ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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Monday, May 20, 2013
Billy Graham Rapid Response Team Chaplains Deployed to Moore, Okla Following Tornado Tragedy with 51 Dead
By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
MOORE, OKLA. (ANS) -- Crisis-trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are being deployed to Moore, Okla., the suburb of Oklahoma City that sustained a direct hit from a massive two-mile wide tornado earlier today.
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Moore devastation. |
A CNN report said rescue workers raced against time and darknessMonday night looking for survivors after a powerful tornado blasted an area outside of Oklahoma City, leveling homes and leaving at least 51 people dead.
At least 20 of the dead were children, including at least seven from Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, which lay directly in the path of the monster storm's wall of wind.
Seventy-five students and staff members had been huddled at the school when the tornado hit, CNN affiliate KFOR reported.
"Our hearts are breaking for all of those in the path of this horrific tornado. Words can't do justice to the pain that is being experienced in and around Moore," said Jack Munday, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, speaking in a news release.
He added, "Please pray continuously for all of those who lost loved ones, and for those who may still be trapped amidst the rubble."
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is deploying in coordination with Samaritan's Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, who is also president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Together the two ministries will seek to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those impacted by the storm.
About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team: The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is a nationwide network of Christian chaplains across 48 states that are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. Since the ministry was launched in 2002, it has responded to more than 155 natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and shootings.
For more information on the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, visit www.billygraham.org/rrt.
| Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter,http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "A Sheltered Life." Additional details on "A Sheltered Life" are available at http://www.ashelteredlife.net. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@comcast.net. |
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ADRN MOORE, OK DEPLOYMENT - FINAL UPDATE #8
Dear Friends in Christ,
In our final report from the field, I want to share with you our praise reports, one God story out of numerous stories we received, and our final report from the field. We will try and post more God stories on our website as our CISM team emails us their experiences (look out for an email about these stories). May God touch your heart as He has with ours and the hundreds of volunteers deployed to Moore over the last 20 days!
Join with me in prayer for the uniting of His Church in OKC, to see every family in need sponsored, to the glory of His name and for our deployed volunteers to be refreshed, restored and have blessed family time! God bless.
Daniel Geraci
Executive Director
Austin Disaster Relief Network
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com
Monday, June 10, 2013
A Matter of Faith
Who is your Anchor in the Storm?
By Carol Round
Special to ASSIST News Service
CLAREMORE, OK (ANS) -- "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" - Hebrews 6:19 (NIV).
The sun rises over a tornado ravaged home early on May 27 in Moore, Oklahoma. Residents and volunteers observed the Memorial Day holiday by continuing to recover valuables from the destroyed neighborhoods
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Fading chalk-painted images on my driveway and wilting wildflowers on my dining room table remind me of a recent two-day visit with my three grandchildren. While I love to have them visit, I know why God blesses us with children when we are younger.
Reminders of the destruction left behind by tornadoes that struck Oklahoma in late May continue to appear in photos and stories, images and words that tear at our souls, especially of the youngest who lost their lives. From four months to nine-years-old, these smallest victims will no longer create chalk-pictures on the driveway or pick flowers to grace their grandmother's table. They are gone. My heart aches for their families' loss.
However, as I read the stories of survivors, I am encouraged. I find hope, as do others, of the tales of heroism and the outpouring of help from the nation. Stories of hero teachers, like the teacher at Briarwood Elementary who had her students line up their desks and get under them to play a game called "Worms." Even more encouraging was the song the teacher had them sing. As the tornado tore through the Moore school, they loudly sang a favorite children's hymn. "Jesus loves me this I know."
Isn't that always good to know, especially when your world is falling apart? When the tornado had passed, the children were trapped underneath their desks, crushed by the school's roof. But they survived. Other teachers threw themselves over their students' bodies, shielding them and risking their own lives to save them.
Stories of the aftermath-the first responders and teams from across the country who raced to the scene -- brought hope in the midst of the devastation. A Joplin, Missouri team hurried to help the survivors. Two years earlier part of their town had blown away in the deadliest twister ever recorded. Through their own experiences, the Joplin survivors bring to the disaster scene compassion and comfort to treat other hurting people. In 2 Corinthians 1:4, we are reminded "We can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
As stories continue to come out about the faith of the survivors, I am hopeful. Huddled in closets, bathtubs and storm shelters, some survivors repeatedly prayed, "Jesus help us." When they emerged from their hiding place, some were amazed to see their refuge during the storm was the only thing left on their property.
One mother, who had just removed her children from school, reached home just in time to get everyone safely inside their new safe room, the only thing remaining after the storm passed. She plans to rebuild her home around the safe room.
Life-changing events beyond our control require a safe room, a haven from storms. Hebrews 6:19 tells us "we have an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." That anchor is Jesus. He is our safe place, our shelter from the storm.
Carol Round turned her passion for writing into a full-time career after retiring in 2005 from a northeastern Oklahoma public school system. Her passion, however, is using her writing to inspire others. "A Matter of Faith," her self-syndicated column, is currently running in 12 Oklahoma newspapers. Two collections of her columns are also available in book form and are available through her blog, www.carolaround.com. One of Ms. Round's latest books, "Journaling with Jesus: How to draw closer to God," has been released and can be purchased atwww.amazon.com. Carol's new book, "Sola Fide: by FAITH alone," is now also available atwww.amazon.com or at www.journalingwithjesus.com Readers may contact her atcarolaround@yahoo.com.
This story is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the ASSIST News Service or ASSIST Ministries.
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ADRN MOORE, OK DEPLOYMENT - UPDATE #7
Dear Friends in Christ,
We're still in Moore, OK and the Lord is doing incredible things in our midst! Below are a few recent updates from the field:
Join with me in prayer for the uniting of His Church in OKC see every family in need sponsored, to the glory of His name! May Jesus be exalted through His Church...in Austin, in OKC and beyond!
Stephen Brewer
Associate Director
Austin Disaster Relief Network
stephen@adrntx.org
P.S. We were able to connect 3 churches in San Antonio with Red Cro...
Dear Phil
Kimberly, Della and Scott* were elated to receive new teddy bears!
Their home was destroyed by the string of tornados that hit the Moore, OK area in late May. Pastor Christ Neisent of Somebody Cares partner, Destiny Church Center, and a team of volunteers came upon their family as they took relief into the damaged community. These precious children were helping their Mom and Dad sort through the rubble of what once was their home. Pastor Neisent shared, "this family lives down the street from Briarwood Elementary which was taken down by the tornado. They are out in the yard sorting through what's left. The Somebody Cares bears you provided, brought relief to them as they sort through and take it all in." You can't image what receiving a brand new teddy bear, cold water, hot meals or a listening hear means to those who have lost everything.
Partners like Destiny Church, who have been working with us since the beginning of relief efforts, are vital. Destiny serves as a warehouse and distribution point. Food, water and supplies are sent out from there to be given to affected families. Care packages and more than 300 Somebody Cares Bears have been distributed by teams sent into the Disaster Zone.
Another partner has donated the use of a refrigerated truck so ice, meat, produce and other essentials are kept cold while ministry teams prepare meals for volunteers and residents.
In much of the disaster area power is still out, and no one knows when it will be restored. There is currently a great need for portable generators and for window air conditioning units. Families whose homes were damaged but not destroyed need them to make repairs and cool their homes until power is restored.
Please continue to pray for children like Kimberly, Della and Scott, as well as their families. The road to recovery is a long one. And please consider an extra financial gift at this time. There are many other children and families who need help; and financial support is the best way to leverage the greatest supply of resources and meet unexpected needs.
As always, thank you for caring.
713-621-1498 | www.somebodycares.org
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com
Saturday, June 1, 2013
World Vision to Expand Response as Another Round of Deadly Weather Hits Midwest
Moving into affected areas with tarps, clean-up supplies, hygiene kits
By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
MOORE, OKLAHOMA (ANS) -- World Vision is rushing to help those in need after areas of Oklahoma and Missouri were hit by another round of deadly tornadoes Friday evening.
Destruction in Moore, Oklahoma, caused by the
EF5 tornado on May 20.
(Photo: Lindsey Minerva/World Vision)
The storms come less than two weeks after an EF5 tornado flattened areas of Oklahoma and shattered lives. In this latest round, nine people in Oklahoma are believed to be dead and authorities are still trying to determine the extent of the damage.
According to a news release made available to the ASSIST News Service, World Vision staff in the domestic disaster response headquarters are moving quickly to expand the organization's initial tornado response beyond its earlier scope in Moore, Shawnee, and Noble, Okla., and Granbury, Texas.
As part of the expansion, World Vision will be seeking additional supplies to help those in need.
"While we don't yet know the extent of the damage and need, we're heading into the affected area with tarps, buckets of clean-up supplies, water, and personal hygiene kits. And we'll shuttle more supplies from the two response centers we have set up in Moore," said Phyllis Freeman, World Vision's director of domestic disaster response, speaking in the news release.
On Friday, Freeman announced the tornado response was moving into the recovery and rebuilding phases, with building supplies scheduled for delivery. Those plans have been complicated while the staff provide for the initial needs of survivors from Friday evening's storms.
The news release reported that World Vision is also planning to assess communities in Joplin, Missouri, an area hit by one of the deadliest tornados in U.S. history in 2011. In the wake of that storm, World Vision partnered with Joplin churches and faith-based organizations, providing survivors with hygiene products, cleaning materials, toys, and blankets.
"In communities like Joplin and Moore, we have worked side by side with local churches. We've watched people start to rebuild their lives. It's just devastating to know that as we return this time, some of those areas will be back to square one, forcing people to start over yet again," Freeman said in the release.
In 2012, World Vision's Domestic Disaster Response team provided relief for more than 47,000 bene ficiaries, including more than 30,000 children. This year, World Vision continues to assist the most vulnerable affected by Superstorm Sandy in New York and New Jersey and has provided relief and rebuilding supplies to those affected by tornado damage in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org.
Additional details on "A Sheltered Life" are available at http://www.ashelteredlife.net. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@comcast.net.
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ASSIST News Service is Sponsored By
Dear Phil,
Over the past weekend, I was able to head to Oklahoma with a
small team to assess damages and needs. We were able to connect with area Pastors from Moore and hard-hit rural communities, facilitating new relationships and crucial aid for the devastated region. Through our partnerships the following resources have been provided so far:
As Somebody Cares connects with local pastors in Moore and surrounding communities, some are meeting each other for the very first time. These pastors and leaders have been thrown into a hands-on first responder situation and are serving their people well. We are thankful to walk alongside them in the recovery process, providing guidance and resources to assist them. You can see the stress and fatigue on them. As we and others, lift up their arms, they can focus on caring for their flocks, practically, spiritually and emotionally. The road to recovery is long and the needs are tremendous.
Your response has been tremendous and on behalf of each of the families served, Thank You. The needs however, will continue for quite some times and your continued support is invaluable.
Join us in offering hope, critical relief and recovery aid to Moore, Shawnee, Newcastle and other tornado affected communities!
Current Needs:
Your contributions will allow us to procure bulk supplies including: clean up supplies, hand tools as well as more, generators, window a/c units, tarps, tents and totes, heavy equipment and tools.
How Somebody Cares Finds the Lost and Meets Overlooked Needs...
While phones kept ringing and the bustle of an office in disaster response mode continued in the background, one of our staff members Susie Wolf picked up a call. On the other side was Taylor*, a long-time friend and partner of Turning Point Ministries and Somebody Cares. He started sharing with Susie that he and his wife's extended family all come from the Moore, Oklahoma area. They received word that a family member, Gerika, had been badly hit by the tornadoes... Read more>>
We are now officially in the middle of tornado season, and hurricane season is around the corner. Make sure YOU are prepared! Read More>>
713-621-1498 | www.somebodycares.org
MOORE, Okla. (BP) -- Gary Hunley had seen it all before. As he surveyed the damage left behind from last Monday's EF5 tornado in Moore, Okla., he saw an all-too-familiar scene of overturned cars, metal signposts bent to the ground and houses reduced to rubble.
Almost two years to the day before the historic Moore tornado, Hunley's home was destroyed by an equally historic tornado in Joplin, Mo., which killed 158 people. Since then Hunley, the leader on his Spring River Baptist Association Disaster Relief team, has participated in numerous Southern Baptist Disaster Relief responses. Yet because of the amount of damage in Moore, the latest assignment has brought back a variety of m emories.
"I understand it," Hunley said. "I saw it yesterday for the first time. It was like Joplin -- the scene, the smell, the look on people's faces. Some are trying to be uplifting and act like everything is okay. They're hiding it though; I can see it on their face. I feel so sorry for them."
Hunley and his team of three Missouri Baptists were among hundreds of SBDR volunteers serving in Moore and Shawnee, Okla., following recent tornadoes, including the May 19 Shawnee twister that killed two. Southern Baptist volunteers have ministered to the practical and spiritual needs of Oklahoma residents by removing fallen trees and other debris, searching for personal items, putting tarp on roofs and counseling survivors and performing other tasks. Volunteers have come from the Southern Baptists of Texas, the Texas Baptist Men and state conventions in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas-Nebraska, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
Southern Baptists had logged a total of 972 volunteer days, prepared more than 30,000 meals, presented the Gospel 47 times and distributed 278 Bibles through Saturday, May 25.
Shad Schlueter, a member of the disaster relief chapter of First Baptist Church of Lockney, Texas, described his work as his "witness to people."
"I believe the Lord blesses some people to preach," Schlueter said. "I'm not blessed that way, but He did give me two hands to work. I believe the Lord sent me here to do this."
On Saturday Hunley and his team helped a young Moore couple find irreplaceable memorabilia they they'd given up for lost, having thought they'd already found everything left behind.
But thanks to the Missouri team, homeowner Jill Thompkins found a tub of photos yet undamaged, featuring her with her dad.
"I'm so grateful," Thompkins said. "It's so amazing how people have come from all over to help us. I'm so thankful because no one can do this kind of stuff by themselve s." Read More
ADRN: MOORE, OK DEPLOYMENT - UPDATE #4
Dear Friends in Christ,
Our team wants to personally thank you/greater Austin churches for your support! To date, ADRN's volunteers have given away $15,000 in gift cards in the field and reached out/prayed for/loved-on and debriefed over 200 families. Our emotional care and Chaplain teams have been on the ground since Thursday and will most likely be on the ground caring for surviving families until next Sunday. There are over 12,000 homes damaged or destroyed and 33,000 people displaced! By far, the largest disaster ADRN has been deployed too. ADRN's volunteer team, through the work of the Holy Spirit, has had an amazing impact on survivors (see incredible testimony at the bottom of the email) and has also been challenged going door to door through the midst of massive home destruction and mangled automobiles (some of the cars have had the paint sucked completely off). Many streets no longer have street signs and streets are crowded with debris.
The good news is that ADRN has deployed over 120 volunteers from our network of churches, including HAM, Emotional Care and Administration teams. An estimated 175 families have asked to be sponsored by the churches within the community with the expectation of this number rising to over 1,000+ families. ADRN leadership continues to reach out to churches within the community to prepare them to sponsor every family that asks for help. This next Wednesday(11:30AM), ADRN is partnering with one of the largest churches in Moore, First Baptist Church, to host the first of many meetings with community pastors to unite our efforts together with the ultimate purpose of sponsoring hundreds of families. Please join us in prayer for a large number of church representation at the meeting and that every family in Moore, OK. is sponsored by His church and Jesus Christ be glorified! We believe it will take 200+ churches to join the newly formed Oklahoma City Disaster Relief Network in order to sponsor all of the families that ask to be sponsored.
ADRN NEEDS:
Together, the greater Austin network of churches/Christians can help our neighbor state in their time of crisis. God bless!
Sincerely,
Daniel Geraci
ADRN, Director
TESTIMONY FROM THE FIELD
One of our Emotional Care team leaders was approached by a crying man (John) who needed to share his amazing testimony. John told our leader that when reports of the tornado went out, he jumped in his car and drove 90 miles an hour to save his daughter from the tornado heading towards the Elementary School. He arrived just in time, pulled her out of school and ran across the street to a friend who had a storm cellar before the school was destroyed. Fortunately, he, his daughter and the owning family was able to get inside the storm cellar before the F5 tornado ripped through and destroyed their neighborhood. After the tornado passed by, John tried to push open the cellar door but a brick wall had fallen on the cellar door. John was able to maneuver himself out, lift and move the brick wall 10 feet and pull the family out. Afterwards, John heard additional screams for help from two other homes who's family members were trapped in their storm cellar. Fortunately, they too were rescued by John. After this rescue, John heard an older woman crying out for help, and it turned out to be an elderly woman sitting on a large pile of rubble. It took John 5-7 minutes to climb to the top and slowly bring down the elderly woman (he does not know how she got on top of the rubble) and she tells him to look for her husband. John begins to look for the husband and finds him partially buried in the rubble unconscious. John climbs the rubble to reach him and he suddenly opens his eyes, reaches out and grabs John's hand and says "I love you!" and dies. John, an unbeliever who had been beginning to search for God knew at that moment God was speaking to him of His love for him and leaving a message for his wife. After John tells his amazing story of rescue to our team leader (sobbing through it), our team leader shares the good news with God and John gives his life over to Jesus under the ADRN tent. John's countenance changes and the man begins to praise God! Our leader encourages John to make a memorial at the location to remember the day and his surrender to Jesus. He agrees and wants to use it to tell others of his story! Afterwards, a tall woman with tattoos on her arms walks up to the tent, seeing John in tears of joy and asks what is going on. They tell her the story and she praises God and tells John "consider me your new sister in Christ" and hugs him. Yeah God!!
Hi Phil!
“Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue.
God’s voice in response to mine
is its most essential part.”
-Andrew Murray
Hello!
I’m sure you’ve said a prayer for the people of Oklahoma by now. Don’t stop. The temptation you and I will face is to begin blocking these crisis situations out. Why? Because too much news can become overload...
Read More:
http://prayercentral.net/inspire-me/editor-s-report/the-daily-dialogue-prioritizing-prayer/
In Him,
Kathleen Dillard
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