Nazarenes recovering in Cuba, U.S. after Hurricane Ike

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Galveston, Texas

After smashing into the Turks and Caicos Islands September 6-7, Hurricane Ike swept across the southeastern Bahama Islands and  dumped its rains on an already devastated Haiti, where it was blamed for the deaths of at least 61 people (in addition to the hundreds who died in Haiti as a result of Hanna). The hurricane then continued west Sunday night, September 7, straight into Cuba.

Ike pummeled Cuba with up to 20 inches of rain and winds reaching 100 miles per hour. The storm left four dead and caused substantial damage to property and crops. The 1.3 million Cuban residents who were evacuated to other areas have been permitted to return home, but in many cases they face the long task of rebuilding homes and businesses that were ripped apart. Along with individuals, the Church of the Nazarene in Cuba has experienced much loss.

Migdalis Lopez reports the eastern part of the island suffered the greatest devastation. Many of the Nazarene churches are located close to the sea and were blasted by the storm surges. Among them, the Baracua Church of the Nazarene reports the roof of their parsonage caved in and benches washed away. Thankfully, the district reports no loss of life.

As of late Sunday, September 14, District Superintendent Leonel Lopez, Compassionate Ministries Coordinator Mabel Fernandez, and members of the District Advisory Board were to travel to the eastern end of Cuba to evaluate and assess damage and begin immediate relief efforts. Havana, on the northwestern coast of Cuba, has been without electricity for days, and the phone lines there have been down until recently.

Caribbean Regional Director John Smee commented, "Although we have heard only a little, it appears that our Church of the Nazarene family lost much in the devastation of Hurricane Ike. It appears the damage to our church buildings and parsonages has been severe. We join with all Nazarenes in praying for those who suffer these days."

After leaving Cuba, Ike made its way across the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall in the U.S. at Galveston Island, Texas. The storm hit in the early morning hours of September 13, washing away houses and causing massive wind damage from Galveston through Houston and into the northern areas of the state.

As Ike made its way through Texas and the central U.S. in the following days, it killed at least 48 people and left countless homeless from flooding and wind damage as far north as Indiana and Ohio. Power was unavailable in many of these areas, in addition to Arkansas and Kentucky, for as many as 72 hours or more.

At Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio, the main campus was without power for more than a day until it was finally restored on Tuesday, September 16. Classes and scheduled events were canceled during this time. In addition to knocking out power, some trees and limbs were downed on campus by the 70 mile-per-hour winds. Generators were used to continue food service, as well as to power the Prince Student Union and WNZR. The Prince Student Union was transformed into two dormitories on the night of September 15.

As of Thursday, September 18, more than 2 million Texans were still without power in their homes.

Prior to the storm, hundreds of thousands evacuated their homes in southern Texas and FEMA reports search and rescue operations are still in place. Food and fuel are in short supply.

Nazarene Disaster Response (NDR) is being coordinated through the South Texas District and Houston NDR Director Brian Schaffer, who is the South Texas assistant district superintendent. They are currently calling for chainsaw and clean-up teams who can respond to Texas (see "How to Help" below for details).

Texas church damage report (courtesy of Schaffer and NDR):
 
Clear Lake seems to have suffered more damage than any other church, but they are already starting to clean up. One of the immediate needs is securing a professional carpet cleaning company to assist them in saving their carpet from the water damage.  Pastor Don Ballard is mobilizing his church members into the community to "love their neighbors." They are taking care of each other as a body of believers while ministering to their neighbors that are in need.
 
Pasadena First has lost their steeple and may have considerable water damage inside. Shingles were missing on the roof, but everything appears to be in good shape from first evaluations.
 
Galena Park Vida Nueva is in good shape. Pastor Edgar Lopez sent out a praise report to all area Spanish pastors with encouraging words. Area Spanish churches have weathered the storm very well.
 
Houston Irvington Spanish had a service Friday night before the storm hit and two families made decisions to follow Christ. Their building did well through the high winds and rain. Pastor Armando Cortes is still evaluating how his members are doing.
 
Houston Living Word had damage to the roof above their choir room, which suffered significant damage. They are cleaning everything up from being flooded because of the outer roof being blown off.  Chairs and half of the music were ruined.
 
Alvin suffered some minor damage and is now in the process of clean-up. 
 
Bay City had minor damage and is now focusing on assisting others in their community.
 
Baytown suffered minor damage. Pastor Derek Triggs is back in town with his family and is beginning to share the hope of Christ.
 
Orange First seems to be in good shape, but several homes were flooded with up to four feet of water inside. At least two families in the church lost everything due to the flooding, and there is a high probability that more were affected. One family from this church was rescued from their roof immediately after the storm. This is one of the churches that received major damage from Hurricane Rita just three years ago, "so we want to stay extremely close to them through the recovery process. Rebuilding twice in three years is very discouraging." 
 
Port Arthur Grace suffered minor damage. Pastor Mark Snodgrass has been in communication with several of his members regarding their needs. There were a few families that received significant flooding and this will require an "extreme makeover." This will create opportunities for work groups to take on bigger projects for those who don't receive enough insurance money to cover the work.
 
Schaffer states they have not heard from Port Arthur First, Port Arthur Central, Lake Jackson Spanish, and a few other churches in Houston. They are continuing to try to contact the churches as communication is permitted.
 
How to Help:

In addition to prayer, there is great need to replenish the supply of Crisis Care Kits in the U.S. after this year's severe weather. For CCK sending instructions, Click Here.

NDR is making an appeal for chainsaw and clean-up teams for Texas. Interested persons/churches can call NDR Director Steve Creech at (252)876-8720 or Email him at screech@ncmi.org. Disaster preparedness training is also available at www.ndrusa.org. (Related: NDR training scheduled for Michigan)

For information on how to help in the Caribbean, contact communications@caribnaz.org.

Donations are needed. Persons and churches wishing to contribute to the 2008 Hurricane Relief Effort (Haiti and U.S.), can mark their checks "International Hurricane Relief ACM2006" and send them to Global Treasury Services, 17001 Prairie Star Pkwy, Lenexa, KS 66220. In Canada, checks should be made payable and sent to the Church of the Nazarene Canada, 20 Regan Road, Unit 9, Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3. Online donating is available at ncm.org.

Follow-up on Haiti:
The Caribbean Region reports Haiti remains a desperate situation, calling it a "Katrina-sized event." The Region is pleading for a "Katrina-sized response" from their U.S. brothers and sisters. For the full story, click here: Caribbean Nazarenes die in hurricane refugee camp; survivors face hunger. Donations may be made using the NCM information above.


Resources:
The Caribbean Communications Office offers the following video on the 2008 hurricane season. Click here to download the video below.



Please feel free to use this in services and to promote prayer for Caribbean Nazarenes.

--Information for this report taken from Caribbean Region Communications, NDR, MVNU, NCM (Slideshow of NDR photos available)

Additional recent NCM projects:
India Civil Unrest-AMC1600
South Asia Flood Relief-AMC1549 (Nepal)

 

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