| A Flood of Compassion
By Reid Doster, CBF Louisiana Coordinator
After last Fall’s flash floods devastated communities west of Atlanta, CBF Georgia, under the leadership of Frank Broome, resolved to intervene, trusting the Lord to provide the manpower and materials.
Frank invited Charles Ray, CBF National Disaster Response Coordinator, and Reid Doster, CBF Louisiana Coordinator, into the disaster area to help identify needs and formulate a response-plan.
 Charles and Reid made their way to Austell, GA, a relatively new subdivision with homes in the $150,000 range, where sewerage-contaminated flood waters had risen above the eaves and wrecked the bottom floors of many structures.
To their credit, FEMA had already issued emergency checks, which did offer some immediate, temporary relief. However, in no event could the amount of those checks exceed $28,000, while actual repair costs could involve tens of thousands more. To compound the misery, residents had never been able to obtain Federal flood insurance, because this particular Austell neighborhood had not been officially designated as a “flood plain.” Complicating things even more, many residents were automatically disqualified from low-interest SBA loans, due to having been recently laid off by a depressed economy.
Bottom line, many residents were between a rock and hard place – unable to repair their homes or sell them.
Charles and Reid were first greeted in Austell by Randy Shepley, Pastor of First Baptist Church, Tucker, GA, and his team of volunteers already on the ground mudding out a home. Randy had gone there to check on another homeowner, LeAnna Anantaran, whose brother is involved in a CBF church. LeAnna’s restoration work was already well underway, and she unselfishly introduced Randy to a neighbor with more urgent concerns.
The most immediate need was for manpower to remove soaked carpet, sheetrock and furniture, and to help homeowners salvage and clean what they could. Dumpsters were at a premium, with soaked carpets and sheetrock piled high to the curb. City officials were overwhelmed and could not keep up, which created even more anxiety for the traumatized residents who possessed a growing concern about contamination from a nearby sewerage treatment pond.
Charles and Reid selected two homes, owned by Lana Lorde and Beverly Stewart, for a focused CBF restoration effort. Both two-story dwellings needed “mudding out” on the first floor, followed by electrical and plumbing work, insulation, sheetrock, paint, doors, cabinets and so forth.
The following churches and partnering organizations sent volunteers to assist Lana and Beverly:
First Baptist Church, Tucker, GA, with Randy Shepley as Team Leader
First Baptist Church, Fort Oglethorpe, GA, with John Wyatt as Team Leader
First Baptist Church, Pendleton, SC, with Wayne Patterson as Team Leader
Johns Creek Baptist Church, with Rickey Letson as Team Leader
Volunteers of America, with Paul McLendon as Team Leader
Hub1 Logistics, with Marvin Walton as Team Leader
 Funding for the project came from:
CBF National Disaster Response
CBF Georgia
CBF Florida
Bridgewater Church, Madisonville, LA
Volunteers of America.
Accommodations for the South Carolina team were graciously provided by Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church.
 The beauty of this experience is in how so many caring people worked together seamlessly to make a real difference in the lives of two people who were profoundly discouraged.
It was a fleshing out of the CBF Disaster Response mission statement:
Reaching across racial, religious and cultural barriers,
extending the unconditional love of Jesus Christ,
to the most needy, neglected and forgotten,
without any expectation of return.
There is still work to do in Austell, Georgia. To volunteer, contact reid_doster@hotmail.com or call Reid at 985-778-6049. Donations for this ongoing project may be sent to The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, 2930 Flowers Road South, Suite 133, Atlanta, GA 30341, and designated for “CBF Response Fund #17006.”
Learn more: Reid Partners with BWA in Disaster Relief
Catholic Charities Gives $10,000
For Continued KATRINA Relief
Charles Ray, right, presents $10,000 to CBF Lousiana Coordinator Reid Doster, center,
and Associate Coordinator Kyle Kelley, left, on behalf of Catholic Charities.
CBF-Arkansas Associate Coordinator Charles Ray presented a check on May 1 for $10,000 to Louisiana CBF Coordinator Reid Doster and LA Associate Coordinator Kyle Kelley for continued work being done by Arkansas, and other teams, in an effort to provide housing along the Gulf coast.
This generous gift from Catholic Charities of Arkansas is the result of CBFAR being recognized as a leader in cross-religious and cross-culture efforts in helping those with the greatest needs and the least resources. It also points to the ongoing effective partnerships between the two state fellowships and the stellar reputation that our ongoing disaster work enjoys.
Churches continue hurricane response efforts in Louisiana
Carl Kemp, left, from Bridgewater Church and Enola Lee, pastor of
Dowey-Gaston AME Church, were among those who came together to
repair flood damage in Dowey-Gaston AME’s sanctuary.
By Carla Wynn Davis, CBF Communications
May, 2009
Bridgewater Church of Madisonville, La., didn’t have to go far to find a way to engage in God’s mission. This Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partnering congregation just went down the street.
There, the congregation found Dowey-Gaston African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, whose sanctuary couldn’t seem to escape localized flooding. Beginning with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the church had flooded three additional times: Hurricane Rita in 2005 and hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. To make matters worse, floodwaters didn’t rush in and immediately leave. Water levels stayed high for days, leaving four distinct marks on the pews as a result of standing water.
Bridgewater Church used some of the funds from a missional ministries grant, awarded by the Fellowship in 2007, to help renovate Dowey-Gaston AME’s sanctuary. In a mission effort that crossed cultural and racial lines, the two congregations worked together and formed relationships along the way.
“On our first day, 26 volunteers showed up to help, but the rain poured all day, forcing us to work inside and get to know each other,” said Bridgewater Church’s pastor Reid Doster. “A problem became a blessing.”
Dowey-Gaston AME is led by Enola Lee, who in her short tenure as pastor has seen the church grow from just a few members to now more than 30 youth and 18 adults. “And the repairs to the sanctuary may just help continue that growth,” Doster said. “That congregation is so grateful, and so are we. It’s been good for our church, for their church and for CBF.”
The Fellowship’s disaster response efforts continue in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast in places like Pearlington, Miss., and Plaquemine Parish, La., where there are still families waiting to rebuild their homes and lives. Some churches, like Johns Creek Baptist Church from the metro Atlanta area, are still sending mission teams to the area to help.
“We’re not finished on the Gulf Coast, but volunteer teams have not been coming nearly as much,” said Doster, who helps coordinate the Fellowship’s disaster response efforts. “If a church-based team wants to come, I’ll do everything I can to connect them with a meaningful project and arrange for meals, housing, supplies and supervision on the site.”
The Fellowship’s continued hurricane recovery efforts haven’t gone without notice from other response groups. In April, Catholic Charities of Arkansas transferred the remaining $10,000 of disaster response donations to the Fellowship’s response efforts.
“This is a reason to be thankful,” said the Fellowship’s disaster response coordinator Charles Ray. “And it’s a reason to create partnerships. We can help each other.”
Since Katrina, the Fellowship has actively developed numerous disaster response partnerships that will enable a more effective response when future disasters strike. Nearly 10 Baptist organizations have met several times to discuss ways to combine resources, mobilize volunteers and work together.
“The intent is if a disaster strikes in a state with one of our members, we will generally bow to the partner closest and strongest to the disaster. We would follow their leadership, and they would be expected to use us as an equal under their leadership,” Ray said.
Among the partnering groups are the Fellowship, Texas Baptist Men, North Carolina Baptist Men, Canadian Baptist Ministries, National Baptist Convention USA, American Baptist Churches USA and Virginia Baptist Men.
For more on the Fellowship’s disaster response efforts, visit www.thefellowship.info/cbfresponds.
“On the Bayou” By Reid Doster
After concentrating for several weeks on Broadmoor and University Baptist Churches and surrounding neighborhoods in Baton Rouge, CBF Louisiana Disaster Response has turned our attention to South Terrebonne Parish, where homes, businesses and churches were devastated by the flood waters of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
We have built a relationship with Steve and Cindy Graves, in Houma. Both Steve and Cindy are ordained pastors and recent graduates of Truett Seminary. Cindy is currently serving as a
full-time mom and school counselor. Steve serves as pastor of Mulberry Baptist Church, Houma.
Steve and Cindy drove Reid Doster, CBF Louisiana Coordinator, and Charles Ray, CBF National Disaster Response Coordinator, “down the bayou” to a small community called
“Pointe Aux Chenes,” literally at the end of the road, and only a few feet above sea-level. This is a fishing and crabbing community, where life is hard but the people warm and friendly.
In Pointe Aux Chenes, we were introduced to Tommy Bellon, pastor of Live Oak Baptist Church, and his sweet family: wife, Liz, and four daughters, Hanna (8), Kara (4), Ella (2) and Naomi (6 days).
Steve Graves, The Bellon Family and Cindy Graves
Tommy grew up in Pointe Aux Chene, where his father was the first pastor of Live Oak Baptist. In January of this year, Tommy and family moved back to assume pastoral leadership.
 Despite the fact that Tommy’s home was flooded, rendering it uninhabitable, they stay in a camper next door and use the gutted church building and parsonage as a community gathering place and distribution center for basic necessities.
Yesterday, in preparation for a funeral, they tacked up temporary paneling in the sanctuary to cover unsightly, mud-stained studs.
CBFResponds, the disaster response ministry of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, is issuing a call for volunteers to join us in assisting the Bellon family and many others like them.
The immediate need is to make people’s homes habitable, in the most basic sense of that term. For starters, they need interior walls, some minimal furniture and new bedding. They also need such simple and commonplace items as household cleaning supplies or new underwear. 
Interior of the Bellon Family Home
Volunteers will stay at Mulberry Baptist Church, Houma, just thirty minutes away, and will be provided breakfast and lunch. The kitchen facility and local restaurants will be available for evening meals and Mulberry Church members also will provide some evening meals within their capacity.
CBFResponds intends to help Steve and Cindy with the repair of their roof, which has suffered repeated insults from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike, resulting in one mold-infested room remaining unusable and completely closed off. Folks, the Lord’s helpers need some help.
Charles and Steve Discuss Roof
CBF Louisiana Disaster Response, under the leadership of state Coordinator, Reid Doster, will provide building materials and equipment, such as shower trailers, utility trailers and some tools.
CBFResponds is totally dependent upon the faith-in-action of our missional volunteers. Without your participation, we have no vehicle for delivering the hope of Jesus Christ to communities teetering on the edge of hopelessness. Together, we have an opportunity to model for hurting people the true meaning of Christmas. You’ll be glad you had a part in blessing them.
Go now to www.thefellowship.info/responds , take two minutes to complete a simple on-line form and enroll in the inexpensive, mission-specific supplemental health insurance program.
Next, personally contact Reid Doster at (985) 778-6049 or cbflouisiana@gmail.com
A few days of helping the most needy, neglected and forgotten folk “down on the bayou” will enrich your life forever.
G. Reid Doster, DMin., LMFT, LPC
CBF Louisiana Coordinator
CBF Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast Disaster Response Coordinator
Pastor, Bridgewater Church
406 Pine Street, Madisonville, LA 70447
(985) 778-6049
CBF Responds – Baton Rouge
 
Left: Broadmoor members prepare generator.
Right: Paul Henderson cools off.
 
Left: Marvin Jackson of ABA Operates Bob Cat
Right: Reid Doster and Jay Hogewood Discuss Damage to University's Facility.
Rick Wright of University Baptist With Reps From Save the Children Federation.
Shower Trailer Ready For Volunteers at Broadmoor Baptist.
University Baptist Church, whose pastor is Jay Hogewood, and Broadmoor Baptist Church, whose pastor is Jarrett Banks, were impacted by Hurricane Gustave.
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
Preparedness pays dividends. But, does it create a “Cry Wolfe” syndrome? Does the fireman or policeman fail to respond because the last call was a false alarm? Does the ambulance driver decide to skip the call because he doubts anyone is hurt? Should we relax and simply wait until all skies are clear and someone cries for help before we decide to respond?
Three years ago we were all rocked by what we saw and heard, and in some cases experienced. As a result, CBF made a commitment to do better. We have. We are very well prepared. We have Partners that have resources that we could never buy. They offer us expertise in child care in disaster, sheltering, feeding, debris removal, rebuilding, counseling, and financial support. CBF brings a coordination of all these assets together to help those with the greatest need and least resources. STAY READY!
www.cbfresponds.com
(985) 778-6049 or reid_doster@hotmail.com
We are still meaningfully engaged in disaster response work. Teams continue forming for work on the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast. The services of your team are sorely needed. Organize your own or combine with other teams.
CBF Disaster Response Leadership
Attends Hurricane
Preparedness Training With Department of Homeland Security
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