Our ACS Disaster Response Teams continue to be actively involved in the Hurricane Florence Recovery Efforts in North Carolina. Last week, the Chesapeake Conference delivered flood buckets, non-perishable food, and other items to the Ephesus SDA Church distribution site in Wilmington. The Chesapeake ACS Director Ignacio Goya and ACS DR Director John Belliveau, brought the Conference truck and trailer to the Middletown Valley SDA Church where they picked up several boxes of the supplies and went to the warehouse at Highland View Academy to fill 100 flood buckets. The Martinsburg SDA Church helped them coordinate their driver, Doug Ivany, who along with his wife, loaded up the trailer and delivered the supplies. The Ephesus SDA Church in New Bern also received buckets, cleaning supplies, and food from Tad Long of the Keene SDA Church of the Texas Conference. Furthermore, the Southwestern Union delivered over 2,000 buckets and hygiene kits.
The Recovery Efforts also took place in Whiteville and Fayetteville. About 25 Whiteville SDA Church members which also included some youth worked with the ACS DR Team to unload about 500 flood buckets. The Fayetteville community received over 1000 buckets and 1000 hygiene kits. On Sabbath, October 8, our Team members distributed these supplies via three separate mobile Distribution Units that were set up since many people in these areas don’t have transportation.
We also had the Northeastern Conference ACS DR Team led by Dr. Fitzgerald Kerr arrive in North Carolina late Sunday night to begin ‘muck-out’. Many of the homes which had been assessed over the course of last week, are now ready to be cleaned out and have debris removed. We concentrate our services on those that might be overlooked or denied flood insurance coverage and have limited options. “This work is needed, and ACS DR is being a light to the community, who in some cases have their first opportunity to hear of the Seventh Day Adventist Church during this most challenging time,” said W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS Disaster Response Director.
