By William Perkins
Editor
With the restoration of pressure and the lifting of most boil water notices for the Jackson municipal water system, Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR) and local church partners have wrapped up their ministry delivering more than 5,800 cases of bottled water to affected residents and is now preparing for possible mobilization after Hurricane Ian passes through Florida later this week.
Hubert Yates, disaster relief director for the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, thanked Mississippi Baptists who contributed a total of 204 volunteer work days to deliver nearly 140,000 bottles of fresh water (see list below) to Jackson residents.
A special emphasis of the Mississippi Baptist effort was to reach out to individual residents in need of the water who were disabled, had no transportation, or otherwise could not pick up bottled water at the multiple distribution sites set up around the Jackson area, Yates said.
Bulk quantities of bottled water were also disbursed from the ministry’s temporary warehouse at the Farmer’s Market in Jackson for distribution by a number of partnering organizations, as well as to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and City of Jackson for requests received through emergency help lines.
A total of 492 ministry engagements – witnessing, praying, and sharing in personal ways – were recorded, Yates said.
Hurricane Ian
Meanwhile, credentialed MBDR volunteers have been placed on standby status in case a request for assistance comes from the Florida Baptist Convention as the state anticipates the arrival of Hurricane Ian, which forecasters predict could be a Category Four storm by landfall.
“Anticipated needs are for mass feeding, volunteer teams feeding, chainsaw, flood recovery, shower facilities, and incident management/administration,” Yates said.
“Depending on landfall area, MBDR will likely be given a geographic area to provide services in association with other deploying Florida Baptist Disaster Relief and Southern Baptist Convention disaster relief teams.
“With the current large area of potential involvement with this storm, it is not possible to be more specific at this time. Much will be determined by the strength of the storm and the impact area as it makes landfall later this week,” he pointed out.
For more information on how to become a MBDR credentialed volunteer, contact Yates at hyates@mbcb.org.
Donations
Tax-deductible gifts to assist MBDR in responding to emergencies and disasters in the name of Jesus can be made to Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, P.O. Box 530, Jackson, MS 39205-0530. Make checks payable to MBCB and designate “Disaster Relief” on the memo line.
Monetary gifts can also be made utilizing the MBCB website: https://www.mbcb.org/giving/. At present, in-kind gifts are not being accepted
Jackson Water Crisis – Mississippi Baptist Convention participants
— Baptist Student Union, Hinds Community College.
— Colonial Heights Church, Ridgeland.
— Emmanuel Church, Grenada.
— First Church, Brandon.
— First Church, Byram.
— First Church, Clinton.
— First Church, Flora.
— First Church, Jackson.
— First Church, Madison.
— First Church, Vicksburg.
— Grace Fellowship, Rankin Association.
— Harvest Church/Madison.
— Hickory Ridge Church, Florence.
— Jackson County Association Disaster Relief, Pascagoula.
— Meadow Grove Church, Brandon.
— Mississippi Baptist Convention Board employees.
— Mississippi Baptist Convention Board members.
— Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief organization.
— North Central Association, Grenada.
— Raymond Road Church, Jackson.
— Ridgecrest Church, Madison.
— Scott County Association Disaster Relief, Forest
— Tri County Association Disaster Relief, Columbia.
— West Carthage Church, Carthage.
— Wynndale Church, Jackson.
