our experiences of the past, but not holding on to them. What a challenging word from the apostle Paul. Can you see him struggling towards His goal, much like a mountain climber about to reach the peak? Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is about volunteers, seeking to honor the Lord in all they do.

Haiti Earthquake

More Buckets of Hope are being opened and distributed. On Wednesday word came from Haiti Incident Command that the first container shipped from Shreveport, La., had cleared customs and was opened.  A third wave of crusades is being conducted by Haitian Baptist pastors. These crusades have resulted in hundreds of thousands coming to faith in Christ. Collegiate teams continue leading Vacation Bible School and sports camps while work teams are building block structures to replace the homes and churches felled by the earthquake.

Photo above: Another container full of Buckets of Hope is unloaded in Haiti.

Tuesday’s report from Haiti Incident Command included the following:

“Brandon with the South Carolina College team said today he smashed his finger on the job site. It hurt so much that he went and sat down for a while. While sitting there, two boys came up wanting money. Brandon explained that he told them he had something better than money to give them. He continued talking with the boys and eventually shared the plan of salvation with them. The boys accepted the Lord and wanted to be baptized. Brandon searched around and eventually decided to use the cooler. The local pastor was there and gave each boy a Haitian Bible that he signed and dated. He got the boys’ information so he could do follow up with discipleship. 

Brandon said he understood that God had a plan that day that was more important than the carpentry work he was doing. He was thrilled that God took him off the roof for a more important task.”

For Brandon and the more than 1,500 volunteers who have traveled to Haiti and allowed God to use them to minister to the people of Haiti, we give thanks.

Rio Grande Flooding

Volunteers from Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) and Texas Baptist Men (TBM), along with volunteers from New Mexico and Louisiana, have been working along the Rio Grande River. They have provided more than 14,000 meals and completed 60 mudout jobs. This work has resulted in 263 professions of faith on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border. This work is continuing. Please pray for the volunteers responding and especially for those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Read DR volunteers serve displaced families in Rio Bravo in the Southern Baptist Texan.

Read SBDR crews in Texas, Kentucky responding to flash floods in NAMB News.

Flooding in Other States

Many states are mobilizing local disaster relief volunteers to areas where there has been flooding, including Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota/Wisconsin, and Montana.  Please remember those affected and those responding.