“After completing our first day of food and aid distribution, I feel like we have been here for a week,” says Mark Roye from SC San Antonio and our SCA Disaster Response Field Rep. “The rate this site has grown is like nothing I have ever seen. All the aid that had come in was gone by noon. The response from the community really shows that the needs are huge.”
Serving 2,000 hot meals on the first day of Hurricane Ida distribution, Mark says the site went through what would normally have been two days of supplies in one day because of the incredible demand.
“Cars kept coming and coming, and by noon they were wrapped all the way back to the main road.”
Thankfully, more trucks are arriving today and tomorrow from relief partners Cajun Navy, Midwest Food Bank, and Ally Force. Another partner, CRI, arrived last night with a portable kitchen, tool truck, and a small team of volunteers.
In Mississippi, our Somebody Cares Picayune partner, Resurrection Life Ministries (RLM), has been receiving 18-wheelers at their warehouse, sorting and dividing the products, and re-loading onto smaller box trucks that can more easily travel to churches in the disaster zones. RLM’s Pastor Allen Hickman says they are currently sending water, non-perishable food, and personal hygiene kits. Clean-up materials will be sent when power and water service resume.
“We have seen God provide supernaturally and almost instantaneously when we needed something, whether it be rice or clamshells,” Mark says. “Today we are giving larger items through our distribution line and serving hot meals.”
“One of our greatest needs is manpower,” Mark adds. Residents’ homes are so damaged they are not able to volunteer. For information about volunteering or bringing a team, please contact [email protected].
Other prayer needs:
- Continued provision of food and supplies to meet the needs of the residents;
An RV for those serving long-term at the site (the church is at full sleeping capacity with residents who are not able to stay in their homes); - Rest and strength for those who are serving;
- Finances to cover trucking and transportation costs;
- Donations to purchase gift cards for residents to meet some of their immediate needs once they are able to return to their homes.
Special thanks to Living Word Church, Burnt Offering BBQ, Kiolbasa Smoked Meats, Midwest Food Bank, Cajun Navy, United Rescue Alliance, all of those who have donated finances, and many local partners.
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