Alaska Team begins their journey

15 team members hit the road for the airport early this morning. Please pray for them as they experience a very long time of travel today.

Mike McGinnis is leading the team. Ask God to give Mike spiritual wisdom as he leads this team while they serve at a youth camp in Wasilla, Alaska.

Here is a group photo of the team as they prepared to depart.

Headed Home

More Pics

We had already cut away half of the tree on the top before we took the picture. We are working together on this job with the team from Idlewild.

Lots to do...

The amount of work that is needed here in Alabama is overwhelming. We have witnessed some very tough situations over the years but this one is right up at the top of the list. The destruction just continues once you enter the storm zone.

Our team has done a great job of not only cleaning up debris but also - and more importantly - helped folks by engaging them in spiritual conversations.

We visited Ray again today after spending yesterday with him working on his yard. He actually got out and worked with this team. This rarely happens! At the end of the day Ray is still considering "getting right with The Lord" (his words) and I believe he is well on his way. I love talking with someone who is really counting the cost of following Jesus. He could have easily said a prayer and sent us on our way but he was more honest than that. I would have come all of the way up here and worked in this capacity for a week just to have this conversation with Ray. It was a very genuine conversation that has now lasted for several hours.

Andrew Vanover has done wonderful serving as our team chaplain. While our team is cutting up trees, Andrew is walking through the neighborhood talking with other folks. God is really using him!

We helped a man named John today with the trees that had fallen during the storm. While we were working Andrew and another Chaplain named Will spent the afternoon ministering to John. He has some very real issues that could use our prayers and encouragement.

Our truck continues to give us problems. We put it back in the shop today. We remind ourselves how blessed we are that there is a Ford dealership in this town that works on diesels and has the parts in stock. They hope to have it ready for us tomorrow afternoon so that we can come home on Saturday.

Here is a picture of Ray and a Methodist church in Cordova that was damaged by the storm. There were actually many folks in the basment of the church when the tornado hit. They all survived.

Thanks for praying for our team and more importantly for the folks here in Alabama.

More Pics

These photos were taken in Cordova - about 12 miles southeast of Jasper, where the team is stationed out of. The metal frame in this last picture used to be a mobile home. The middle picture shows the team working with Ray to clean his yard.

A Hard, Cold, Wet, Glorious Day

Our folks are tough. I mean TOUGH. Today started off hard and just seemed to keep getting harder but our Disaster Relief folks of the Southern Baptist Convention continue to make a difference here in Alabama. Not many of us were prepared for the cold that we experienced today. 49 degrees is not that cold unless you are getting rained on and blown around. It felt miserable at times.

But it is hard to complain when you look around and see complete devastation. We had several opportunities to help folks clean up the wreck left by the storms but most importantly we had several opportunities to find out the spiritual condition of many people. We can help clean up their yards but God can change their hearts by introducing them to an everlasting love and peace. What greater need could they have?

Please pray for our teams. They have HUGE trees here and they are scattered everywhere. You will see one monster oak tree that was split down the middle - landing several feet apart. The picture does not do it justice - it is an amazing sight.

Please pray for our new friend Ray. He lost his wife in February and has now watched a storm tear apart his community. We had a great discussion today about his spiritual condition. Folks who had known him all of his life could not believe that he would even talk with me about Jesus. Quite frankly, it was an easy conversation. Ray is hurting and alone. He needs a savior. I am praying that he meets him tonight. I asked him to spend the evening just talking with God asking Him if he was really saved before. I can't wait to find out what God told him... We hope to get back to his house tomorrow.

Thanks for your prayers - they make the difference.

Kevin

Bad Tank of Gas?

Well, the truck seems to have caught a case of "bad tank of gas" and wouldn't start this morning. It's been taken to the "doctor" for treatment.

The area is truly devastated. The focus right now is truly on sharing Jesus and working where they can.

Finally, please keep praying for the guys. It's May and they are from Florida - the weather in Alabama is cold! In two days, it's supposed to be in the 40s! The church they are staying at has wi-fi and if they can later tonight, they will try to send pictures.

Alabama Disaster Relief Response

Over the weekend, the chainsaw/clean-up team and the feeding unit team were both activated to help with the Alabama tornado response. The teams are made up of folks from across Marion County that have been trained through the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief organization.

The feeding unit is in Double Springs, AL. The chainsaw/clean-up team is in Hackleburg, AL, about 55 miles outside of Jasper where the team is being housed. Hackleburg has a population of about 1500 people and they lost 30 people in the tornado. Please pray for these communities and for the men and women that have responded!

Kevin will blog when he has time and we will try to post photos as we get them.