Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Oklahoma City Tornado - Post 6


Oklahoma City Tornado
 
\Wednesday June 5, 2013
 
Dear Friends,

ORH has a new friend in the work, Pastor Alan Jenkins from Columbia Road Baptist Church in Cleveland, OH area. Pastor Jenkins and his church have opened a warehouse to gather materials for disaster relief. I was just at their church and visited their 13,000 sq ft warehouse facility. What a vision to take the gospel. We are so honored to work with such servants of the Lord.

Pastor Jenkins wrote the following from Oklahoma City Oklahoma where they delivered a truck load of materials to help the needs of those in the hurricane. Pastor Jenkins went to Pastor Ron Lindsey of Suburban Baptist Church one of the churches that ORH has attempted to help as they minister to their community.

“Hi bro Milton, We brought a truckload down here in Oklahoma this morning and I am preaching for Bro Lindsey tomorrow. A wonderful Man of God. Amazing the devastation here. God bless! Alan Jenkins”

Pastor Jenkins wrote further.

“Dear Bro Milton,
            I just returned from preaching and observing the work that Bro Lindsey and the Suburban Baptist Church is doing in disaster relief for their community.
             I was glad to see that they are first concerned about those in their church members which were affected; I believe 7 families in their church. They have done very well in making sure these families have been loved on and cared for.
            They have also done a marvelous job in opening up their church as center for items available to those affected by the tornados.
             Any help that could be given to further help this church and people would be appreciated as these 7 families have a hard road ahead. Many of the people who were hit by these tornadoes were in apt dwellings and lost everything. I have seen a lot but not anything like this devastation. God bless and thank you for your help. Pastor Alan C. Jenkins”

Pastor Lindsay has taken his gymnasium and turned it into a crisis distribution center. People are constantly coming from the community to get help. They hope to keep this center open through June. He has been promised several more loads of supplies.

Pastor Lindsey writes the following.

“Bro Jan Milton,
            This past Friday night was pretty scary here in Moore, but even though many people lost their life (the number is still growing), it could have been much worse. Tornados were scattered once again all over Moore and Oklahoma City. Several tornadoes touched down here, but were not nearly as damaging as the one on May 20th. They knocked out power at the church and at my house this time. The power came back on at the church late Saturday night so we were able to have a normal Sunday service.
            Our donation center and distribution center in our church gym is getting more organized as each day goes by. I never asked to have a ministry like this, but it seems pretty clear to me that is exactly what our Lord is calling us to do...so we are gladly doing it. I just got through reading through the forms and stories that we have people fill out when they come in to get supplies. As I lift each one up in prayer, there are many of them that are really heartbreaking. Please pray that our church will be able to follow up with them in helping them and leading them to Christ during this difficult time in their life.
            So far we have given out about $17,000.00 to members of our church who had homes destroyed and lost all of their possessions. We are praying that we can give more...as there are still many needs. The deacons and I, along with my associate are asking the Lord to use us as His hands, feet, voice and heart to minister to His sheep. The people of our church who still have homes, power and jobs are bending low and humbly serving their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
            Our church normally has an attendance of 115-120 on Sunday morning. This last Sunday we had 103. Seven of our families literally lost all of their possessions except the clothes on their back. Four or five more lost smaller amounts. The tornado was so big it affected almost all of our families in one degree or another. We are mostly focusing on trying to help the seven hardest hit families in a large way because they have the biggest needs. Most DID have insurance. That helps. Not all insurance is the same however. Some have high deductibles. We are trying to help with that. Some have insufficient insurance on their contents. We are trying to help with that. Some, after having to move into apartments have had a car stolen and their apartment broken into twice...just in the last 2 weeks since the tornado. That is crazy! But that family will not take any money or help... insisting that they are fine and all they need is prayer. We are trying to cover them up in it. Some are older (seniors) folks who have needed physical help dragging damaged fences to the front of the curb to have the city haul off. Some had cars destroyed that were only insured with liability. We are trying to help them. One lady lost her job. She runs a day care in her home and barely made it out in time with her babies 10 minutes before the storm hit and demolished her house. She now has no income. We have helped her with the next two months of lost income since she lost everything...plus her job. We rented some heavy equipment and have had a couple of volunteers that came up from North Carolina run it. They are cleaning off our church members property now as I write. There are many other stories that I don't have time to tell right now, and each one is different so we are just trying to handle each one separately. The Lord is showing us His grace and mercy every single day. He has never failed us. What we need most is...the Lord. He is really all we need. Of course, I covet your prayers that I will not fail the Lord now, when our people need Him the most. If the Lord leads you to help financially, we will use it for His glory.
            Thank you so much for your support and prayers during these difficult times. May the Lord be praised. Pastor Ron Lindsey”
 
I hope you will not forget these people. There is so much left to do. Help us to help.

If you wish to donate by check, please, send the check to Operation Renewed Hope, PO Box 43242, Fayetteville, NC 28309. Mark the check for "Domestic Relief."

If you wish to donate by debit or credit card, please, go to www.operationrenewedhope.org and choose Network for Good.

You may go to www.orhnews.blogspot.com to keep up with the efforts.
 
Please help us to help the churches and people of this crisis. Many are hearing the gospel through the churches.

Jan Milton
Operation Renewed Hope
4928 Necessary Court
Blue Springs, MO 64015
910-987-5072
www.operationrenewedhope.org
orhus@aol.com

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