BBA Haiti Earthquake Update & Needs (please share this with your church this Sunday)
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief assessments teams have returned from earthquake-damaged Haiti and are making plans for the long-term relief effort. Initial efforts will be focused on specialized medical teams, but volunteers will eventually be used in food distribution, clean-up and re-build efforts. Plans are also being made for the collection of food staples buckets that are being called Buckets of Hope for distribution for displaced families. We will be involved with our Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) in all of these efforts at various levels as needed. David Acres, state coordinator for Disaster Relief, has called for any medical personnel who are willing to go to Haiti to contact the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief office at (615) 371-7926 to sign up for a possible assignment. Baptist Global Response will make assignments and North American Mission Board based on specific needs criteria. Priority will be given to Creole speakers and healthcare professionals in the areas of Trauma Care.
TBDR will also be gearing up to facilitate the collection of the food staples buckets. These will be similar to the AIDS care buckets collected the last two years for Africa. The buckets should be standard five-gallon buckets with lids that can be purchased at Wal-Mart. A specific contents list will be forthcoming, but will include such things as rice, flour, beans, lentils, noodles and peanut butter. It is very important that only the five-gallon buckets be used in order to facilitate the shipping process. Once the contents of the buckets have been depleted, families will be able to use the buckets for a variety of daily needs. We will email you with more information and as welling as listing this on our bradleybaptist.org website as we receive the details. Also, Buckets of Hope for Haiti Information will soon be available on TBC's website at tnbaptist.org. The Bradley Baptist Association will serve as the collection point for our churches related to the Buckets of Hope for Haiti.
Please pray for following specific requests:
The many victims still living in makeshift squatter camps
Families both here in the U.S. and in Haiti that still have not accounted for loved ones.
Leadership of Baptist Global Response and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief as they continue to plan and work out necessary logistics for our recovery effort.
Here are a few things that our BBA Churches can do right away:
1) Please pray for the people of Haiti and those who are responding.
2) You may also help financially by contributing through the International Mission Board and Baptist Global response by going to the following imb.org link and click on the give icon: http://www.imb.org/main//default.asp
3) Or if you would like to help send BBA Disaster Relief volunteers to Haiti in the near future, you can give to the Bradley Baptist Association and designate your donation for "Haiti Earthquake Relief". Your donation will be used exclusively to help send BBA relief teams to Haiti when we are given that assignment by the appropriate entities.
We will keep you updated on Haiti relief news as we receive more info.
