Volunteers are desperately needed in the aftermath of the catastrophic flooding that recently hit Louisiana and Texas, destroying hundreds of homes and affecting thousands of lives.
By far the greatest need – and by far the closest location to those of us here in Greenville – is in Simmesport, Louisiana, a remote village out in “bayou country” where few if any of these folks would be able to afford flood insurance.
This is from Mark and Laura Cremeans, the directors of the Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team, who we’ve been working closely with since Hurricane Katrina back in 2005:
“The devastation remains.
“Every day, families in Louisiana are walking into homes filled with mud, ruined belongings, and heartbreaking loss. While our DRT volunteers are working long hours, the need is far greater than the number of hands we have.
“We need you.
“If you can spare a few days, you can make an incredible difference in someone’s life. Sometimes the greatest gift you can give isn’t money—it’s your time, your hands, and your heart.
“Don’t wait for someone else to answer the call. Be the reason a family takes one more step toward hope and recovery.
“Please come serve with us. These families are counting on people like you.”
Alison and I will be leaving tomorrow to go down for a few days – Alison even went out and bought a new pair of work boots and work gloves so she can help us gutting houses! (Or…maybe just because she likes to buy shoes…not really sure 😊).
I know it’s a bit of a drive, but I hope you’ll at least give some thought to coming down to help out sometime in the next couple weeks – nobody is too young or too old, too skilled or unskilled – your heart and your hands are what’s needed most.
I am often asked what exactly the volunteers do on these kinds of trips. If you have any special skills in the areas of carpentry, construction, or tree removal that’s awesome – but even if you’re completely unskilled (like me!) – there’s still a boatload of volunteer needs. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are a few examples:
For further information about volunteer needs and opportunities please visit DRT’s website at www.ChurchesOfChristDRT.org, or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078455380648.
And as always, please keep all these families, and all of our volunteers, in your prayers.
