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JESSICA TUGGLE
Witness Correspondent
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| Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers gather to pray at First Baptist Church in Melbourne Aug. 21. Photo by Jessica Tuggle |
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| Click on image for related coverage |
BAREFOOT BAY (FBW)—Florida Baptist Disaster Relief team volunteers from throughout Central Florida descended into Barefoot Bay in south Brevard County Aug. 21—an area devastated by a tornado Aug. 19.
Rain was still falling in the area and limbs and debris from 50 damaged mobile homes lay strewn across the area where Tropical Storm Fay stalled and dumped up to 30 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, prompting President Bush yesterday to declare a state of emergency for Florida.
According to Terry Ryan, a coordinator for the Florida Baptist Convention’s Disaster Relief operation, there were 29 certified volunteers from four Baptist associations—Brevard, Treasure Coast, Lake and Orange Blossom—who assisted at nine homes.
The men and women, dressed in Disaster Relief yellow and blue windbreakers, worked in the wind and rain to place tarps on roofs, remove aluminum debris, and cut up and removed trees and limbs which had fallen as a result of Fay’s strong winds.
Ray Shands, member of First Baptist Church in Orlando, mounted a stepladder to use his chainsaw to cut down branches of a tree in Bill Gallagher’s yard. The tree had been ripped apart by the powerful winds of the tornado.
“I was lucky this time,” Gallagher said, however, telling the workers it was much worse in 2004 when strong hurricane force winds actually damaged his home.
Gallagher had already begun piling up small branches scattered across his yard when one of the Disaster Relief teams offered to help.
“I really appreciate it,” Gallagher said of the help. “I can tell they’re good guys already.”
Barefoot Bay, located off of US-1 is the largest manufactured home community in Florida with nearly 5,000 residences. The property also boasts a privately owned golf course.
More than 50 homes were damaged by the tornado, but many residents declined help when it was first offered, Ryan told Florida Baptist Witness.
“Some people don’t believe that we’re doing this for free,” Ryan said. “They think we’re scamming them.
“You just have to be patient and kind and show them the love of Jesus,” Ryan said.
Shands compared the destruction left in the wake of a tornado to a war zone.
“It’s just like combat, you don’t know what’s going to happen until it happens,” Ryan said.
Aluminum roofs were peeled back from the mobile homes and carports were lifted away by the winds, one landing four blocks away in one piece.
After a full day, the out-of-town teams rested at First Baptist Church in Melbourne, about 20 miles from Barefoot Bay. They planned to put in another full day’s work on Friday, Aug. 22.
After eating dinner prepared by volunteers from Orange Blossom Association, they prayed together and shared experiences from the days’ work.
Bryan “Gator” Culberson, a team member from The Church at South Lake in Clermont, told about one lady who just asked for them to pray for her to have patience with her children.
Their offer to help clean up seemed to overwhelm her.
“She was just so moved by it, you could tell, and she kept on saying, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you,’” Culberson said. “She couldn’t believe someone was willing to do it for free.”
Culberson was one of six volunteers from The Church at South Lake and it was their first time to respond as Disaster Relief team members.
The church already has a local construction and roofing ministry in place, but Culberson said he is encouraged to be part of a state-wide effort.
The Church at South Lake’s team leader, Paul Madison, told the Witness he just wants to be available to serve where he is needed.
“I’m here doing what God has told me to do,” Madison said.
“Sometimes we serve out of obedience knowing that we may never get to see the eternal results,” Madison said. “We’re just here to do what He wants us to do, not because fixing up someone’s house makes us feel good.”