By Beth Morris -

June 1st is Disaster Relief Sunday, when DR workers wear their yellow to church. Indiana Disaster Relief is growing in our state. One training held in March had 80 participants. If you have been looking for a mission that is growing and where the Gospel goes out, this is it! Southern Baptist Disaster Relief brings help, hope, and healing in times of disasters--whether it is storms, flooding, fire or calamity. The yellow hats are there to help and share the love of Jesus! 

My name is Beth Morris, and I am a chaplain with Indiana Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. My husband, Don, is the Indiana State Storm Recovery Coordinator. Disaster Relief is near and dear to our hearts. It is one of the best missions going on here in our state. Our teams love Jesus and love sharing Jesus, who is our only hope, in the chaos of a disaster. 

In October, I was able to lead a group of four to Spruce Pine, North Carolina. I was on my husband Don’s roster to go to Valdosta, Georgia, as he was leading a chainsaw team there. When the opportunity came to go to North Carolina, my heart was torn. From the time the news came out about the mountains, my heart knew they needed chaplains. We prayed and listed to God, and He let me know that I was to go to North Carolina. The Appalachian Mountains were riddled with monumental flooding. Most of the mountain people had not seen flooding like this before. The people there were beautiful. It was a small town, and they were so welcoming of us coming in to help. To this day, that community and surrounding communities are still reeling from it. 

Within about 18 hours from getting the call, we were packed and headed south. This trip took us 12 hours, due to impassable roads. We joined Texas Disaster Relief and their mass feeding unit. They had been there for two weeks already and needed reinforcements. Along with Arizona and Missouri, Indiana now joined the mission. The feeding unit was set up in the Walmart parking lot. Walmart provided most of the food that was given out to the community there. Restaurants and schools were shut down due to a lack of water or sewage. The local sewage treatment facility was washed away from the terrible flooding. One of the local supermarkets was damaged and could not open. Hot meals were popular, and people were getting tired of cold cuts. In a mass feeding unit, there are many areas to help. Whether preparing or serving meals, traffic, and dish duty, each area works like a well-oiled machine. 

My group jumped in wherever they were needed. When they found out I was a chaplain, they put me on car duty, that meant I would be talking to storm victims as they came through the feeding line. These people were the sweetest. We only had about 2 minutes with each car to ensure traffic flow. Many, when asked how I could pray with them, asked for prayer for their friends, neighbors, and community. 

One car came through, and I remember the little girl sitting in the passenger seat. She smiled when I asked her if she needed a Bible, and she proceeded to tell me she had just given her heart to Jesus. When I asked how I could pray for them, the mom told me that their church was flooded. Now that the flood waters were down, they were cleaning up, and it was overwhelming. When we held hands through their car window, the Holy Spirit led, and I prayed for them and their church. God laid on my heart to pray for the pastor’s wife, because I couldn’t imagine what she was going through with all going on around her, since I am a pastor’s wife. When “Amen” was spoken, our eyes met and she said, “I am that Pastor’s wife!” I was humbled that I was right where I needed to be, when I needed to be there. I had wondered if I had made the right decision to be in North Carolina instead of Georgia, with my husband. I didn’t doubt that decision after that day. 

This week, we have boots on the ground in Linton and Bloomington, from the tornado that went through last week. There has already been one salvation. There is much work to be done. The areas of ministry are Storm Recovery, Flood Recovery, Assessments, Shower and Laundry, Food Service, Chaplaincy, and Incident Command. Each area of ministry requires DR 101 training, with extra training for serving in Chaplaincy. 

Butch Porter is our Indiana Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Director. He loves what he does and can be found working right alongside our yellow hats in the field. If you would like more information on Disaster Relief and upcoming training events, reach out to Butch at bporter@scbi.org. 

All for His Glory,

Beth Morris

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Beth Morris serves as the WMU Director of the South Central Baptist Association.