Other Baptist efforts were stymied in New Orleans when the lone relief team was stopped from operating by local authorities. It relocated to Baton Rouge.
Various Baptist churches in New Orleans and Gulfport were destroyed. Dennis Watson, a pastor for a Baptist Church in Matairie, La., whose church was flooded, said his 2,500 member congregation trust that God would use the disaster to bring the city closer together, according BP news.
"He uses natural disasters like this to bring people to His Kingdom. I believe America will rally around New Orleans just as it supported New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks," he told the Baptist Message news journal.
Meanwhile, United Methodists welcomed evacuees streaming in from New Orleans to First United Methodist Church of Marshall, Texas. Mark Smith, one of the volunteers from the church noted how nervous the new arrivals were.
"The longer people are there, you can tell they're anxious,” he said.
A spokesperson for Christian Reformed World Committee told the Christian Post that its small initial team of five to seven volunteers would go into Mississippi to assess damage, coordinate with larger relief and government agencies, and begin cleaning up. It estimates a 2 to 3 year period of recovery.
"The problem we are facing is it is hard to get into the region," said Kristin VanderBerg, a communications coordinator for CRWRC. "We have to start the clean-up process - cutting down palm trees, rebuilding homes."
To donate to the church relief groups mentioned, please visit their websites.
Christian Reformed World Committee: www.crwrc.org
Episcopal Relief Development: www.er-d.org
Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief: www.namb.net/dr
United Methodist Committee on Relief: www.methodistrelief.com
Francis Helguero
& Michelle Vu
Christian Today Correspondents
