On April 27, the town of Morehouse, Mo., experienced flash flooding after heavy rains. Conditions worsened when a temporary levee routed more water into the town.
Jeff Heath of Greenville removes flood-soaked flooring from a damaged home in Morehouse, Mo.At one point, it was reported that the flood waters rose two inches every hour. Now, four weeks later, the water-logged homes of most of the 1,015 town residents are still in desperate need of repair.
A mud-out team of South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers arrived in Morehouse on May 28 for a week-long trip to help clear out the flooded homes. Four members of the Greenville Association disaster relief unit and three from the Spartanburg County Network unit worked to remove everything in the structures to a level a foot above the water line and pressure-washed the cleared area with a sanitation solution to prevent mold and mildew. As they worked, the team members were able to pray with homeowners.
“These folks are devastated and are still out of their homes,” said Jim Whitworth, team leader and coordinator of the Greenville unit. “When the serious storms hit other areas in Missouri, there was no one back here to help them. I hope other volunteers will recognize that these folks still need assistance.”
While in Missouri, the mud-out team was based at First Church, Morehouse, and worshiped with the congregation the morning after they arrived. That afternoon, they put on hard hats and got to work. Whitworth said the volunteers had spiritual conversations with people as the opportunities arose.
Ken Higgins of Spartanburg removes water-damaged paneling.“We can show the love of Christ as we work through him. We pray that it will have an impact on folks as we go about our work,” said Whitworth, a member of Augusta Road Church, Greenville.
“Disaster relief offers a great opportunity to show the love of Jesus to those who are hurting,” said Cliff Satterwhite, director of disaster relief at the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Satterwhite said another team of Camp McCall staff members trained in mud-out work will head to Morehouse after Whitworth’s team returns.
This spring has been busy for South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer teams. They have been to Japan following the tsunami and have responded to tornadoes across the Southeast (including nine in South Carolina counties) and two church fires. Now, the hurricane season is set to begin.
For more information about South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief or updates on relief efforts, visit www.scbaptist.org/dr. – SCBC