FLOOD STATUS - FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, FREMONT NEBRASKA

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Now that we are on the move, and I have a few minutes I can sit and jot a note, I wanted to provide an quick update and explanation for those of you who have been away or not had the chance to learn exactly what our church is doing.

First, know that our church building and parsonage were untouched by the flood waters. Individuals in our congregation have been impacted in various ways, and only part of the immediate area was flooded and impacted by the waters, but some of that area included many of our poorer residents.  Outlying homes and towns are also in a variety of situations.  There were locations designated as official shelters, and our church’s first response was to help undergird those shelters with individual support, as well as individuals volunteering around the community in a variety of roles.

Early Sunday morning, we accepted the role of being a distribution hub for the Texas-Louisiana Coalition "Center for People in Need"  in partnership with relief organization No Town Left Behind.  The goal of the ministries we have partnered with is to identify and provide support and assistance for individuals and communities that may be missed by the larger, more focused relief efforts.   It was these groups who connected our facility with the People in Need group from Lincoln who so generously provided our first round of supplies.

We have designated space in our facilities to house supplies as they arrive, which began yesterday. We have built shelving (and are building more) to store them on as they go out.  At the same time, we are building connections with individuals in nearby communities such as Waterloo, Valley, North Bend, Morse Bluff and Hooper, in addition to connections with people at the forefront of ministry here in Fremont, to make sure that the provisions that come to our shelves are routed to people who need it most and who are not receiving or may not qualify for other aid, or who may not be physically able to go somewhere to let their needs be known.   Because there is so much good work being done in Fremont already, our job here will be to help fill in the gaps that are missed, and to help support those communities and individuals beyond our city limits who are in need of help.  We are not setting up the facility as a “food bank” sort of location, but rather a warehouse available to other local agencies and individuals who are in need of supplies for people who have asked them for assistance.  

 Financially, on Sunday night church leadership met to establish plans and policies in regard to financial donations that may come our way.  They established a separate relief fund into which all those monies will be deposited, and guidelines for distribution.   Any paypal donations go directly and entirely to that fund.  The goal, again, is to meet needs of people with as little red tape for them as possible.  A team approach was established to consider and disburse funds (usually in the form of direct pay or vouchers rather than handing out cash).   Again, these funds may be disbursed because of personal contacts people in our church have with others in need, or because of referred needs that come to us from trusted local groups who understand that we are trying to help with the “forgotten” people.  We will also be expending funds to enable this work to be done (purchase of gas to transport supplies if needed, etc.)

In addition, our own American Baptist denominational family will be offering support in the form of funding, volunteers and especially cleanup supplies, which we will be routing directly to people in need via the same contacts we are building throughout the area.  Our denominational family is notoriously generous with their assistance in situations like these.  They have already committed 100 “flood buckets” to get us started, and more will follow as needed (that first 100, which we will receive in coming days, are already spoken for…the need is real).  Thanks to them, also, in advance.

 We just want to be as transparent as possible, so that those of you who have partnered with us in any way, know exactly what is going on with the support you provide.  If you have any questions about how we are handling things or the type of needs that we meeting, do not hesitate to call, email or message us.  But do me a favor….wait till next week to ask….this week is already too full!

God bless all of you for your prayers and assistance.  Pastor Richard