FLOOD UPDATE - MARCH 30, 2019

RELIEF EFFORT UPDATE/REPORT

In the midst of repairing the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah 6:3 records this:

“And I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.’” –(ESV)

Things have been very hectic and ever changing, but we have been involved in “a great work” and thought this Chimes could be a good place to update everyone on what has been done already, and how it has been done, in a bit more detailed fashion than the general outline describing the ministry.  Again, this ministry is supplementary to everything else that is going on, especially in Fremont where there are so many other people providing assistance.  

Our partner agency in this time, No Town Left Behind, has a focus of seeking out and assisting communities and individuals who have been neglected, missed or minimally supplied by the traditional relief agencies.

I would like to share a couple of examples from this week with you.  Someone called from a local social service agency, asking if we had any comforters or heavy bedding.  I informed that individual that there were some last time I looked, and since she is asking on behalf of one of our local helping agencies we are seeking to support, she was welcome to come and pick one out, as well as anything else she might have need for as they are helping others.  She left with a van full of supplies.

More than once, individuals from our church connected us with local families who had een to the local official help station (to which many of us ALSO donated!) and though they had received help, it wasn’t enough to get them through the 3 days they had to wait for more.  Food was provided to take to those families, and/or even a grocery voucher to supplement with food that was not available at the help center.

An outlying station we are assisting, inquired if we had any more rubber boots or gloves (we have given away hundreds already), and he was informed that requests for boots has gone up the supply chain, and we had gloves coming in also from North Carolina, that would be made available as soon as they arrived.  

One day, some supplies came in via airplane, and as the plane was unloaded, several items were not even driven to our site, but taken directly to a church in need of them as they were helping by serving meals.  We were able to offer supplies to that local church that fed as many as 150 people a day on their own.  

Later, we had an individual days after the flood, seeking clothing assistance when shelves were empty everywhere else in town, and we were still able to assist with that need.

The relief work has been done both regionally and locally, as we have been able to supply everything from bedding to diapers to paper plates to snacks to rubber boots and more.   Because of our American Baptist affiliation, we were also able to provide hundreds of American Baptist Men and Church World Service ”floodbuckets filled to the brim with cleaning supplies”as well as hygiene packets to individuals through agencies and churches and our own church members seeking supplies for themselves or to share with families in need.  In addition, the Nebraska Region has received approximately $18,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing, and some of that money has come to us to use in our relief efforts.  All in all, it has been estimated that a minimum of $500,000 worth of food, goods and supplies flowed through our facility (including some yet to be distributed), and possibly as much as $1 million when all things are considered. Many of these goods were donated by multiple agency partners of No Town Left Behind.  Thanks to the help of work teams from Fairbury, Beatrice and ABMen Nebraska Disaster Relief, we have coordinated cleanup help at several homes.

In addition, we have had some financial donations come into our church, especially to assist with the water filtration in Pacific Junction, Iowa because individuals have taken our posts and shared them via social media…including my own sister…donations from California and Arizona and Indiana and Florida and more.  Any donation that is marked for the relief efforts has been and will be spent as designated to cover all the things involved in making ministries happen.  

Let me say that another way:  Not a single dollar that comes into our relief fund will go to any church programming or budget needs; ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of any money received is used exclulsively to support the relief effort.  

Finally, we also help support the great efforts that have been and are being made to help the town of Pacific Junction, Iowa, underwater and threatened with losing their town due to compromised water filtration.  An professional expert was flown in from Salt Lake City to assist, pumps have been set up and operating to remove standing water in the community, at first through flexible pipes laid across the tracks, but with the railroad threatening to start up soon, adjustments had to be made.  The community was evacuated with very little forewarning, and several dozen people are unaccounted for at this time.  Efforts continue, but what the future will be remains to be seen.  The No Town Left Behind crew is packed up heading to Louisiana, where they say flooding has already started.  Keep them in your prayers.

I know many of us are completely exhausted.  But we met the crisis in a powerful way, and I hope that you, like me, feel that the exhaustion I feel has been for a good cause.  There are things that could have gone more smoothly perhaps, but given the ever-changing nature of disaster relief, and our lack of experience in performing the challenging tasks we did, our church served in a pretty amazing way.   We are now in the winding down and closeout phase, and have helped make a difference for more families than we know through this crisis time.  But know, I have no plans for us to do all that again any time soon!!!!

My personal thanks to so many who have helped in so many ways.

                                                                   

Richard

Where all have we offered and/or supported contact and assist?  The list is approximately 31 towns at this time: (most of these towns received some supplies, a few were not in need at the time, and some we don’t even know about)

1. Wood River, NE 
2. Cario, NE
3. Dannebrog, NE
4. Bartlett, NE
5. Oneil, NE
6. Lynch, NE
7. Hooper, NE
8. Winslow, NE
9. North Bend, NE
10. Lashara, NE
11. Valley, NE
12. King Lake, NE
13. Glenwood, IA
14. Pacific Junction, IA
15. Hamburg, IA
16. Niobara, NE
17. Verdigres, NE
18. Fremont, NE
19. WoodCliff, NE
20. Omaha, NE
21. Waterloo, NE
22. Lincoln, NE
23. Wahoo, NE
24. Bellvue, NE
25. Genoa, NE
26. St. Paul, NE
27. O'Neil, NE
28. Columbus, NE
29. North Bend NE
30. Nickerson NE
31. Arlington NE