ABDR chainsaw crews are working in Northwest Arkansas. (Submitted photo)
Whenever there is a disaster, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are quick to the scene.
This week, Baptist Press reported personnel from several states are responding to weekend storms and tornadoes that left destruction in their wake. In Arkansas, eight fatalities were reported in the Rogers and Bentonville areas.
Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief (ABDR) volunteers were on site within the day. Director Randy Garrett said two command centers have been set up. One at Elmdale Baptist Church in Springdale and another at First Baptist Church in Mountain Home. Multiple teams, including feeding units and chaplains and assessors, have been deployed.
“This will be a very large deployment. We will be in the game until we get everything. As long as we’ve got volunteers who want to work, we’ll continue recovery operations,” Garrett said.
Mike Taylor, leader of the Washington/Madison feeding unit, is one of the volunteers on the ground in Northwest Arkansas.
Taylor has a passion to serve people. When he retired from the Air Force, an event happened, and he saw the opportunity to further serve through Disaster Relief. That was 31 years ago. He’s been involved with ABDR ever since.
“We want to share the good news of Christ,” he said. “He took care of the physical needs of the individuals which opened up the opportunity to share who He was. … We certainly don’t want disasters, but I am thankful that we have an opportunity to share with those individuals by being able to meet some of their physical needs. We get to listen to what their stories are and share with them while we are there. We’re trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
John Holzem, an ABDR assessor and chaplain serving in Northwest Arkansas, has been involved with Disaster Relief with his wife, Margaret, since 2019. They saw a post about ABDR on social media, attended one of the regional trainings and have been hooked ever since.
“We’re both retired and both like helping people and every now and then we get lucky enough we get to tell somebody about Jesus,” Holzem said. “We thoroughly enjoy it. We like being the hands and feet of Jesus. Whatever we’re asked to do for Arkansas Baptists, we just want to help.”
A week before being called to serve in Northwest Arkansas, both Taylor and Holzem were in Houston, Texas, aiding those impacted by the devastation caused by fast-moving thunderstorms that hit the area.
This Sunday, June 2, has been designated on the Southern Baptist Convention calendar as a special day to recognize and raise awareness of Disaster Relief ministries.
According to the ABDR website, Disaster Relief is a ministry of the heart – caring people going to people in crisis to offer the help, healing, and hope of Jesus Christ.
“When a disaster strikes, we are able to reach people that otherwise we would have never been able to reach. … We show up and show the love of Christ,” Garrett said. “We go in to represent Jesus Christ.”
If Arkansas Baptists are looking for a way to serve, Taylor recommended volunteering with Disaster Relief.
“If they have a passion to serve, this can be it,” he said. “If you want to serve the community wherever that community is, it’s all our community when we deploy, this is an opportunity. You don’t have to have a passport and go overseas to have a mission. This is right in our backyards.”
As efforts continue in Northwest Arkansas, continue to pray for those impacted as they navigate the days ahead and for all Disaster Relief volunteers.
For more information about ABDR, click here.