Inspired by the many members at Providence Baptist who participate in the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Ministry, Barbara Petty and I, along with our two friends Anita Dowda and Pat King, attended the Phase I training on February 2-3 in Suwannee, Georgia.

Orientation Program

Registration opened on Friday at 4 p.m. and we were greeted by enthusiastic volunteers dressed in yellow shirts, jackets, and hats. They processed our information quickly and pointed us to the next station, where we had photos taken for our picture I.D. cards (which we received at the conclusion of the training). The whole process took about 15 minutes, which left us plenty of time for dinner on our own before the 6 p.m. orientation program.

The three-hour orientation on Friday introduced the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Ministry. At the heart of the ministry is its motto, "Serving Christ in Crisis." The emblem reinforces the motto with three images: an arch, which symbolizes world-wide link; wheat, which symbolizes physical help; and a fish, which symbolizes spiritual help.

The orientation continued with descriptions of the ministries offered through Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief. Team leaders described their work and the units of equipment available to each ministry. 

Child Care: This ministry cares for children while their parents or guardians apply for assistance through relief agencies or while they work to clean their homes and make them habitable again. We were told that there is a need for men volunteers, since two adults must always accompany children, and since each group must move its own supplies. Units are used to store and transport equipment needed to set up a temporary Child Care Center.

Clean Up and Recovery: This ministry makes emergency repairs to help individuals, churches, and associations react to their initial needs. Their work includes clearing homes and roads of debris, covering damaged homes to prevent further damage, and mudding out houses (removing mud, water-damaged sheet rock, etc.) Units include fully-equipped trailers for wind and water damage repair and support units with supplies and water purification. 

Communications: This ministry of amateur radio operators relays messages between various units, ministry areas, and agencies, and reports back to Georgia Baptist Convention and National Association of Mission Boards. Units include six means of communications including telephones, cell phones, business band radio, amateur radio, FRS/GMRS radio, and satellite Internet.

Crisis/Trauma Intervention: This ministry of chaplains introduces people to Jesus and works in tandem with other ministry areas (child-care, clean-up and recovery, feeding).

Feeding: This ministry works with other agencies, such as the American Red Cross & Salvation Army, to provide meals to both victims and Disaster Relief volunteers during times of crisis. There are four types of units, from small teams of 2-3 people equipped to provide low-volume feeding to clean up and recovery volunteers, to units of 20-30 people capable of preparing 10,000-20,000 meals per day.

Specialized Training

The three-hour specialized training on Saturday introduced volunteers to their chosen ministries and offered a tour of the various units (trailers). Barbara and Anita signed up for the Feeding Ministry and Pat and I signed up for the Communications Ministry.

Feeding Ministry
Seasoned volunteers prepared lunch outside in the feeding unit to demonstrate food preparation in a realistic setting--it was 33-degrees and a blustery day. The meal included beef tips and rice, green beans, canned peaches, corn muffins, and brownies. Barbara said that after the food was prepared, it was brought inside so new volunteers could practice serving food to the volunteers.

"We were told that this was a typical meal," Barbara said, "and that our work was not done until we had served everyone, served ourselves, and finished cleanup. We didn't receive our yellow caps until after everything was cleaned up and put away."

Communications Ministry
The communications volunteers came to the training with existing training--all were licensed Amateur Radio operators, a required element for this ministry. Several of the volunteers had prior Amateur Radio Emergency Service and were quite familiar with emergency communications protocol, while others picked up the procedures quickly due to the well-organized handouts.    

After the classroom presentation, volunteers toured Unit 5C--a fully equipped communications trailer. We then received our yellow caps, and an invitation to participate in Sunday radio nets to practice our radio skills.

What's Next

Now that Barbara and I have completed Phase I training and have received our Yellow Caps, we will be placed on a contact list with others in Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief. When a disaster is pending or occurs, we will be notified via e-mail or phone tree, as needed.

Barbara, who has recently retired, looks forward to traveling with Providence Baptist members in the Disaster Relief Ministry. I am still working full time and may not be able to go to as many "away" trip, but hope to support the Communications Ministry in Atlanta, if I can.

For more information on the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Ministry, call 770-455-0404 or visit the Georgia Baptist Web site at www.gabaptist.org.