Pensacaola, Santa Rosa, Tampa area Disaster Relief crews in LA

Sep 9, 2008
JONI B. HANNIGAN
Managing Editor

Florida Baptist Disaster Relief workers from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Pensacola work in Baton Rouge after Hurricane Gustav threw trees on the ground. Courtesy photo

HOUMA, La. (FBW)-It had been nearly a week since Brett Morin, 66, left the comfort of his home in Lutz for a 15-hour trek - first to Baton Rogue, La., and then to Houma Sept. 8.

Click on image for related coverage

And the sight that greeted him wasn’t pretty after Hurricane Gustav roared through the region Sept. 1.

“There were huge trees down. I mean 52 inches in diameter. One was an oak tree fallen from the side of a bayou right into the home of a couple,” Morin said.

But this is what Morin, associate pastor of administration and missions at First Baptist Church in Lutz, expected when he arrived with seven others from his church.

Equipped with a trailer and a construction skid used to move tree branches and debris, his crew and volunteers from Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Hillcrest and Olive Baptist churches in Pensacola and Santa Rosa Baptist Association have been at work in Louisiana.

Leon Branch, a coordinator with Florida Baptist Disaster Relief, reported Sept. 8 the clean-up and recovery units completed a total of 30 jobs since Sept. 4.

Morin described the area as still without power in some places, and said volunteers had been hard at work removing limbs from the roofs of modest single-family homes in a predominantly African - American neighborhood, and sealing holes with blue tarps so that moisture and rain would not get inside.

“There’s still a long way to go here,” Morin said.

Branch also reported in a conference call to Florida Baptist Convention officials earlier in the day that volunteers told him that between the various groups they believed there had been at least 10 professions of faith.

“Sure,” Morin told Florida Baptist Witness. “That’s what we are here for. To share our faith and reach people with the Gospel.

“Fixing the houses is a by-product,” Morin chuckled. “I am grateful for the North American Mission Board and Southern Baptists and Florida Baptists and we just have the greatest people who have a heart for God and Christ and that’s exciting and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.”

Morin said one woman his group shared with lived alone on six acres of property with horses. Some large trees were obstructing her driveway and a large part of her shed had caved in.

“She was a real sweet Cajun lady,” Morin said, probably in her fifties.

She made a decision to receive Christ after someone in the group shared the Gospel with her.

“It’s exciting to see a person’s life changed,” Morin said. “We stop to say, ‘hey, there is someone who loves you even in the midst of all of this, someone who cares.’”

At one house, Morin said he shared F.A.I.T.H. with a man who prayed to receive Christ.

“We always pray ahead of time and somehow, during the time we are with them, we share the Gospel,” Morin said.

Financial contributions for Disaster Relief efforts may be sent to the Florida Baptist Convention, Business Services, P.O. Box 5579, Jacksonville, FL 32247. Checks should be made payable to the Florida Baptist Convention. Please designate on your check which relief effort you are donating to.

To make a credit card donation using Visa, MasterCard or Discover, please call 800-226-8584, ext. 3049. When calling, be ready to provide the following information: gift amount; credit card number; expiration date; first and last name as it appears on the card; billing address including city, state and zip code; E-mail and phone number.

Email this Article Print this page

Login ID:
Password:	Forgot password?